Off the Record: Ken comes through with the goods on our history mystery, and the media catches royal fever

KEN COMES THROUGH Back in March, Off the Record asked readers to help solve a history mystery. It involved a tiny building, less spacious than many walk-in wardrobes, that stands barely 100m from Albany courthouse on Lower Stirling Terrace. One of Albany’s smallest structures, it houses one of our sharpest legal minds. Lawyer and former magistrate Liz Hamilton uses it as her office. “I say with a degree of humour that it is the smallest law office in the world,” Ms Hamilton told OTR in March. While we could speculate about past uses of the space, neither OTR nor our learned friend knew of its exact origins. Ms Hamilton knew it had been used as an art gallery before she moved in. Beyond that, the theories ranged from a night station for railway workers to public toilets. After putting out a call for help in the March 3 edition, it was time to sit back and wait for the phone to start running hot. Cue the crickets — and the tumbleweed. Amateur sleuths weren’t exactly banging down the door to present their findings, and as the months passed, OTR forgot all about it. But two weeks ago, 92-year-old Ken Paterson ambled into Newspaper House, having made the trip into the city from his home in Porongurup. Mr Paterson regaled OTR with tales of his life at sea as a ship’s engineer. After getting his qualifications in London, he travelled the world, passing through just about every major shipping canal bar the Corinth in Greece. He continued working into his elderly years, using his know-how to repair farm machinery until the age of 88. But the reason this fascinating man had come into the Advertiser office on York Street was because he knew something about Ms Hamilton’s office. Some 70 years ago, before he embarked on his life on the open ocean, he used to drive trucks for Vacuum Oil, the predecessor to Mobil. After picking up his cargo from the fuel depot, he would drive to the tiny building on Lower Stirling Terrace, which was used as Vacuum Oil’s office and check point. Once checks were complete, it was time for him to hit the road in a Dodge Fargo bound for Borden and Amelup. Working from 6am-9pm five days a week, his trips were harder on the way back to Albany when the empty drums wanted to shift around on gravel roads. Now, it might be that this tiny building was used for something else before it became a Vacuum Oil office and check point — and if so, feel free to let us know. But for the time being, OTR’s thirst for answers has been quenched. It’s nice to know Mr Paterson got something out of it as well — a reminder of years gone by and a chance to share his memories with the community. “It’s quite good to see that building is still here because it’s just a little bit of history, I suppose,” Mr Paterson said. “We so easily lose our modern history.” MEDIA’S ROYAL FEVER Around the same time Mr Paterson was driving a Dodge Fargo for Vacuum Oil, Queen Elizabeth II was visiting Albany for the first time. It was March 30, 1954, and Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh drew thousands to our city from across the region. You might think media outlets have lost the plot these days with some of the stories they pump out as part of their royal coverage. In some cases, OTR might agree. But a look back into the archives shows coverage of the monarchy 70 years ago also had its highs and lows. The April 2 edition of the Advertiser had a total of 12 pages, which included 13 stories about the Queen. There were stories on the front page and stories on the back page. These ranged from long and colourful accounts of the royal couple’s whirlwind visit to small pieces about a mishap or the Queen’s fashion choices. “Duke stumbles on leaving plane,” says one headline on a two-sentence story at the top of page two. “Leaving the plane behind Her Majesty, the Duke stumbled and momentarily lost his balance, dropping his hat. He had recovered in a second and came down the steps smiling broadly,” the Advertiser reported. Compelling stuff. OTR can just imagine the Facebook comments that one would generate in 2022.