For over a century, Easter has traditionally been the busiest time of the year at Gundagai's iconic Niagara Café.
It was especially hectic prior to the town's bypass in 1977, when Gundagai, the half-way point between Sydney and Melbourne, was a popular stop for many weary motorists travelling the old Hume Highway. There'd often be 100 people seated in the renowned eatery with queues three or four deep waiting to get in.
But this Easter all is quiet at the Gundagai landmark, with the doors firmly shut and black plastic plastered all over its distinctive curved glass windows.
However, inside it's a different story, with new owners Luke Walton and partner Kym flat-out putting the finishing touches on the refurbishment of the café which they hope to reopen next month.
The café was first opened in 1902 by enterprising Cytherian Greek immigrant Strati Notaras, but it was another Greek family, the Castrissions, who in 1919 purchased the café, renaming it the Niagara. Later, in 1938, the Castrissions transformed the Niagara into "Australia's wonder café" complete with glass art deco fountain bar and American-diner style booths.
Just before Easter, I was lucky to join Peter Castrission, whose father Jack and uncle Vic ran the café until the family sold it in 1983 to the Loukissas family (those Greeks certainly know how to run a café), for a sneak peek inside.
"It's back from the dead," says Peter, a grin wider than that on the Luna Park face as he approvingly glances around the revamped interior.
"It's so wonderful, I thought for sure it was dead and buried when the Loukissas family closed it and put it on the market a few years ago," he says. "It's so lucky Luke and Kim bought it - what they're doing is amazing."
Buying the Niagara wasn't something the Sydney couple ever planned to do, but they were genuinely concerned it would be lost.
"Over the years we'd stopped at the Niagara on the drive from Sydney to Melbourne and just loved the art deco features and recognised how rare these sorts of places are these days," says Luke. "We couldn't let it be gutted so we bought it."
The pair don't want to see themselves as martyrs. "Obviously, we also think it will be a successful business," explains Luke, who after acquiring the Niagara in June last year, immediately set about restoring the café.
While some short-sighted, less attentive renovators might simply add a lick of paint and and fix a few broken tiles, the dynamic duo have left no stone unturned in restoring the café to its former glory.
Even the old semi-domed ceiling that was once painted as a starry night scene, onto which lights would shine and that was lost in a fire in 1975, is being brought back to life in a similar shape. "Yeah, those replacement 70s floating panels that were put in after the fire had seen better days," says Luke.
"We also found a few rocket ships painted on the ceiling, but we couldn't remove them without destroying them, so we've left them there as a hidden treat for future custodians of this building to find," says Luke.
And before you ask, yes, that priceless fountain bar and Happy Days-style booths have also been retained. "We're restoring them as best we can as well".
While the new menu is yet to be finalised, I'm reliably informed it won't stray too far from past classics dished up here previously, like those devoured by a cavalcade of Australian prime ministers who've dined here over the years including Bob Menzies, Gough Whitlam and Billy Hughes.
"In the 1930s Billy Hughes often came in with his wife, he'd got to the toilet downstairs and then walk along the creek [that runs behind the main street] before enjoying a cup of tea and a Sao when back in the café," reveals Peter.
A long list of other luminaries popped into the Niagara during what Peter refers to as the café's heyday of the late 1950s to early 70s when "there were up to 14 waitresses working at any one time".
"Many a rock 'n' roller called in en route to gigs in Sydney and Melbourne," he explains. "I remember Sandy Scott of Bandstand TV show fame, walked in during the 1960s and gave everyone a gobful and thought he was somebody - the old man wanted to boot him out."
"It was the era of juke boxes, red FJs parked out the front, the bodgies and the widgies, milkshakes, sodas and hamburgers," recalls Peter. "There was also a steady stream of Pioneer buses that would stop, and their passengers would alight to be served three-course meals by waitresses in uniforms."
While Luke and Kim don't plan to rekindle the days of wait staff clad in vintage air hostess-style uniforms, they have enlisted young gun Kerrin Marshall, formerly of Canberra, to manage the café.
While Kerrin assures me "he can't wait to leave his mark on the Niagara", one person who won't be on his wait staff is Peter.
"I was briefly put on books at end of Year 10 in 1970 and was pretty ordinary at it," confesses Peter, who instead chose a different career path, working 40 years in the Department of Immigration.
But I've no doubt Peter will be one of the first to line up when the Niagara reopens later next month.
The time the PM came knocking for midnight munchies
It was just after midnight on a cold August evening in 1942, during the dark depths of World War II, when co-owner of the Niagara, Jack Castrission, received a knock on the door of the café.
"He'd just closed up was out in the kitchen cleaning up," recalls his son, Peter.
"When Jack went to the door, he thought it was one of the American officers - their troops often travelled through and they were always impeccably dressed," explains Peter.
"They'd always want ham with eggs sunny-side up and black coffee," explains Peter, adding, "it was like a little bit of home for them on the other side of the world."
However, when Jack opened the door and noticed four other men in a car parked out the front with Commonwealth number plate 1, he realised he was about to receive special guests.
The well-dressed chauffeur announced, "I've got four hungry men in the car - can we get a meal?"
Turns out the men were the prime minister of the time, John Curtin (1941-45), future PM Ben Chifley (1945-1949), past PM Arthur Fadden (1941) and Senator O'Sullivan who were returning from a morale boosting mission in the region.
"It was so bloody cold, so Dad invited them into the kitchen where they huddled around the fire while he knocked them up a feed of steak and eggs washed down with a cup of tea," reveals Peter.
Jack, realising that he had half the war cabinet in his kitchen, bemoaned that his war-time rations of 12.7kg of tea per month was inadequate. O'Sullivan, who was minister responsible for rationing, made a special note and for the rest of the war the Niagara's tea ration was raised to 45kg per month.
As for Curtin, apparently he returned several more times to the café, and on one occasion secretly shouted a group of rowdy Australian troops their lunch.
WHERE IN THE REGION?
Rating: Medium
Cryptic clue: Major William was here
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email sent after 10am, Saturday April 16, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
Last week: Congratulations to Tony Corp of Curtin who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as "indigenous artwork which changes this somewhat mundane and utilitarian substation near (north) Curtin Playing Fields into an object of beauty and acclaim". Tony just beat Jan Hutchison of Curtin to the prize.
A SIGN OF THE TIMES
There are many wonderful photos of the Niagara Café, each capturing a moment in history, none more so than this 1940 beauty featuring both the Greek Flag and the Union Jack flying proudly on the roof.
"Standing out the front is James (Jim) Castrission, my dad's eldest brother and one of the founders of the Niagara Café, and what appears to be a 1929 Dodge sedan," explains Peter Castrission.
According to Peter, the caption, in his dad's handwriting, reads: "1940 Greek victory (Albania) 7000 prisoners taken", and was likely taken at the actual time of the World War II battle in December 1940.
If you look closely, you can also make out the vintage neon sign which is currently being restored.
"A crane lifted it down, then the glass components were carefully removed before the sign carcass was shipped to Sydney for restoration," explains new owner of the Niagara, Luke Walton. "It hasn't been working for many years, but most of the glasswork seems to be intact, so we hope it can be fully repaired by replacing the old transformers and repainting the sign."
CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, PO Box 186, Fyshwick, ACT, 2609
