Page 153 - Bulletin 17 2013

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His plea fell on deaf ears and the shed was demolished. Pettersen also wrote to complain that a

lavatory with water borne sewerage was being installed, outside and facing his front door, for the
cottages below, occupied by ‘Malay fishermen’. He ended up by saying “I dare say Dear Sir,

you would not like it”. This also fell on deaf ears although it was agreed the toilet would be
screened. Thus we can see progressive improvements slowly taking place in Die Dam.

The vacant land in front of the cottages was bought from the Smits by Thomas Cutting in 1862.

His widow Elizabeth Rachel’s estate sold it Maks and Harris Schechter in 1912 for £89. Maks

and Harris were Ukrainian Jews who also had other major property interests in Windsor Road. It
was Harris who set off the ruckus in 1920 when he got permission from Council, in the face of

an uproar from residents, to build his short-lived fish processing building in Windsor Road. In

1922 the Schechter brothers built the houses we see today and the shop now known as the Potters
Shop in Lever Street. (Fig. 3.33.)

Lever Street

This building has been occupied by various small shops over the years, often Indian owned, and

selling the basics to the community around Die Dam. One of them was Osman Dawood. In 1925

Dawood was reported to the authorities by Harris Schechter and an inspection showed that he
was storing 30 cases of paraffin and 12 cases of petrol at the back of the shop. In the days before

petrol stations this was a common and highly dangerous practice. A fire would have destroyed
the whole block - as a petrol fire had done in 1917 when it destroyed the predecessor of the

Olympia Building. In 1940 someone called A. Cader was listed as a general dealer at this shop

and he was known to all in the area as Ali Baba.

Moving along Lever Street towards Belmont Road, past the Washhouse, is a narrow house built
by the well known builder Charles McCarthy. There was a dispute with Council as it was found

that he had built part of the house on Council land. He, of course, proclaimed his innocence and

offered a rent of £1 a year. It was only 46.5 square feet and Council sold it to him for £4. Next to
McCarthy’s building is ‘Terenure’, originally a thatched roof single storey building. (Figs. 3.26

& 3.34.)