History gets a real shake as it is 80 years today since a first milk bar opened

• by: MELISSA MATHESON
• From: The Sunday Telegraph
• November 04, 2012

Photograph: Emma Kavanagh makes a milkshake. Picture Toby Zerna Source The Daily Telegraph

It marked the start of the "milkshake revolution" - the opening of Sydney's first milk bar triggered a lasting love affair with the mouth-watering drink.
Now, 80 years on, the "old-fashioned" corner store is still a one-stop shop for many, with the milkshake holding its own against a variety of beverages.

In the golden days, the milkshake was promoted as "health food", with its combination of milk, chocolate, dried fruit and essence.

Macquarie University historian Leonard Janiszewski said the Black and White Milk Bar opened in Martin Place in November, 1932, and soon there were 4000 milk bars in Australia.

"The most popular was the bootlegger punch milkshake and it basically had a dash of rum essence in it.

"This was the Depression, and the majority of working people in the cities and towns were men, not women. The majority of them would go to the pub, but it was much cheaper to go to the milk bar."

It all started with Joachim Tavlaridis, a Greek migrant better known as Mick Adams, who opened a chain of Black and White Milk Bars across the country after adopting the US model of "pomp and ceremony" for store openings.

Mr Janiszewski credits him with introducing a new form of quick economics to food production, which saw the milk bar craze spread to New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

"He had a magical cow with calf in the front window and you could pump milk from it, which was really white-coloured oil," he said.
"He had to extend the milk bar within two weeks of opening and every two hours they had to deliver milk."

While the Black and White store no longer exists, many of Sydney's historic milk bars are still serving customers after more than half a century.

Tim Downs and Doug Battye bought Parry's Milk Bar in Caringbah in 2004. It had previously been run for almost 40 years by Peter and Bill Cassimatis.

"I had one of my first dates here when I was 15 or 16," Mr Downs said.