© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Dancing

Read more about the article I owe my life to the Palais Royale
The Palais, as I remember it, in the 1980s. Norm Barney collection.

I owe my life to the Palais Royale

I owe my life to the Palais Royale. That's because my parents, like those of a substantial number of people of my vintage in Newcastle, NSW, met at that famous former music and dance venue. In my own youth in the 1980s the Palais was, as far as I was concerned, just another venue for loud music, expensive drinks and tense nights of standing in dark, crowded corners forlornly hoping to meet the girl of my dreams while also trying to stay out of the way of aggro drunks. It was different for my parents. In…

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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
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