The Olympia Files

The Olympia Files, part 3

When I learned in 2013 that the mysterious Olympia Milk Bar had been associated with a neighbouring roller skating rink in the 1960s, it fired my imagination. This forgotten part of Sydney's cultural history should be commemorated, celebrated, documented.

The owner of the milk bar was implacably reticent. Perhaps the former manager of the roller skating rink would allow me to interview him and make my planned video documentary a viable proposition.

It wasn't hard to find Tony Stevens' phone number, and he invited me to his house at George's Hall, next to Bankstown airport.

Tony on Macquarie Street in 1975.

Tony, it turns out, was only too keen to re-enter the limelight. He served tea and iced vo-vo biscuits, and told me the story of his disabled son, who had since died. I told him that I, too, was raising a child with disabilities, who was then in high school. Tony was energised by this revelation. He said he wanted to revive his organisation to promote the combined causes of roller skating and disabled people, and appoint me to the post of “Public Officer”.

I told him I wasn't up for it, but he was still happy to do the documentary. He showed me photos of the period. Some of them were photocopies, others were proof sheets (like thumbnail images). He said he had the high-quality copies and many more photos in storage.

We went to the back of his property where two aluminium sheds stood. One of them was full to the rafters with piles of documents and folders. There was only a small space near the door where one could access the interior of the shed.

Tony suggested I come back in a fortnight, and he would have more for me.

When I returned, I wasn't surprised that the mammoth task of sorting his info-hoard had not commenced. But one photo he did unearth showed a theatrical performance in the Olympia, staged by the American Roller Derby skaters touring Australia. It looked like a drag show. It turned out that the sport had a high concentration of gay athletes.

Tony told me that the young performer in the photo was Gary Johnston, a talented skater who had gone on the become the very successful founder of the Jaycar chain of electronics stores. He was rich and famous!

Once again Tony suggested I come back in a fortnight and then he would be interviewed; a pattern was emerging. But Tony loved being on camera, and after several visits he eventually relented, and his memories were recounted on camera.

He also met me at State Parliament House on Macquarie Street, where he did a re-enactment of his publicity campaign, setting up banners, chatting to passers by, and roller skating like a demented pensioner amongst the traffic. Then in his 80s, he was getting around with the aid of a walking stick by that time, although he still skated expertly with cane in hand.

I did a rough cut of my mini-documentary and sent the link to Gary Johnston, along with a request for him to also be interviewed.

Gary phoned me back. He was very generous with his time and his advice. “I wish you well, but don't want to take part in your project,” he told me. “Also, I advise you to to tread carefully when you're dealing with Tony Stevens. He's a sociopath. When he was involved in local government he was a serial pest and he made a lot of enemies. A few years ago he approached me and asked for money. He was very belligerent, and I don't want to have anything more to do with him.”

Ouch.

Around the same time there was a reunion for roller skaters from the old days, to be held on the site of the former Sefton Skateland, the rink Tony had established after the demise of the Olympia. The lovely Janice Rowe, a skater from the Olympia's golden era, was coming down from Queensland to take part. Alas, I was working on that day and couldn't take up this opportunity to mine a rich seam of memory.

I had one last, and very long shot to achieve my goal. I took an ipad into the Olympia and showed my rough cut to Mr Fotiou. He chuckled when it got to the bit of Tony Stevens skating up and down Macquarie Street. It was, indeed, a pleasure to see him smile. Then he firmly but politely said he did not want to take part.

Dispirited, I decided to cut my losses. I finished the video with the material I had. It was a bit of a tribute to Tony in the end. I left out the criticisms of his public activities. The small satisfaction of shedding light on a largely forgotten bit of history was diminished somewhat, because I had been unable to tell the full story, including the darkest and brightest aspects of it.

Below: protests to keep the Olympia open, including a Harbour Bridge Skate, and a skateathon, featuring trade union leader Jack Mundey (not skating, turns out he was human after all!)

Janice and other young skaters from the era had spoken glowingly of Tony. The Olympia and subsequent rinks Tony had set up had been a field of dreams for countless young Sydneysiders. On the other hand, there was Gary Johnston's blunt assessment of Tony's personality.

I had found Tony to be rather intense. He could be both demanding and generous. His self-published memoir was full of tales of conflict and accusations of corruption. Then there was his unapologetic celebration of gambling, both legal and illegal.

Recalling the Olympia in the 60s, Gary told me he had put that part of his life behind him. That might have been his biggest mistake. Roller skating makes everything all right.

In the end, I had no regrets about my brief association with Tony Stevens. It was about as wild a ride as you could expect to be taken on by an 83 year old man. I hope I've treated him fairly in this account. Like Nick Fotiou, he had endured some terrible traumas in his early life. Both men had found ways of coping with those traumas – one was gregarious and lived a life in public, the other was intensely private and shut himself into a world which he steadfastly refused to change.

Tony Stevens died in 2019. The Olympia Milk Bar shut its doors in 2017. Gary Johnston died unexpectedly in 2021. Nick Fotiou, the great survivor of this story, died in 2023.

Post script:

In a fit of righteous opposition to technocratic tyranny, I deleted my youtube account a few years ago. Then I had a hard drive crash, and all my Olympia video, including the documentary, was lost! There are plenty of other videos of Tony and the Olympia Milk Bar online. One of them shows Tony returning to Sefton in his 90s, and roller skating with the aid of a walking frame!

Last year the following was posted to social media by an anonymous contributor with connections to the new owners of the Olympia Milk Bar. If their plans bear fruit, it could end up being a sort of museum, but I hope it eventuates.

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1. Upon purchase the new owner carefully kept and put in storage all items that were still in working order. i.e.: The come in for tea sign The many intact posters The hand written reciept on back of cigarette packets The small personal belongings left The relic old stoves and shop items Old menus Old cutlery and milk shake cups Pieces of the original ceiling to match the pattern And anything else that could be salvaged
2. After this. A rubbish removal team came through to make safe the area. The rubbish was just that. -8 cubic metre bins full of old wine bottles. There was a pile of drunk wine bottles nearly touching the ceiling. The pile was actually holding up part of the roof and upon removal the roof collapsed further. -6 mattresses -Furniture items with mushrooms growing out of them that fell apart when being lifted
3. rubbish and cardboard which was a fire risk
4. makeshift steel guttering that Mr Fotou must have fashioned himself as when it rains each wall forms a beautiful internal waterfall so he has redirected this with an intricate maze of old gutters to funnel outside. All mostly rusted out
5. a rifle…. That the inner west police kindly came and collected
6. Upstairs was thankfully mostly empty as the floor is so eaten by white ants that the upstairs walls are separated from the external walls and caving into floor. Any movement would result in the floor collapse.
7. The new owner has temporarily supported the floor until council could see the extend of the damage.
8. The council and heritage has visited site in its current condition and understands the requirements to get it back to its former glory. Happily the council and new owner have been working together to achieve the common goal.
9. The goal for council AND the new owner. Restore Olympia back to its former glory! Have a time warp shop to honour not only Olympia and Mr fotou but an era that existed before internet trolls and tall poppy syndrome. A place you can go to get a coffee (no takeaway! If you can’t take the time to sit and have a coffee then there are many other takeaway places) Milkshakes Tea As it was. Maybe a little healthier with the confectioneries….

The Olympia files, by Jon Flynn: @AvonVilla@aus.social Please keep this post in the fediverse or similar free platforms. Don't allow it to be used for engagement algorithms, advertising, money-making, and surveillance capitalism.