Looking back at September 22, 1950
Sewage was forming pungent pools along several Russell Vale roads, the Mercury reported.
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A meeting of the Russell Vale Progress Association heard complaints about blocked drains in Keerong Avenue resulting in streams of sewage hundreds of metres long.
A committee was formed to take the matter to the council, the Health Department and the Housing Commission.
Residents had a number of other complaints as well, including the fact that mail delivery to Russell Vale and Bellambi appeared to have stopped.
Raising the issue with the authorities went nowhere.
Also, there weren't enough public phones in the suburb, a genuine problem in an era where not every home had its own phone.
Residents complained that the only public phones were located in shops. If they wanted to make a phone call outside of business hours, they had to go to Corrimal or Woonona.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
