Sidney Maxwell YOUNG-LEE, 27 November 1927 – 4 February 2010 Sid was born on 27 November 1927 in Sydney’s Crown Street Women’s Hospital and was brought up in the inner city suburb of Ultimo. In those days Ultimo was home to impoverished workers and certainly wasn’t the attractive village it has morphed into in more recent times. Life was tough and, along with his younger brother Les, it was not uncommon for Sid to end the day either without food or only a slice of bread spread with dripping. It was during these times that Sid developed his strong sense of family and protective instincts. In 1941 at the age of 14, Sid started a carpentry apprenticeship with George Hudson Timber in Glebe, on the site currently occupied by the Glebe High School. This was during World War Two (1939 to 1945). The United States Army had a significant presence in nearby Pyrmont at the time and Sid was able to more than double his income making them freight pallets on overtime. Being paid by the pallet it was always a race to construct as many as possible in the time available. Each nail was tapped into the wood to get it started then given an almighty wallop to drive it right in. One night Sid managed to drive a nail through the web between his thumb and forefinger, securely nailing his hand to the pallet. He was most distressed when none of his colleagues would pull it out for him and he had to do it himself. This probably had a lot to do with his developing the fierce independence he displayed throughout the rest of his life. The wharves in Pyrmont were an incredible, if somewhat dangerous, playground for children and teenagers back then. The US Army had huge caches of armaments poorly guarded on the relatively unsecured wharves. While he always denied any direct involvement, Sid came home one afternoon to find that Les had purloined a 5 inch artillery shell from the wharves, knocked the projectile off with a hammer and poured the propellant into a galvanized steel bucket. Just as Sid entered the backyard Les dropped a match in the bucket. There was a huge flash and the bucket and the steel clothesline several metres above it melted, along with four eyebrows. They both went to bed that night without dinner and this time it wasn’t because there was no food in the house. After finishing his apprenticeship Sid entered the building industry where he rose through the ranks to eventually become the site manager on many landmark structures. Some of the notable achievements of his building career include: In the late 1950’s he worked extensively in Canberra and didn’t return there until 1989. Driving through Canberra at that time he asked where Lake Burley Griffin came from, it wasn’t there the last time he was in town. In the mid 1960’s he worked in Smiggin Holes in the snow. Weather conditions at the time were extremely poor and the workers did not have proper cold weather clothing or warm, waterproof boots. As would be expected Sid went to bat for the workers and demanded that management provide appropriate gear. They responded by sending boxes of snow ski boots, can you imagine trying to climb a ladder and work wearing them? In the 1970’s Sid coordinated the then largest single concrete pour in the southern hemisphere in a building owned by the ANZ Bank in St Peters. The logistics involved in this were incredibly complex but, as usual, Sid pulled it off without a hitch. This building has subsequently been demolished and a huge home unit complex currently occupies the site. In the 1970’s Sid was also involved in the construction of the huge highrise Housing Commission complexes in Redfern. While this style of housing has subsequently fallen out of favour it was groundbreaking technology in Australia at the time. Sid remained in the building industry until his retirement in the early 1990’s. For many years Sid’s mother Roma worked with, and was a close friend of Elsie Chin who had a daughter, Betty. Betty was subsequently to become the love of Sid’s life. Sid and Betty formed a close bond in 1947 and were eventually married on 28 October 1950. In the early days of their courtship Sid only had to travel from Ultimo to Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Unfortunately the Chin’s then moved to Maroubra and Sid’s only mode of transport at the time was a bicycle. To see his beloved Betty now required a return trip bicycle ride of around 30 kilometres. Following their marriage Sid and Betty lived in Jones Lane, Ultimo until the early 1950’s. They subsequently moved to 8 Taylor Street Glebe where they resided until around 1970. On 14 December 1951 Betty and Sid’s first child Bruce was born and on 26 November 1956 a second son Alan was born. In the 1960’s family holidays consisted of driving holidays to various locations originally in an old Volkswagen Beetle which, when it proved hopelessly inadequate to accommodate a family of four, was eventually replaced by a Morris Minor utility. The ute was equipped with a home made wooden canopy and Sid packed the back so that Bruce and Alan had a makeshift seat and could look through the back window of the cab. They still have vivid memories of the smell of burning brakes going down Bulli Pass. By the way, the smell of the burning clutch going back up wasn’t any better. The old Morris was finally replaced by a relatively new 1963 EJ Holden. This made holiday travel positively luxurious. In the early 1970’s Sid, Betty and family finally left Taylor Street and moved to 5 Frederick Street Ashfield the first house they ever owned. While living in Ashfield Sid bought his first new car, a 1972 HQ Holden. This was after Alan wrote off the EJ in the driveway, but that’s another story and you’ll have to ask him about that. The HQ was Sid’s first automatic. One afternoon Sid came home, drove 30 metres up the driveway and went inside the house. A few minutes later there was a knock at the front door and a stranger asked Sid if he owned a bronze HQ Holden. Sid replied “Yes I do, why?” Pointing over his shoulder the stranger said “Is that it?” Being used to a manual Sid had left the car in drive without the handbrake on. It had rolled the length of the driveway, through a gateway only 300mm (one foot) wider than the car, across a major road during peak hour traffic and stopped against a fence across the street. The only damage to the car was a small dent in the rear bumper bar. Anyway, two weeks later someone ran into the back of the car causing more damage and the entire bumper assembly was replaced as part of the repair. He was a lucky bugger sometimes. In the mid 1970’s Sid built a house in Blaxland for Bruce and his wife Robyn. This became a loving home for Bruce, Robyn and their children, Sid’s grandchildren, Rachel and Sarah. Rachel and Sarah subsequently had families of their own providing Sid with his great grandchildren, Jade, Jessie, Harry and Mitchell. The home at 5 Frederick Street was followed in 1977 by 26 Bold Street, Burwood and finally in 1987, 8 Clifton Avenue, Burwood. Following the loss of Betty on 18 May, 2002, Sid lost much of the meaning of his life. Even the tremendous joy provided by his grandchildren and great grandchildren couldn’t fully fill the void. One regular event for Sid was the Wednesday morning “Committee Meeting” with his sister in law Norma, brother in law Norman and lifelong friend Michael Evans. Together they set out to solve the problems of the world. It’s a pity the world didn’t listen really. The “Committee Meeting” was usually followed by Sid and Michael sharing a Subway sandwich in a little park on the Balmain Peninsular overlooking Darling Harbour. Sid loved that park, as well as the Subway sandwiches. If you had to describe Sid you would have to say he epitomised the term “good bloke”. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. He was selfless, caring and always put the needs of everyone else before his own. He didn’t have a bad word to say against anyone and would do anything for anyone without expectation of anything in return. While Sid enjoyed a long and mostly healthy life, his later years were impacted by the onset of Parkinson’s Disease. While the symptoms of Parkinson’s can be very debilitating, Sid fought the disease and managed to maintain his quality of life until near the end. In November 2009 Sid fell ill with what turned out to be a bowel obstruction. While the remedial surgery was largely successful, the advancement of his Parkinson’s, the trauma of the surgery and conflicts in the medications he needed to treat his underlying ailments eventually proved to be too much even for Sid and he passed away on 4 February 2010 closely supported by his loving family. The family would also like to express their profound thanks to the staff of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, particularly the wonderful people in Ward 8West1 who worked tirelessly and unceasingly to ensure that Sid was as comfortable and happy as possible during his prolonged stay there.

Tribute from Michael Evans Sid Young-Lee, together with his wife Betty, their two children Bruce and Alan, and all of the Chin family, have been my closest friends for more than sixty two years. Some would say a lifetime. Sid, an Australian born Chinese, was raised in the rough and tumble world of Glebe. He was always proud of his Chinese heritage, and fiercely protective of his family, especially his younger brother Leslie. He never took a backward step, and always followed his Grandfather’s advice - “to hit first, and to hit hard”! From the many stories he told me, his early life growing up in Glebe with his brother Les, was one full of adventure, and more often than not, misadventure. Sid was indentured to the trade of Cabinet Making and Carpentry, and became a skilled tradesman. He was highly regarded for the quality of his workmanship. He later put his unique skills and abilities into practice, as an on-site Supervisor in the building and construction industry. Following the death of his wife Betty, some eight years ago, he was a lost soul and almost lived his life as a recluse. During his latter years Parkinson’s Disease took a heavy toll on his life. Whilst he showed a brave face, there was always the underlying dread of what the future held for him. To me, Sid was a good mate, always willing to help wherever he could. He was an honest, kind and true gentleman to all who knew him. We will miss him, but he can rest assured we will not forget him. “May his soul rise up to Heaven before the Devil knows he’s dead”. Goodbye my Friend Michael