Summary of a presentation by Mark Sabolch at our 16 May 2026 meeting. Popular books on the “Federation” house tend to leave an impression that this is a uniquely Australian house style which had its origins in the invigorated national spirit that was associated with the Federation event of 1901. To dispel this myth, Mark …
Continue reading “The Federation House: Where Did it Really Come From?”
by Gifford and Eileen Eardley This ecological survey relates to the charms of the pretty natural forest scene at Girrahween Park, an unspoilt wilderness of Hawkesbury sandstone country located at a short distance to the south of the busy shopping centre of Earlwood. The nature strip in question descends from the crest of Campbell’s Hill …
On 19 September 1914, Charles David McIntosh enlisted in the Railway Supply Detachment of the Army Service Corps. He was 34 and living in Frederick Street, Rockdale. On 5 July 1915, he wrote home:Right amongst it at last. Arrived here five days ago, and were accorded a salute of shrapnel, but landed scathless, and no …
by Reverend Daniel Forshaw AlmondSuperintendent Minister A Historical SurveyThe first settlement in the immediate neighbourhood of Moorefields* was by Hannah Laycock whose 500-acre Kings Grove Farm was granted on 11 August 1804. Eight years later she received a further 120 acres adjoining to the north and her sons, William and Samuel, 100 acres each (Percy …
For the first time in decades, Lydham Hall Historic House Museum has a new outbuilding. The original residents in the late 1800s and early 20th century had use of a set of sandstone buildings: a kitchen, stables, and servants’ quarters. The arrival of the railway and tramway accelerated the pace of development in the surrounding …
