Elizabeth's Salon

A Hairdressing Salon at Fiveways

After completing a five-year apprenticeship, Elizabeth Stumer opened a hairdressing salon at the Five Ways, East Ipswich in 1963. She called it Elizabeth’s. Her apprenticeship had involved regular trips to Brisbane for art classes and training in wig-making, facials and manicuring. Today, these are separate diplomas, but they were part of a hairdressing apprenticeship in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Fiveways was quieter in those days. There were no traffic lights. Eric Foote and his apprentice Col Dwyer worked in the butcher shop on the corner of Chermside Road and Brisbane Street, and on the other side of the salon, in Glebe Road, Peter and Helen Marendy had a corner store. The Girls Grammar School is still diagonally opposite Elizabeth’s, and students came for haircuts in their lunch hour or after school. Across the road from Marendy’s was another corner store, run by Mr and Mrs Dave Thompson. Peter studied the movements of Elizabeth’s apprentices and the schoolgirls and was displeased whenever they patronised the opposition.

In 2010, Elizabeth noted changes she had seen in 50 years of hairdressing. Clients used to have weekly appointments for ‘sets’, and because these were often at the same time each week, having their hair done was a social occasion for tennis ladies, bridge ladies and the like. And for business girls who came after work. Perms (permanent waves) were needed to keep styles in shape, and these lasted for months. The weekly set involved the hairdresser shampooing the customer’s hair, winding it around plastic rollers, and drying it under a helmet-like appliance that swung out from the wall or stood on a wheeled shaft. When the curlers were removed, the hair was styled—backcombed (‘teased’) to create extra volume or height—pinned, and then sprayed to maintain its shape. Women might do a comb-up in front of the bathroom mirror during the week, but they did not shampoo between sets. Elizabeth observed that salon visits now happen perhaps only every six weeks for a cut or colour, and for special occasions. Customers are more likely to wash and style their hair at home, using straightening irons and the many hair products available. She also noted that, originally, hair colour and other products were not the money-makers they have become.

Ball season was a special time. Women demanded elaborate styles that required lots of teasing, braiding and hairspraying. They were very competitive and kept their styles secret. These appointments often took longer than expected, and men paced back and forth on the footpath, waiting for partners to emerge. He had to admit she looked beautiful, but they were late for pre-ball drinks.

One of Elizabeth’s clients was Joy Chambers, who was born in Ipswich in 1947 and lived nearby, in Idolwood Street. Television tycoon Reg Grundy spotted Joy when she was working as a model after winning the inaugural Miss Surf Girl competition in 1965. He signed her up and she worked from 1967 to 1972 as a panellist on Grundy’s popular game show, I've Got A Secret. Elizabeth ensured Joy’s hair was teased and sprayed to perfection. Those beehive hairdos and massed curls no doubt contributed to the two Logie Awards for Most Popular Female Personality in Queensland that Joy won during this period. Joy married Grundy in 1971 and went on to appear in numerous shows, including Everybody's Talking, The Celebrity Game, Graham Kennedy’s Blankety Blanks, The Young Doctors and Neighbours.

Hairstyles, like clothes, makeup and jewellery, reflect the mood considered fashionable at any given time. In the 1970s, long hair was fashionable. Those who opted for short hair favoured the ‘shaggy coconut’ cut or a geometric style. A blow-dry produced the Lady Diana ‘flick’ that was popular in the 1980s. Lioness cuts and curling wands, ‘afros’ and afro combs, mullets and pageboys, foils and streaks all had their day while Elizabeth was behind the chair. She believed the classic bob was as popular in the 2010s as it was in the 1970s, as was the 1960s ponytail. She expected to be seeing more eco-friendly products.

Some things never change—women want to keep up with fashion, enjoy being pampered, and strive to look their best. Despite the changes, Elizabeth recommended hairdressing as a profession. ‘I love hairdressing and have felt great satisfaction and pleasure working together with my apprentices and have found the best method of teaching is by example. And lots of practice.’

Elizabeth Ann Stumer died in 2016, aged 74. A visit to the hairdresser had ceased to be a social occasion but customers enjoyed Elizabeth’s conversation as she attended to their tresses. Seated in unique hip-hugging chairs she had sourced from a Gold Coast venue, with vintage hairdryers hanging overhead, they were surrounded by antique furniture in a salon that was unlike any other. Elizabeth’s still trades at the Fiveways.