Lydham Hall Historic House and Museum

by Tina Workman

The St George area was very fortunate that Rockdale Council had the foresight to purchase a stone cottage called Lydham Hall many decades ago with the sole purpose of conserving this beautiful old house which, in turn, would provide the area with a local history museum and a home for the St George Historical Society. It was purchased for $26,000 and opened as part of the Rockdale Council’s Centenary Celebrations in 1971.

Lydham Hall is a sandstone villa built circa 1860 for businessman Joseph Davis, his wife Ellen and their family. The house was part of a 67 acres estate that Davis called ‘Lydham Hill’, built on the highest ridge in the area and with commanding views of Botany Bay. Davis had a butchering business in Newtown and used the property to fatten up his cattle before slaughter.

The original house consisted of 4 large rooms coming off a central hallway, surrounded on all sides by a generous verandah. When Davis died in 1889, the property was subdivided and a smaller parcel of land was sold to local oyster farmer, Frederick Gibbins, who leased the property to a succession of wealthy tenants.

In 1890, the house stood on three and a half acres surrounded by outbuildings, paddocks, orchards and with rugged vegetation beyond. In 1907, Gibbins’ daughter, Ada, married renowned naturalist, David Stead. Stead was a widower with a young daughter, Christina, and the family occupied the house with their growing brood of children, Stead’s sister and her daughter.

Christina Stead would go on to become an important, internationally acclaimed author who included references to ‘Lydham Hill’ and the rounding area in a number of her books and short stories. The Stead family lived in the house until the death of Frederick Gibbins in 1917.

After Gibbins’ died, the house, as well as sections of the property, were further subdivided and a succession of owners and tenants lived at Lydham Hall until 1958. Up until that stage, the property still had substantial outbuildings to the southern side including stables and a large kitchen.

In 1917, part of the verandah on the southern end was demolished to create additional rooms which were used as a bedroom and a bathroom. There is also evidence of ‘lean-to’s’ built under the verandah on both the eastern and the northern sides.

By the late 1950s, all remnants of outbuildings were gone and the property was subdivided again, until only 1,300m2 of land was left. This was to be the last subdivision.

An aerial photograph of the house in the 1940s shows the house with stables, kitchen and other outbuildings on the property.

In 1958, the house was purchased by George and Valmai Long who lived there, as caretakers, long after it was sold to Rockdale Council.

The house in the early 1960s

On acquisition, the Society began the mammoth task of restoring the house, furnishing it and gathering enough objects to create a folk museum in the upstairs attic rooms. When the house officially opened in February 1971, only 2 rooms and the hall were open to the public. The other 2 rooms, the attic and the 1917 rooms were still occupied by Mr and Mrs Long and their family. Regardless, in the first year of opening, approximately 1,700 visited the house with the house charging 20 cents on entry.

Opening invitation

The house soon found itself in a position of having too many objects and not enough space to display them. The lack of space saw the Society knock back several objects of importance, including a desk owned by David Stead, one of the original occupants of the house.

Mayor Ron Rathbone officially opening the museum in 1971

In 1972, the house was offered a large loan of furniture from the National Trust which required substantial space. The attic was vacated by the caretakers the following year and the additional space meant that the Society was able to renovate the upstairs rooms for the display of donated objects. These rooms currently display over 1,500 objects of local and historical interest.

In 1978, a new wing was built to accommodate a new caretaker. This wing included a bathroom and kitchen as well as toilets for visitors.

Magnolias in bloom in the back garden

Today the house still sits proudly on 1300m2 surrounded by manicured, modern gardens and is regularly open to public. Throughout 2020 and 2021, the house has undergone extensive renovations which have included refurbishment of the existing slate roof, replacement of the verandah roof, repairing the verandah decking and repainting of the exterior in colours that reflect the period of the house. The house will reopen in 2022.

Stage 1 Restoration of Lydham Hall

Anyone who owns an old house will appreciate that restoration and maintenance is an ongoing process.

The last major restoration for Lydham Hall occurred in the 1970’s when Rockdale Council first purchased the house. Minor works were done as required and then, in 2015, a storm caused extensive damage to the roof of the house and interior spaces. Whilst this was repaired at the time, major restoration was required to stop further damage.

Image showing some roof damage prior to the refurbishment (photo courtesy of Heritage Slate Roofing, Sydney)

In 2019, Bayside Council successfully applied for funding from the State Government for restoration works for Lydham Hall. A new Conservation Management Plan was written and, after delays due to Covid-19, work commenced in October 2020.

Work commences in October 2020

Stage 1 works included:

  • refurbishing the existing slate roof with new battens, sarking, flashings, gutters and downpipes on the original stone residence building;
  • reconstruction of the timber framing, flashings, cladding, sarking, internal lining and roofing to the two dormers;
  • removal of the dilapidated shed in the backyard;
  • replacement of the verandah sheeting and painting of the dormers, chimneys and verandah posts.
New ridge capping being installed on the dormers (photo courtesy of Heritage Slate Roofing, Sydney)

Before work could commence, the Society, together with the members of the Lydham Hall Management Committee, had the task of removing all of the objects in the upstairs museum and securing furniture in the rooms impacted by the works. Many objects were washed, wrapped, transported downstairs and boxed for storage. The important task of cataloguing the collection, which had started some months earlier, was put on hold as the house would be inaccessible until work was completed in 2021.

BEFORE: the images above show missing, broken and loose tiles. The windows, fascias and timber sides of the dormers were rotted and allowing water into the house. The house in the 70s had been painted all white and new decorative fascia and finial added. The tree overhang had caused blockages in the gutters and downpipes.

(photo courtesy of Heritage Slate Roofing, Sydney)

AFTER: All the slate tiles were lifted, checked, cleaned and replaced. New tiles were brought in where required. New ridge capping installed and the corrugated iron verandah sheeting replaced. New timberwork on the dormers and chimneys painted to colours more appropriate to the period (taken from paint scrapings).

(photo courtesy of Heritage Slate Roofing, Sydney)

The colours at Lydham Hall

In the 1970s, the Council and the St George Historical Society undertook the major restoration of Lydham Hall. As part of that restoration, external elements of the house were given a new coat of paint and all the walls inside were painted or wallpapered. Existing carpets were removed and replaced with new, and the black and white check linoleum flooring was laid in the hallway. Unfortunately these finishes were selected without any research into what colours may have been originally used in the house nor any research into what colours would have been correct for the period.

Paint scrapes taken on the exterior show a variety of different colours dating from the 1860s through to the 1960s.

As part of the 2020 restoration, a heritage architect was contracted to review the finishes and to undertake the task of carrying out paint scrapes. The scrapes done on the exterior windows and shutters showed a variety of potential colours. The next stage would be to decide on a final colour scheme – no easy task when the various stakeholders had strong and differing opinions! It was decided to paint sample colours of all the possibilities, on the house itself, in order to see how the colours looked in situ. Below is a selection of images showing the various permutations:

In September 2021, a final scheme was agreed on and approved by the architect. This scheme is fitting to a house of the 1860s and matches the colour scheme already painted on the top of the house as part of the Stage 1 works. The rendered image below shows colours for the final scheme selected.

However, the selection for colours for the interior has proven to be more elusive. Initial research revealed only a single layer of paint in all rooms with original plaster underneath. This implied that the house had only ever been painted once since the 1860’s.

The floor boards in the attic proved this theory incorrect. When the carpet was lifted in one of the rooms, an abundance of colours were revealed. These paint splashes had been deposited over many decades of painting. Fortunately, the floorboards in the attic rooms, unlike the ground floor rooms, were not sanded and polished so they revealed paint colours in different whites, pastel pinks and green to vibrant reds, greens and dark browns.

Floor boards in one of the upstairs attic rooms reveals a myriad of different colours that would have once been painted on the walls.

This suggests that this room, at least, had been painted multiple times despite none of these colours appearing on the walls of the house.

The mystery was solved when old meeting records were reviewed. In the November 5th 1974 meeting records for the Lydham Hall Committee, “Alderman Ron Rathbone expressed concern that no work had yet been undertaken in the bedroom. Two painters he had rung had refused to quote because of the amount of stripping that was involved.” Some months later, a company of painters were found who were willing to undertake the task and, sadly, over 100 years of historical fabric was stripped from the walls.

Further research and investigation will involve removing skirting boards and architraves around doors and windows to see if there are any remnants of historic wall paint colours or wallpapers. This research will have to come later, when future funding becomes available. In the meantime, the house interior will be repainted, with the approval of the heritage architect, in neutral colours suitable for a temporary scheme for a house of this period.

The wallpaper in the upstairs rooms and in the dining room will also be removed as part of Stage 2 renovations. These wallpapers were applied in the 1970’s and are now in poor condition. The walls will be temporarily repainted in preparation for the house re-opening in 2023. The wallpapers in the other rooms will remain in place until further funding becomes available.

Wallpaper in the attic rooms being removed from the walls in preparation for new paint.

Cleaning the collection at Lydham Hall

In early 2020, the task of cleaning and cataloguing the collection at Lydham hall was being planned, and had just started, when Covid-19 arrived.

Since then, the museum has only been intermittently accessible to volunteers between State lockdowns and renovation works so the project has been extremely slow. However, some progress has been made.

The objects in the upstairs museum needed to be relocated to allow access to builders to the roof and attic. Volunteers took this opportunity to wash and box up the crockery, silver and glass in the display cabinets for temporary storage downstairs. Many of these objects hadn’t been cleaned for many years and the high humidity and leaking roof had left the items dirty, dusty and mouldy. Once work on the roof had been completed, these objects were unpacked and stored upstairs ready for the task of cataloguing them.

The silver and metal objects in the collection are also in the process of being cleaned and catalogued. Because of the damp conditions, some of these items were so badly corroded and tarnished that they were unrecognisable. The long arduous process of cleaning these may take some time.

Before & After: The difference a good clean can make.

The Society also has a large collection of textiles ranging from bedspreads, supper cloths, doyleys, dresses and a large collection of nightwear, underwear and children’s wear. Many of these were in poor condition when they were donated, and the environmental conditions inside the house have made them more susceptible to mould and insects.

The large dining room table laid out with doyleys, all ironed and sorted. Shown here is only a selection of the total collection.

The volunteers started with the easy textiles – doyleys. There were hundreds of them! Some old, some in fragile condition, but most were in good condition. They were all inspected for condition, age, tears and stains and washed or treated accordingly. The same routine was applied to the white linens (underwear, nightshirts and children’s dresses) and bedcloths. Items too fragile to wash have been stored until they can be conserved professionally and will be reviewed for future care.

All the whites hanging to dry after washing. Next step, ironing!

One large fabric object was deemed too important, too large and too fragile to keep at Lydham Hall. This object was the Bexley Public School Patriotic Appeal Flag – a rare and significant object from the first World War.

A funding-raising project in support of the war effort, the flag is embroidered with 59 names of local residents who donated to the appeal.

The flag was donated to Bayside Council who has cleaned, repaired and conserved this valuable object and it is now on display in the Rockdale Town Hall foyer.

Books cleaned, sorted and ready to be catalogued.

Books are another object in abundance at Lydham Hall, including a huge collection of Bibles and religious books. Like the textiles, many of these were donated in poor condition and are also affected further by humidity and insects. Volunteers are in the process of cleaning, reviewing, sorting and cataloguing these.

Cataloguing in progress

It is anticipated that the task of cataloguing the collection fully may take a number of years. Once the house reopens properly and the Society can gain full access again, volunteers will be called on to help.

Council staff installing the Bexley Patriotic Flag. Photo: Bayside Council

Kingsgrove

by B. J. Madden

Kingsgrove was the site of a factory for the manufacture of tobacco and snuff for about 20 years from 1854. Thomas Smithson was a native of Leeds, Yorkshire (born c 1814). He and his family are said to have arrived in Sydney on the ship Ascendant in 1852, and resided at Paddington for a couple of years. He had been engaged in tobacco manufacturing in England and it is said that he was associated with Hugh Dixson prior to coming to Kingsgrove. Hugh Dixson had founded the Dixson Tobacco Co Ltd. which eventually became British Tobacco and is now Amatil. his grandson, Sir William Dixson, established the Dixson Collection which is associated with the State Library of New South Wales.

After leasing the land for a year, Thomas Smithson purchased Lot 11 of 25 acres at the corner of Stoney Creek Road and Croydon Road in December 1855, although it was mortgaged back to Michael Gannon at the same time. The tobacco factory was on the southern side of Stoney Creek Road about half way between Caroline St and Kingsgrove Road and most of the Sydney Houses were supplied with snuff and tobacco. The tobacco leaf was said to have been grown on the property. One of his granddaughters was taught by her mother to plait her hair in six strands, which was the way they plaited the tobacco.

After operating the factory for 20 years, Thomas retired. Incidentally, the land as re-possessed by Michael Gannon because of money owing. Thomas died at his residence in Stoney Creek Road on 26th June 1908, but his residence at this time was at the rear of his son’s house, which is where the Bexley Golf Clubhouse is now located. The Sydney Morning Herald on 1 July 1908, reported that the funeral, which took place at Moorefields Cemetery on Sunday 28 June 1908 was one of the largest seen in the district, and was attended by many old residents. Thomas Smithson’s descendants were said to number 122, and he was 94 years of age at the time of his death. He was one of the first road trustees for the district, a position he held until his death. (This would probably refer to Stoney Creek Road, which was planned 1865 and opened 28th July 1868).

In the item concerning his death in the St. George Call of 4 July 1908, it was said that he could relate many incidents of the early days when the settlers, anxious to make a decent road to Sydney. brought their own saplings and laid the first corduroy track, giving an approach to Cooks River. Smithson’s Wine Bar, run by Thomas’ son James Edward Smithson, is a separate story.

Smithson’s Wine Bar, Stoney Creek Road (courtesy Bayside Library)

This article was first published in the February 1981 edition of our magazine.

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Lydham Hall

by Valmai Long

Cedric Emanuel sketch of Lydham Hall, Lydham Avenue, Rockdale (courtesy Bayside Library)

Joseph Davis built “Lydham Hall” on Lydham Hill when he purchased 68 acres of the original land grant given to James Chandler by Governor Brisbane.

Joseph Davis (courtesy Bayside Library)

This was the first subdivision of Bexley. Large blocks of sandstone were hauled uphill to the building site from the quarry, now the corner of Villiers Street and Arlington Street. All interior woodwork is cedar, originally hand polished, and the marble carrara fireplaces were imported from Italy. James Benson was the stone mason and like most of the early settlers, related to Granny Parkes.

The coach entrance at the junction of Forest Road and Clarence Road, was the scene of one of Bexley’s biggest social nights, when Joseph Davis gave his housewarming.

Carriages swept down the circular driveway to the front entrance (now the rear of the home) and were greeted by an orchestra engaged for the occasion.

The “Lidham Hill” mazurka was especially composed for the opening and the music is still kept at “Lydham Hall”.

Joseph Davis was a butcher and drove his cattle overland from Homebush to the waterhole (now the corner of Herbert and Tyrrell Streets). After resting in the paddocks they were taken to his slaughter yards at the Earl Park site at Arncliffe.

The Davis Butchering Company, King Street, Newtown (courtesy Bayside Library)

Joseph Davis and his family were unfortunate. His son Frederick born a cripple died at 15 years of age. Joseph became paralysed after lifting a side of beef. He drove around the district in a converted victoria, in a reclining position.

He is buried in the family vault at St. George Church of England, Hurstville, with his wife and son Frederick.

Today footsteps are often heard pacing the floors and treading the stairway. One foot drags as though a cripple is walking. The ghost is affectionately called Joseph by the owners, Mrs. Long is confident Joseph is looking for his money, which was never found after his death. No domestic animal will stay in the house when the ghost walks.

The surrounding streets are named after his sons Frederick, Herbert, Oswell, Stanley (now Tyrrell), Joseph (now Lydham Avenue) and Clarence for his daughter.

A later owner James Stead, was a botanist and named Banksia Station.

He kept a zoo and emus and kangaroos and fine bloodstock was bred on the hilltops. Stead imported stock from his stud farms in New Zealand. The animals were better housed than a lot of humans. Their home had glass windows, cedar shutters and an underlay of bitumen to the iron roof. It still existed until the 1950’s. The old water wells were turned into snake pits. Men today, tell me how as boys, they stoned the snakes, and were chased up trees by the horses.

One dry summer the local housewives were kept on their toes, when two snakes escaped from the snake pit.

The kitchen garden which supplied the home with fresh vegetables was the corner of Lydham Avenue and Herbert Streets (opposite side to Lydham Hall).

Dr. Gordon Craig a former owner, in later years was appalled to see the estate cut up and built on.

The traffic in the early days were mostly timber getters and baker’s carts. They rumbled along in their juggernauts at night, lighting the way with a candle in an inverted bottle.

One man out courting was treed all night by the wild dogs in the Old Forest Road.

Joseph Davis was a founder of Christ Church Bexley and old Bexley School. This caused a bitter comment from the headmistress of Kogarah School, who accused wealthy landowners of trying to boost the sale of their land. Her school being capable of handling the population.

Many attempts have been made to demolish “Lydham Hall”.

It was recently described by a visitor from the ‘National Trust” as a jewel and a treasure hidden for years.

The Royal Australian Historical Society called there on their first official visit to the St. George District and regularly since. Other visitors have been St. George Historical Society, Parramatta Historical Society and Bankstown Historical Society.

Sketch by Gifford Eardley

“Lydham Hall” is on “Robinson’s Map of Historical Homes and Landmarks”.

It has one of the finest panoramic views of Sydney. Being on one of the highest ridges between Cooks River and Georges River, it has been unspoilt by Sydney’s skyscrapers and home units, as it overshadows them. Recent additions to the view are Gladesville Bridge and new T.C.N. tower. Now Roselands claim to have the highest point but Lydham Hall’s view stretches miles beyond.

A former owner protected the view by placing a covenant on homes built at the rear, when he subdivided. They are not allowed to build more than one storey.

Strange the view should be protected by a blind man. Could he see more than we can today?

This article was first published in the September 1970 edition of our magazine.

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The Affairs Of James Beehag, A Rockdale Pioneer

by Gifford Eardley

Amongst the earliest settlers of the Rockdale area was Mr. James Beehag, a descendant of a French Huguenot farming family formerly known as Behague, who was born at Southminster, a village set amidst the wheatfields on the flat lands of the English country of Essex. This rural village is placed at a meeting of crossroads midway between the tidal River Crouch and the wider sea-estuary known as the Blackwater River, the shore-side shoals of the North Sea being about five miles eastward.

Together with his brother William and sister (later Mrs. E. Way of Messrs. E. Way and Company, formerly drapers in Pitt Street, Sydney, sited in the block between Market and King Streets) he came to Sydney about the year 1836. According to report James Beehag first settled on the site at present occupied by the George Street store of Messrs. David Jones, located at the south-western corner of the intersection of George Street and Barrack Street, almost immediately opposite the General Post Office. About 1838 he moved to what can now be described as north-western Canterbury where, by all accounts, James Beehag was the first to settle in this area. Here he developed a market garden in the vicinity of the Liverpool Road, the property having an area of some thirty acres. The district at that time was a primeval forest which ranged over the low hills and their intervening shallow slopes. It has been mentioned that fresh water was one of the problems against the local settlement and, perhaps the nearest permanent household supply was at the casuarina tree-fringed Cooks River, which flowed a few miles to the south of the Beehag property.

James Beehag, who was of the Presbyterian faith, married Miss Mary Burnett at Scots Church in York Street, Sydney, where the ceremony, held on May 4th, 1840, was conducted by the Reverend William McIntyre. Their first child, named Isaac, was born on July 18th, 1841, and baptised on July 25th of the same year. The family address at this period was simply Liverpool Road and the happy couple were listed as farmers. Other children of the marriage were – Margaret (who married Samuel Tattler), Robert, Gideon (who married Elizabeth Eggleston), Elizabeth (who married William Humphries) and James (who married Elizabeth Humphries).

Tattler family outside Samuel Tattler’s residence (courtesy Bayside Library)

In 1852 the Canterbury property was sold and the Beehag family moved to the wilds of West Botany where they obtained a triangular shaped block of land some seventy acres in extent. The northern alignment ranged along Bay Street, Rockdale, from its junction, at an apex corner with Rocky Point Road (now Princes Highway) eastwards to the western corner of Pat Moore’s Swamp, located about midway between the present West Botany Street and England Street at Brighton le Sands. The westernmost portion of this plot was largely taken up by a low sandstone hillock, now quarried away for the passage of Bay Street, which once sloped southwards to the later made alignment of Chapel Street. This portion of the property was of little use for farming purposes, consequently when the need arose for a site to erect a Wesleyan Chapel, about 1854, it was offered for sale to the chapel authorities. A small edifice was subsequently erected and provision made for a cemetery. This old-time chapel (and its adjacent Methodist Church of much later construction) still stands in good order, both being situated amidst a wealth of lovely trees, the outstanding feature in the shopping area now known as Rockdale.

According to at least one early map the Beehag grant extended eastwards beyond the swamplands to the western shores of Botany Bay, then an area of sand dunes covered by a dense forest of age-old gum trees and a wealth of picturesque coastal scrub ranging from geebungs to banksias. The new farmland, in its original state, was likewise covered with a forest of huge black-butt and blue-gums, intermixed with angophora trees on the drier slopes. The pellucid fresh water stream, known as Black Creek (or by the less distinctive name of Muddy Creek), flowed through the estate, its banks being lined with feathery-leaved, sombre-hued, casuarina trees. It was hard work to fell the trees of the forest, burn their trunks and branches, remove the stumps, and drain and level, and then plough, the rich fertile land thus exposed for the cultivation of vegetables. No roads went by and a circuitous bush track wound its way northwards, avoiding where possible the marshy tracts bordering the western shore of Black Greek to gain the Cooks River Dam at Tempe. Here a connection was made with the old Cooks River Road which gave access to Sydneytown and its market place.

A small four-roomed cottage of locally burnt bricks was built, a tiny separate kitchen being placed at the rear in accordance with ancient custom. This double-fronted home possessed a shingled roof of silver-grey slats cut from the local she-oaks, and its four rooms had inter-connecting doorways without the benefit of a divisional hallway, In due course a large two-storied weatherboard packing shed was constructed at the eastern side of the little homestead to which lean-to’s were added to house the stables, feed-room, and the two-wheeled dray.

In addition to what may be regarded as his Bay Street estate, James Beehag was fortunate in obtaining another grant of similar land on the lower slopes of Kogarah Hill, east of Rocky Point Road and reaching to the border of Pat Moores Swamp. This land was also suitable for market garden purposes and portion of it, at the eastern end of the present Toomevara Street, is still under cultivation by a family of Chinese people. It is not known at this late date as to whether James Beehag undertook the development of his southern estate of fifty-four acres.

Mary Beehag died about 1853, when the eldest child, Isaac, was twelve years old, and the youngest, James, had attained his second birthday. It was a sad blow to the family to be bereft of their mother, and it is understandable that in due course the husband married Maria Hamilton, A second family eventuated, five in number, which comprised William, Samuel, Arthur, George, and Mary (who married Mr. Spackman).

Social conditions in the West Botany area of somewhat isolated farmlands were very much on the primitive side to say the least in the mid-period of last century. The community were beset by all manner of feuding and petty thieving. For instance, James Beehag’s cow strayed from its pastures into the surrounding bush and was never seen alive after it had been posted as missing. A search party later discovered that the animal had been shot, its carcass dismembered, and its flayed skin burnt in a fire, one of the culprits giving evidence of the theft and the slaughter. Then again the eldest son, Isaac, became the proud owner of a pony, which inadvertently strayed into a neighbouring market garden situated at the north- western corner of the present intersection of West Botany Street and Bay Street. The farmer of this land was not amused at the intrusion and subsequent eating of his precious vegetables and succeeded, in his rage, in slashing the pony’s jaws apart with an axe, an injury which caused the poor animal to be destroyed. These unfortunate happenings, amongst numerous others, did little, to create neighbourly feelings amongst those concerned with their livelihood in the immediate area.

When Isaac was a sturdy lad of eighteen he was engaged in cutting firewood at the Black Forest, later known as Gannon’s Forest and now as Hurstville. This wood, cut to a size suitable for domestic stoves, was taken by horse dray into Sydney and hawked through the back streets for the benefit of the housewives. It was necessary for the lad to sell his load, as the financial return was so essential for the sustenance of the large family at Bay Street, He dare not bring back the load to the farm for this reason.

James Beehag (courtesy Bayside Library)

James Beehag (senior) retired from business as a market gardener in 1883, and went to live in a two-storied house in the Arncliffe section of West Botany Street. Here he largely devoted himself to municipal affairs, being elected an alderman of the first West Botany Council, and in the second and third years of office he filled the position of Mayor. In the fourth year he resigned, but in the fifth year he again occupied the Mayoral chair for another two years, after which he resigned from the Council. At this period he was engaged, with William Hamilton Beehag, the eldest son of his second marriage, in the operation of a market garden located in West Botany Street almost opposite the intersection of Wickham Street, James Beehag (senior) died on September 10th, 1894, and was interred at the Wesleyan portion of the Rookwood Cemetery.

Edward Draper, Ernest Draper and Eliza Draper (nee Tattler) (courtesy Bayside Library)

With his demise the estate and garden at the southern side of Bay Street was divided amongst the children of his first marriage, Isaac, Margaret, Elizabeth, and James (junior), all of whom continued to live on their portions of the once so extensive property. However, Robert and Gideon moved to St. Peters and Newtown. Margaret lived at the original cottage, later moving to a more commodious residence erected nearby. Her eldest daughter, Eliza Tattler, eventually married Mr. Edward Draper, a nurseryman, whose family still carry on the business. Strangely enough the original home is more or less intact, together with the large barn, but the second house on the property had been dismantled.

The aforementioned subdivision resulted in the formation of a short dead-end thoroughfare which was named James Street in honour of James Beehag (senior). This street gave access to several of the subdivided properties and was extended, under the title of West Botany Street, southwards to link with President Avenue at Kogarah. The erstwhile rural area is now occupied by all manner of factories and only a portion of the swamp land, together with Draper’s Nursery, remain to give an inkling to the wise of the former activities of that life-long gardener, James Beehag (senior).

For her kind assistance in the preparation of this article, the author is indebted to Mrs. Mary Ann Beaman, a charming lady approaching her ninetieth year, who is a grand-daughter of James Beehag.

James Beehag’s cottage, muddy creek

This article was first published in the September 1970 edition of our magazine.

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Walk and Drive Guides

During Local Government Week, August 1998, Rockdale City Council launched a series of walk and drive guides to encourage a broad appreciation of the city. They highlight points of interest in the 1991 Rockdale Heritage Study by Meredith Walker and Terry Kass. The Heritage Adviser, Gary Stanley, produced the guides. The council was merged with City of Botany Bay Council in 2016 to form Bayside Council.

These guides are now available in the Resources section of our website:

  • Arncliffe Heritage Walk – This two-hour walk features many fine Victorian and Federation houses and public buildings.
  • Bayside Drive – This half hour 10km drive takes in the southern suburbs of Ramsgate Beach, Dolls Point and Sans Souci.
  • Rockdale Heritage Drive – This 2-hour, 25km drive will give you an understanding of the original landscape, how the City developed, and highlights important natural areas, places and buildings which have been identified as heritage items, or of historic interest.
  • Rockdale Heritage Walk – These one-hour walks feature many fine Victorian and Federation houses and public buildings.
  • Wolli Creek Drive – A half hour 10km trip across the Bardwell Valley and down Wolli Creek Valley gives some indication of the land and original vegetation of the City.

Five-Corners

Extract from The Propeller, February 1941

There’s many an old resident of the St. George district who will probably tell you, with proud memory of his schooldays, that you’re not a “dinki-di” Sydneyite until you’ve polished off a pocket full of five-corners. And, without any prompting, he’ll very likely add that, “As a ‘nation’ of five-corner eaters we are slipping”. Oddly enough there is a considerable amount of truth in such comments, since, in the days of fifty and more years ago, the name “five-corner” was a household word in many of the suburbs of Sydney, especially around St. George. In the five-corner season of the early summer it was a name that hung on the lips of almost every schoolboy — yes, and his sister, too. There’s many a local schoolroom whose floor has been littered with the well-chewed seeds of these wild berries of the bush. Indeed, it is familiarly known amongst those of the older generation that five-corners once enjoyed such popularity that, in season, they were bought and sold as a regular line in the old Paddy’s Markets, Sydney, and in some of the city fruit shops arid many a local boy and girl made pocket money by gathering them.

Yet today the chances are that nine out of every ten persons you meet haven’t even the faintest idea what a five-corner is, or wouldn’t even recognise a five-corner bush if they happened to see one. Moreover, amongst the new generation of school kiddies the pioneer custom of gathering and chewing five-corners has been rapidly replaced with the modern habit of ice cream licking and the munching of chewing-gum. In truth, what was once a most distinctively Australian pastime is gradually disappearing into the limbo of forgotten things. The reasons for these changes are, in a way, interesting, and several factors nave contributed towards them.

Styphelia tubiflora photograph by Peter Woodard

Let some of the old residents of St. George — all experienced five-corner eaters — have a word or two about schoolday memories of these native fruits. For instance, there’s the well known veteran of Hurstville, Mr. Jack Chappelow, whose father’s home, more than fifty years ago, stood amid thick bush down behind Allawah Railway Station, towards Blakehurst. With happy recollections, Mr. Chappelow remembers how, when he was a boy, the five-corner bushes grew thickly around the old homestead. He noticed that they seemed to flourish best along the rocky sandstone slopes, or else down on the sandy flats – but few, if any, would be met with back on the heavier clay country, such as occurs behind Hurstville and around Dumbleton or towards Campsie. In his young days this veteran, with his mates would make regular “expeditions” through the bush gathering in the spoils of the five-corner crop. They would spend hours filling tins and other containers – much the same as youngsters, and oldsters, do today when the blackberries are ripe. When a sufficiently bulky quantity had been accumulated Mr. Chappelow would give them to the local wood-carters to be taken into Newtown – which was then the nearest shopping centre. There they were sold by the shops to the public. And that’s how Jack Chappelow and his youthful mates earned odd shillings as pocket money, which was a novelty then for most children. Mr. Chappelow recalls that he gave many a pocketful of five-corners to Lochrin Tiddy – the man who, more than fifty years back, was the very first returning officer of Hurstville. Practically everybody, both young and old, chewed the wild fruits of the five-corners in those distant times, and such a custom proved a novel diversion to help break the monotony for those whose daily life was not readily furnished with the common enough sweetmeats of modern 1941. Along with the five-corners the pioneers also gathered from the bush such other wild berries and fruit as ten-corners, top-corners, ground berries, geebungs, native grapes (a bitterish as they are), lilli pillies, and the sour native currants.

Persons who have resided for any considerable time around the lower parts of Kogarah and Rockdale, and between Sans Souci and North Brighton along the flats, are the ones who have probably had much more experience with five-corners than anyone else in St. George. This is for the simple reason that the “fivie” bushes once grew the thickest of all in those areas, especially from Sans Souci to Cooks River, where they stood in veritable ”jungles” — so dense, in fact, that it was far easier to crawl along under them than to try and brush through. And, in that sandy country, such an adventure was invariably attended by the risk of coming face-to-face with marauding snakes, or else being tormented and stung by no end of “red joeys”. Many a tale about the “fivies” of Brighton will the old hands tell you. At the height of the season some of the “regulars” would spend hours down at the lower ends of Bestic and Bay Streets while they filled empty flour bags with the ripening berries – most of which would be lying on the ground under each bush.

Mr. Kinsela, of Sans Souci, and formerly of Bexley, is another of the “old school” who has many happy recollections about five-corner picking. He recalls the time, when he was a boy, when “fivies” could be bought at the old Paddy’s Markets, Sydney, for a penny an egg-cup full. Large quantities of them were traded there; and in later years certain city fruit shops displayed them for sale. Yet now-a-days it’s a safe wager that you won’t find a single five-corner in the whole of the city. One of their best collecting grounds, says Mr. Kinsela, was the scrub and bush that once spread thickly on either side of Woniora Road, from South Hurstville down towards Tom Ugly’s. Many a tin and basketful he and his school mates gathered down that way, after spending whole afternoons amongst the bushes. Today you could walk for miles around that locality – and Brighton too, for that matter and not see one five-corner bush. There are, however, odd ones still growing here and there in isolated patches, particularly in a spot like Oatley Park, or way out around Lugarno. On the Sutherland side of George’s River, and in wide bushland areas such as the National Park, lots of five-corners may yet be found in favourable situations.

Because of the overwhelming spread of suburban settlement within the last three decades most of the localities in St. George, and other parts of coastal Sydney, where “fivies” once flourished, have been entirely swept clean of their natural scrub and bush. In similar fashion to the more lordly gum-tree, the humble five-corner bush and his mates is fast disappearing beneath the crush of sardine-packed suburbs. No doubt that is one of the primary reasons why the pioneer tradition – handed down from the aborigines and the first white settlers – of five-corner gathering and eating is dying off. Another factor also in this historic change is that youngsters of the present generation are much more privileged with pocket money than their grandfathers were. Moreover, there are greater inducements today in the way of buying ready-made pleasures and pastimes. Youngsters, as a consequence, are more readily attracted to the civilised “fruits” of the sweet shops and the milk bars; and that goes too for the grown-ups.

And now, finally, a word or two about the five-corner bush itself – what the botanists will tell you. In the first place, the five-corners — of which there are eleven different kinds or species – are true native plants of Australia, and found no where else in the entire world. Not only did they grow principally in New South Wales, but they are confined almost solely to the coast and eastward slopes of the Blue Mountains. One or two types of five-corners, in fact, will be found nowhere else but on the sandstone zone of which Sydney is the centre. Thus it can be said that five-corners are unknown to the majority of Australians.

Styphelia tubiflora by James Sowerby circa 1794

These wild plants are classed as members of the Australian heath family — of which they are said to be the largest and most beautifully coloured. Their botanical name is Styphelia; which was taken from the Greek word “styphelos”, meaning rough; which describes the stiff, compact and harsh nature of the shrub and its foliage. As mature fruit-bearing shrubs they may be found in heights of anything from two feet to eight feet and even taller, depending on the situation in which they are growing. Their leaves are on the small side – for example, smaller than those of the Christmas bush – and are of plain shape, but have sharp pointed tips. In the different kinds of five-corners the flowers vary in colour from pink and red to yellow, green, and white. They are tube-shaped, with lung stamens poking out through the opening. Honey-eaters and insects are fond of the flowers, as they hold sweet drops of nectar. It is in the late winter and early spring months that the five-corners come into bloom, and the ripening berries will be found from then on into the summer. Odd ones, of course, will be seen in fruit out of season. Now, it is an interesting point that the popular name of the shrub – five-corner – is really descriptive of its fruit, each of which is “wrapped-up”, so to speak, in five small leaves, which first held the flower. This produces the characteristic of five points or corners; which is an outstanding guide to the identity of this shrub. Each berry is described by botanists as being in the shape of a drupe, meaning that it has the appearance and structure, generally, of an olive, but on a much smaller scale. Oddly enough there is nothing startling about its flavour, and not much flesh covers the one central seed. It is, however, on the sweetish side when fully ripened, and has a distinctive taste, though only mild, which is not quite like any other wild berry. It is certainly the very opposite of the native currants! The succulent fruit of the five-corner, by the way, is properly ripe when it has fallen to the ground beneath the bush; although many “fivie” enthusiasts prefer to pick and eat those that are still amongst the green foliage.

This article was first published in the February 1964 edition of our magazine.

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The Historic River

At the official gathering held at Kurnell on 6th May, 1899, to set apart 251 acres as a public reserve and a National Memorial to Captain James Cook, Mr. Joseph Cook (Minister for Lands) referred to the fact that Cook discovered the river so named after him. The following is an extract from his speech:

“I have in my possession temporarily (thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Huntington) a facsimile of Cook’s own chart of Botany Bay, and it shows that he proceeded in his boats up Cook’s River as far as the dam.”

Chart of Botany Bay by James Cook (courtesy National Museum of Australia)

The earliest reference we have to the name Cook’s River is in the year 1800, when Surveyors Grimes and Meeham, in their field books for the years 1799 to 1802 refer to surveys of farms at Cook’s River. it is interesting to know that in the early days and for many years, wild flowers grew in great profusion along the shores of the river. It was described as a peaceful and beautiful river, and the banks, especially in the upper reaches, were covered with tall trees.

The river, from the source at Rookwood, near the eastern boundary of Liberty Plains to the dam at Tempe, is 9.25 miles long, and from the dam to Botany Bay it is 3.25 miles long, making a total length of 12.5 miles.

About eleven years ago the river was diverted in an almost straight line from Tempe to Botany Bay.

That portion of the river from Shea’s Creek to Botany Bay was filled in so as to enlarge the Mascot Aerodrome.

The first place of interest on the banks of the filled in portion of the river at the entrance to Botany Bay, was to be seen the ruins of the old Macquarie style building with a high chimney. After the river was filled in the chimney of his historic building was removed. This building was used from 1858 to 1888 as a pumping station for the water supply of Sydney. The Botany and Randwick swamps, known officially as the “Lachlan Swamps”, were linked up as a chain of ponds. A tunnel was commenced in September 1827, to convey this water to Sydney. This work was under the direction of Mr. James Busby, Mineral Surveyor, and it was completed a few years later. The tunnel was known as the “Busby Bore” or Busby Tunnel.

Busby’s Bore stand pipe at Hyde Park, watercolour possibly by C. H. Woolcott

At the former Cook’s River tram terminus, the road bridge crosses the river within about 100 feet of the site of the original bridge, owing to the river altering its course, and the old river-bed forming a dead-end. The dam at this old bridge was constructed by convict labour, under the superintendence of Mr. Colvert, during the year 1835. On the Sydney side of the river stood a little wooden toll bar at the entrance to the bridge. The toll gate was closed at night. All horses and vehicles were charged a small fee to pass through, but foot passengers went through free.

On the Arncliffe side of the river from the bridge was the line mansion known as “Tempe”, built and occupied by Mr. Alexander Brodie Spark.

Further along the river was the old Unwin’s Bridge, formerly a wooden structure, built by convicts in 1836, and so named after the Unwin family who resided in a pretty home at Undercliffe known as “Wanstead House”, named after their native home in Essex, England. Further along the river on the right hand side was the old home of the Hon. Thomas Holt, known as “Warren House”, with its beautiful lawns and gardens. The estate consisted of about 140 acres.

When nearing Canterbury, on the banks of the river, was an old stone building erected by the Australian Sugar Company, and it bears the inscription: A.S. Co., 1841. A dam was built across the river to ensure a supply of fresh water. The first sugar was placed on the market during 1842 and the business was transferred to Sydney in 1855.

Sugar Works, Canterbury by Frederick Garling 1840s

This article was first published in the February 1964 edition of our magazine.

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Rosevale Villa Demolished

(article from February 1964)

Historic Rosevale Villa, one of the last pioneer homes left in Rockdale is no more and although its stones were marked and every care taken in its demolition it is unlikely that it could ever be rebuilt.

Rosevale Villa, circa 1960 (courtesy Bayside Library)

The soft sandstone mouldings which have withstood the ravages of time for almost 100 years crumbled badly as they were being moved and the large stone blocks from which the building was made fared little better.

This is a great disappointment to this Society which fought for its preservation from the time the “FOR SALE – DEVELOPMENT SITE” notice was posted on its front fence.

Also to be demolished in the reasonably near future is the Bray Family home in Market Street, Rockdale, which stands in the way of the large parking area being developed at the rear of the Rockdale Shopping Centre.

Bray Homestead, sketch by Gifford Eardley (courtesy Bayside Library)

Although much older than Rosevale Villa, this cottage does not have the same architectural merit as the first named building and in recent years has been obscured by a number of additions.

This article was first published in the February 1964 edition of our magazine.

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The Blacksmiths And Farriers Of Rockdale

by Gifford Eardley

Without a doubt one of the most attractive places for small boys in old time Rockdale was the blacksmith shop of Duncan Roy, whose premises were sited on the northern side of the Town Hall. Standing at the wide doorway facing Rocky Point Road children gazed in awe at the shower of sparks rising from the red-hot iron as it was hammered upon the anvil when making horseshoes and other implements then in common demand. There was a charming atmosphere about the interior of the roughly built premises, the acrid smoke from the fire, the wheeze of the hand operated bellows, the restlessness of the horses who, tinged with fear, were waiting to be shod, the murky sunlight filtering into the gloom through the rear windows, and the leather-aproned blacksmith in person, a mighty man was he. One is filled with nostalgia for this era which has almost disappeared into the limbo of forgotten things, as today there are very few practising blacksmiths, and those who remain are inundated with business. Sadly enough there are few, if any, of the younger generation desirous of learning the skills associated with the blacksmith’s trade.

Relying on the memory of certain members of our St. George Historical Society it may be stated that the forge building, constructed of yellow painted weatherboard, was set back a little distance from the footpath alignment. Its front and rear doorways were of the double door type and of sufficient width to permit the entry of horse drawn vehicles in need of repair. There were two forges in use, both being arranged on the southern side of the low roofed building, and voiding much of their smoke through brick built chimneys which projected well above the roof line Another fire could be arranged in circular fashion in the back yard where cart tyres were heated preparatory to being dropped over the wooden wheel assembly. They were then shrunk into position per medium of buckets of water, thus holding the wheel components together in a tenacious grip. It was a most interesting process, and one which called for a great deal of practical knowledge and skill. It is understood that the iron tyre was curved to form a diameter of two inches less than that of the wooden wheel, the tyre, when heated, expanding to a greater diameter than the wheel at the rate of about three-sixteenths of an inch per foot of diameter.

A horse bus service between Penshurst and the Cooks River (courtesy Bayside Library)

Duncan Roy’s son, Horace, helped his father in the blacksmithing business and was also an accomplished farrier and wheelwright. All manner of horses, from stalwart draught horses to ponies, came to be fitted with shoes and, in the bleak days of winter their waiting owners indulged in local gossip ranged around the warmth of the forge fire, keeping discreetly out of the way of the busy blacksmith, or giving a hand at the wheezing bellows. The average life of the horse shoes was about three weeks, owing to the rough sandstone surface of the streets, together with the continual stamping of the animals brought about by the unremitting attentions of house flies. The horses could only kick backwards and once the smithy had one of the animal’s legs off the ground he was comparatively safe. The cost of a set of shoes was in the vicinity of five shillings.

At the risk of being thought technical one feels that a short description of the tools, and methods of using same, would not go amiss from a purely historical angle. This data was supplied in detail by Mr. W. Manning, of Hector Street, Sefton, who was a craftsman of no mean order and one that specialised in the shoeing of race-horses.

Blacksmith, circa 1880 (courtesy Mt. Barker RSL)
FLOOR TOOLS

“Shoeing Hammer”. Usually self forged. Made like a claw hammer, the claw being used to cut the ends of the nails off after hammering into the hoof, “RASP”. This was a combination tool with a rough toothed rasp on one side and a file on the other. It was used for levelling the hooves. “CUTTING KNIFE AND TOE KNIFE”. This instrument was shaped like a small tomahawk with a slightly dished blade. “BUFFER”. Used to cut existing nails in the hooves prior to the removal of the old shoes.

The shoeing nails, of “T” brand, were purchased ready made. They were driven for a distance of approximately two inches into the hoof and brought down outside of the hoof where the ends were bent and cut off with the shoeing hammer.

FORGING TOOLS

Four pound turning hammer, fitted with a 14 inch handle, was used for shaping shoes on the anvil. The shoe-steel bars were supplied by Messrs. Friend and Company in a range of cross sections A “FULLER” was used to cut the sunken ridge-like depression around the shoe to house the nail heads. These were in at least two sizes, one for ponies and the other for- horses. A “HOLER” was used, fitted with a handle, for piercing holes in the shoe during the early process of manufacture, A “PRICTHEL”, an instrument generally forged from an old worn-out file, about ten inches in length, tapered down to a small square-shaped point. In use for driving through the heated shoe to give the required shape to the nail holes. Four nail holes were driven on the outside of the hoof and three on the inner side was the usual practice.

The front portion of the shoe was shaped to a tapered point, known as the “Big-clip”, which laid against the front of the hoof thereby taking away the road stress from the rest of the shoe. The rear of the shoe was, at times, doubled back on its self, this was known as a”Heel and Bar”. Another variation was to bend back the bar stock at the end of the shoe for a distance of about one and a quarter inches, which with the ‘Big Clip”, assisted in holding the shoe in place when fitted to draught animals.

The horse hoof is about a quarter of an inch in thickness and the sole averages half an inch. Great skill is need in driving the nail upwards into the hoof. A good farrier generally took about ten minutes to shoe four hoofs, although the job has been done in six minutes. The back feet were lifted to the hip to permit a shoe being fitted. Some animals were fractious during the process and care had to be taken against being kicked.

The farrier wore a leather apron split down the middle, and together with a boy who operated the forge bellows for blowing up the fire of slack coal, and also with the hammer striking at the anvil, could make and fit four shoes in about three quarters of an hour. The bellows, constructed of wood and leather, were locally made, but a steel fan type, hand turned through gears, were also in use at some forges. Most other metal work, apart from the manufacture of horse shoes, was generally in the nature of repairs to existing equipment. It was customary for the smith to make a spare set of shoes for his regular horse-owning customers, hanging them on the wall until time as they were needed.

Duncan Roy manufactured such ironwork needed for the construction of horse-drawn vehicles built by the neighbouring firm of Messrs. Welch and Walker, who were wheelwrights and wagon and sulky body builders of repute. Their premises were located on Rocky Point Road about two doors south of Mr. Iliffe’s “Rose Vale” Villa.

There was another blacksmithing establishment at Rockdale, that of Arthur Nicholson, who lived at Jewfish Point, west of Oatley. His premises were largely built of upright wooden slabs, enclosed by an iron roof, the building abutting onto the footpath south of, and in the immediate vicinity of the Royal Hotel. He usually had in his employ two or three Irish boy immigrants, thus giving them a start in life and a chance to learn a specialised trade. Arthur Nicholson was responsible for the shoeing of many of the racehorses kept in the East Kogarah area. However, with the closure of the Moorefield Racecourse and the abandonment of the various local stables nearby, together with the universal adoption of motor transport, the smithies both at Rockdale and Kogarah closed down for the want of business.

This article was first published in the August 1970 edition of our magazine.

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A Hospital In Contrast

July 1970, saw the demolition of the original Cottage Hospital of St. George. It was a nostalgic moment as the last of the unique brick and concrete chimneys tottered and fell.

St George Cottage Hospital (courtesy Georges River Libraries Local Studies Collection)

The last patients in “A & F”, as the original hospital has been known for some years, were transferred to other wards mid December last, Since then the original wards have been stripped of handles, locks, fireplaces, honour boards, plaques and all that was of possible historical interest. It is interesting to note that the huge lock of the front door is now the proud possession of one of the present-day Honoraries, himself a member of this Society. This was the lock in which Mrs. Lamrock, wife of Dr. J. Lamrock, would have turned the key to open the Cottage Hospital, on 16th December, 1894, exactly 75 years before.

“A & F” meant many things to many people. To the older generation of the community it has been the Hospital, for most of their lives. They and it have grown older together. A fact the younger generation find difficult to appreciate at times.

As one watched the inevitable mounting pile of rubble, the burning of the interior, the falling of the palms, many contrasts came to mind –

  • the growth of St. George in 76 years, from the original 8 to now well over 400 beds,
  • the astronomical rise in costs,
  • the mini skirted uniforms of the 70’s, to the maxi’s of the originals.
  • the availability of parking space and lack of transport of yesteryear, to the lack of parking and increasing transport of today. And now, the Honoraries have lost their “Circle”.
  • the almost constant wail of sirens, a bleak reminder of the cost of progress. Accidents there have always been, but never with the road toll alone, of the present.
  • the compactness of the original cottage, to the spread-eagled buildings of today.
  • the tremendous advancements in medical and nursing skills in the intervening years.

As one passes to remember, tribute is paid to those in all fields who so long ago laid such strong foundations for the Hospital that has served the ever-growing community at all times. As then – so now. Patient care is still the primary concern of the Hospital. Postgraduate and undergraduate teaching is subsidiary to this.

The saga of the 70’s is being written. St. George stands pulsating with growth and expectancy as the rubble is cleared and preparations made for the erection of the new multi-storey block, whilst at the same time maintaining essential services to the community. No mean feat. Already new strides have been made as St. George has swung into the 70’s with the completion of the newly established Professorial Units in Medicine and Surgery. When the history of the 70’s is complete the names of Professors W. R. Pitney and K. R. Cox will join the list of St. George firsts, as being the first appointed full-time Professors of Medicine and Surgery, respectively.

Following are the names preserved for posterity, taken from the lists and plaques previously housed in “A & F”. Each will serve to revive the memories of yesteryear.

Foundation Stone:
“This Stone Was Duly Laid By
Mrs. F. S, ELLIS HOLT
of “SYLVANIA”
on May 19th 1894.”

Hallway – directly opposite the front door –
St. George District Hospital
Erected in Memory of
WILLIAM CHEETHAM HORN
who passed away 2nd August, 1943
After 30 years service.
Faithful Unto Death
A tribute by His Fellow Employees
Matron & Nursing Staff (Male & Female)

List of Benefactors:
St. George District Hospital
Benefactors £50 & over

  • 1906 Isaac Mathews (Estate of) £63.
  • 1912 W. R. Hall (Estate of) 200
  • 1915 Mrs. Berdoe (Estate of) 60
  • 1915 C. Howard Wood Esq. 100
  • 1916 Mrs. A. C. Sturt (Estate of) 100
  • 1917 Mrs. Coulson (Estate of) 200
  • 1918 D. Draper (Estate of) 117
  • 1919-20 Lieut, H.L. Montague 147
  • 1921 J. Palmer (Estate of) 200
  • 1923 MaryAnn Dewar (Estate of) 200
  • 1923 Mrs. Edwd. Arnold (Estate of) 50
  • 1924 F.E. Rowe, Esq. 55
  • 1925 J. Powell (Estate of) 100
  • 1925 Donated by Residents of Cronulla in Honour of late Mrs. C. J. MONRO 101
  • 1925 P. J. Moore (Estate of) 50
  • 1926 Mrs. J. Packham 50
  • 1926 Dr. James McLeod Memorial Fund 200
  • 1927
    • T.E. Rofe, Esq. 550
    • J. Jackson Esq. 52.10.
    • R.W.S. Harris, Esq. 55
    • A.E. Daiwood, Esq. 50
    • Mrs. D. McAlister 51.1
    • J. Dolden, Esq. 50
    • N.P. Nielsen, Esq. 59
    • W. McConnochie, Esq. 50
    • H.T. Morgan, Esq. 50
    • Miss Phyllis Stroud 50
    • Cronulla Surf L. S. Club 50
    • Nth. Cronulla Surf L. S. Club 50
    • J. P. Hubbard (Estate of) 100
    • Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 393
    • Chas. Thomas (Estate of) 50
  • 1928 Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 193.15.9
  • 1928 W. McConochie, Esq. 150
  • 1929 Arthur Horsfield, Esq. 50
  • 1930
    • Mr, C. McAlister (Estate of) 3000
    • Mrs. K.B. Thornton (in Memory of John F. Thornton 100
    • Masonic Lodge Illawarra St. George F. Wilson, W.M. 121.0.8
    • Masonic Lodge Kogarah J.H. Laws, W.M. 123.14.10
  • 1934 Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 199.16.9
  • 1934 Illawarra S.F.S. Asscn. 120.3.0
  • 1935 Mrs. Elva Kolling 1500
  • 1943 A.H.J. Horn, Esq. 50

Beds Endowed By

  • Arncliffe Parents & Citizens Association
  • Como & District Progress Association
  • Cronulla School Cot Fund
  • Green Coupon Company
  • Hurstville Superior Public School
  • Lancashire Brotherhood of N.S.W.
  • St. George Cricket Association
  • South Hurstville Public School
  • Carlton Citizens Association
  • Mr. & Mrs. Tom Yates £100. Annual Endowment
  • Cambridge Commercial College Hurstville. 1937. G. A. McKenzie F.P.S.A. Principal.
  • Sutherland Auxiliary 1939.
  • Pupils of Oatley Public School
  • Kogarah Mayoral Bed S. R. Bell. Jan, 1940. Mayor of Kogarah.
  • Caringbah Hospital Auxiliary
  • Mr. & Mrs. H. Bentley of Kogarah. 1939.
  • Sutherland Auxiliary 1937.
  • The Ladies Committee of St. George Cricket Club. 1939.
  • The Arncliffe Social Club. 1940.
  • Two by St. George Christian Endeavour Union Golden Jubilee. 1943.
  • Arncliffe Ladies Bowling Club.
  • 1st Arncliffe Girl Guides.
  • Miss J. Graham, Brighton le Sands.
  • “Theodosia” Bed. Donated by Mrs. E. M. Bentley, Kogarah.
  • In Memory of Mrs. Otto Richardson . . Mrs. G. Wallis 1940.
  • Donated by Mrs. F. Thorp, Rockdale.

This article was first published in the August 1970 edition of our magazine.

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