John McRae Photography & Studio

Chérie Désirée is a truly glamorous woman who is one of the luminaries you may meet along the streets of Rozelle. She absolutely captures my attention to the point that I asked her one day if she would pose for me. I wanted to capture her wonderful silhouette on film.

I first brought Cherie to my studio in Lilyfield to complete a studio shoot and capture a series of portraits. During this session, while we chatted,  I learned about Cherie’s remarkable dancing career and her life on the stage. She worked for many years touring in notable theatres around the country as a dancer and chorus performer. Originally from a small dairy farm in Queensland, this slender, good-looking woman left behind the rural life for a life under the spotlights. Once she told me that she had been a dancer, the rest made sense … the way Cherie held herself, those slender legs, her shimmering dress, her costume jewellery and her sense of style.

I also learnt that she fell in love with and married a handsome Italian singer called Filippo. Together they were the owners of several restaurant/nightclubs in Darlinghurst. One such club was called “El Bongo”, later known as “The Pink Pussycat”. This was situated on Darlinghurst Road in King Cross and was part of the infamous “Golden Mile” that people still talk so much about.

I thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of shots of Cherie in front of what was once one of her regular dancing venues. So we ventured to Kings Cross. I asked Cherie to pose in front of what was once El Bongo … sadly now just a vacant shop space, devoid of the dynamism and vibrancy it once had back in the day. This sad reality of a once vivid club-and-restaurant circuit now replaced by an empty and half-dead street, is extreme.

Cherie told me about how she would earn extra money to help pay for her sisters’ schooling, often dancing at three different clubs along the strip, all on the same night, moving from one stage to the next, covering up her costume with a coat as she hailed a cab or ran through the streets. I imagined her doing exactly that, her long legs running down the busy street as she made her way to the next venue. I also thought to myself what amazing stories this woman has in her kit bag, having spent so much time in a place which was notoriously “happening” during a period people still reminisce about.

Cherie added that she and her husband also owned another club in the area. They ran a restaurant/club on Oxford Street at the location which is now known as “Palms”. So I feel another shoot may happen soon not far from Taylors Square … maybe when the weather warms up.