The corner shops of Wollongong: The sweetest walk down memory lane

Paul Dorin is a third generation local.

His memory stretches far enough back to remember Pioneer and Towradgi roads before the advent of traffic lights. It was a crash blackspot back then and neighbours would always race to the intersection to offer almost instant assistance.

Once the emergency was handled, the gathering almost always morphed into a roadside neighbourhood catch-up.

"It's a tiny suburb, but has a beautiful neighbourhood," he says.

For a few years, Paul spread his wings - and moved to as far as Fernhill/Corrimal. Fear not - he soon enough returned to his beloved Towradgi.

He might work from home but you're also likely to see him at Corrimal Fire Station where he's been a retained firefighter for 31 years.

Now he's sharing memories of a golden childhood with the Mercury, starting with the old corner shop.

I grew up in Towradgi, just north of Wollongong where, as children we would ride in the back seat of the car without seat belts, when milk came in glass bottles and we listened to songs like Bohemain Rhaspsody and My Sharona.

It was the '70s and a few houses down from where we lived was a corner shop a kid could only dream about: The Briggs Corner Shop - and my best memories involved the lollies.

Walking through the bi-fold front door, down at child's-eye level, was the glass counter cabinet stocked with the largest assortment of loose lollies imaginable.

I remember getting off the Dion's bus after school and piling in with other kids crowding over the cabinet full of lolly classics such as Jersey caramels, chocolate buddies, chewy cobbers, spearmint leaves, teeth, chewy Milko Sticks, milk bottles, Black Cats, bananas, honey bears, witchetty grubs, musk sticks, fags, strawberries and creams.

Most are still around today in packets but l reckon some of the recipes have definitely been altered - and so have their sizes.

My big favourite was the cobber. I would suck the chocolate off first then chew and chew the hard middle caramel. I remember doing a similar thing with Violet Crumbles, l would bite the chocolate off first then eat the honeycomb. Another big lolly favourite was the dusty jelly babies.

As a child, the first thing l ever bought was lollies.

There was no other bigger purchase in life for a 10-year-old budgeting 50 cents of lollies when they varied from 1 cent, 2c and 5c or three 2c lollies for 5 cents.

It was always a test of patience for the shopkeepers, Mr and Mrs Briggs, and not only with me making up my mind, but for every kid in line behind me waiting their turn.

Living only a few houses down from the corner shop, we would often receive phone calls from local elderly neighbours asking for me to run delivery errands.

"Paully, can you run down to Mrs Sweeny's, she's got some money for you to get her a bottle of milk?" my mother would say.

I never hesitated and was out the door like a whippet. It was paying on average 20c-50c just for delivering the milk. I ended up becoming the local neighbourhood runner.

And as quick as a flash, l was back at the corner shop to spend my money.

Ownership of the shop changed a few times before it closed in the 90s and l had a great rapport with all the shopkeepers. I still live in Towradgi, and l love taking a nostalgic walk where the corner shop once was; and remember the times when l was a kid.

I am sure most from my generation would have a corner shop memory, but l've got to say it: My corner shop had the best lolly counter ever.