12 Sept. 1962
Dear Sirs,
I was very interested in the talk on early Rockdale last Saturday night as I myself was born just a few minutes walk from Brighton Le Sands almost 78 years ago. My grandfather, James Beehag, and his brother, William, came to Australia just 2 religious minded young men when it was all bush.
My grandfather bought 99 acres of bushland from what is now known as Princes Highway (old Rocky Point Road) to a few yards from Brighton down the right hand side of Bay St which at that time did not exist. It was years later that Bay St was made by my own father (Samuel Tattler) who for 16 years was overseer on Rockdale Council.
My grandfather gave an acre of ground on which the Methodist Church of Rockdale now stands, and his brother, William, built the first Sunday school of ti-tree and hessian. The first public building of a permanent nature was opened by the Rev. R. Amos for people called Methodists, the locality at the time being known as Rocky Point. We were friendly with the Geeves family and children from each family went to Rockdale school. Mr Fred Geeves and one of my brothers were inseparable.
I remember Brighton when it was all bush and when I was a little girl there was one shop conducted by a Mr Lowe. After some years a park called “Shady Nook” was formed and I always think it was a pity that it was ever changed as it was a very popular walk from Rockdale to the beach and have a rest in “Shady Nook”. I have been told by my mother (she was Margaret Beehag) of the days when she was a girl and her brothers carted wood to Sydney before there was ever a George Street. It was just a bullock track. We often tried to get mother to see a reporter and tell her story of the early days which was very interesting. She died at the age of 88 about 31 years ago. She was born at Canterbury and her people came to Rockdale 10 years later and resided where Mr Draper’s Nursery is now and lived there the rest of her life.
I am
yours respectfully
Amy Slade
This article was published in the February 1991 edition of our magazine.
Browse the magazine archive.