Author: hcsYbOjXZv

by Fred Scott

One of the many buildings that have not survived the march of “progress”, and which are remembered by persons of a certain age, is the Sea Breeze Hotel at Tom Ugly’s Point, situated on the Princes Highway just before the bridge over the Georges River.

The establishment of this hotel is but one episode in the story of Albert Russell Emerson, the youngest of three brothers who migrated from their England home to Sydney in the mid 1800s.

Albert was born at Kings Lynn, Norfolk in 1840 and was the last of three brothers to migrate to Sydney, arriving as a crew member of the Eagle in 1860. Albert followed his two brothers into the oyster business, successfully operating an oyster saloon in the city for many years. Oysters were a popular and affordable food source at the time, with the Georges River oysters being particularly favoured.

But the oyster gathering was not controlled and no attempts were made to grow new oysters. The Government was concerned that a valuable food source was in danger of extinction so a system of licensing was introduced. After an initial ban on oyster harvesting for three years, ten year leases were established in 1873, with eleven individuals gaining control over all the oyster areas along the coast. One of these was Albert, for the “whole of Botany Bay and its tributaries”. This was actually in partnership with his brother John, although the official records only mention Albert.

Albert’s oyster business was successful and was praised by Mr. Langham, the Inspector of Oyster Beds, for his successful cultivation of new oyster beds and the high quality of the oysters being harvested. However it was becoming obvious the oyster gathering industry could not continue in its current form. The new licensing system had not eliminated all the problems in the industry, so after four years another Royal Commission recommended that all existing leases be cancelled and all new leases be for 50 years and all oyster dealers be licensed. Albert did not apply for a new lease.

Anticipating a development of this nature, Albert had leased land at Tom Ugly’s Point from Thomas Holt and by January 1878 a wooden house had been built to provide comfortable accommodation for holiday seekers and fishermen. This became the birst Sea Breeze Hotel, for which Albert was granted a publican’s licence in November 1878. He operated the hotel for the birst seven years of its history.

The Sea Breeze occupied a strategic position on the main road to the South Coast and was surrounded by pleasure grounds. Picnics and fishing were advertised, boat races which finished at the Sea Breeze were sponsored, a brass band was engaged on special occasions, and a wagonette service was provided from the city, described as “without a doubt the most comfortable convenience as yet provided for street travellers in our metropolis”. On special occasions, the steam launch La Belle ran every hour to and from Sans Souci and Sandringham (the locations of similar hotels).

The local seafood was heavily promoted as a major attraction, particularly the oysters and bream. Sir Joseph Carruthers once remarked on the fine oysters and the many black bream to be seen feeding on the oysters when he visited the Sea Breeze. Then there came a time when there were no fish to be seen, and on being questioned Albert said that campers had recently dynamited the water and since then the fish were scared away. Albert was careful not to mention that he himself had recently been prosecuted for dynamiting fish in the Georges River.

Following the death of Albert’s wife, the hotel was advertised for sale in 1883. The advertisement described it as having a 400 ft frontage to Woniora Rd and also to Georges River, contained 10 rooms, large bar, cellar, kitchen, bathroom (with water laid on to bath and bedrooms), and stabling for 20 horses. Other buildings on the property were used as a General Store and Post Office, Steamer’s Wharf and Boat Shed.

With a sale not eventuating, Albert continued to operate the pub until his death on 30 December 1885. His brother John was an undischarged bankrupt at this time, and it took four months for the executors of Albert’s estate to get special permission for John to run the business until a buyer could be found.

Towards the end of 1887 Azarias Cook purchased the hotel for the sum of £1,350., which he operated for two years before leasing it. The next licensee was a well-known cricketer Nathaniel Thompson in 1889, followed by William Matterson (father of Neil Matterson, the well-known sculler) in 1890 and 1891. The next licensees were the renowned Bennetts, starting with Charles Bennett until his death in 1898 at which time his wife Sarah took over until she retired in 1915. The Westbrook family were the next proprietors, starting with Charles Westbrook then, after his death in 1920, his wife Florence Jessie Westbrook took over, assisted by her son Harold.

Sarah Bennett brought to the Sea Breeze a parrot known as “Cocky Bennett” who became a great attraction. The sulphur crested cockatoo was over one hundred years old and had lost almost all of its feathers. Having been owned previously by a sea captain, and having spent most of its life at sea, it had acquired a wide vocabulary and reportedly entertained patrons with outbursts such as “If I had another feather I’d ____ bly”. A very quiet Cocky Bennett currently resides at the Carss Cottage Museum.

Many additions were made to the building over the years. The Sea Breeze was described in 1905 as “a building of brick and wood ….. containing Bar and large Dining Hall, 22 Sitting and Bedrooms, Kitchen, Laundry, Lavatories, Bathroom, Slab Stable, Coach House and all necessary outbuildings. The property is 3½ miles from Kogarah Station. The buildings are in a very bad state of repair. It is let at £3 per week. Present market value £1,500.” A photograph in the Daily Telegraph, taken in 1927 during the Westbrook occupancy, shows a pleasant colonial building with a shady veranda, bedecked with many ferns across the front.

The modern brick building that most people would remember was built in 1939.

In 1959 the Sea Breeze was acquired for £240,000 by the Air Force Association which offered it as first prize in an art union. More than 600,000 tickets at £1 were sold and the winners, a syndicate of 14 people, sold it for £191,000.

The hotel was demolished in 1995 and the site is now occupied by residential accommodation.

Journal of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society, Vol 7, No 3, November 2006
Sydney Morning Herald 29 March 1873 Page 4
Australian Town and Country Journal 19 January 1878 Page 25
St George Historical Society Bulletin – March June 2015 9
Government Gazette 6 December 1878 Page 4841
Australian Town and Country Journal 19 January 1878 Page 25
The Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Observer Friday 8 April 1921 Page 8
Australian Town and Country Journal 16 August 1879 Page 26
Sydney Morning Herald 4 April 1883 Page 15
Land Titles Office book 844 no 377
The Life and Times of Azarias Cook, 1998, Warren Duff, self published
Estate of Azarias Cook, State Records 2017088, 216891
Daily Telegraph 12 August 1985

This article was first published in the March 2015 edition of our magazine.

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by Gifford and Eileen Eardley

The name of Black, or Muddy, was far too often bestowed on pellucid streams by unimaginative first settlers in a particular area, and it is somewhat unfortunate that both of these names were conferred on the waterway, now only a brick-sided stormwater channel, which wends its silent way from the crest of the dividing clay ridge immediately west of Allawah Railway Station, to ultimately enter Cooks River at Kyeemagh. Unfortunately we must accept this nomenclature but to trace the course of any stream is always a fascinating procedure. We can picture in our minds eye this stream, in its pristine state, flowing gently through the undisturbed gum-tree forest, its fern-covered banks lined with Sydney Wattle and masses of Native Fuschia.

The hill slopes at the Black Forest (now Hurstville) are gentle around the upper source of the stream and its waters spring largely from such rainwater which percolated slowly through the undergrowth and surface soil, the bed being little more than a depressed runnel. All this tree-clad beauty was ruthlessly swept away by the developers and “well cleared land” was thrown open in small allotments to suburban homebuilders, when the railway came to the area in 1883. The upper portion of the creek is now largely confined within pipes and conduits which drain the numerous street gutters at their lowest level.

About the early nineteen-hundreds the creek, although completely de-forested insofar as its surroundings were concerned and completely suburban in character, still flowed through its own now grass and weed covered banks, forming little pools of no great depth here and there, and, in wet weather, racing over shallows of sand and iron-stone gravel wash. This was open paddock country before the houses appeared, and pipes were sufficient to carry the normal flow beneath Short Street at Canton, and Webber’s Road, which is now named Willison Road. Running northward the first bridge was met at the intersection of Guinea Street, Kogarah, a timber structure supported on timber abutments about six feet in height. Swallows nested underneath the floor timbers, oblivious to the occasional rumble of horse-drawn traffic overhead. Quite a deep pool was located at the southern side of the bridge, which supported a wriggling throng of tad-poles, whirligig beetles, and awful looking but interesting acquatic insects which were called “Toe-biters” and considered a menace by bare-legged schoolboys. It was against this particular pool that a solitary Native Rose (Boronia serulata) plant flourished, the last local specimen of its kind, together with a fine clump of Dog Rose (Bauera rubioides), each plant being a survival of the native flora through which the stream flowed so merrily.

Between the bridge at Guinea Street and a similar structure down- stream at Paine Street, the neighbouring hillsides descended steeply to the creek-bed which hereabouts was little more than a grassy hollow. Several properties fronting Railway Street, Kogarah, had their depth extended across the creek to abut on to the alignment of Taylor Street. One property in particular had its short isolated western section fenced all round, being separated from its eastern section by the creek hollow which was occasion- ally flooded in stormy weather. This enclosed western section was planted with a few exotic trees, one of which was a large Lombardy Poplar, quite a novelty in the St. George district at large. The grassy hollow along the banks of the creek was a great browsing place for straying horses and cattle, the beasts being let loose on the landscape to feed on such agistment that came their way.

Continuing northwards from Paine Street, the stream passed against the back fence of a pair of quaint “Mansard” roofed cottages which still exist in Paine Street, and followed a northern course between earth banks some four feet in depth, A narrow width footbridge gave pedestrian access from Station Street westwards to Queen Victoria Street. North of the bridge the deep and now murky channel continued, the home of bewhiskered water-rats, charming furtive creatures who somehow or other managed to keep their glossy fur coats free from the sticky black mire in which they eked out a living. One had to be very cautious in approaching this place in order to see the little animals sporting in the shallows, as at the least warning of danger they scampered to their burrows hidden beneath the dense masses of over- hanging grass.

At the intersection of the present day Robertson Street a rocky knoll was skirted, after which the stream, now about five feet in width, changed its direction to the north-east, following along the alignment afforded by the back fences of a row of brick cottages facing on to Warialda Street. A solitary willow tree graced this section, whilst numerous plank footbridges led from back gates to ensure the inhabitants reasonably safe but direct access to Kogarah Railway Station and its nearby shopping area. A herd of goats was associated with one particular family, and their straying and eating habits caused great concern amongst neighbouring gardeners. They also fed on the offal and household rubbish thrown over the various back fences on an “out of sight out of mind” basis, a regular practice everywhere until such time as municipal garbage, collecting services were introduced. Local schoolboys, generally three in number, have been known to round up an unsuspecting but friendly “Nanny-goat” and, whilst two boys held her, one by the horns and the other steadying the rear, the third, who knew the ropes, milked her into a not too clean but discarded jam tin. The milk was very rich to drink but it is believed that the old lady who owned the goat was far from amused at this clandestine practice. A “paddling” of red-faced Muscovy ducks were always a joy to behold as they swam and dibbled in the stream, keeping a wary eye open for roving dogs and stone-pelting schoolboys.

Clear of the easternmost cottage in Warialda Street the creek reverted to its northerly course and passed beneath a long low white painted footbridge leading from Station Street to Cadia Street.

The banks of the stream were now level and well grassed and in this fashion the confluence of Kogarah Creek was met, the latter being a small stream which flowed down from the southern heights of what may be termed the Bexley Ridge, and one that became famous, and quickly infamous, as the scene of a “planted” gold rush in days of yore.

North of the junction of the two creeks the united stream entered Fry’s Paddock, now a grassy well kept sward known as Fry’s Reserve, where a small water hole was met, out of which rose a solitary boulder, about three feet in height, the only stone met with in the complete course of Muddy Creek. Above the western bank of the waterhole, perched on a rocky escarpment, there was once a large hoarding fashioned in flat sheet iron after the manner of an old-time “High-flier” “D” class express steam locomotive, a lovely sight to small boys, which advertised to train passengers, on the other side of the creek, the merits of Pearson’s Sandsoap and Winkworth’s pianos and organs. A short distance beyond the waterhole the stream turned eastward to pass beneath the Illawarra Railway. It is understood that in the first instance the railway tracks were carried across the waterway by means of three span wooden trestle bridge. This structure was later replaced by a large diameter brick-lined culvert covered by an earthen enbankment, an arrangement which eliminated all maintenance requirements.

Clear of the culvert the stream, now a tranquil eight foot in width, its waters discoloured to a clayey yellow hue, passed through Mr. Fry’s orchard of overhanging water-loving quince trees, of which the authors have happy thoughts of ripe fruit and unpleasant memories of unripe fruit and its consequent disorders. This particular spot was covered with dense foliage, the home of numerous tribes of tiny Zebra Finches and Red-headed Finches, whilst underneath could be observed, at times, long sinuous eels and the snouts of tortoises. The stream was becoming inhabited by its rightful occupants.

It should be mentioned that the name of Fry’s Creek was in general use for that portion of the main stream flowing through Fry’s property on either side of the railway. The next section, east of the intersection of Harrow Road, eastwards to Rocky Point Road, became known as Skidmore’s Creek as it passed through the grazing and gardening property of Mr. Skidmore.

Clear of the Fry property at Harrow Road, Kogarah, another white-painted footbridge was reached, beyond which an entanglement of fencing wire marked the entry to Skidmore’s Farm, Hard by, on the southern side of the stream is the long low double-fronted farm-house which is still occupied, although the farmland has long been subdivided. At the period under review the creek flowed through cleared grazing land where horses browsed at leisure, together with many fowls and supervising roosters who resided in a motley assemblage of hen hutments and wired fowl runs nearby. Then came the confluence of another creek which descended from the wilds of Bexley as exemplified by the eastern slopes served by Frederick Street. The main stream was now greatly increased in both width and depth, the incoming tributary being lined on its eastern bank, which bordered a Chinese market garden, by a row of tall Pinus Insignus trees of great age. A dense hedge of prickly pink-flowered lantana, the habitat of a numerous colony of Silver-eyes, divided the northern bank of the main stream from the same well kept Chinese garden, once, so we have been told, in the possession of the Skidmore family. The eastern alignment of the same garden, bordering Rocky Point Road (now Princes Highway) was formed by a hedge of orange and yellow flowered honey-scented Buddleia shrubs, which provided nectar for a multitude of honey-eating birds, of diver’s sorts, and honey-bees.

A very tall Blackbutt gum tree flourished on the Skidmore property until about 1914, near the southern bank of the stream, which bore a placard nailed to its upper trunk stating “Woodmen, Spare This Tree in Memory of Poor Old Charlie Barsby”. We have often been puzzled as to why this particular tree was thus singled out, but reasons have not been forthcoming, the people concerned having long passed on. It may be mentioned that Charlie Barsby was a retail draper with premises both at Kogarah and Rockdale shopping centres. Near the memorial tree was a dense lantana thicket beneath which, in due season, one could gather a fine crop of large and tasty mushrooms. Also on the southern bank of the stream was a collection of three tiny brick buildings, marking the original home of the Skidmore family, which, unfortunately have long been demolished. The kitchen was entered through half doors, the lower half keeping the pigs out, the upper half, when opened let in light, fresh air, and flying fowls. A large wide-open fireplace was located at the western end of the tiny gabled roofed structure, where the cooking needs were accomplished by the old time methods of suspending the pots by chains above the flames, an interesting but hot and somewhat messy business. It is said that this group of buildings were the second to be erected in the eastern St. George land district, the first being downstream of which more anon.

The crossing of the Rocky Point Road over Skidmore’s Creek was originally effected by means of a water-splash, which sorely tried both man and beast during the flood periods. The ford was perhaps the major hazard to be met along the length of this now ancient highway. With the construction of the new road to the South Coast, via Tom Uglys Point, in the early eighteen-sixties, a bridge of logs was built across the waterway and from henceforth the crossing was made without incident.

Leaving the bridge the gently sloping hillsides on either side of the creek were both formerly under cultivation, that on the northern side being in the hands of John Lister, whilst that on the south was cultivated as a market garden by Samuel Schofield, and later by the German family of Reuter. The stream continued to flow eastwards through a wilderness of fennel and castor-oil trees on what may be regarded as its own right-of-way. Under its overhanging grass-grown banks lived another coterie of water-rats who prospered exceedingly on a diet of insect and other pickings lurking in the dense vegetation of the now rectangular-shaped stream bed. In succession came Thomas Mascord’s property, immediately east of that of Samuel Schofield, from which a small drain entered, passing through reed-beds and a small casuarina tree fringed lake s once the pug pit of the local brickworks.

The northern bank bordered the market garden of James Beehag, another pioneer of the district of West Botany. Skirting the latter property the stream now turned to the north, passing under Bay Street, and the trestle bridge carrying the former Saywell’s Tramway over the waterway. The immediate area is low-lying and still subject to flooding, up to four feet in depth, when Muddy Creek rises in spate.

North of the Bay Street bridges the creek entered the market gardening property of Mr. Quirk, later cultivated by the industrious Chinese, and followed along the western side of the alignment of West Botany Street for a short distance, Hereabouts, according to an old map of the area, a small and narrow island, no doubt covered with drooping casuarina trees, divided the stream. This island was later removed and the stream course straightened to lessen the effect of periodical floodings. Leaving Quirk’s garden the stream turned to the north-east to pass through the old water-splash once associated with the crossing of West Botany Street, the ford being later supplanted by a log and sawn timber bridge, much to the edification of the local farming community.

The long established market garden of James Wilson, later devoted by David Wilson to horse-breaking, and at present occupied by Chinese gardeners, has its original brick homestead maintained in good order and condition. This cottage was claimed by the late Thomas Mascord to be the first house built in Rockdale and as such is of historic importance. It would date, perhaps, to the early eighteen-fifties, The creek widened in this vicinity and deep swimming holes, lined with casuarina trees, became a feature. It has been related that in the early days of the local settlement a youth dived into the stream and was almost disembowelled when he struck the rusty lid of a submerged kerosene tin. He was quickly hauled ashore and bandaged by a Chinese gardener, a chaff bag being used for the purpose. The injured lad was then placed on a horse dray and taken over the indifferent roads to Sydney Hospital.

The market garden property of Charles Napper lay slightly to the south of the stream, its site marked today by the Elizabethan Bowling Club. According to report there is a jam-jar full of golden sovereigns, hidden at the time of the Bank failures of the early eighteen-nineties, buried on the old Napper estate, Then came the market garden of John Bowmer, bisected by the waterway, the two sections being joined by a log bridge. The Bowmer homestead, named Burton Cottage, was placed at the crest of a low hillock abutting on to the northern side of the stream, well above flood level. The original building dated back to 1872 and it is surmised that this building still stands and that it has long been used as a barn or cart shed and, in more modern times, as a garage.

Beyond the fence line of the Bowmer property the stream veers to the north and enters a wide depression with the slopes of a clay hill on the western flank, and about a half mile width of sand dunes on the eastern flank, reaching to the shore of Botany Bay, The bottom of the depression is covered by a dense mass of reeds, the haunt of snakes and water-fowl such as Bald Coots and the showy Purple-breasted Gallinules, Herons and egrets are regular visitants, seeking, like the snakes, a diet of frogs. Also on occasions are to be seen Spur-winged plover and the stately Black and White Ibis, whilst Black Crows are not unknown. In this vicinity, towards West Botany Street, was the Boiling Down and Bone-dust plant associated with the abattoirs of Mr. Foulkes, the residuals from these activities were tipped into the now smelly waters of Muddy Creek, creating an aroma which was not appreciated by the local residents. Langdon’s poultry farm was nearby, the cottage being placed on the crest of the hill and surrounded by a group of trees which still flourish, although the house and its hen hutments have long vanished.

Following its northward course the stream reached the intersection of Bestic Street, formerly known as Goode Street, a one time bush thoroughfare which originally passed through the water on a corduroy mat of rough logs until such time as a bridge was built, From this crossing onwards Muddy Creek becomes tidal and its estuary widens amidst mud-flats covered with mangrove trees, the abode of multitudes of small crabs, cockles, mud- oysters, and whelks. A rich feeding ground for the aboriginal tribes of yesteryear. Salt swamp lands extended westwards to the alignment of the now untrafficable Eve Street, which skirted the watery margin, and on the east are the luxuriant vegetable farms associated with the Goode family, very early settlers in this interesting corner of the land district of St. George. To students of the past this area, not a village but collectively known as the West Botany Farms, is classic ground for the cottagers round about may be included as being;amongst the pioneers of the easternmost section of St. George. The early cottage call for no special architectural admiration as they were simply built of bricks obtained from the local kiln and purely functional in design.

Muddy, or Black Creek, after passing through a wilderness of man- groves once inhabited by droves of wild pigs, at length reached Cooks River at the “Bonnie Doon” property near Tempe, the house being located in a surround of Moreton Bay figtrees at the rear of the salt marsh on the western side of the stream. A plot of dry land on the east bank is quaintly named “Gum-An-Nam”, why? No one seems to know.

In the early days of the settlement known as West Botany one could catch the horse-drawn omnibus at Sydneytown, and make the journey via George Street and the Cooks River Road to the Tempe Dam. Here a water- man could be engaged who, by means of his rowing skiff, gave further transit either up stream towards Canterbury, or the tidal limit of Wolli Creek, or downstream along the Muddy Creek as far as the Goode Street (now Bestic Street) water-splash. It must have been a tranquil journey amongst the surroundings of the quiet bush, and the equally quiet waterways.

It is not particularly pleasant to follow the course of Muddy (or Black) Creek in this year of grace. Its course from its upper regions to the vicinity of West Botany Street is contained within the sad brick walls of a stormwater channel, more of interest to bricklayers and civil engineers than the nature lover. The only trees along this section are a lovely group of Chinese Weeping Willows immediately east of the conduit beneath the Illawarra Railway. It is understood that the Rockdale Municipal Council made representations to the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board for permission to plant a similar row of Willow-trees along the banks of the section between Princes Highway and Bay Street. Their reply was the usual “Automatic No”, which saves the bureaucratic mind a lot of trouble and, perhaps, slight expense. In a suburb not noted for the wealth of its tree growth the contemplated row of trees would have been of inestimable value from a picturesque point of view.

The tidal section of Muddy Creek, north of the present concrete bridge at Bestic Street, still retains its mangrove tree fringe on its eastern bank, intermixed with numerous little jetties associated with the adjoining Fisherman’s Clubhouse. A great conglomeration of motor boats lie at anchor in the sheltered stream making a pretty sight amidst an otherwise drab landscape. The western bank of the stream, now called the Kyeemagh Canal, is undergoing the throes of a dredging and deepening programme, the mud thus obtained being cast into great unsightly heaps in the best engineering manner. The lower northern portion of the former Muddy Creek has been incorporated into the new channel of Cooks River, a diversion brought about by the extension of the landing ground of the neighbouring Kingsford Smith Airport. The banks of the stream, flowing between low-level banks, have been battered with small stones, the cavities between each stone being of particular interest to small crabs, which, in turn, are of particular culinary interest to certain Southern European families, One cannot claim that the present course of Muddy Creek has any pretensions to beauty, it has suffered sadly in being treated as a drain, and no attempt, unfortunately, has been made to recapture its former charm.

This article was first published in the June 1971 edition of our magazine.

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One of the best-known licencees of Saywell’s New Brighton Hotel, Lady Robinson’s Beach, was Mr. Harry Figg. Harry Figg gravitated to Brighton-le-Sands after being Minehost of the Harvest Home Hotel, Hobart, but prior to his arrival in Australia he had seen very stirring times in South Africa. During the Zulu wars Mr. Figg had a unique opportunity of seeing the great Zulu warrior-leader, Cetewayo, at close quarters and witnessed his final capitulation to the British after the Zulu defeats at Rorke’s Drift and Ulundi.

In the article that follows (reprinted from the local press of March 1902) Mr. Figg recalled some of his memories. He had helped to bury the 806 Europeans who were slaughtered, almost to a man, by the Zulus at Isandhlwana on 22nd January, 1879. On the following day began the epic defence of the mission station at Rorke’s Drift, which has gone down in history as the place where the greatest number of Victoria Crosses were awarded for a single action. This episode inspired the splendid film “Zulu”, shown in Sydney last year.

An African Veteran And Hero

Although still young in years, we can see few better specimens of the veteran, and of those who have helped to build up the Empire during the last thirty years, than our old friend, Mr. Harry Figg, of Lady Robinson’s Beach. The demonstration of Saturday last goes to stir up the martial and patriotic spirit of the bygone days in those who have served their country faithfully and well; and to bring before our notice deeds and services to our country, which otherwise would be buried in oblivion. The more so as those who bear the brunt of battle column. He took part in the engagements at Umbalaze, Ulundi, and was with the first column through Isandaliwana after the massacre of the 24th Regiment. A chat with Mr. Figg on his personal experiences while under canvas in Zululand and South Africa generally is of special interest at this juncture, and the tender affection displayed by the wearer for his medals must be seen to be appreciated. Needless to say, Mr. Figg and his medals were in strong evidence today, when the welcome news of the relief of Ladysmith was so enthusiastically discussed.

Extract from Hobart Mercury, March 3, 1900

Many old soldiers put on their medals in honour of “Ladysmith Day”. Our representative noticed Mr. Harry Figg, of the Harvest Home, wearing two, which, on inquiry, proved to be the South African 1878-9 bar, Ekowe, and clasp, Ulundi, and the Ashantee, 1873-4. In cheering the men so gallantly going to the front now, let us not forget the veterans, whose toil and blood in years gone by paved the way for the Empire of today.

This article was first published in the June 1965 edition of our magazine.

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To mark the time at which the first Australians waded ashore ANZAC Cove in 1915,  thousands will gather to watch an ANZAC Day Dawn Service.

ANZAC Day was established to honour those who served and gave their lives in the Great War. However, in the years since WWI, Australian troops have answered the call to serve in conflicts around the world. As a result, ANZAC Day has evolved into a day of remembrance for all who have served and sacrificed their lives in conflicts that Australia has participated in.

The Dawn Service is a period of quiet contemplation, accompanied by the bugle call of the Last Post and The Ode of Remembrance.

Plan your ANZAC Day commemoration in St George:

Arncliffe
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service, Cenotaph Arncliffe Park, 71B Wollongong Road, Arncliffe.

Bardwell Park
6am: Dawn and Wreath Laying Service at the RSL, 18 Hartill-Law Avenue, Bardwell Park.

Bexley
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at the RSL Club, 24 Stoney Creek Road, Bexley.

Brighton-Le-Sands
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at the Memorial next to the RSL Club, 251 Bay Street, Brighton-Le-Sands.

Hurstville
5am – 7am: Dawn Service for members of the Hurstville area. This event will be lead by Hurstville RSL, Hurstville Salvation Army and be attended by local VIP’s and residents.
Hurstville War Memorial
272 Forest Rd, Hurstville

Kingsgrove
7am: March from the corner between Shaw Street and Kingsgrove Road.
7:15am: Service at Kingsgrove Memorial Park.

Kogarah
7.15am: March from Belgrave Street, behind Kogarah RSL.
7.45am: Service at Jubilee Oval Cenotaph, corner of English and Park Roads.

Mortdale
5.45am – 7am: Combined Annual ANZAC Memorial Dawn Service at Mortdale Memorial Park, 65 Oxford Street, Mortdale.

Ramsgate, Sans Souci
7am: March from the Sans Souci Literary Institute, 107 Ramsgate Road Ramsgate. The march will be lead by the St George & Sutherland Pipe band. It includes a colour party, local schools and sports groups, Army Navy & Air Force Cadets, South Pacific Concert band, and a catafalque party.
7.30am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at Ramsgate RSL Club, Corner of Chuter Avenue and Ramsgate Road, Sans Souci. Hosted by John Mangos.

NRL ANZAC Round
4pm: St George Dragons vs. Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium

This anonymous letter was written to Mr. George Hawk (known popularly as “The Bird”) when he was seeking aldermanic honours in 1900. Mr. Hawk was a well-known temperance worker – hence the heavy-handed humour.

Sewerside Brewery,
October 18, 1900.
– Bird Esq.,

Dear Sir,

As we understand it is your intention to give the ratepayers of Penshurst Ward a ‘blow-out’ on Saturday next, we shall be glad to be favoured with a share of your patronage. We think you will find the subjoined price list replete in every detail, and somewhere in keeping with your cramped ideas of liberality.

Wishing you success in the Aldermanic contest; and trusting to receive your further esteemed orders when you contest the electorate of St.George.

Yours very discriminately,
Swiller & Coy.
per …. S. Oaker.
Manager.

Real beer 9d. per gallon
Tanglefoot 8d. per gallon
Poison (our special election brew) 6 1/2d. per gallon
Aerated waters (with any of the above) Gratis

NB. The usual terms to Aldermen. CASH BEFORE DELIVERY

Editor’s Note: George Hawk was successful in the 1900 election to serve as a Hurstville Council Alderman.

This article was first published in the June 1965 edition of our magazine.

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by Gifford and Eileen Eardley

It is not very difficult to envisage the impact the introduction of moving pictures made on the community at large in the early period of the twentieth century. The magic lantern was in use, on special occasions, for public entertainment for several years prior to the advent of the “Movies”, hence the latter title coming into every day use. Lantern shows as such were generally staged at public halls, rented for the purpose, and were regarded as being ideal for teaching the young. Biblical slides, garishly coloured, were in great demand at Church and Sunday-school functions. The display subjects were usually taken from the pages of old-time illustrated Bibles, and the black and white slides thus obtained were hand tinted in primary colours to enhance their attractiveness. Lantern shows were more than often accompanied by a long, tedious discourse relative to the merits or otherwise of the characters being displayed. The glory of Heaven and the fiery discomforts of Hell, particularly the latter, were popular with religious-minded persons and gave the younger generation serious food for thought. The Chinese savants of yore had a wise adage to the effect that “One illustration is worth a thousand words”, and this saying is literally true, to see is to believe.

Perhaps one of the first examples of a picture that moved, portrayed per medium of the magic lantern, was shown in the early eighteen-nineties and depicted a heavily bewhiskered face of a man engaged in the dubious pastime of swallowing rats. A rotary mechanical device had been incorporated in the design of this particular slide, whereby the action of turning a small handle caused the lower jaw of the said bewhiskered face to open. At the same time the picture of a rat was so arranged, on a rotating circular piece of transparent celluloid, to pass into the gentleman’s mouth. After this manoeuvre the mouth snapped shut. This diverting scene, repeated several times, was usually the grand finale of any magic lantern show, secular or otherwise, and could always be relied upon to bring the house down. As the showman would say “Ighly entertainin”.

Moving pictures, according to old residents, were brought to Arncliffe on a commercial basis by Mr. King, a railway employee, who established his theatre on a vacant block of land sited at Nos. 3 and 5 Barden Street. As it was necessary to isolate the screen to prevent viewing by a non-paying public, the property was surrounded by a high wall, constructed of rough-sawn timber, and covered with flat sheets of galvanised iron. The street facade, of imposing proportions, was of extremely poor architectural design, its upper regions being decorated in painted lettering denoting that the edifice was “The Elite Picture Show”. However the elite of the neighbourhood, whilst duly impressed, chose to call the place “The Tin House”, and certain vulgar people know it as the “Flea House”. The proprietor, Mr. King, by virtue of his royal surname, also chose to use the name “Rex”, which was tastefully outlined in bare electric bulbs attached to the top portion of the screen. This innovation was regarded as being the last word in modern advertising, even today we have King Size this and that commodities.

At eye-level along the Barden Street facade were fastened the billboards to which were pasted posters depicting the current programme, together with forthcoming releases. The bills were printed in garish colours, and usually incorporated a striking scene taken from the particular film concerned, still a popular form of advertising today.

Admission charges were in keeping with the times, the seats at the back, which gave better viewing and lessened the eye-strain caused by the pictures flickering, ranked at sixpence, the more popular front seats were threepence per head. A most familiar ditty of the time, well known to the youngsters and sung with a swinging lilt, was worded: Come to the pictures. Make no delay. Back seats sixpence. Front seats a tray. Plenty of music, Plenty of fun. Plenty of programmes to and so on and so forth.

Seating accommodation was truly spartan, consisting of long slatted forms with hardwood backs, but as one went to the pictures to be entertained, comfort was secondary and of little importance. Narrow footways of mother earth divided the rows of seats, whilst beneath the seats the natural grass and weed growth flourished exceedingly, to the chagrin of young Harry Walker, who inadvertently dropped a whole shilling into the mass of foliage, and, after much searching, was forced to lament its loss. In addition to watching the stars on the screen, the audience could raise, if they so wished, their eyes and gaze upon the stars in the heavens far above, where the wonders of Jupiter, Venus, amongst a myriad of others, could be clearly discerned and fully appreciated. The management thoughtfully considered this aspect and did not provide a roof over the “Elite” picture show, although, in wet weather, patrons had an idea that the innovation was desirable.

Advertising was largely carried out by means of handbills distributed at the Arncliffe Railway Station to the homecoming crowds during the evening peak hours. Some five-thousand bills, or “dodgers” were printed and placed in the care of young lads, aged about twelve or so, who received payment for their eager services in the shape of a free ticket admitting them into the coveted sixpenny back-seat area. Competition amongst the lads was fierce and competitive, and several of the more enterprising amongst them discovered a quick method of distribution by the simple method of pushing the bundles of Bills up the nearest gutter drain pipe. This method however was severely frowned upon by the management and Mr. King, in person, made a periodic examination of these and other hide-outs, and promptly de-barred offenders from further service in the show business.

The electricity requirements for the arc-lighting of the cinematograph machine was engendered on the premises, where a large gas-engine drove, by means of a belt, a generating, dynamo. Surplus current was used to light the outside facade and internal arrangements, and also to dazzle the eyes of patrons who, at this period mostly came from either gas or kerosene-oil lighted homes. The exhaust from the gas-engine, a real chug-chug-chug noise, was diverted from the show arena by means of a bend fitted at the top of the exhaust pipe, giving the neighbouring residents the full benefit of the monotonous racket.

In case of fire the “Elite” frontage was provided with. wide exit doors, marked by a small red “Exit” notice placed within the glass of an oil lamp, just in case, as often happened, the electricity supply should fail and the whole place plunged into darkness. The efficiency of the emergency door arrangement was proved one evening when the gas-engine back-fired and the resultant explosion blew the exhaust silencer vessel. to smithereens. On this occasion the whole audience was out in Barden Street in a split second, their nerves in a shocking state, and 21 wondering as to what on earth had happened. It was usual in unavoidable circumstances such as machinery breakdowns, fil-fires, etc. to issue patrons with a ticket available for a future showing when conditions had been returned to normal.

A musical background was provided by a lady pianist, who, ensconced in front against and below the screen, played pieces of music suitable to the actions taking place immediately above her head. Tender love scenes demanded tender love songs, waltzes necessitated a rendition of “The Blue Danube”, or its equivalent whilst any old piece sufficed for the “Cowboys and Indians” as nobody would be listening to the piano when such absorbing and exhilarating actions were taking place The equanimity of the pianist was sometimes disturbed through the efforts of the youthful, pea-shooters, whose aim at their intended victim was not as good as it should have been. All in all the pianist had to be a most versatile musician, one capable of switching heir playing, say from the “Dead March” to “Napoleon’s Last Charge”, in the twinkling of an eye, subtly blending the notes of one piece into those of the other.

There was also another background to the films in the way of sound effects. This important department was generally administered by a youthful enthusiast, who also had to watch the theme of the film story. Galloping horses, for instance called for unremitting toil on his part in synchronising the hoof-beats, per medium of two half-sections of coconut shells, beaten in a clonkity-clonking way on the flat surface of a sheet of marble, said sheet being obtained from the top of an old discarded bedroom washstand. The beat of horses in the distance was simulated by transferring the action of the half coconut shells to a leather-covered piece of boa Storm scenes on the screen were handled with great gusto, the roar of thunder being conveyed to the attentive audience by means of bending and unbending a flat sheet of galvanised iron, thus providing a satisfactory ripple of sound which was beyond criticism. The swishing sounds of rain, according to the severity of the downpour, was brought about by swirling a number of peas around inside a tin film container. Every time a motorcar of the period appeared on the screen its program was heralded by the constant braying of a rubber-bulbed motor horn, a standard fitment on all cars at the time, The excitement afforded by the popular “Cowboys and Indians” films was greatly increased by the constant firing of cap-pistols, the noise of which made the welkin ring, arid, coupled with the banging of the coconut shells, brought about a cacophonous range of sounds greatly desired under the circumstances.

Admission tickets were sold from a small window located within the entrance portal to the “Elite” picture theatre. The tickets, individually numbered, were detached on sale from a single width roll which could be bought commercially at the time from Messrs. Harrington’s Limited, of George Street, Sydney, an old established firm which has long since gone out of business. As before mentioned the entrance charges were sixpence for back seats and threepence for front seats, a distinction being made between these groupings by issuing tickets of a different colour range, a system which assisted the ushers in the execution of their torchlit duties.

There were other methods of entry which were availed of by the impecunious pre-teenage children of the district. It appears that several sheets of flat iron, forming the western wail of the “Elite” Theatre, had been prized apart from the timber framing, without the knowledge of the management. Access to this aperture was gained by passing through the backyards of certain houses confronting Union Street, and, after “lights out” in the picture show, a fairly constant stream of would-be viewers stealthily pulled the sheet-iron apart, and crawled along the inner walls to reach an unoccupied seat. It has been related that on one particularly wet night, with a resulting poor attendance, the cashier, after selling about half a dozen tickets, wandered into the theatre to watch the show. He was amazed to see some twenty-five or so people, young and old, calmly watching the screen proceedings. He grabbed one youngster, who in his fright, was unable to state clearly how he had got into the theatre, and had the satisfaction of bundling him out into the rain-filled street. Said youngster then raced down Barden Street, turned into Station Street, and then into Union Street and the aforementioned backyards, where the unofficial entry facilities were again utilised. Once ensconced he kept a very wary eye on the movements and whereabouts of officialdom.

It is amusing to recall the reactions of the audience to the particular film being shown. Keystone comedies were in full blast, with the famous “Cops” well to the fore, likewise the custard tart throwing and receiving. The masterly mime of the late Ford Sterling, whose goatee beard and facial contortions never failed to bring the house down in paroxysms of laughter. He was eventually succeeded by the equally famous Charlie Chaplin who, in his early days, co-starred with Mabel Normand and the irrepressible Fatty Arbuckle. Advice and warnings were freely shouted at the screen portrayal, particularly from the region of the threepenny seats, and in the more tense scenes there was wailing and the gnashing of teeth. William S. Hart, the strong, silent cowboy, who was always on the side of righteousness, and Tom Mix, who acted in a similar theme, were both greatly admired, whilst Theda Bara and Olga Petrova held people entranced. Then there was Mary Pickford, whose pathetic adventures brought tears to many eyes, and simpering thoughts of love to her male admirers. After one particularly tense scene, which as usual, had a glorious ending, one tear-stricken female, going home after the show, remarked to another tear-stricken female, “They will be happy now”.

The advent of the Cowboy and Indian films, coupled with the hair-raising exploits of Buffalo Bill, brought about a change in the games of boyhood, and the former diversion, of “Bobbies and Bushies” was to all intents and purposes abandoned. The scrubby hillsides of Arncliffe afforded excellent cover for incipient Indians, complete with feather head-bands (the feathers being obtained from convenient poultry yards) and bows and arrows. The cowboy section sported murderous looking toy revolvers, and on foot, skulked amongst the bushes seeking the opposing Indians. The movements of both war-like groups were generally betrayed by their dogs, who also thought the game was great fun, and so it was, and still is, fifty years later.

It was most unfortunate that the proprietor of the “Elite” Picture Theatre, Mr. King, met an untimely death when he was trapped between the buffers of railway vehicles whilst engaged in shunting operations during the course of his regular employment. After his demise the “Elite” Theatre lay dormant for some time before it re-opened under the control of Soper Brothers, local butchers, whose business premises were located at the corner of Firth and Done Streets, near Arncliffe Railway Station. The new owners overcame the wet weather lack of attendance problem by roofing the enclosure, and providing side curtains of canvas, above the original iron walling, which could be moved at will in accordance with the prevailing climatic conditions. This innovation certainly gave a degree of comfort to the patrons but was not at all popular with the overlookers who preferred to gaze at the show from the slopes of the adjoining Barden Hill, and thus retain their sixpences in their own pockets. No doubt attention was also paid at the same time to the loose sheet iron which gave surreptitious entry from the backyards of Union Street.

A gentleman with the unusual surname of Blackadder, who had previously established another picture show, named the “Lyric”, near the corner of Stanley Lane and Forest Road, Arncliffe, purchased the “Elite” Theatre as a going concern. Lack of patronage eventually brought about the closure of the latter concern and the premises came into use as a store for materials of divers sorts. It was later demolished and the site is now occupied by two modern type brick homes.

The Lyric Theatre, Arncliffe

The “Lyric” Theatre was initially constructed of galvanised iron, after the manner of the “Elite”, but the rear section was half roofed over, giving a measure of comfort, during inclement weather, to the patrons who could afford the higher priced seats. However, it was customary during, or rather at the beginning, of showers of rain for the front seat viewers to dash willy-nilly for the protection furnished by the half-roof, much to the annoyance of the management. It was also customary for Mr. Blackadder, in person, to mount a small rostrum adjacent to the screen, and deliver a sometimes lengthy discourse on the subject matter of the films that were to be shown and also of any interesting features that were marked for the next change of programme. This vocal interlude was usually hastily terminated by the younger fry scooping up handfuls of ashes from the floor and hurling same at the now unfortunate speaker.

The gas engine and dynamo of the electricity generating plant at the “Lyric” was housed next door in the yard of the former Highbury Barn Hotel. The equipment was contained within the confines of a galvanised iron shed to which access was gained from the theatre. On one particularly wet night, the youth group from the front seats had foregathered at the rear of the sixpenny enclosure, keeping very in order to avoid managerial interference with their well being. All of a sudden terrific bang, bang, bang, was heard, instantaneously followed by the arrival with the precincts of the theatre of the piston and back portion of the gas-engine which had come adrift from its mountings and burst its way through the flimsy wall. The startled audience went in all directions, and the lights went out. It was indeed fortunate that nobody was injured, or even killed either by the whirling machiner or the ensuing melee, which bordered on a general panic and was far from lyric Repairs took some little time hit the theatre was a bit chary of advertising shocking dramas for the next month or so.

It has been related that evil days descended on Mr. Blackadder, who, according to local gossip, committed suicide, his body being found in a small office adjacent to the theatre entrance. A Mr. Prideaux took over for a while and he in turn was succeeded by Mr. Matters (or Matherson) who, so it has been said, was responsible for surrounding the theatre with a brick wall and providing an upper gallery which catered for patrons prepared to pay higher prices for their entertainment. Said patrons were also free, to a certain extent, from the attentions of pea-shooters who invariably came into operation when the lights were low.

Other changes of ownership followed and eventually the “Lyric” came into the hands of “Hoyts Theatres Limited”, a concern which instituted a complete modernisation of the old building, in the course of which the name “Lyric” was dropped in favour of the short crispness of “Hoyts”. The renovated concern flourished for many years but did not survive the introduction of the home television sets. The building was placed on the open market and was eventually demolished together with the adjoining remnants of the former Highbury Barn Hotel and its frontage of refreshment shops. Today a petrol service station occupies the site and all traces of the former occupancy has vanished from human ken.

In conclusion we must thank Mr. Fred Markham, Mr. Harry Walker, and Mr. Fred Allen, together with many other people, who have so kindly helped with the preparation of the article dealing with the bygone picture shows at Arncliffe and their vicissitudes.

This article was first published in the April 1965 edition of our magazine.

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The history of colonisation in Australia starts when Captain Cook gave the order to drop the anchor of the “Endeavour” on April 29, 1770, in Botany Bay. We had hoped to start the history of Hurstville from the same point, for, on May 4, Cook set out to explore what is now Georges River, but which he referred to as “the head of the harbour”.

Alas, we cannot get the captain further up the river than what is now Shipwright’s Bay, where he found a spring of water.

There is little doubt, however, that, in January 1788, Governor Phillip or his officers landed on the shores of Hurstville in search of the fine meadows which Cook found on the shores of the bay.

From the date of the settlement at Sydney Cove until 1810 the Hurstville district was largely untouched, with an occasional visit from escaped convicts or hunters employed by the Government.

In 1811 occurs the first reference to the district in the Historical Records of N.S.W. This occurs in a letter, written on September 22, 1811, by Dr. Robert Townson to Earl Liverpool. The letter is a complaint. The doctor relates that he arrived in the colony some years before, with a letter from the home authorities authorising him to receive a grant of 2,000 acres. This authority, however, Governor Bligh refused to honour, but after that Governor’s departure he received his grants from Colonels Foveaux and Paterson. On Governor Macquarie’s arrival, in 1809, however, these grants were annulled and it was not until nearly a year and a half later that the doctor prevailed on Macquarie to re-issue the grants.

Even then his troubles were not over, for on making a request to be allowed to sell his land and return to England the Governor refused permission. Townson refers in his letter to the fact that, his brother had received grants a year previously.

Now our interest in these grants is that if you draw a parallelogram, with an area of 1,605 acres embracing parts of Hurstville and Kogarah, you would be defining the grant of Dr. Townson, and if on the north-east of this you marked two areas, one of 1,950 and the other of 250 acres, embracing parts of Hurstville and Kogarah, you would he marking the grants of Captain John Townson.

The only relics of the brothers are a street name in Kogarah and in the name Townson Bay, and even that is in danger of disappearing under the modern name of Kogarah Bay.

In 1830 Dr. Townson’s grant came into the hands of John Connell. Connell had acquired also grants at what is now Kurnell, and one derivation of the name of that locality is that it is a corruption of Connell’s name. When Connell, acquired Townson’s grant, the locality became known as “Connell’s Bush”, sometimes spelt “Connelly’s”. In his will Connell bequeathed this land to J.C. and E.P. Laycock, and later on it was brought under the Real Property Act. In 1869 that part of the grant between Hurstville, Dumbleton, Broad Arrow, and Queensbury Roads was subdivided by E.P. Laycock under the title, “Subdivision of Connell’s Bush, Penshurst”.

Here we have, as far as can be traced, the first use of the name Penshurst, although it may have been in use locally before 1869.

It is understood that the name was derived from Penshurst Park, near London, and support is lent to this theory by the fact that, in a resubdivision of the original subdivision in 1883, the name given to it was “Penshurst Park”.

As the area was cleared, the Penshurst district became noted for its market gardens and orange orchards.

Some time prior to 1861, the south-western half of Dr. Townson’s grant was acquired by Mr. T.S. Mort, and from this gentleman the name of Mortdale arose.

Now let us turn to the grants of Captain John Townson.

On April 11, 1810, the Captain received three grants from Governor Macquarie, one of 1,950 acres, which was to be known as “Townson’s Farm”; the second of 50 acres to be called “The Retreat”, and the third, which adjoined his main grant was of 250 acres.

On December 31, 1812, Captain Townson sold the three grants, totalling 2,250 acres, to Simeon Lord, one of Sydney’s early enterprising merchants, for the sum of £800.

On March 20, 1844, the executors of Simeon Lord sold the estate to John Rose Holden and James Holt, who, in turn, sold on November 18, 1850, 1905 acres to Michael Gannon for £732.

It is interesting to note that when Holden and Holt sold to Gannon, the starting point in the description of the land was a dead string-bark tree at the S.W. corner of James Chandler’s grant called “Bexley”.

Another interesting reference is that the area sold ran down to a new line of road “from the dam on Cooks River to Woronora Ferry”.

With the mention of the name of Michael Gannon we come to the derivation the early name of the district, “Gannon’s Forest”, and the nucleus of the Hurstville of today which was known as “Gannon’s Village”.

The name of Hurstville is probably derived from the town of Hurst, in Lancashire, England.

The next large grant in the Hurstville district was that to James Oatley. Oatley Bay, the railway station of Oatley, and Oatley Park, perpetuate the name of this pioneer. This grant is dated August 31, 1833, and was under the hand of Governor Bourke, but, it was recited, that the grant is issued in pursuance of a promise given by Governor Brisbane. The area is 300 acres and the land is described as bounded on the north by “Dr. Townson’s Farm” and on the south by Georges Road.

James Oatley was a watch and clock maker whose premises stood in George Street, opposite the Town Hall, on the site now occupied by Kerr & Co. Jewellers. There is a story told that when Governor Macquarie wanted a turret clock for the prisoners’ barracks at the top of King Street (still standing and now used as law courts) he offered Oatley a grant of land in exchange for the clock and this offer was accepted.

It is possible that this grant was the reward for the clock, although, as stated, it was given on a promise from Brisbane, Macquarie’s successor.

James Oatley died on October 8, 1839, and he bequeathed the 300 acres, which is referred to in his will as “Needwood Forest”, to his adopted son, Frederick Stokes, otherwise Oatley.

In March 1881, Frederick Oatley sold the 300 acres to Charles Cecil Griffiths for the sum of £10,000.

Today the land comprising the grant is partly in Hurstville and Kogarah, the railway line approaching Georges River being roughly the dividing line.

When he received this grant Oatley was already settled in the neighbourhood for, on October 19, 1831, he had received from Governor Darling a grant of 175 acres, which is described as adjoining Miller’s and Lee’s farms. The grant adjoined on the west, Captain Townson’s 250 acres. On December 28, 1835, Oatley received a further grant of 40 acres in the locality and this grant was based on an order dated August 5, 1824, under the hand of Governor Brisbane.

An interesting reminder of James Oatley came to light in the year 1925. As stated, James Oatley died on October 8, 1839 and was buried on his estate. In 1925 Mr. W. Sivertsen of Bexley came on his tombstone lying on some vacant land on Moorefield Estate. In response to a request, Mr. Sivertsen prepared, at the time, a sketch showing the approximate position of the stone. The land was on the southern side of Ponyara Road, between Pallamana Parade and Kooemba Road, and the tomb of stone was about 433 feet from Pallamana Parade. Mr. Sivertsen could not find the vault but he was informed that when opened it was empty.

Adjoining the Oatley and the Townson grants was one of 500 acres to Hannah Laycock known as Kingsgrove Farm, hence the name of the district, and to the north a large area of 1,200 acres was granted to J. Chandler. These two grants are now partly incorporated in the Municipality of Rockdale – once a part of Hurstville.

Following the large grant of land in the Hurstville district came the smaller grants and the ultimate division of the large grants.

In the Sydney ”Echo” of October 25 1890, a writer has given a list of some of the pioneers of the Hurstville district, Donnelly Fisher, he states, had 116 at Jewfish Point on Gungah Bay; John A. White, 80 acres on Georges River; T. Lawrence owned 120 acres at “Soily Bottom”, Lugarno; while Frewin Sleath, James Draper, James Eaves, James Wilshire, Mary Shapley, Thomas McCaffray, Jane Trotter, Patrick Galvin, James Ryan, John Lackev and others had grants varying from 30 to 80 acres. Mr. J.G. Tucker purchased an estate 118 acres and Mr. Wm. Hebblewhite bought a considerable portion of Captain Townson’s grant.

Peakhurst derives its name from Mr. Peake who was an early settler in the district. Dumbleton Farm gives its name to that centre. When the “Echo” article was written, the old farm house was still standing.

Mr. James Flood purchased 40 acres of Captain. Townson’s grant from Mr. Thomas Kelsey, and Mr. Thomas Bates’ land adjoined this estate on the west. Mr. Edward Flood had a farm at Peakhurst; and a large pear tree, portion of his orchard, was still flourishing in 1890.

It is state by one writer that Dr. Townson farmed portion of his grant and erected a house on it, but we have not been able to confirm this statement, If he did so, his produce must have been carried to Sydney by boat as there were no roads in the locality in his day. This, of course, was possible as the lime, produced by burning shells, in the vicinity of Lime Kiln Bay, was carried to Sydney in luggers.

The major portion of the area, now the Municipality of Hurstville, in a pristine condition, was covered by a forest of trees and one of the early industries was that of timber getting. For this purpose saw pits were dug and the sound of the axe and the rip of saws was heard in the land. Then the charcoal burners came and numbers of purchasers of blocks of land in Hurstville wondered where the deposit of ashes on their land came from.

The timber getters and the charcoal burners were a race of hardy and lusty men and their occupation developed a gargantuan thirst. It is not surprising therefore, that about 1850 a public house was erected and opened in the district. This was the Blue Post Inn, a low weatherboard structure, built by Richard Fulljames. It stood in Forest Road, nearly opposite where the public school now stands. In 1852 the Currency Lass Inn became a rival of the Blue Post. This inn stood near the present Post Office. Other early inns were the “Man of Kent” at Kingsgrove, and at Dumbleton, the “Robin Hood and Little John”.

In writing a social history of any part of Australia one must take account of its inns and public houses, for these, in the early day, took the part now played by Clubs and Schools of Art and other meeting places. In the inns, local problems and needs were discussed and action often followed these discussions.

We can be sure that one of the most discussed topics in the early inns of Hurstville and Kogarah was that of roads. Roads have been well compared to arteries, for it is along them that the lifeblood of commerce flows. Few travellers, gliding along Princes Highway at thirty or forty miles an hour, as they flash through Rockdale and Kogarah, or along the Forest Road through Hurstville, pause for a moment to reflect that once upon a time there was no bridge across Cooks River, that where the well-graded highways now run there were only bush tracks, and that along those tracks men contrived to haul loads of timber and charcoal and farm produce.

In the early days, Cooks River presented a formidable obstacle in the direct path between the City of Sydney and the Hurstville district. There are references to a ford, then a darn was thrown across the river at the Cooks River Road, and a bridge built higher up, which became known as Unwins Bridge, after Unwin’s sugar manufactory. Both the dam and bridge are shown on a plan, drawn about 1856.

On Dixon’s Map of N.S.W., of date 1842, the main roads of the Illawarra Suburbs District are shown to be few in number and indicate that travellers to the city in that year had to pursue a circuitous route.

In 1843 Surveyor-General Mitchell conceived the idea of connecting Sydney with the Illawarra district with a more direct road than the way by Liverpool and Appin. The road was completed in 1845 and with a few slight deviations Mitchell’s Road, through Peakhurst to Lugarno, is the Forest Road of today.

In the seventies, coaches ran from the city to the Cooks River Dam, and as the population grew the service was extended over the river to Kogarah and to Hurstville.

We cannot trace when Mr. Daniel Joseph Treacy started the direct bus line to Hurstville, but on December 8, 1881, that gentleman sold to Mr. Charles Fripp, “of Cooks River, near Sydney”. “All those several horses and mares (numbering in all Five) which with their respective colours and brands are respectively mentioned and described in the schedule at foot hereof, And also all the harness trappings and gear in use severally belonging thereto, And also all that wagonette numbered 283 hitherto and at present used and employed by the said Vendor for the plying for hire of passengers and parcels on the line of road between Sydney and Hurstville and vice versa, Together with the full right benefit and enjoyment of him the said Vendor in the entire line of roads between Sydney and Hurstville afore said as now held and used by the said Vendor in such plying for hire as aforesaid”.

And the purchase price for all this was one hundred and thirteen pounds sterling!

Mr. Fripp developed the business and an old faded photograph shows one of his four-in-hand buses standing before the “Hurstville Hotel”.

When Mr. Fripp, in 1881, paid over his one hundred and thirteen pounds, he did not realise that events were shaping, which, in the end, would drive his buses off the road and transform Hurstville from a country village into a thriving city.

This article was first published in the April 1965 edition of our magazine.

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by Bettye Ross

For want of a name I call the small ground birds in Neville W. Cayley’s painting above the carrara marble fireplace in Lydham Hall’s bedroom, Water Hens. I don’t know if they actually are Water Hens for although I have Mr. Cayley’s Book What Bird is That? I have never taken the time to compare the picture with any of the colour plates in this same book whilst I’ve been at Lydham Hall. Perhaps someone else can answer the question of “What Bird” is it in this same painting?

However I have found a little detail of Neville W. Cayley from various sources which I think readers will find interesting.

Neville William Cayley was born January 7, 1886 at Yamba, northern New South Wales and inherited his love of art and birds from his father Neville Henry Peniston Cayley who was an English painter who died in Sydney 1903.

By the time of Neville W. Cayley’s death on March 17, 1950 (aged 63 years) the above mentioned book was in its 14th edition and today is of great value.

Besides producing Our Birds, Our Flowers and The Tale of Bluey Wren he illustrated several of the bird books of naturalist-journalist A.H. Chisholm and painted many colour plates in Dr. G.A. Waterhouse’s What Butterfly is That? He also wrote and illustrated books on budgerigars, parrots, Australian finches and fairy wrens. His main medium in painting was water colour.

Many of his native fauna painting appear in Ellis Troughton’s books of Australian furred animals. In 1932 His Majesty King George V was presented with a Neville W. Cayley painting of Australian Splendid Parrakeets by the London Agricultural Society. A fitting gift as King George owned a pair of these beautiful birds and expressed his warm appreciation for the gift.

In 1924 an exhibition of Cayley’s bird paintings was held at Tyrrell’s Gallery in Sydney. The display was opened by the then Minister for Education (Mr. Bruntnell) who stated that the study of birds was a valuable aid in education and commended Mr. Cayley on his work which would promote the advancement of responsibility of the community toward the protection of these beautiful emblems of flight.

Mr. Neville W. Cayley was closely associated with the Gould League of Bird Lovers, was a member for II years of the National Park Trust, past president of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union and a past president and fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

Cayley’s mother (Lois nee Gregory) ran a Guest House at Cronulla where he was a founder of Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, and he also played a part in the founding of the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia.

Dame Mary Gilmore stated once that he (Neville Cayley) “loves the birds and in the birds, the land of Australia”. Cayley instilled vibrancy into each of his paintings of Australian birds and his technique showed their plumage colours in sunlight and shadow. His detailed studies of birds, their nests and their eggs have been used in encyclopaedias or ornithological treatises and never appear lifeless or uninteresting.

His work was likened to a Swedish painter Bruno Liljefors in that he never over asserted the decorative possibilities of birds in his paintings, many of which included those of Australian coasts, ocean, cliff and beach.

As The Sydney Morning Herald in 1939 stated “brilliant scarlet, blue, green and gold, pale, almost transparent in tint, black and white and silver, indeed as many-hued as they are numerous, the birds of Australia as shown by Cayley form the keynote for the protective colouring with which their haunts enfold them. Paintings of birds by Cayley transform any room in which they are placed into an aviary, a garden sanctuary, or a fragment of bushland inhabited by vital, jewelled, blossom-birds.”

Lydham Hall, an Australian home, is a fitting one to hold a painting of Australian birdlife by the Australian Neville William Cayley. Take a closer look at this exhibit next time you are there.

Editor’s Note: A birdwatcher in the SGHS believes the birds are white-browed crakes (Poliolimnas cinereus).

Sources:
The Sydney Morning Herald various copies
Australian Dictionary of Biography 1891-1939
Cayley, Neville W. – What Bird Is That: A Guide To The Birds Of Australia
Larkin, Maryanne – Sutherland Shire: A History to 1939
NSW Births, Deaths, Marriages Index 1788-1918

This article was first published in the May 2000 edition of our magazine.

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by Vincent Saunders

With the deviation of the route of the original Rocky Point Road at Arncliffe when the present highway came into being in the early eighteen-sixties, and the Forest Road was extended eastward a short distance from the crest of Cobbler’s Pinch (now marked by the intersection of Somerville Street) to link with the new route, it was thought necessary to install a marker stone as a guide to travellers. This historic stone, which unfortunately disappeared in recent years, was inscribed on the side nearest Rocky Point Road: “TO THE RIVER”, meaning Georges River at Tom Ugly’s Point, whilst the side facing Forest Road was inscribed “TO THE FOREST” (now Hurstville) and “TO KING’S GROVE”. It will be noted that the settlement at King’s Grove appears to be the only one worthy of notice at this particular period.

It is recorded that a small group of timber-getters in search of timber and firewood in the St. George District (once known as Botany Bay) spread out from Canterbury, and as the more lush areas were cleared a close settlement of agriculturists and brick-makers came into being. This rural area gained the name “King’s Grove” after the property so named which was granted by Governor King to Mrs. Hannah Laycock. The best barometer to gauge the progress of any early village is the number of churches, chapels, and inns serving the populace in the area concerned.

In 1841, Thomas Reid advertised for tenders for clearing 200 acres of the original 700 acres belonging to Hannah Laycock. At this time the 200 acres was owned by the trustees of Simeon Lord Estate and was subdivided into forty farms which had much heavy and valuable timber on the estate. The sale was successful, the property selling for £6,000. Thus just preceding the depression of 1842 a whole new class of settlers came to King’s Grove, augmenting the congregation attending church services, and swelling the numbers patronising numerous inns in the immediate area. It may be mentioned that a group of Methodist people had lived about the Moorefield Chapel for many years and that William Lee, one of the leading spirits in the Methodist community, had a grant there as early as 1823. Around Moorefield there were many land grantees.

The earliest church service of which there is any record was conducted in 1841 at Canterbury village by the Methodists (and or Wesleyans) in a temporary chapel in Minter Street, Canterbury, on a half-acre of land purchased from the Sugar Company for £30. It is not certain how long these services were continued.

Moorefield was reported as a preaching place in 1848 or 1849. Services were said to have been held in the residence of Mr. Chard adjoining Evan’s “MAN OF KENT” inn. John Chard gave half an acre for a church site in 1850. The conference minutes for 1851 report that a chapel was being built at Moorefield. Mr. Chard provided the bricks and also helped to build the chapel. In 1851 the chapel was a brick structure 18 feet by 25 feet standing in Moorefield Road. The bricks were made on the adjoining land and the timber for the roof and fence cut at the saw-pit of John Lees. The stone for the window-sills and for the stone name-plate was cut by Mr. Sly, a stone-mason of Newtown who was a brother-in-law of Thomas Chard. In 1851 Reverend John Eggleston reported the chapel was in course of erection. In 1860 the building was enlarged, catering for the new settlers to the district.

We find that at least three taverns carried on business in the King’s Grove area during the early days of its progress. It is recorded that in 1852 the “ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN” was owned by Mr. Stephen Bown at Dumbleton (now Beverly Hills) and in 1854 Mr. Evan Evans established the “MAN OF KENT”, a hostelry which adjoined “MOOREFIELD COTTAGE”, the Sharp Street residence of Thomas Chard. A third licence was held by Peter Shannon who in 1858 opened the “CURRENCY LASS” at King’s Grove. The only other tavern trading in the St. George District at about this period was at Wincanton, the early name for Arncliffe, where “THE BOLD FORESTER” alias “THE YORKSHIREMAN’S COAT OF ARMS”, alias “THE SANDS”, located at the north-west corner of Wollongong Road and the present Kelsey Street. There was another tavern, known as “Prendergast’s”, located at the junction apex of Rocky Point Road and Kogarah Road at Kogarah, but unfortunately, precise details of its ownership, or establishment, have so far proved elusive. It is possible that one licensee was named Emerson, a gentleman who subsequently became “mine host” at the “Sea Breeze” Hotel at Tom Ugly’s Point.

Apropos publicans, it is interesting to point out that Thomas Kelsey who pioneered the “Yorkshireman’s Coat of Arms” in Arncliffe to satisfy timber getters at the time of the economic depression about 1841-42 had previously been a publican of a sort at ‘Snugborough Park” King’s Grove, a property belonging to T. Oakey. After leaving the “Yorkshireman’s Coat of Arms” Kelsey took out a publican’s licence for the “Canterbury Arms” in 1847 at Canterbury village. Stephen Bown left the Robin Hood Hotel when Cobbler’s Pinch had been conquered on Arncliffe Hill in 1865, with the opening up of the new road to Tom Ugly’s Point, and took up residence as licensee of the “Gardener’s Arms” sited at the junction of Rocky Point Road and Kogarah Road.

So we may see from the above summary that Kings Grove was a very important part of the St. George District from the earliest times and we would be forfeiting our trust as writers of local history if we did not pay recognition to Thomas and John Chard, William Lee, the Hancock’s, and other early settlers in this short essay. Thomas Chard was a member of the Forest Road Trust, together with Michael Gannon, P.A. Thompson, F. Unwin, amongst others, when Stoney Greek Road joined Forest Road in the route from King’s Grove to Bexley in 1849.

This article was re-published in the May 1971 edition of our magazine.

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by Gifford & Eileen Eardley

The early settlement of the Kogarah district largely followed the route of the old established Rocky Point Road, which, as a rough bush track, had been constructed to the order of Governor Sir George Gipps, about the 1840s. The region was devoted to market gardening and the cultivation of orchards. The Sydney Morning Herald of February 2nd, 1878, published a paragraph relating to Kogarah, which conveys a vivid word picture of the local scene at that particular period and we have taken the liberty of quoting the article in full. It reads as follows:

“One of the prettiest though perhaps one of the least known roads out of Sydney, is that which goes beyond Cook’s River Darn to Kogarah, Sandringham, and Sans Souci. But few persons are aware of the natural beauty of the scenery at different parts of the road. The forest at the present scene of drought is clothed with verdure, very refreshing to the eye. Trees, familiarly known as the Gum, Black-butt, Swamp Mahogony, Forest Mahogony, Wattles, Acacias, and ferns, flourish in perfection; and in places show a mass of foliage almost tropical in its luxuriance. The valleys are for the most part covered with market gardens, which, notwithstanding the dry weather, are well supplied with vegetables. Though little rain has fallen lately, there is a good supply of water, which gives them a fertility which few other localities possess. The soil is black loam and sand, and being well manured, its richness is perpetuated in the driest seasons. In fact, it is at such times that the gardeners here reap their most profitable harvest. The moisture retained in the sand ascends in drought and nourishes the surface soil, and is productive to a remarkable extent when vegetation elsewhere perishes. Hence the good crops of cabbage, pumpkins, vegetables of all kinds, which now cover the ground. Splendid heads of cabbage and fine specimens of pumpkins lie over the gardens, and furnish the owners with supplies several times a week for the Sydney market, the return trip being utilized by the carrying of loads of manure to sustain the fertility of the soil. Many of the gardeners give the ground an occasional dressing of guano, and this further stimulates the fertility and they are amply rewarded for their outlay. The natural grass, tolerably fresh; and cattle; which find in it their entire sustenance, seem in fair condition. During the day there is generally a delightful sea-breeze blowing from Botany Bay, which is about half a mile away. The road itself is classed as one of the main roads of the colony, and receives an annual vote of £50 per mile. Formerly a portion of the money derived from tolls was expended on its repair, but the abolition of these will probably necessitate the raising of revenue for road purposes in some other way, as the annual vote is considered too small to maintain the road in decent order, the traffic in it being very heavy. Several new houses are in course of erection and freestone is available in the locality, there being a quarry on the roadside. The inhabitants are now endeavouring to secure a railway in the hope of converting it into a suburb of the city.”

With this introduction in mind, we will in the ten year period ranging between 1895 and 1905, visit Kogarah from the direction of Rockdale, walking southwards along the ancient highway. Approaching the bridge over Black, or Muddy Creek, can be seen on our left hand side, the tree-lined driveway leading to the fine old home of Mr J.P. Lister, bearing the quaint name of “Hayburn Wyke”. The residence, (which has now been converted into flats and modified accordingly) faced towards the creek, and it would appear that the property was formerly orchard land, which extended southwards to the creek and followed Rocky Point Road on its western alignment. At the time of viewing the land was a wilderness of weedy-growth inter-mixed with the broad- leafed foliage of castor-oil trees, the presence of a single persimon tree marking the old-time orchard. This tree carried a magnificent crop of fruit, a circumstance well known and appreciated by the writer in his more tender years, and also by his mates, whose method of approach was to walk along the bed of the creek, and then crawl through the long grass until the tree was reached. Here a watchful eye was kept on the inhabitants of “Hayburn Wyke” while the other eye scanned the branches for fully ripe and luscious fruit.

On the opposite, or right hand side of Rocky Point Road, was a hedge of sweet-scented orange and yellow flowering Buddalea, which marked the roadside border of an extensive Chinese market garden. These Oriental gentlemen lived in a rambling head-height hutment composed of sundry odd-shaped pieces of galvanised corrugated iron, held together in a purely functional manner, designed to give protection where most desired from wind and rain. These shanties were always a joy to artists and a nightmare to orthodox-minded aldermen and their cohorts, such as building inspectors and inspectors of nuisances. Adjacent to the hut was a small grove of sacred Tree of Heaven plants, and several spiky growths of New Zealand Flax, the leaves of which were split into strips to form binding for bunches of carrots, parsnips, turnips, spinach, and other vegetables which needed stringing together for selling purposes.

The western alignment of this garden was bordered by the banks of the small watercourse which drained the eastern hillslopes of Bexley in the vicinity of Frederick Street. The garden side of the creek was distinguished by a fine row of high, but somewhat spindly pine trees (pinus insignus) which formed a windbreak from the prevailing westerlies. The southern end of the well-kept garden lay against the tranquil waters, at times, of Black Creek, which hereabouts was also known as Skidmore’s Creek, the land being “fenced” by a wild growth of pink-flowered lantana, which, in turn, gave full protection against nefarious visits of vegetable thieves and prospecting schoolboys.

In the course of their unlawful occasions the latter youth group wormed their bare-footed way along the creek bed at the western side of the market garden to a point opposite the marrow bed. Small young marrows, slit down the middle and the innards scraped out, made two excellent model boats to sail on Black Creek, sails being devised from pieces of cardboard suitably cut to shape. John Chinaman had other views, apart from nautical ones, on the subject, should said youthful but aspiring mariners be sighted from the residential shanty, he would gather his assistant gardeners and turn out enmasse, armed with and brandishing hoe-handles, devilish long-pointed pitch-forks, screaming threats and, no doubt, suitable insults, in a language incomprehensible to the young offenders, who in turn, lost no time in beating a hasty retreat to the sanctuary of the creek bed, then hot-footing it home to safety.

There is reason to believe that this particular Chinese garden was formerly occupied by Mr. Frederick Skidmore, who apparently sold the property to the Orientals in the late 1880s. Mr. Skidmore occupied a group of three brick single-roomed houses, built in close proximity to each other, on the southern bank of Muddy Creek and immediately adjacent to the Rocky Point Road. According to Mrs Mitchell, of Harrow Road, Kogarah, this homestead was reputed to be the fifth residence built in the St. George District south of Cook’s River. In general design the kitchen, together with a small subdivided bedroom, formed the oldest part of the building group, and was reminiscent of an Irish peasant’s cabin of County Donegal. Entrance from the yard into the kitchen was gained by passing through a pair of half, or Dutch type, doors let into the northern side wall. This arrangement served a double duty, firstly, by keeping the lower half-door closed, the unauthorised entry of poultry and live-stock was prevented, whilst the opening of the upper half door permitted maximum daylight and fresh air to enter, and also, under certain weather conditions, let the smoke escape from the open fire place.

This huge fireplace, built of brick, occupied the greater part of the width of the western wall of the kitchen, and its burning logs must have furnished a cosy warmth in the chill days of winter. One can picture the pots, pans, and kettles, dangling at the end of their respective lengths of chain, suspended over the crackling flames. Nearby would be the woodbox full of burnable material and against the southern wall would be the open-fronted dresser laden with Staffordshire crockery of the more serviceable type. In odd nooks and crannies would stand spades, mattocks, hoes and other valuable farm equipment, stored for safety in this domestic sanctum.

The other two separately roofed rooms, of much smaller size than the kitchen, no doubt were used as bedrooms to accommodate the needs of an increasing family. In later years the Skidmore homestead was occupied by the elderly Mrs Lennis and after her departure, or demise, the buildings fell into ruin and were demolished about 1930. The site of the Skidmore farmhouses can now be determined by the modern residence which is numbered 611 on the Princes Highway.

Proceeding up stream along the southern bank of Skidmore’s Creek at the time under review, a notable landmark was met in the form of a huge gumtree, a lone survivor of the age-old forest which once covered the land. This particular tree carried a large placard, in its lower branches, which read “Woodman Spare This Tree In Memory Of Poor Old Charlies Barsby”. The reason for this singular notice has not been ascertained, and old residents were non-plused as to the whys and why-fors of its presence. The tree, of course, was not spared.

Abutting on to the site of the just mentioned gumtree was the farm and residence of another branch of the Skidmore family, the brick house facing towards the then unmade continuation of Harrow Road, where it crossed, by means of a narrow width footbridge, the muddied waters of Skidmore’s Creek. The single storied double-fronted cottage conformed to a pattern, evidently designed by a local builder, as other examples of similar residences were erected on farms nearby, and one as far away as Wazir Street, Arncliffe.

On the opposite side of Harrow Road, facing towards what is now known as Railway Parade, was the property of Mr. Fry, which carried an excellent orchard of loquats, pomegranites, peaches and other fruits, attractive commodities which kept the owner of the orchard very busy and war-like during the ripening season, for reasons that are obvious and better not stated. The creek at the rear of the Fry property, known locally as Fry’s Creek, was completely overhung by a dense row of the water-loving quince-trees, whilst the opposite, or northern bank was enshrouded in an equally high tangle of lantana and other rough growth, a most attractive bird-haunted area. The still waters beneath this sylvan splendour were the home of large eels and numerous small tortoises, all of whom were too wise to succumb to the alluring worm used in conjunction with a bent pin and a piece of thin string. In latter years the Fry estate was taken over by Kogarah Council and adapted as a nightsoil reception depot, a necessary amenity which did not endear itself to the local residents. The glamour of Fry’s Creek was replaced by a large stormwater channel and, fortunately, somebody has been wise enough to furnish a side planting of willow trees which have grown into magnificent examples of their kind. Strangely enough, so far, they have avoided being butchered to stumps by the municipal axe.

Retracing our steps to Skidmore’s Bridge, which incidentally, was constructed in 1862, replacing a water splash which created a serious traffic hazard when the creek was in spate, our journey continues southwards along Rocky Point Road. At the left hand side is the extensive market garden, acknowledged to be the best in the district, owned by Mr Reuter. This gentleman was famous for his Shanghai peaches and also for the size of the mulberry tree, which grew near his fine double-fronted residence named “Ashtonville”. These premises were in good repair at November 1964, but at that period the house, listed as No. 646 Princes Highway, was advertised for sale. The market garden had been operated for a number of years by a group of Chinese, but has recently been levelled and subdivided into housing allotments, a large portion of the area being incorporated in the modern shopping centre grandiloquently called the South Side Plaza.

Opposite the former Reuter home, and on the right hand side of the Princes Highway is No.619, a longish single-fronted shop which, at one time, was said to be a Free Church. However, at the time under review the premises housed the Small family. Then came, in close juxtaposition, a row of cottages which, greatly modified, are still in occupation, one in particular being conspicuous be a nearly full size model of a white horse, raised above an entrance gateway, denoting to all and sundry that a veterinary surgeon lived on the premises. The last house of this group, No.643, was occupied by a school teacher who at the time was attached to Kogarah Superior Public School. A vacant block of rocky land, now levelled and in use as a service station, reached southward to the apex formed by the intersection of Rocky Point Road and Harrow Road. In the latter thoroughfare facing towards the road junction is a row of small cottages, built in a variety of designs which were mostly in evidence at the time of our visit.

Opposite the Harrow Road Junction was the farmland of Mr. Chandler which has suffered subdivision into a housing estate, the name of the former owner being perpetuated in Chandler Avenue, which abutts the Highway. Opposite to the intersection of Stanley Street, is the large single storied residence, No.672, formerly occupied by Mr Hepple, a successful local bookmaker. On either side of Stanley Street were small general stores, built of brick, one of which, No.11, after serving for some years as a second-hand mart, has recently been replaced by a modern building. The other shop, No.13, still functions as the Malford Pet Foods establishment. The adjacent two-storied shops, southward from the intersection of Stanley Street, are of more recent origin and one came into use as a grocery store about 1910 or so. From these shops southward to Regent Street, was the road frontage of a large grass paddock, without fence, which eventually underwent subdivision and is now covered with cottages.

Crossing Regent Street, the first building to be met was the Oddfellow’s Hall, locally known as the “Blood house” owing to the “free for all” fight which often occurred on the premises when let for public meetings, weddings, etc. The main structure of this edifice still exists and can be observed, with its high brick-faced gable and circular vent insert, from a position a little along Regent Street. The facade of the old hall has been masked by a pair of two-storied shops, although the main hall retains its separate access, as No.45, and is in the hands of the Yardstick Curtain Company.

Still keeping to the western side of the highway we would find that a small and neat double-fronted brick cottage, next door to the aforementioned Oddfellow’s Hall, was occupied in the 1905 period by the Powys family. Then came St. Paul’s Church of England Rectory, which later fell on evil days in the hands of a carrying company has since been demolished, the grounds being subsequently utilised as a play area for school children. The Sunday School Hall attached to St. Paul’s Church now comes into line, a prosaic building of no artistic merit.

St. Paul’s Church is really an historic building, the first portion, comprising the nave, being erected in June 1869 and dedicated by Bishop Barker in September of the same year. It stands on land donated as a church site by Mr. Wolfen and the structure, built of stone and roofed with wooden shingles, was erected by Mr. Bush. A sanctuary was later added which contains four beautiful stained glass windows, the gift of the Bowen family. Large side and organ vestries were added during the ministry of the late Reverend Stanley G. Best.

The Reverend John Done was the first incumbent, and on his decease his remains were interred in the cemetery located between the Church building and the frontage of the Church lands which formerly faced Gladstone Street. Many of the pioneers of the St. George District were buried at St. Paul’s Graveyard and the last burial was that of the late Mrs. Wilkinson, of Belgrave Street, Kogarah, during the early portion of the ministry of Reverend Stanley Best. The area was eventually resumed by the Department of Education as a play area for school children, the headstones being re-sited at the rear of the St. Paul’s Sunday School. A new rectory has been built on Church land immediately south of the Church. Beyond the boundary fence, at the supposed time of our visit, was a triangular shaped piece of unfenced vacant land which reached southwards to terminate at the intersection of Gladstone Street and Rocky Point Road.

Retracing our steps to the intersection of Regent Street, and crossing over Rocky Point Road before again heading southward, we reach a pair of well built shops, the first a general store, No. 692 and the next, No. 694, was the old established produce and chaff store owned by Mr. Harry Soames. These buildings were typical of the 1885 period and, unfortunately, both have been demolished in recent years, the land which they occupied lies vacant and is covered with sundry demolition rubbish. Crossing French Street we reach No. 708, a two-storied residence now sadly modified, which was formerly in the possession of Mrs. Hegarty, a sister of Mr. Peter Moore of Moorefield Racecourse fame.

Next in line is the old established jam factory, No. 714, owned by the Ambrose family. These premises have been greatly altered insofar as their frontage to Rocky Point Road is concerned. The old shop at the corner of Green Street was built by Mr. Sugarman who practiced his profession as a glazier, whilst his good wife helped to gain sustenance by regularly milking a herd of goats which roamed the neighbourhood and ate whatever came their way, be it grass, cardboard or old tins. The animals showed a particular preference for browsing in well kept flower and backyard vegetable gardens. Mr. Sugarman was of Jewish persuasion and delighted in having a pot at the nearby Moorefield Hotel, but was not so delighted according to a local report, when a stray match set fire to his beard and sent the lot up in smoke, a burnt sacrifice if ever there was one.

Between Green Street and President Avenue was a large block of unfenced land which served the local foot-loose horse and goat population with ample nourishment. Across the President Avenue was the long frontage of the Moorefield Racecourse, broken only by the short continuation of Hogben Street, which formed the entrance to the course and the adjacent two-storied Moorefield Hotel which had been built by Mr. Peter Moore. Also enclosed within the racecourse grounds and hidden from view by a ten feet high paling fence, were two small stone built cottages, obviously of great age, but their history has proved elusive. At the southern end of the course frontage is a group of three cottages, each of which could well date back before the turn of the century, and each of which is in a good state of preservation.

Reverting back to the intersection of Gladstone Street and following along the western side of Rocky Point Road, in a southerly direction, we reach a triangular block of land with a building flanked by peppercorn trees. We have no clue as to the vintage of owner of these premises but believe that he was greatly interested in racehorses. Then came a group of about five small single-fronted cottages built to the order of Mr Peter Moore, one which survives, is named “Bega” and another “Milton”. Next door to this row was a blacksmith’s shop, then came a general store, and the imposing two-storied building at the corner of Hogben Street, according to local tradition, was the Kogarah Branch of the Bank of Australasia. For a great many years these premises have been, and still are, utilised as a mixed business store.

Crossing Hogben Street and a long vacant piece of land, which, if my memory is correct, was once occupied by a small weatherboard cottage, and later by a bottle yard, we arrive at the blacksmith’s and farrier’s chop of Mr. Killick. Hard against these premises was South’s general store and bakery, an old established business managed, over a long period by at least four generations of the South family. It was here that, in pre-railway days, one caught Mr. Lowe’s horse-drawn omnibus when going to Sydney Town, and also posted and received one’s mail. The shop was the centre of activity for the rural community for many miles around. Continuing over the obviously named South Street, we pass by a large fenced paddock in the middle of which was a small cottage, the ownership of same has not been traced as yet. This paddock eventually came into the possession of the St. George Cottage Hospital authorities about the year 1893.

Next door to the paddock just mentioned was the small stone church, built in 1865, by Mr Walz of Rockdale, and known as St. Patrick’s Schoole. The title was chiseled into a headstone beneath the eastern end gable and evidently the misspelling of schoole was pointed out to the mason as an ineffectual attempt had been made to chisel out the offending “E”. An ancient graveyard surrounded the sacred edifice of which traces remain, although the old school building, which also served as a church, has long been demolished. The present church, also known as St. Patrick’s, was built in 1887 when Father Byrne was priest in charge of a parish which extended between Cooks River and Sutherland and as far west as Canterbury. A rather unique tower has been added to the church fabric in which hangs a deep, mellow toned bell, said to have been cast in Ireland.

Passing by two old established cottages we reach the site of Prendergast’s Hotel, situated at the junction of Kogarah Road and Rocky Point Road. This ancient hostelry went out of business about 1863, and is regarded as being one of the oldest inns in the St. George District. It would appear that the site was later occupied by Beaver’s Gardener’s Arms Hotel, a large two- storied structure, which in turn went out of business about 1911 under the terms of the No-license Act of that year. The building then became a general store , in latter years was taken over, and subsequently demolished, by the St. George League’s Club preparatory to the erection of a new clubhouse. It is interesting to note that the first meeting of the then newly formed Kogarah Municipal Council, held on March 9th, 1886, took place at the old Gardener’s Arm Hotel.

Having reached the parting of the highways we will conclude this rambling essay with a quotation from the Kogarah Municipal Jubilee Handbook of 1935, to wit. “Records show that Kogarah has sometimes been spelled “Koggerah”. “Koggrah”. “Koggarah”. and frequently minus the final “h”. An Irish gentleman who viewed the district for the first time was heard to say “Kogarah, Kogarah”. It must be a Celtic word though I have never heard it before. It has a good old Irish rowl about it.”

These reminiscences have been culled from personal experiences of the authors and the able assistance of Miss Elizabeth Whitehall, a resident of some eighty years standing in the Kogarah area. Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. N. Wakefield have also helped in giving information which has proved must useful in the compilation of the text. There are, no doubt, many errors and misspelling of names in the script, but, by and large, the story is a truthful account of by-gone days along the stretch of ancient highway between Skidmore’s Bridge and the Gardiner’s Arms Hotel.

This article was first published in the February 1965 edition of our magazine.

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