by Paul Amy
Port Phillip Leader
"WE'VE only got sausage rolls left, love," Joan Round said as the Leader approached the Port Melbourne canteen last Saturday.
We were seeking not fare, but a photo of the ladies who prepare and serve it in Borough land.
They are a hardy bunch.
Together, the women have put in more than 300 years of voluntary service to the club.
Joan Round, Heather Wale, Jean Schinck, Margaret Addicoat and Joyce Dermott (the mother of legendary 1970s and 80s defender Greg "Biff" Dermott) are Port Melbourne life members and proud of it. Jenny Tserkezidis and Dianne Perazzo are probably heading the same way.
For years Mrs Round oversaw the Port ladies' committee. The kiosk that flanks Williamstown Rd near the front gates has no boss, but she gives the orders.
Mrs Round has been at Port for almost 50 years.
"I lived opposite Mrs Murphy in Albert St," she explained.
"She was president of the ladies committee. One day I asked her if she needed a hand. She said yes and away I went.
"I started in the kiosk underneath the scoreboard. We don't use it any more. The spiders have taken it over!"
The hamburgers served in the Port canteen Borough Burgers are renowned in the VFL.
It was Mrs Round and Mrs Addicoat (the granddaughter of former club treasurer Joe Campbell) who started making them. Sourcing their meat from a butcher in Bay St, they would cook them on a barbecue and top them with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, beetroot and egg.
"They were a success from the start," Mrs Round said. On a good day, they would sell 40 dozen.
The ladies would also bake scones in the morning and serve milk coffee. Mrs Round can remember a man one day asking whether the scones were fresh. She answered by marching to the oven and giving him a hot one.
In the kiosk, the fare is pies, pasties, sausage rolls, hot dogs and sandwiches that the ladies prepare in the morning.
Keep it quiet, but Mrs Round likes a glass of beer after she's made the sangas.
"One does me," she said. "There will always be someone who comes in and say, 'Hey, it's not 12 o'clock yet'. And I'll say, 'It is somewhere in the world'."
Port general manager Barry Kidd says the women save the club about $600 a week by working for nothing. "We're very lucky to have them," he said. For their efforts the ladies are invited to the presentation night and are taken out for dinner by president Peter Saultry. "We like helping the club," Mrs Round said. "We're Port through and through."
Note: Joan Round is no relation to Barry Round. "I'm too old to be his wife and not old enough to be his mother," is her stock reply.
Photo: Jason Edwards
L-R: Port kiosk ladies Joan Round, Jean Schinck, Jenny Tserkezidis, JoyceDermott, Dianne Perazzo, Margaret Addicoat and Heather Wale.
Last Modified on 21/01/2011 14:11