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Category: Interviews »

Subject: Cultural Studies »

Emilio Russo on his suburb, Coburg

Emilio Russo.

Emilio Russo reflects on the changes going on in his suburb of Coburg since he arrived in Brunswick in the early 1950s

Created:

unknown

Date Added:

09 March 2009

Source:

source not available

Format:

mov (Quicktime);

File size:

6.5 MB

Length:

02min33sec

Transcript

Russo:

00:10

And then mine saying this, as I said, even before, it’s the people who live in the area. As I said before, you used to go out and any time before never anybody used to come around to us for anything, unless you do something wrong. Just before you come to tell you – I give you an example.

00:34

Me and a Spanish bloke, who lives up there, we were standing here, the Spanish bloke’s come from working with the sewerage. So very hard work and so on. And he was smoking. A young bloke on the bike, come around, come to us and he - “Give me a cigarette.” I don’t smoke. The Spanish smoke. Then the Spanish said, “How old you are?” “Oh I’m 21.” I said, “No, he not 21. You’re not even 18, so I won’t give you the cigarette.” And he went around with the bike, up and down a few times, went to have a look in the car over there. He think we don’t see. So then, you never used to see those things.

01:15

I remember the first house, the one in Ardian (sounds like 01:19) Street, I live together with my brother, and we used to work in Footscray. We used to live here, because that’s where- we come here and they – we bought a house. I remember paying the rates of the house and they – we had every week, and we used to leave the money inside the house, 16, 20 pound – that are safe. The Sunday we don’t lock the door, never –anybody used to go there. Now, that’s the trouble. And that’s what I find most different than what used to be.

01:56

And the shops, because as I said before, from Beller (sounds like 02:02) Street, you start to get down Brunswick Road, used to be shops everything was here. Now it’s not much left, because the council or whatever is the job to do they never update the shopping centre. So, it’s no good to come here to save maybe pay a kilo of potatoes, five cents cheaper. And then when you go out, you’ll have the $50 fine on the car. Yeah that’s what is wrong. That’s why people never come around any more.

02:33

End transcript