Intersection of King Georges Road and Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills, 1981. Image courtesy Hurstville Library
Lots to see in this bold shot from 1981 – check out the Mobil on the corner; Granny crossing the street on the right (on her way back from shopping, by the look of it. Remember when you could do that?); the No Right Turn onto Stoney Creek Road (heaven forbid!); the wide, spacious King Georges Road trailing off into the M5-less distance; the boxy pedestrian buttons; that eerie church just above Granny. But does it really look all that different today?
Not really, 2015.
These days, we can turn right from one busy road onto another; the ancient (although obviously post-1981) Chinese restaurant blocks the view of the eerie church; the Mobil has been replaced by Pancakes on the Rocks; the roads seem narrower and there are a hell of a lot more cars, and yet the air is allegedly cleaner. Must be all those extra trees. Oh, and NO PIZZA HUT.
Past/Lives of the Near Future 
Hey check out the sign on the wall of the shop next to the Mobil…it says EMAIL…huh?
C’mon Petta, you must remember Emailair!
Email was the company which owned a number of different businesses, most notably white goods, electricity and gas meters. Simpson,Kelvinator, Westinghouse, Dishlex, Chef, Metters were all brands that were eventually owned and then sold off to Electrolux by Email. Their head office used to be in Riverwood.
Hahaha… yeah, Email. They were the ORIGINAL Oz e-mail, before Ozemail came onto the scene!!
Now THERE’S a story…
A Triumph 2000TC closest to the camera. These were assembled in Australia by Australian Motor Industries, later to become Toyota Australia. Following the Triumph is a Morris Marina! Also locally assembled, by Leyland Australia at Zetland, and one of the worst cars ever sold here. The ‘eerie church’ is the Regina Coeli Memorial Church on Ponyara Rd, next to the Catholic Church of the same name. The other local landmark that stands out is the ‘BOIAN’ 24-hr chemist sign. This chemist still has a wonderful ’60s appearance, inside and out.
Oops meant to say Catholic SCHOOL of the same name
The Pizza Hut is there but hidden. If you look above the old lady but under the church you can see the old pool hall witch is now were the iga is great memories
The air probably is cleaner. Modern computerised electronic fuel injected engines produce a fraction of the pollution of the 1970s carburetted variety, more than compensating for the extra numbers on the road.
I was married in that eerie church it was very beautiful inside dedicated to the coral sea battle with the stars and stripes flags inside(very rare)in a catholic church it was St Ignatius not eerie one bit.That was 1979 when life was a bit more simple
Mike Rowlinson, I believe the eerie church has always been known as Regina Caeli, Church. It is a long time since I have moved out of the district, but I think you will find that it is still known under this original name. I went to the attached school in the 1960’s and I always thought that it was the most beautiful suburban church I have ever been in.
that old lady is my dear nanna … i have had this photo for years 🙂 thankyou to the photographer