Des and Christina Wilkes ran the Commercial for most of the year, while EJ spent time on his distant property at Freemount.
Gran Wilkes (Christina Power/Wilkes) was running the house side of it, which was considerable, a big job. Gran Wilkes and I ran the book and took a few bets and I had £800 in the bank and showed it to Dad, and one morning in January he said ‘do you ever think of going back and finishing your course?’ and I said ‘You can’t do without me’ and he said ‘Yes we can’. So (in 1928) I went straight back to Sydney, and did third year in 16 days, working 16 hours a day. After I got through third year, I applied for a job in one of Sydney’s big firms and got it. That was Kershel, Mathews, Lang and Glasgow. I graduated in 1928 and in 1930 the depression struck. I was doing three years articles, of course, after I got my degree.

In 1929, Maureen married Ken Ford, and they moved to 22 The Boulevarde, Cammeray in Sydney. In 1931 EJ and Joan moved to Sydney and rented a flat in King’s Cross while Des was finishing his articles.

Joan Sykes attended the boarding school at Loreto Normanhurst, but did not enjoy Normanhurst so moved to Loreto Kirribilli, which she loved. She was a weekly boarder there, and spent her weekends at Ken and Maureen’s.

EJ, along with his three children, and Ken Ford, Maureen’s husband, witnessed the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in March 1932, with the procession of floats across the bridge.

I saw the arch joined (says Des) and on the day it opened there was a huge procession in which EJ Sykes, Joan and I walked across the bridge. She was at school then at Normanhurst …

In 1932 the family returned to Wentworth. EJ was re-elected as Mayor and Maureen acted as hostess in September 1932 when the Governor of NSW Sir Phillip Game stayed at the pub (see photos). They hosted the Governor’s party and a lovely time was had by all. At the Governor's Ball, Des Sykes met Isabel McLeod for the first time.

Having been admitted as a solicitor to practise in NSW, Des first worked in Broken Hill and then began his own practise in Wentworth. His income for the first year was £156, which was not so bad for a young man in those days. In due course he was in the fairly unique position of working as a solicitor in three states, having been admitted in Victoria after the depression.
(from an article about Des on his 89th birthday, in the newsletter of his local parish in Adelaide)

In 1932 Des set up an office as a Solicitor in Wentworth, and shortly afterwards opened an office in Mildura. Elisabeth Isabel (Bel) McLeod had been working at the Western Herald (later to become the Sunraysia Daily), next to Des's Wentworth office. She took on part-time work with Des, at his Wentworth office, and as his business continued to expand, started full-time. Des and Bel married in 1937.

Des divided his time between Mildura and Wentworth, and later in South Australia as well. He took on a partner, John Duck, and between them they built up a good practise, specialising in land conveyancing. He inherited his father's car, an elderly and not terribly reliable Overland whippet which had constant break-downs. Des was always having to seek help to make it go. In Mildura he stayed at the 'Grand' at the top of a hill, allowing him to start it by rolling it down hill.

Joan boarded at Mary's Mount in Ballarat (Maureen had attended there 15 years earlier), and became head prefect. There she met Joan Coleman (later Bowden) and Nan Noonan (later Schlink), both of whom remained her close friends.