RECOLLECTIONS OF DON AND MARGARET CAREY.

“ Don Hauser, lifelong Printer, Researcher, Writer and Publisher of his book “The printers of the streets and lanes of Melbourne” chatted to me generously on the phone and put me in touch with Don Carey one of the last surviving printers, of the Barker & Co. Reg and Peter Sheen era.

Donald Carey and his wife Margaret Carey remembered the pneumatic belt driven printing press and paper forming machines. The printing business was upstairs at Little Lonsdale St and Eagle alley corner, with a Furniture-making business downstairs.

Don remembers two brothers, Bill and Ken Hudson being in charge of the factory, and Reg Sheen as a trusting decent employer. Margaret remembers her husband Don often brought home boxes of pages to be collated into books, which “he and I did walking round and round the table to get them done in time.” They both remember the imposing office manager “Ronnie” who sat at the top of the stairs as you entered the factory area. Marg wrote “ I have memories of walking down the little lane way off Lt Lonsdale St to the front door and then up some very rickety wooden stairs to a very gloomy office where a stern faced lady was “in charge”. Behind the office door was a large warehouse full of different printing presses and amazing old memorabilia which was still in full use at the time. Don left the company possibly in the late 70s going to Mercedes Printing in Clifton Hill and then it moved to Ringwood. He retired in 2000 and is now 88 years old”. (Email correspondence with Marg Carey Nov.2023)

Don remembers, Reg Sheen as a wonderful business operator who managed the business but completely trusted his employees, and Printers to apply their Expertise as they knew best.

“Cakoes” the patty pan business, was one half of the factory floor- pumping out hundreds and hundreds of plain patty pans in the 1960’s and 1970s— Don remembers maybe 12 Women working the machines in this section remembers making paper plates and patty pans. Pneumatic powered machine that pushed paper into ‘possibly brass’ dies to form the patty shapes- in incredibly powerful and unforgiving mechanical devices which again you had to work around carefully..

Don Carey trained and worked in both traditional hand selected type setting and the ‘modern’ Linotype Printing Machine; a device that had magazines of type faces, metal versions of what computer uses might call ‘fonts’, that had to be typed in on a keyboard to make the selected letters slot into a metal “slug” which went into a “Galley" to form the printable master..(or something wondrous sounding to me!) The traditional printing required taking typefaces out of a type case, arranging for printing - The “typecase” was a like a delicate little tiny window box of small compartments“pigeon holes” in a wooden tray like in this photo below, Don still remembers selecting the Uppercase letters from the right side of the tray and the lowercase from the left side….(photo of typecase as once used by Don to the right of this text panel)

Don, Wally Wagner and Brian Classon were the three managers who ran different departments ..sales, Cakoes and production. Don worked in sales for the company in later years, travelling around Victoria and meeting with lots of businesses then in St Kilda Rd.

Don also made and flew two small two stroke 350 horsepower early airplanes. The single seater Luton Minor was built from original plans and had a 35hp Praga motor whilst the two seater KitFox (was built from a kit) and took roughly 10 years to complete“Luten Minor”. Don recounted a wonderful story about a Lord Casey, (the Governor General of Victoria 1965-69)attending one of the test flights of his planes. He was very impressed but when asked if he wanted to fly it , the quick response was something like “oh lord no! not me no Thank you.”

Retired and younger printers still have a Papyrus Club which has been meeting two or three times a year for the last few decades…. Brian Longmore, also a retired printer, organises this..

Recollection from Jo Fletcher

“Once our grandfather George Barker took me for a drive in his large leather upholstered, cigar smelling, flash new black Humber. He drove through what,  seemed to me back then, as wild mysterious industrial  inner suburbs of Melbourne. Eventually we arrived at what must have been a factory, but appeared to me more like some special  magical world, of which I could see my Grandfather was extremely proud. I was shown firstly to his office, more cigar smells seeping out of heavy dark furniture, that poked out here and everywhere throughout the cluttered room . There were clouds of paper, paper of all types everywhere ; office business documents and, works in progress and finished samples of  printed products for kitchens and parties.Then I was taken into a room on the factory floor and introduced to a bevy of “lovely ladies”, as George might have referred to them, neatly presented in their trim pinafore uniforms perhaps resembling diner waitresses rather than factory workers. These women were busy sorting, stapling, assembling packages of things like  cake wrappers, party hats and novelty items, many with shiny foil, embossed in Kimono like patterns.The large table they bustled around was totally covered with such a vast quantity and assortment of incredibly beautiful colours and patterns that left me with an indelible influence and inspiration. Unfortunately I do not remember seeing any of the new machines or printing presses on this visit.After the factory tour the outing ended with another first time experience for my young self;  afternoon tea at the Windsor (or perhaps the Menzies hotel? ) , where I was allowed chips with tomato sauce!!! …while George chatted with business colleagues or compatriots.”      A recollection from Josephine Fletcher, granddaughter of George Barker of Barker and Co, manufacturers and designers of  Cakoes and other printed products

Description tRecollection from myself, Paul Fletcher

“The  company of Barker and Co,  Cakoes Patty pans and other food packaging, cake decorations, books and booklets was a part of my childhood. The original director of the company and proud owner of more than one cardboard container invention and patent, Mr Edmund George Barker, was I only recently realized, where my middle name came from, being my birth mothers dad and thus my grandfather. I briefly stayed with Mr Edmund George Barker and his wife Verna Joan, after my birth mum Audrey Joan’s death when I was about two years old. I only have a vague intense somewhat oppressive memory of this, more of a feeling than any images or details. Understandably no doubt was a sad time for all.  

One strange memory I  do have is of a present I received from the Barker’s perhaps on my third birthday.  I was given a a book of  Cakoes printing  samples, including cake friezes(decorative frilly bright coloured papers and foil to decorate your cakes with) and other printed samples, most likely including patty pans- I complained  adamantly and somewhat bitterly, in my still forming language , “this is just rubbich”, I can only guess maybe I was envious of the brand new doll, Barkers & Co childrens storybook or whatever my sister  got for her birthday present! My newly adopted loving mum , apparently quickly smuggled the book samples, away to the nearest bin and bought me a more fitting toy car or some other age appropriate gift… Alas what I would do to see this book of samples now.. ! Quite possibly influenced by these experiences I remember through primary school years being fascinated with inventing new products and making advertising images, cartoons and slogans for them.

.With any luck this might be the longest piece of writing from me,  as I wish to predominantly use animation, sound, video and actual object making…maybe even a cake or two as my medium for illuminating and provoking curiosity in the State Library’s “Barker & Co Decorative Patty Pan Collection”.      A recollection from Paul Fletcher, grandson of George Barker of Barker and Co, manufacturers and designers of  Cakoes and other printed products .