Howdy all, When I was growing up in Auburn in the 60's there were a few places around. On one side of the railway station there was the 'Monte Cristo Cafe' with its red and green neon sign. They only had two machines at any one time but this is where I played all the great wedgeheads of that time ... Buckaroo, Ice review, Bank A Ball, Sweethearts, Sweet Sioux (2 or 4 player?) and more... On the other side of the tracks was 'Sam's Milkbar' where he had 3 machines side by side, as well as a couple of Bally Bingos 'in the back room'... the other notable venue in Auburn at that time was this .... opposite St Joseph's Hospital was a small general store type shop which had just one, lone pinball....would you believe it was the famous woodrail, "Daisy May". We thought it was just the easiest machine to get a replay on....from memory, when you let the ball drain between the flippers, then this lit one of the top rollovers for 'Special'. You could get 2 or 3 free games per game just by doing this!! There were other milkbar type shops in Nth Auburn (Silverwater) as well. With its name, I've often wondered what 'Silverwater' must have looked like before the days of Sims Scrap Metal, Shell Oil, and all the other big polluters had moved in and taken over that suburb. I can tell you that as ordinary at that suburb may seem, it's now a hell of a lot better than it was in the days when business used the river as its personal dumping ground.
The other fantastic pinnie parlour was the famous 'Crystal Palace' in George St Sydney, where they had 21 full sized snooker tables, as well as many pinball machines and Bally Bingos.......what a wonderful place that was. It's been so long since those days that it seems like another lifetime ago when I think back to the mid 60's. ...once a pinball fan, always a pinball fan I reckon. Cheers, Mark
Mark, the Milkbar on the Parramatta side of Auburn station ( nearest the station) I remember Flash and strikes and spares. I think there was also a Stern Dracula in later times! They were great and I played every day on the way to and from school.
J.D.
