1920s Annandale

Book excerpt: 1920s Annandale was a busy place. There was the retail strip along Parramatta Road, the timber businesses on the harbour. In between, there were builders, fibrous plasterers, stonemasons and the Pictures. Confectionery, Jam, Pianos and Radios were all being made in Annandale. Though change was coming, motor vehicles were crashing into pedestrians and posts, and injuring their occupants. Annandale remembered those who did not return from the War. The "Angel of Durban" came to say hello to some who did. 1920s Annandale saw the transition of the suburb from an exclusive residential suburb into a thriving hub of innovation, industry and entertainment. The Rein Family new theatre showed silent movies, and later talkies. The Beale Piano business was thriving, Harringtons set up a factory and flats began to appear. An Annandale Builder boasted of constructing the largest block of flats in Sydney.