Page 30 - RD_2015_12

…....A History By Noel Kerr

Today, when the best available seats STS was the brain-child of Ms Val the theatres. Soon, teens and school
for a show are a phone call or a few Hellier. Val and a couple of friends had children were recruited for this time
key strokes away, it’s quaint to just come out of the army and noticed consuming work. By the 1960s, STS
remember that in the 1950s, unless one in civilian life that there were shortages had negotiated block bookings at most
had a friend working in town, an and queues for almost everything. theatres.
advance trip was required to collect the Prompted by a Bette Davis movie in Newsletters were sent to regular
tickets, especially if it was for a night which Bette ran a service locating items clients advising them of updated and
out with a special girl. Yes, it was for busy people, they took out a small new services - running dinner parties,
possible to ring the theatre and reserve office in an arcade in Flinders Street. collecting racing dividends, rail
seats, or use a city agency such as bookings, city shopping, typing, floral
Allans, but as a decision to go to the tributes, phone messages, purchasing
city was not usually planned far ahead, show-bags, messenger service, baby
rarely were these seats in a good sitting, even crayfish delivery - any
position, especially if it was a live service request was at least considered.
show. There had to be a better way, and STS was accredited as the advertising
there was. It was a business called Save representative for the New York Herald-
Time Service. Tribune. STS staff became experts at
STS could guarantee good seats in shifting parked cars, taking small
all city theatres for a 10 percent children to parties, ordering the cocktail
commission. Phone early enough and frankfurts and delivering them. They
the tickets would be posted out, even had one order to supply seamless
otherwise they could be collected at the piping!
theatre. Great news! Perhaps influenced by their first
As a single man I could afford the client, and determined to have better
commission and be saved the extra trip luck, the staff developed their own
to and from the city. Not only that, but racing system. It worked for eight
I could book tickets up to one day weeks, then they lost a sizeable amount
before the show and still get good seats. in one unlucky plunge. They decided
I had used the STS service for years. The early brains of STS. From left: that future betting was to be strictly
Could they still exist after all this time, Dora Carr, Val Hellier and Marie Carr. arms-length, for clients only.
in a market seemingly dominated by Val’s father John Hellier and her
new services? I decided to find out. STS began with the three partners. brother joined STS. By the 1970s the
Barbara answered my call. “Yes, we It took six months to get the telephone firm had 14 phone operators, 60,000
certainly are still in business. As a connected. MU4841 was the lifeline of customers on their books, of whom
matter of fact Mr. Daniel Cobb, has just the service. Skeptical friends made about 10,000 were active customers.
taken over, the first new owner since prank calls, asking for items such as Now, strong competition has pared their
the business started in 1946.” Mr. Cobb second-hand coffins or an elephant. base to about 7000 customers. Growth
was enthusiastic about the future, and The first genuine caller asked one of is expected due to a revamp of the
he invited me to call in to talk about the the girls to go to Caulfield racecourse system. Today the ticket commission is
history of the business. to lay a bet. She
did, but the
client lost his
money.
At first,
theatre tickets
were purchased
by the staff, who
queued like
anyone else at

A Bette Davis role was said to be the
inspiration for STS. The film was possibly
The Man Who Came to Dinner, in which
Davis played a put-upon secretary.

30 2005 CINEMARECORD