Author: hcsYbOjXZv

by Gifford and Eileen Eardley

From a physiographical point of view the sand dune and intervening marsh land immediately west of Seven Mile, or Lady Robinson’s Beach, on the western shore line of Botany Bay, possesses surface features of great interest. It is accepted that this comparatively level expanse was formed over the ages by wind and wave action on materials brought down from the hinterland by the combined efforts of Cooks and Georges Rivers. A sand bar, some half mile inland from the present beach alignment, seems to have been initially deposited, after which a series of sand ridges, some six to fifteen feet in height above their intervening troughs, were formed at successive intervals. These ridges created a freshwater lagoon, of no great depth, between the coast and the slopes of the higher land bordering the western margin of the fen. In the course of time this lowlying land became covered with alluvium, brought down from the neighbouring ridges and shallow valleys, which provided ideal conditions for the growth of a dense covering of casuarina, or she -oak,. trees, which like to have their feet in water. A remnant of this primeval forest, fortunately, has been preserved in the northern confines of Scarborough Park at Ramsgate.

The sand dune area, between the swamp lands and the seashore, supported a splendid forest of gigantic gum trees, interspersed with the fantastically shaped limbs of the beautiful. angophoro, or apple-gum trees, and the grotesque shapes and cork-like bark of the Saw Leaf Honeysuckle, or old man banksia, trees, so beloved by May Gibbs of ‘Bib and Bub” children’s feature fame. Beneath all this sylvan splendour lay a thickly matted undergrowth comprised of geebungs, five-corners, so gratifying to boyish tastes, native lilac ablaze with clusters of aromatic white flowers in spring, and climbing climatis was draped from tree to tree. There were also flannel flowers in the more open glades., together with diliwynia, known also as “eggs and bacon”, on account of its yellow and red profusion of small pea flowers, pultenaeas, the tall spikes of the purple flowered heath-milkwort, and the pink wax flower known as eriostemon, in addition to a thousand and one botanical gems of a like nature which favour a sandy soil. Unfortunately this wonderland has disappeared under the axe of the woodman, and the inroads, of suburban housing, coupled with the unmitigated curse of site-improving land salesmen. The last stand of the tall timbers was bounded on the north by Bay Street, Brighton le Sands, on the west by the aforementioned swamp area, and on the south by President Avenue. These trees remained until, about 1914 when they too, were axed out of existence.

Into this fascinating region came Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks and the other members of the crew associated with the good ship “Endeavour”. Their glowing opinion of this land was sufficient to bring out the “First Fleet”, under the command of Governor Phillip. This gentleman, however, was not so impressed with Botany Bay and its immediate surroundings, and finally settled at Sydney Cove in the more sheltered waters of Port Jackson.

Botany Bay and its hinterland, apart from wandering tribes of war- like aborigines, lay dormant insofar as settlement was concerned until Governor Macquarie decided to grant portions of the area to worthy citizens. Sixty acres of the aforementioned swamp land and adjoining slopes were granted, on August 28th, 1812, to Mr. Patrick Moore, this estate being listed as “Moorefield”.

It would appear from the scanty records available that Patrick Moore was a competent blacksmith, capable of forging door-hinges, hasps, and other forms of wrought-iron work so essential to the needs of the then rapidly developing townships of Sydney and Parramatta. It may be surmised that the first returns from his estate at Moorefield were brought about by the sale of roofing shingles cut from the age-old casuarina forest which, interspersed with reedy morass, covered so much of his new property. Evidently portions of the grant were later let, or leased, to several other persons as we find that in the eighteen seventies Captain Dillon occupied an old house, of English design, on the estate adjacent to the present day President Avenue. Further south was a vegetable garden and house under the care of Joseph Keep, whilst westward, confronting Rocky Point Road, were two old stone cottages, the origin of which has still to be sought. At the north-eastern section, of what may be considered the dry land area, and opposite the intersection of President Avenue and Moore Street, were the trotting horse stables owned by Mr. Anthony Hordern of “While I live I’ll grow” fame.

According to my informant, Miss Elizabeth Whitehall, the son of the original grantee, also named Patrick Moore, took over Captain Dillon’s cottage and orchard about the early seventies. Pat Moore utilised the swamp lands for the fattening of cattle destined for the Sydney market. He had two sons, the eldest being named Peter, and the youngest, whose names has not been ascertained, was killed by a snake, and subsequently buried in Rookwood Cemetery. There were also a number of daughters, all of whom played their part in the running of the farm. On the death of Patrick Moore, the eldest son Peter, then about 21 years of age, inherited the farm and estate, but the money in hand was willed to the mother of the family.

Peter Moore was a sportsman to his finger tips and did not see any future either in his orchard, his farm, or the fattening of cattle. He visualised money-making possibilities associated with the establishment of a privately owned racecourse, a venture to which his estate, or at least the westernmost section thereof, was peculiarly adapted.

To implement the scheme Peter Moore sought the assistance of a Hurstville resident, Mr. Parkes, who in turn brought Mr. Charles Whitehall into the project. The latter left his home in Hudson Street, Hurstville, and, with his family, took up residence in the aforementioned stone residence facing Rocky Point Road, immediately opposite the original stone built St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, erected in 1866, then being also used as a “school”, according to an inscribed stone let into the front wail beneath the gabled roof. Charles Whitehall had four children – Elizabeth, George, Charles and Arthur.

From the very beginning of operations Charles Whitehall came into the active employ of Peter Moore, and was engaged at first in the felling of trees and clearing the site for the proposed course. After this preliminary work had been completed, Peter Moore then requested that he proceed with the preparation of the racetrack and incidental fencing, a work which took, together with the erection of the grandstand, some three and a half years to complete. The eastern, or swamp, section of the course necessitated the construction of a large embankment, well above the normal watertable, the materials for which were obtained from adjacent borrow pits, and trundled in hand-barrows to the site, a tedious and laborious undertaking, seeing that the main course was some seven furlongs in length and averaged a chain in width.

Charles Whitehall, with his two helpers, eventually got the main or outer racecourse, together with the shorter middle track, into commission, and also built an inner track which came into use for horse training purposes. The frontage to the course, along Rocky Point Road, was screened by a ten feet high paling fence, which effectually kept racing activities from the gaze of a non-paying public at large, so to speak. However, there was one well-tried and free method of entry, known to the writer and a host of other schoolboys. This called for crawling through a wooden covered drain, carrying a watercourse beneath Rocky Point Road, which emptied both the stream and the boys into the enclosure, the rest was easy.

With the completion of the course, its grandstand, stables, and other essential amenities, all of which were erected by Charles Whitehall and his two doughty assistants, the great day came for the official opening, which occurred on October 13th, 1888. Peter Moore raced his own horses which were trained by Mr. Mick McAuliffe, who, from time to time took his employer’s more promising racers across by train in an endeavour, always unsuccessful, to win the coveted Melbourne Cup. Incidentally, Mrs. Whitehall personally covered the cleaning of the Moorefield racing buildings at the princely, or shall we say niggardly, sum of £10 per annum.

Peter Moore decided to build the Moorefield Hotel in close proximity to the racecourse entrance gates, which were located near Rocky Point Road opposite to the intersection of Hogben Street. This somewhat lengthy two- storied building catered for both man and (racing) beast, the animals being accommodated in an extensive group of stables and forafe sheds etc., ranged at the rear of the hotel premises. The immediate family of Peter Moore were ensconced on the top floor of the hotel, having been brought from Paddington to take up their abode in this, at times, somewhat noisy spot. A Mr. Harry Mulcahy ran the bar trade and looked after the affairs of the hotel and its attendant stabling.

The establishment of the Moorefield Racecourse brought about an influx of racing people to Kogarah, most of whom settled in its immediate vicinity, and built horse stables in their backyards. Messrs. Gush and Gibbs were located at the western end of French Street, likewise Mr. Davis, while Mr. McCurley, together with a hard swearing Mexican parrot, was at the eastern end. Robert Mead had stables abutting on to the laneway at the rear of Baxter Avenue, and Mr. Hunt’s stables were adjacent to the laneway at the northern side of Green Street. There were other racing stables in Stanley Street, and near the laneway between Hogben and Kensington Streets. This coverage may not be complete. Strings of horses were trotted along the various highways leading to the course on race days, accompanied by their trainers and jockeys mounted on non-descript nags that did not have to keep their wind intact. Some of the racehorses were in fine fettle and covered with expensive horse cloths fringed with gay tassels, evidently presents from grateful owners. Others plodded along draped in cut-down gunny-sacks, calculated not to impress would- be punters with their prowess on the track.

Special race trains came out from Sydney bringing punters in their thousands, who alighted at Kogarah Railway Station and emerged from same into a medley of horse-drawn vehicles, of all sorts and conditions, seeking the privilege of transporting them down Montgomery Street, and Hogben Street, to the turnstiles at the course entrance. There were four-horse drags fitted with tiers of cross seats, and without protection from the weather, and two-horse two-decker omnibuses which, on their lawful occasions, plodded between Sydney and the Warren and other suburban destinations of a like distance from town.

Hucksters and tipsters were legion, likewise the sellers of pies, peas, and saveloys. The cry of Hot-roasted peanuts was heard in the land, and gentle- men wearing suitable ragged clothes, a downcast look, and wooden legs, stood with out-stretched hands seeking alms, whilst the other hand strenuously turned the handle of hurdy-gurdys, each mounted on a small two-wheeled handtruck. To the strains of “The Blue Danube”, that everlasting musical favourite, the punting and panting throng hurried on in its excited endeavour to be at the paddock in time for the first race.

A special horse train, which was shunted into the horsedock at the northern end of Kogarah Station, was the venue of all small boys and small girls of the immediate neighbourhood. Here was a steam locomotive in all its majesty, with its driving crews more than ready to explain the inner mysteries of the iron horse. Releasing the frightened horses from the horse-box vehicles on the train was also of absorbing interest, as there was always the possibility of somebody in authority getting bitten or, better still, kicked. Then there was the large white painted boundary gate to swing on, and, inadvertently closed at the wrong moment, a circumstance which always brought forth torrid and unseemly language from trainers and jockeys alike, as their fractious charges jumped and bucked this way and that, much to the amusement of the locomotive crew and adult bystanders. These racehorses were taken along the length of Gladstone Street to and from the course, mostly being led by their human personnel on foot. Great were those days.

Reverting to the inception of the Moorefield Racecourse we find that it was necessary to demolish Captain Dillon’s “Old English cottage”, as it occupied the site chosen for the building of the grandstand. The beautifully kept market garden and residence of Joseph Keep was also eliminated, as this property lay athwart the race track, consequently Mr. Keep decided to establish a butchering business opposite the Gardiner’s Arms Hotel, at the junction of Rocky Point Road and Kogarah Road. This site, now occupied by a garage, did not prove advantageous, and the business was transferred to a large shop in Regent Street, Kogarah, the premises being about midway between the intersections of Montgomery and Premier Streets. Joseph Keep had a large and respected family, the children of which, were named, according to my informant’s memory, in the following order – Joseph, George, Thomas, Mary, David, Dollah, Eric and Samuel.

Mrs. Charles Whitehall was not enamoured with the occupancy of the small stone cottage, opposite the Roman Catholic Church, presumably the roistering drunkenness which often occurred at the nearby Gardiner’s Arms Hotel was most upsetting. At this time Mr. Anthony Hordern’s trotting horse stables had been taken over by Mr. Peter Moore to house his own horses. Charles Whitehall sought and obtained two of the eight stalls within the building for the accommodation of his wife and family. Conditions here were most primitive, but one stall was adapted as a communal bedroom, and the other, fitted with chimney and fireplace, served as a kitchen. Both rooms were interconnected by an inner doorway, and sundry windows were let into the outer walls. Extra light was admitted through the half doors if and when required. Water was obtained from a nearby well, being drawn to the surface in a bucket attached to the end of a chain. There were no facilities for a bath apart from that afforded by the use of a large circular shaped tub. The father and young Elizabeth went down with typhoid fever, brought about by unsanitary conditions resulting from living under the same roof with, and in close proximity to, the racehorses. As other stalls became available, Charles Whitehall took the opportunity of enlarging his dwelling, and ultimately gained the whole building for his personal use. Doorways and windows were inserted in the various dividing walls, and the place at last made habitable.

The racecourse enterprise flourished until the bank depression of the early eighteen-nineties, which, with its resulting unemployment and widespread distress, depleted both attendance and revenue. Peter Moore eventually had to mortgage the Moorefield racecourse property, and, with a stringent tightening of belts on the part of himself and his employees, managed to repay the instalments on the mortgage as they fell due. With the return of better days a company, said to have had a capital of £125,000, was floated, and much needed improvements were then carried out. For his unswerving loyalty Mr. Moore presented Charles Whitehall with a one hundred pound share in the new company, and as a further act of gratitude also gave him the deeds of a down-at-heel cottage in Green Street, Kogarah, valued at £60, which brought in a weekly rental of five shillings. He also promised that Whitehall should remain care- taker of the racecourse, “as long as he remains the honourable man that he is”. Mrs. Whitehall was personally thanked for her devotion to the cause for which, we hope, she was dutifully thankful.

The Moorefield Hotel did not pay its way, mainly owing to a lack of regular day to day custom, and eventually came into the hands of a Mr. Cuscick. To create some interest in the bar trade a small two-storied concert booth was erected on the extension of Hogben Street, east of Rocky Point Road, which led to the entrance gates of the racecourse. This booth was located immediately opposite to and on the northern side of the hotel and concert patrons, who sat on rough slab seats contained within an open picket-fenced enclosure, upon payment of threepence, could adjourn for a pot if and when needed.

The concert booth had a loose shuttered south wall facing to the seating enclosure, which presented the performers to their public at a high level, above their heads in fact. Messrs. Ted Baker and Doug Austin were responsible for the entertainment, the artists, to the number of about a dozen, being seated on Austrian chairs arranged in a semi-circular row. The two outer chairs were reserved for pseudo minstrels, complete with large white, and sometimes red, mouths, and who usually accompanied their own line of patter by clacking the “Bones” which, held in both hands, set the temp. A small Chapel piano was used to accompany the singing stars and the efforts of the comedians. This instrument, on the closure of the concert booth about 1911, was presented to Miss Elizabeth Whitehall, in whose possession it still remains.

About 1895 Peter Moore, with his retrieved fortunes, erected a large mansion on his property, which confronted President Avenue and was well placed at the rear and extensive garden and shrubbery. According to Miss Whitehall Peter Moore brought his mother and sister to live in this house, he and his own immediate family continuing to reside at the hotel premises. However, he later occupied the mansion, when the Moorefield Hotel was demolished in accordance with the dictates of the “No-license Act of 1911” , which was responsible for the enforced closure of many old established hostelries in both the St. George District and the State of New South Wales at large.

About this particular period a portion of the Moorefield property, along the north-western alignment of Rocky Point Road, was utilised as a cattle and livestock saleyard, the area being divided into a series of pens, the gates of which opened out into a fenced access way. A special and pleasant feature of this particular paddock was a single line of immense blue gum trees, survivors no doubt of the forest which at one time covered the shallow hill slopes of this part of Kogarah.

Charles Whitehall died in 1936 and later, with the passing of Peter Moore, the racecourse was closed. The estate was sold to a real estate company and subsequently subdivided into some 300 building blocks. During July 1954, an area of 19 acres was purchased by the Department of Education, the land bordering the frontage of Rocky Point Road. In due course, the Moorefield Girls’ High School, together with the James Cook Boys’ High School came into being. The mansion of Peter Moore was razed to the ground and almost every one of the lovely trees were felled, in accordance with the scorched earth policy so needlessly adopted by the majority of real estate mongers. Needless to say the old homestead, occupied for so long by the Whitehall family, received short shrift in the widespread bulldozer destruction which, for a time, beset the landscape beauty of the former estate of Patrick Moore.

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

Browse the magazine archive.

by Anne Carolan

The Gannon family understandably hid their convict origins for two generations, so that descendants must ‘depend almost entirely on ‘government records and printed sources to gather information. However, episodes to give life to the facts do emerge and, in the case of my great, great-grandfather, Michael Gannon, these range from comic to tragic, from religious to criminal. In the Municipality of Marrickville the only reminder that he once lived in Tempe is the home of his son, Fred Gannon in Union Street.

Michael Gannon established a respected Cook’s River family, educating his children to become solid, sometimes prominent citizens in the local and wider community. He was (though an emanicipist and an Irish Catholic) active in conservative politics. He was a man of charity, who donated land for the future building of St Michael’s Catholic Church, Hurstville. For this he has been remembered affectionately during its recent centenary celebrations. He was involved in the foundation of Sts Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church, Station Street, Tempe.

He shared business interests with his wife’s brother-in-law, John Jenkins Peacock, and following his insolvency Michael, too, was declared insolvent in 1846. He was also charged with fraud, trying to keep a 14 acre block of Cook’s River land by placing it in the name of his wife’s brother, Edward Parsonage (‘a poor man with a large family’). He was sentenced to nine months in Sydney Gaol, but research to date has not shown whether he served this sentence.

In 1850 for the sum of £732, he purchased from John Holden and James Holt an immense forest of 1906 acres which had been granted to Captain John Townson of the New South Wales Corps. Previously it had belonged to Simeon Lord who named it Lord’s Bush. Stretching between the present suburbs of Hurstville and Bexley, it became Gannon’s Forest, and the track through it became Gannon’s Forest Road, now Forest Road. Michael watched the trees gradually disappear as the wood was carted back to the city. He made further profit as he had control of the Cook’s River Toll Bar. In contrast, he was, with his friend’ Walter Bradley, a prime mover in the formation of the original Zoological Gardens in the 1870s.

But Michael Gannon apparently never lived at Gannon’s Forest. Forced to leave his splendid home at 45 Argyle Street, Sydney, during the 1840s depression, he chose to move with his wife and nine surviving children to the picturesque settlement at Tempe. He was to live by the river for almost 40 years. He knew ‘Tempe House’ as Conrad Martens painted it and his family lived by the river far beyond the time Sydney Long painted ‘By Tranquil Waters’.

But the peace and tranquillity of the river were frequently disturbed by Innkeeper Michael Gannon and his lively sons. The Inn would have been a noisy meeting place for woodcarters and limeburners. His son, Robert, probably ran his horse buses to and from the door. Police-Reporter Charles Adam Corbyn described a colourful scene of the 1850s: Michael Gannon and his son Will were betting on ‘a slogging match, or fite a’tween two coves at the River t’other afternoon It was a case of all joining in. A basket-maker’s wife, Mrs Elizabeth Hilton, ‘the most dangerous character in the community, and a terror to all the peaceable folks at Cook’s River . . . fought with her hands, legs, teeth and with glass bottles, stones, and old boots’. The Gannons received fines totalling £1/10/ -. Brushes with law did not deter Michael Gannon as might be guessed from the manner of his arrival in the colony.

The Voyage from Ireland – Convict Life in Sydney

Michael Gannon and his younger brother James were born respectively c 1798 and c 1803 in the village of Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. They were both skilled tradesmen, probably working with their father, John Gannon, described as a joiner or master-builder. Their mother was Alicia Gelchin or Kinsela. There were two sisters, Catherine and Eliza, born about the time Michael and James were convicted at the Lent Assizes in Mullingar in 1820. Michael was found guilty of highway robbery and sentenced to transportation for life. James was sentenced to 14 years for possession of forged notes.

Official records provide a full description of the voyage – the ship sailed from Waterford on 22.8.1820 and took 122 days to reach Port Jackson on 22.12.1820. The ‘Almorah’ weighed 416 tons (the size of an old Manly ferry), its captain was Thomas Winter and its Surgeon/Superintendent was Samuel Alexander. It carried 160 male convicts (only 1 died on the voyage) and 31 soldiers of the 1st Regiment of Foot. Alexander wrote a lurid account of gastric problems suffered by the prisoner Michael Gannon, aged 23, who spent ten days in the ship’s hospital. We are even told the medicines prescribed. Alexander remarked:

“the prisoners were very sickly, dysentery having made its appearance among them. and was entirely confined to them, not a single case having occurred either among the guard or ship’s company. Its attacks . . . were confined to the young and plethoric and in my opinion were to be attributed to the following circumstances: The prisoners who came out by the ‘Almorah were embarked on board of two vessels of about 130 tons each at Dublin on 20th July, for conveyance to Cork when this ship waited their arrival, and as the passage from Dublin to Cork is generally made in from 36 to 40 hours, the only fitting that was deemed necessary for their accommodation was levelling the ballast and spreading straw mats on it, which served them as a platform by day and beds by night. After putting to sea the wind became foul and they were obliged to go into Waterford where they remained wind-bound until 12th August when, in consequence of the wind continuing foul, we were ordered round to Waterford and, transhipped them. The straw mats had got damp and rotten in consequence of the unexpected detention, and the state of the people on being transferred to this ship was truly miserable… we experienced very tempestuous weather after putting to sea, and the prison, as well as the upper decks, were almost constantly wet during the first week after sailing.”

Ulcers and scurvy were prevalent in Sydney, but the 159 arrived (still in leg irons) in ‘a tolerable state of health, without a single case of a man being flogged’.

In 1823 Michael was assigned as a carpenter to Joseph Broadbent and it was here that he met the teenage Mary Parsonage who, with her sister Maria, worked there as household servants.

Michael Gannon and Mary married at the old St Philip’s Church on 31.8.1824. With men outnumbering women in the colony at that time, it is interesting that Mary, native-born, chose to marry an assigned servant with a life sentence. Michael was not to obtain his Ticket-of-Leave until 1829, his Conditional Pardon until 1835 and his Absolute Pardon until 27.12.1841. At various times Michael was described as 5′ 6 and 1/2″ tall, his face pale (ruddy in later years!) and pock-pitted, hair fair/brown/grey, eyes hazel/grey.

In 1826 Mary Gannon petitioned Governor Ralph Darling to have her husband assigned to her, transferring him from Mrs Ann Worrall who gave him a character reference. This virtually allowed him to live as a free man. He prospered at his trade, began buying land and became an auctioneer where his personality and Irish turn of phrase would have been assets. He also became undertaker for Catholic burials.

Settled into his ‘gentleman’s residence’ at 45 Argyle Street (still standing), and also being the licencee of the adjoining New York Hotel, he sent to Ireland for his young sisters Catherine and Eliza and relatives Margaret and her brother Patrick Gannon. No doubt Michael and Mary were at the wharf to welcome the new arrivals as the ‘Palestine’ came up the harbour on 7.3.1842. The sisters had travelled with Thomas Cunningham and his wife, Judith, who brought with them Francis (4) and Eliza (1). Michael Gannon had an agreement with them that they would work on his ‘farm at Cook’s River’ for one year, Thomas as a farm labourer and Judith was to look after the poultry. For this they would receive £25 and the following weekly rations: 15 lbs flour, 3 lbs sugar, 10 lbs beef, 4 oz tea and 1 fig of tobacco. About this time, the Gannons also moved to Tempe.

Gannon’s Inn and Family Profiles

Doubt exists concerning the exact location of the Gannon pub(s). Early maps show St Peters Church of England and Gannon’s Inn as the only substantial buildings in the area. The c 1842 map places the Inn on the western side of Cook’s River Road directly opposite Hart Street and extending the width of 2-3 allotments. The present Gannon Street appears where that Inn stood. The present Tempe Hotel (previously the Pulteney) lies opposite Fanning Street. Its residential sections and the rear of the building show much of its past grandeur.

Sand’s Directories in the 1870s help us to picture this section of Cook’s River Road (now Prince’s Highway). Fred Gannon (later to live at ‘Hurlingham’) was four doors south of the Pulteney with his father Michael living next door to him. The tram depot was built on this site in 1913. The saddlery business of James Gannon (the son) appears further south at the approximate location of Gannon’s Inn. He had a license for the Union in 1860. Alfred Gannon’s butcher shop was on the eastern side near Albert Street, Thomas Chalder was at ‘Heathcote’ near Ricketty Lane, now Canal Road, and Michael’s daughter Maria and her husband Christopher Lenehan were at ‘Emerald Villa’ next door to Dr G.A. Tucker and Bayview House.

From the 1840s Gannon’s Inn came some of the area’s first tradesmen, shopkeepers, professional men and sporting characters. And the extended family living in and visiting the Tempe area during Michael’s’ life included the names Parsonage, Peacock, Lenehan, Murray, Smidmore and Mitchell. It will be possible to add further to the picture of the Tempe area, its homes and its buildings when the records of St Peters Municipality, presently held by the Marrickville Municipal Council, are made available to the public.

The following are brief notes on Michael’s children:

John Thomas (1825-56) m. Eliza Laurence ‘an old servant’ of Alexander Brodie Spark. His diary describes the wedding party departing in a coach and four. John was a freeholder. No issue.

Mary (1827-28) Robert (1829-66) m. Agnes Conley of Newtown. Coach and omnibus proprietor. Died of cancer of the throat, leaving children aged 1 to 12 years. The eldest, Robert William, drowned in Wolli Creek the next year. An inquest at Michael Gannon’s home describes his struggles in the water with his two playmates. Another son, James (Jim) Conley Gannon, was a barrister and K.C. He was M.L.C. and N.S.W. Attorney-General in the brief Wardell Ministry in 1904.

William (1831-94) m. (1) Rosa Edwards or Edmunds in New Zealand in 1868. He was probably with his aunt, Maria (Parsonage) and her husband John Jenkins Peacock who had shipping interest there. His son, John Thomas Peacock, was a Member of the Legislative Council for Canterbury. William’s business ventures failed and his sporting ventures also foundered when a horse he was shipping from Newcastle was lost overboard. Returning to Sydney, Rosa died in 1869 aged 23. He married (2) Helena Parry in 1883. They were colleagues in the running of big city hotels, the Oxford, the Exchange and the prestigious Petty’s on Church Hill. William was a starter at Randwick Racecourse and owned ‘Arsenal’ when it won the 1886 Melbourne Cup at 20/1. He was a starter at the grand opening of the re-vamped Canterbury Racecourse in 1884. James (1833-80) m. Jane Chadburn. He worked as a saddler in Tempe and had the license for the Union Inn in 1860. Alexander Brodie Spark mentions needing his services. Descendants are living in Ewart Street, Marrickville.

Frederick (1836-1923) m. Clarissa Murray. A solicitor. (See Heritage 1984).

Joseph Napoleon (1838-1908) m. Susannah Andrews. He had a business in. Tempe before moving his family to Cabarita Road, Mortlake.

Alfred Edward (1840-1908) m. Elizabeth Hunt. He had shops in Tempe and Hurstville (Gannon’s Forest). In the 1880s built his home ‘Gannon Grove’ in Croydon Road which was demolished in the 1930s. He was an Alderman on the first Hurstville Council, 1887.

Alicia Teresa (1842-1904) m. W.H. Douglas Mitchell, a city chemist, who was an Alderman on the Glebe Council, 1909.

Maria Louise (1845-1932) m. Christopher H. Lenehan. Lived Tempe, where he was a tea merchant. Later ran the Sanitorium Hotel at Brooklyn which was on the first Australian 5 Pound note. Later settled in Silver and George streets Marrickville (the house ‘with the lions’). A son, Robert William, was schooled at Riverview College and was ‘Breaker’ Morant’s Commanding Officer in the Boer War.

In tracing the Gannon family history it is easy to confuse the descendants of the two brothers. Michael Gannon’s brother James married Mary Phelps. Two of their sons appear in printed sources: John Thomas Gannon was a solicitor and Mayor of Goulburn. Michael Brennan Gannon was a land speculator and became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Queensland.

The Vault at Tempe

Michael Gannon died, aged about 81, on 9.8.1881. Mary died on 25.3.1878 and both were buried in the family’s private vault. Under the terms of Michael’s Will one of the children was responsible for the land known as Vault Reserve. But the Evening News of 16 September 1904 reported a request for a forced sale of the land because of unpaid rates! The land was sold and the remains of two people were re-interred in Graves 289-92, Church of England, Section 1, Woronora on 20.7.1905. It is unmarked – an ignominious finale to the life of Michael Gannon.

Strangely, the stone from the vault, discarded for about 70 years, was offered to me for placement. It has been given a simple inscription and now stands in the Pioneer Park at Botany Cemetery. We will never know what words were cut into the stone for Michael and Mary and the children who died before them. They are worn away with time.

This article was first published in the June 2013 edition of our magazine.

Browse the magazine archive.

by Noreen Burns

On Saturday, March 3rd, 2001 there was a celebration to mark the event of 75 years since Electric trains started operating in Australia.

With Bettye Ross, our esteemed President, I arrived at Platform 1 at Central Station to be greeted (with lost of others) with a delicious morning tea, a rousing repertoire from a very good band, a speech from our new Governor General, Professor Marie Bashir, and a short talk from Mrs. Beryl Godfrey of Oatley who, as a young girl, had been a passenger on the first electric train to Oatley. She recalled that with much determination she had got the much desired window seat.

We departed on the, now restored first electric train, which, compared with modern trains was extremely comfortable, airy and with a Traditional Jazz Band serenading us all the way to Oatley I enjoyed an extremely pleasant journey.

On arrival at Oatley we were ushered across the road to the Park by an accommodating Policeman, who stopped all the traffic for us, which chuffed us up no end.

From here in the Park we encountered other members of the St. George Historical Society and there was plenty of eating, drinking and merrying. ‘hic’

A splendid day was had by all.

This article was first published in the April 2001 edition of our magazine.

Browse the magazine archive.

by Mrs. J. Fairhall

Sadly Sylvia passed away on September 23rd 2013. She was a member of “St. George Historical Society” but because of her address at Niagara Park, she was unable to attend our meetings at Rockdale and “Lydham Hall”, but looked forward to receiving our Journals.

Arriving from England in 1950, aged 16, she became a loyal friend to people whom she met from that time. An avid reader and profuse letter writer, she kept close contact with her 5 children and grandchildren by this method and by welcome visits.

Known to fellow travellers as “The Lady in the Hat”, her large straw hats protected her red hair and English complexion from our Australian sun.

She will be extremely missed by all who loved her and those, lucky enough to have enjoyed her friendship.

This article was first published in the June 2013 edition of our magazine.

Browse the magazine archive.

by Dr. James N. Pendlebury

The Bexley Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church stands on a generous block of land in tree-lined Gladstone Street, surrounded in the main by Home Units and villas where once comfortable homes existed. Its large expanse of lawn reminds one of how things used to be. At night its illuminated front stained glass window draws attention to its presence. This church building is the place of worship for 60 men, women and children under the leadership of Rev Manas Ghosh, a Congregation which is 99 years old.

When this Congregation was commenced by the Rockdale Methodist Church for its ‘Bexley Members’ in 1902 there was no church building of any kind. Use was made of the Bexley Municipal Council Chambers, now Jack and Jill Pre-School, Queen Victoria Street for its Sunday Worship and for Sunday School. Clearly this was a temporary measure. It was soon agreed that a church was required. At the first meeting of the newly formed Bexley Methodist Trust at which Mr. Henry Barringham was elected Secretary and Mr. Swithin Berry, Treasurer, it was reported that an anonymous gift of £100 had been received for the Bexley Church Building Fund. This was followed by several other generous gifts.

Early in 1903, a loan was negotiated to cover the cost of 2 blocks of land with a 66 foot frontage in Gladstone St. almost opposite the Rockdale College, later the Bexley Ladies College, and in June of the same year the Trust, having considered stone, weather-board and brick, agreed to erect a rectangular brick church, 34ft by 24ft with a small pore, centre front. It had a picket fence and double gates. Worship was conducted at 11:00am and 7:00pm and Sunday School was held at 3:00pm. The first Service in the church was held on July 3rd 1904.

In a relatively short time, 1908, the Congregation had developed healthy growing pains and the Trust discussed the merits of extending or widening the church After advice and serious deliberations it was agreed that a new and larger church was required. This led to the extension of the present land by a further two adjacent blocks providing an admirable site with a 132ft frontage and 200 ft depth. A New Church Fund was established immediately but its balance was small in those early years.

Late in 1924, the Congregation elected a committee consisting of “…Rev. H. L. Redman, Superintendent of the Arncliffe / Bexley / West Bexley Circuit, Messrs W. H. Dunsmore, T. A. Johnston, A. H. Frazer, E. Ashley and C. Laverty… empowered to secure plans and estimate of costs of a new church building.” The Minister and Secretary “waited upon Mr. A. Lanyon Clark, Architect for the costings” and the committee and Trust were encouraged to pursue the matter.

Planning The New Church

The year 1925 was a very busy year for the Trust. Nine Meetings were held instead of the usual one to three. Most of the time and energy were spent planning the new church, although normal business did not suffer. Subscription lists were immediately opened and donations solicited. The volunteer collectors, Rev. Herbert Redman, Mr. T.A. Johnston, Mrs. Emma Martin and Mrs. Mary Neale did a splendid job, raising £500 to be added to the £200 already in the Bank. “In addition… 5 persons had each promised £5/5/- per year towards the funds.”

A loan of £500 was obtained from the Bright Bequest Fund and an overdraft of £1,500 was secured at the Commercial Bank. This encouraged the Congregation and Trustees to consider favourably a building cost of about £2,500 and Mr. A. Lanyon Clark was unanimously appointed Architect for the new building. His plans were modeled on the Methodist Church he had recently designed for Macksville, though different in a number of respects; e.g. Bexley has no tower. However, in a report in `The Methodist’ it spoke of Bexley’s diagonal door “which it is proposed some day to extend skywards in the form of a tower.” (3/10/1925). Mr. Clark’s plan was accepted by the Trust, with several modifications. The cross-aisle was removed, for example, and the centre aisle was replaced by 2 side aisles. and the Front Window Tracings were in cement and not wood. These changes increased the quotation of Parkinson Bros, Hurstville, by £32 to £2,569, £50 was allowed in this price for electric lighting! A brick front fence with single and double gates was also included in the quotation. Fred Parkinson, the senior partner, was very active in the Hurstville Methodist Church. However it was his lowest quotation which won him the contract!

The Building Committee, together with the Minister, architect and contractor, decided that “… the new church building should be built on a front line with the old church and 12ft from the fence on the Northern side.”

Work Begins

The two Foundation Stones were laid by Rev. Harold Wheen, President of the New South Wales Conference and Mr. T. A. Johnston, Secretary of the Bexley Trust, on 3rd October 1925. Children were delightfully included. “… three little boys and three little girls were called from the gathering to assist and each child gently tapped the stones declaring them to be well and truly laid.”

“Beautiful silver trowels, suitably inscribed, were presented by Rev. H. L. Redman to Rev. Harold Wheen and T. A. Johnston.”

The face bricks selected for the church at the Carlton Brick Yards were found not to be of uniform quality and so bricks at the Austral Brick Co., St. Peters, were inspected and accepted. The contractor declared that, if the St. Peters bricks were used, he was not prepared to pay the extra charge for carting, amounting to £11 and asked that the Trustees bear the expense. He was wasting his breath! The Trust “… left the matter in the hands of the architect, Mr. Clark, promising to see that the Austral Bricks were used and that the contractor paid for the extra carting charges.”

The architect, too, had a minor `run-in’ with the Trust. He asked that “… an expert acoustician be employed at a fee of £5/5/- to test the new church for tonal and sounding purposes.”

After considerable discussion, it was felt that this was a matter for the architect himself to deal with and bear the necessary expense “… as they looked to him, to have erected and handed over to them, as their architect, a church that would be free from echoes or overtones.”

The delays were only slight and the church of simple beauty and intimacy, seating 265 persons, was dedicated on Saturday, 13th February 1926, by the Circuit Supt. Minister, Rev. H. L. Redman, and the ‘most inspiring Dedicatory Sermon’ was preached by Rev. H. E. Andrews, Chairman of 2nd Sydney District. Rev. H. L. Redman was asked to perform the Official Opening “… in recognition of the most valuable services he has rendered in forwarding the new church scheme.”

He was presented with a suitably inscribed silver Souvenir Key, by the Secretary of the Trust, Mr. T. A. Johnston “… in the presence of the largest gathering ever seen in the Circuit.”

The Program for the Official Opening indicated that the new Church “… commanded a lovely view of the historic Botany Bay.”

At the Dedication of the new church a number of memorials were unveiled in “an impressive and inspiring ceremony”; a beautiful polished maple Pulpit, the gift of Mr. & Mrs. T. A. Johnston and Miss. Gladys Johnston in memory of the soldiers who fell in the Great War; a Pulpit Chair given by Mrs. E. W. Laverty MBE in memory of Rev Robert M. Laverty, “an outstanding preacher and great Scholar”, who retired to Bexley and died in 1914; a choice Baptismal Font (now in storage because of weakness), the gift of the Kindergarten School in memory of Alicia Nelson, a 4 year old S.S. pupil who died in 1925 ; two beautiful stained glass windows facing Gladstone Street “The Sower“, in memory of Rev. George Martin (d 1905), a former President of the NSW Conference and Editor of `The Methodist” given by his widow, Emma Martin, who herself was memorialised 5 years later by the centre window and “The Light of the World“, the gift of Mrs. Mary Ann Napper and family in memory of Mr. James Napper (d 1919), a lay preacher, a Trustee, an inaugural Circuit Steward of the Arncliffe-Bexley Circuit and a highly respected Rockdale businessman. The stained glass artist in both cases was Alfred C. Handel who created seven additional windows in this church before his untimely death in 1946. The Congregation has been blessed that in the 75 years since the Dedication of this building and its 75th Anniversary, all its sanctuary windows have been completed, the most recent two by Mr. Philip Handel, Alfred’s son; a gift from Mrs. Ethel Noble, one of the Church Members, now living in an Aged Care Centre.

This Anniversary Service captured people’s imagination, there being 200 in attendance. This number included large representations of the descendants of Rev. Herbert and Mrs. Alice Redman, including their son, Keith, now a retired Baptist Minister living in Queensland; of the Architect, A. Lanyon Clark, including his daughter Kathleen Steele and son, Thomas, now living in Melbourne; of the Napper family, including 6 grandsons and 2 granddaughters. Two lay members of the “Church Building Committee”, Enoch Ashley and Colin Laverty by 3 grandsons and a son and daughter respectively. Colin Laverty , at the time was at Medical School, Sydney University. He later became Medical Superintendent of St George Hospital. After his marriage to Dr Beryl Plummer he set up in private practice at the family home in Oriental Street, Bexley.

In the company of a large gathering and in the presence of God the members of the Bexley Uniting Church, on 11 February 2001, celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Dedication of the 1926 church building, conscious of the heritage which is theirs, thankful for those who laboured in the Lord in days past, praising God for what has gone before and trusting Him for what lies ahead.

This article was first published in the April 2001 edition of our magazine.

Browse the magazine archive.