© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Chequers

Read more about the article Krystyna’s dancing journey from Greta Migrant Camp to Sydney’s Chequers Nightclub
Krystyna over the years. Photos supplied by Krystyna and her son Alex.

Krystyna’s dancing journey from Greta Migrant Camp to Sydney’s Chequers Nightclub

Krystyna Kurzydlo was six-and-a-half when she arrived in Australia in 1950. Her Polish parents had been forced labourers of the German Nazi regime during World War II, and were anxious to escape from Europe. They spent years after the war moving from one "displaced persons" camp to another before finally being accepted by Australia. Krystyna's parents - Tomasz and Zofia - had hoped to go to America, but her father's illiteracy prevented that, and Australia seemed the best chance for the family. Australia wanted cheap labour and population growth, but it also wanted to restrict its…

Continue ReadingKrystyna’s dancing journey from Greta Migrant Camp to Sydney’s Chequers Nightclub
Read more about the article Chequers, a swinging hotspot in sixties Sydney
Outside Chequers nightclub, Sydney, September 14, 1963

Chequers, a swinging hotspot in sixties Sydney

A few years ago, while rummaging in a Newcastle antique shop, I found a box of photographic negatives that seemed to contain interesting images. I bought them, took them home and scanned them. I was surprised and interested to discover that they were mostly photographs of Sydney's famous Chequers nightclub, taken by an unknown photographer in the 1960s. I read a little about Chequers and found that it was owned by Keith and Denis Wong, members of a well-known Sydney family active in the entertainment scene over a number of years. The Wongs also are reported…

Continue ReadingChequers, a swinging hotspot in sixties Sydney
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