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by Ron Rathbone

When I was eleven and in Year 6 at Carlton Public School, my father, a successful businessman, decided it was time “I learned the use of money”. I am not sure whether he attributed his success in business to the fact that when he was growing up he had been a paper boy but that was the future he had mapped out for me and once my father made a decision that was that.

I was duly presented before Mr. Cooper of Cooper’s News agency in Carlton Parade who, I suspect, had some reservations about the latest addition to his team of paper boys but he agreed to give me a go.

My run took me along Carlton Parade to Grey Street, up Grey Street to Ethel Street, along Ethel Street to Willison Road then back down Willison Road and Short Street to Carlton Parade. It was supposed to return me nine shillings a week less any uncollected debts.

In those days there were two evening newspapers, The Sun and The Mirror, the Women’s Weekly which appeared weekly and a host of women’s magazines. While the nine shillings gave me a degree of financial independence, it was the powerful Thunderer whistle which was an essential piece of your equipage that was the real attraction of the job.

Among my customers was a somewhat confused, middle aged, grey haired lady who wore unfashionable long dresses and took a copy of almost every publication I carried. Unfortunately, she could never find her purse to pay for them. Despite my beloved Thunderer which I ceased to blow as soon as I turned into Grey Street and my efforts to get past No.26 before the owner appeared, my attempts at financial debt containment were to no avail as she was always sitting on her verandah, hiding behind the fly wire door or standing just inside the front gate waiting for me to appear. According to her neighbours she was a harmless old eccentric who wrote poetry and was a bit soft in the head.

The net result of all this was that by the time my uncollected debts were deducted from my nine shillings each Saturday, I was lucky if I was left with five shillings.

Years later I won a scholarship to the Teachers’ College where one of our compulsory subjects was Australian Literature. It was while I was there that I discovered the impecunious old lady whose reading matter I had subsidised during my time as a student at Carlton Public School was none other than Stella Miles Franklin, Australia’s most outstanding woman novelist and a lady who enjoyed an international reputation for her writings.

There also lived in Carlton in the large two storey terrace type house on the corner of High Street and Carlton Parade another remarkable old lady. Her name was Miss Nellie Battye.

She had worked as a receptionist for a group of doctors until she was 80 and had then donated her services to the City of Sydney Eisteddfod where she inscribed the various certificates in her immaculate copper plate writing. She had been a member of the Fourth Ward Progress Association for a number of years and at the age of 84 joined the Carlton-West Kogarah Branch of the Liberal Party where she filled the vital position of Whip in the Branch’s debating team in the fiercely contested competition each year with other Liberal Party Branches in the area.

A pillar of the Carlton Methodist Church and a great supporter of the Wesley Mission, she fell down the stairs of her home on one occasion and broke her hip. When I visited her in Prince Alfred Hospital she was sitting up in bed reading the raunchy American novel “California” and declaring to anyone who would listen that she was a fraud who should have been sent home as there was nothing the matter with her.

One day I was telling her about my experiences with Miles Franklin whereupon she produced an early copy of “My Brilliant Career” the novel that first brought Miles Franklin fame signed Stella Miles Franklin and insisted that I keep it.

It is still one of my most treasured possessions.

This article was first published in the January 2014 edition of our magazine.

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John Joseph Murphy was born at Concord, New South Wales, in 1869. He was born with a great love of horses, which was to remain with him all his life. As a young man he entered the Meat Trade, in the beginning carting meat, and gradually learning every phase of the business over several years. He then entered into business in the Wholesale Butchery on his own behalf. Mr. Murphy was most successful in his enterprise, which he carried on until he retired in later life. He made a great deal of money out of it.

Margaret Prosper was born at Wattle Flat, 25 miles out of Bathurst, in 1868. Her father (who was French by birth), whilst ploughing his paddocks one day turned up one of the largest nuggets of gold found in Australia It was known as the “Prosper” Nugget. As a young girl Margaret came to Sydney to live, and later she met John Murphy. After they had known one another a short time, they married at St. Thomas’ Church, Lewisham.

After their marriage they went to live in Queensland, where Mr. Murphy had work. Eventually they returned to Sydney to live, settling at Rozelle. Mrs. Murphy went home to Bathurst for the birth of their first child, a son, whom they called Cedric. Three years later they were blessed with a daughter, whom they christened Violet Marguerite. The family lived at Rozelle for about 15 years, and then moved firstly to Five Dock and then Leichhardt for a short time, and then in February 1906, they moved to Arncliffe. Here they lived in a two storey stone house situated on the Highway, near Arncliffe Station. The house had been built by a “Cousin Jack” (a Cornishman), who had at one time been an “Admirer” of Mrs. Murphy. It was said that the gentleman had died in the house, and this made Mrs. Murphy feel uneasy and unhappy, so eventually they moved in September, 1907, to that delightful cottage “Mimosa”, on Forest Road, Bexley, right opposite the street also bearing the name “Mimosa”.

“Mimosa” was originally built for Mrs. Clune, widow of Dr. Clune, and has white washed walls and grey slate roof, with cast iron columns supporting the roof of the front verandah. The windows are those quaint many pained modified Gothic type. On either side of the Gate Posts stood Pine Trees, which gave the impression that they were guarding the driveway to the house. Today “Mimosa” has a modern fence and garden.

Mr. Murphy used to deal in horses, which he bought sometimes at sales in the Metropolitan area, and sometimes in the country. Some of the horses he kept for his own use, and others he sold. The horses were kept in paddocks adjoining “Mimosa”. On one occasion his son Cedric, went to the Country and brought back 15 horses. There was always a demand for horses in those days, by both the Business Merchants for their drays, etc. , and also by private people for their sulkies, etc.

At this time Mr. Murphy had the Slaughter House at Bestic Street, Rockdale. It had formerly been Whitby’s Slaughter House. The drovers used to bring the cattle down to a paddock in Gibbes Street, in the late afternoon, where they would remain until the early hours of the morning, when they would be taken down to the Slaughter House and killed.

When the Murphy family went to live at “Mimosa” there was a horse-drawn bus service operating from Mimosa Street to Rockdale Station. It was owned by an old man named Joe McGrath, who lived in Mimosa Street, near Downey Street, Mr. McGrath’s Bus Service failed, in fact he went broke, and the business was put up for auction. Mr. Murphy attended the Sale, and so that Mr. McGrath would not lose everything, he “bought the buses in”, if they did not bring the “Reserve Price”.

Mr. Formby, who owned the property adjoining “Mimosa”, said to Mr. Murphy, “Why don’t you buy and run the buses, so that we won’t have to walk to Rockdale every day?”

So Mr. Murphy together with a family friend, a Mr. Dean of Northbrook Street, Bexley, purchased the ‘Bus Service’ and went Partners. After a while Mr. Dean said to Mr. Murphy, “You are doing all the work John and I am doing nothing, so I think you should take them over on your own.” So Mr. Murphy agreed and so became the Proprietor of the Coach Service. So now he had three businesses: his Wholesale Butchery, Horse Dealing, and the Horse Buses.

Mr. Joe McGrath, the previous owner, was employed by Mr. Murphy to drive the buses, and of course Mr. Murphy drove them himself. Mr. Bill Huckstepp of Mimosa Street, was sometimes engaged as a relieving driver.

The Coaches, which were drawn by 2 horses, were built of wood, and were approximately 5ft. wide by 12ft. long. The driver sat outside at the front of coach in all weathers. He did everything. He drove the horses, collected the fares, and helped the patrons enter and alight from the bus. The part of the coach where the passengers rode was boarded up to about armpit level on all sides, excepting the back, which had a door for entry. It had a roof or hood, and canvas blinds, which were rolled up in good weather, and let down and fastened to the sides in bad weather. The seats ran along the sides of the Coach and across the front. The front seat accommodated 4 to 5 persons, whilst the side seats took 6 to 7 persons, The whole of the vehicle was painted black and highly varnished. The Coach had 4 wheels; the two front wheels were somewhat smaller than the back wheels.

The Bus Service commenced at 8:10 am each morning, starting at Mimosa Street, this was for the business people. When the passengers were safely seated inside the bus, including Mr. Formby, who was a “regular”, John Murphy would climb up into the Driver’s seat, take the reins in his hands, crack his whip, and away they would go. Trotting along past Nurse Scott’s Cottage, which was overshadowed by its huge magnolia tree. Then gradually gathering speed as the road curved at Smithson’s house, and round the bend passing the Preddey’s gracious two storey home “Besborough” standing well back from the road in its extensive grounds, and just beyond its semi-circular red gravel driveway. The clean sweet aroma wafted down to the passengers in the coach, from the huge pine trees, standing like mighty sentinels in a long line behind the white picket fence. John Murphy would call to the horses, urging them on. How he loved to sit there above them, reveling in the beauty of their arched heads, flying mains and tails, and the rise and fall of their gleaming satiny backs. Onward would press the horses, pulling the coach around the bends and curves of Forest Road. The continuous merry jingling of the harness, and the sharp ringing sound as the horses hoofs struck the hard stoney road, were music indeed to the ear, not only to the driver and passengers of the coach, but to those who lived along the route, and beyond. The clear sweet air of the Bexley Hills bore the happy sound far away. Away sped the coach over the hill, going by the fire station and Stone’s house, each of these buildings standing on either side of the top of Queen Victoria Street, and commanding marvelous views of Botany Bay and the land between, including the Railway Line and Kogarah Station. John Murphy would draw the horses to a halt outside “Cluny Brae” (now Victoria House), so that the McLeod’s, who were “regulars” could enter the bus. Then down the hill passing Kinsela’s to Dunmore Street, where a pretty girl named Linda McKenzie, would get on. Along Forest Road, and turning into harrow Road, and speeding down hill by homes both large and small, along Watkin Street, and so on to the terminus at Rockdale Station. John Murphy would climb down from the driver’s seat, secure the reins, give the horses a “well done” slap on their backs. Then he would go to the back of the coach and help his patrons alight.

On the homeward journey the horses would slow up somewhat as they climbed the steep grade of Harrow Road. Certain high-spirited schoolboys were wise to this, and when school was out, and the jingling of the harness heralded the approach of the coach, they would take up vantage points, and as it went along the road, they would jump up and hang on the back of the bus. There they would gleefully stay, holding on with all their might, until someone called out “Whip-behind”. Then the driver would flick his whip to the back of the bus, and the miscreants would jump off and run to the side of the road laughing, having gained a free ride and a terrific thrill.

Some of the passengers would come along to catch the bus of a morning still eating part of their breakfast. It was all very countrified. The bus always stopped and waited for anyone who was running late.

The bus service ran from 8:10 am in the morning from Mimosa St., an hourly service most of the day, excepting for “quick trips” during the peak hours. The “quick trips” or fast trips were made by going along Albyn Street, instead of to the top of Harrow Road and along Forest Road. During the busy period Mr. Murphy would put a young horse with an old horse, and when the passengers got on the bus and saw that Mr. Murphy was driving, they would say, “We will have a fast trip home tonight”. But they were never afraid, as they knew that Mr. Murphy was an absolute expert at handling horses, and anyway the bus mostly had the road to itself. The last bus from Rockdale of a night was 10:00 pm. If you were going to the Picture Theatre at Rockdale on Saturday night, you caught the 7:00 pm. from Mimosa Street, and you would arrive at the Pictures at 7:15 pm, nice and early. The next bus was at 8:00 pm., and if you caught this you would arrive a quarter of an hour late.

It was the duty of the daughter, Miss Violet, to see that the “Change” was ready in the collection bag each morning, and it amounted to three shillings. This seems fantastic, but then the fare to Rockdale was two pence, later to be increased to three pence.

Old Joe McGrath, when he had a day off from driving the buses, how did he spend it? Did he go to Sydney Town to see the sights or do some shopping? Did he go down to the Beach for a swim? Or did he just potter around or rest at home? Not he. He spent the whole day riding up and clown on the buses, occasionally getting off and refreshing himself at the Hotel. Well no doubt it was a very pleasant way to spend one’s spare time. Swapping yarns and jokes with the driver and passengers, and picking up the local gossip and news. On each trip would be new company, with new yarns, new jokes, and new gossip. Even if Joe had to make the trip on his lonesome, he could settle back and daydream, whilst the sunshine pleasantly warmed him through. Or he could watch the passing scenery, or the fascinating sight of the metal studs and ornaments on the horses bridle flashing and sparkling in the sunshine. If the weather was wet and wild with the heavy cold rain drumming on the roof, and the mighty gusts of wind pushing hard against the sides of the coach making it sway. How cosy, warm and intimate it would be inside the coach. Joe was a simple man, and he found less joy in simple pleasures, as indeed did most people in those more leisured times. Old Joe’s dream of the perfect life, (or so he said) was to have a room full of money. When you had need of some, you just went and took what you required.

Sometimes the right of the Coach to use the centre of the roadway was challenged by that well known personality, Jimmy Clarke, who used to walk daily from Smithson’s Wine Bar (now the Bexley Golf Club house), to Brighton-le-Sands. If the Bus did not keep a good enough distance from him, he would give it a mighty wham with his walking stick. He usually encountered the bus between the Fire Station and Dunmore Street.

The Murphy’s lived at “Mimosa” for about 6½ years. Most of the entertainment was in the home in those days. They in turn were invited to parties given by their friends. When they lived at Arncliffe, the daughter Violet used to attend school at St. Joseph’s Convent at Rockdale. Here she became great friends with the Moran girls, who also at that time lived at Arncliffe. Where the Murphys moved to “Mimosa”, the Moran’s went to live at ”Glendolough” (now the Salvation Army Boys’ Home, Bexley North). It had formerly been the home of their Grandmother, Mrs. Wolloghan. The Morans also had parties for their daughters and their young friends, and to quote Miss Violet Murphy, “It seemed like going to the end of the earth to get there, the going was so rough. But it was really well worth the effort, as when we finally got there, we had such wonderful times. We used to dance all around those lovely verandahs.”

Mr. Murphy then decided to buy the block of land opposite on the corner of Forest Road and Mimosa Street on the northern side. It was owned by a Mr. Buchanan, who owned a Silk Shop in Sydney. He bought the block, which was 58 ft. on the slant along Forest Road for £2 per ft., £116 all told. When the sale was finalised, Mr. Buchanan shook hands with Mr. Murphy and said, “I hope you have more luck with this ground than I have had. I have paid rates on it for over 20 years, and I am selling it to you today for less than I gave for it”. Mr. Murphy later on bought the two adjoining allotments.

Mr. & Mrs. Murphy built a very large bungalow on the land, which was set amidst lovely lawns and gardens. They called the house “Leeholme”, after a beautiful house they both admired in the Bathurst district, which was the home of the Lee family. All the family loved their new home. It was a very spacious place, with plenty of room to move about in, and every comfort. It had verandahs on every side, some were open, and others enclosed with large glass windows the whole length. One large glassed-in sun-verandah looked across the lawns and gardens to the tennis court. Friends came regularly to play tennis and spend many pleasant hours of enjoyment with the family. From the house they had a clear view through to the Fire Station in one direction, and up to St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Convent in the other direction. Between “Leeholme” and the Convent was McCarthy’s weatherboard house, which stood between Mimosa Street and St. George’s Road. Then there was nothing except paddocks until you came to Waratah Street, here were two nice brick homes, the first being the home of the Fosket’s (now a Convalescent Hospital), then the McEwan’s house, and then the Convent. On the opposite side of Forest Road going south was Formby’s, then “Mimosa”, then a two storeyed house just before Willison Road. This house had had several owners and tenants, and for some time was used by the Priest of St Mary’s Church in Croydon Road, as his residence. Further on was “Alabama House” standing like an English Castle in miniature, with its towers and battlements, amidst its beautifully terraced lawns on which strutted a number of peacocks. Then the large Estate of the McConnachie family with its extensive and uninterrupted of Botany Bay (now Sydney Technical High School).

When the Murphy went to live at “Leeholme” the bus service was beginning to really prosper, but so were Mr. Murphy’s other investments. He had given up the Slaughter House at Rockdale, and was buying his meat from the Wholesalers at Homebush, This meant that he had to have extra horses to pull the heavy meat vans carrying tile huge loads of carcasses, especially in the winter time. The horses used to “knock up” pulling the loads through what is now Kingsgrove Road in the wet weather. The so-called road was just a mass of heavy yellow greasy clay. He used to keep changing the horses all the time. When someone commented on his pair of horses once, Mr. Murphy said, “Oh yes, they are a very good pair. One does all the work, and the other is content to let it.”

At this time John Murphy found it necessary to have someone reliable to drive the buses, as there was no way to keep a check on things. There were no tickets issued, etc. So he asked his brother-in-law, Mr. Don Berg, to come and drive for him. This gentleman lived at Concord. He had been a Baker, but had retired. He and his family moved to Bexley, and he more or less took charge of the driving of the buses. But his family were never happy in Bexley, as they missed their old home and friends and interests at Concord. So eventually Mr. Berg left the employ of Mr. Murphy and took his family back to Concord. Mr. Murphy would probably never have sold his Horse Buses Service if the Uncle Don could have stayed on.

Mr. Con Ifland who was a Cousin of Murphy, came down from the Country and wanted to buy the Service, so Mr. Murphy sold to him two Coaches and two teams of horses for a figure that would not cover the cost of two tyres of today’s buses. Mr. Ifland sold his home and whatever other interests he had, and came to Sydney to take over the buses. The night Con Ifland came down from the country to take over, kindly Mrs. Murphy could not sleep, as she was afraid he might not make a success of it and lose his money. She need not have worried, because he never looked back. The business has been a huge success. Con Ifland first driving the Horse Buses himself, and later changing to motor buses when they came into use. The population steadily increased, and the bus service was extended first to Waratah Street, then to Hurstville Station, and now to Beverly Hills Station. Mr. Murphy was proprietor of the Horse Buses from about 1909 to 1916.

Mr. Murphy continued as a Wholesale Butcher for a number of years, during which time he built a Meat Depot in Mimosa Street, which had a “Chilling Room”, where carcasses were placed if they had to be kept overnight. The top of the brick front of the Meat Depot was struck by lightning during a bad storm in 1922. On another occasion it had all the corrugated iron roof torn off and tossed away over onto Forest Road during another big storm. Eventually at the commencement of World War 2, in 1940, the business was floated into a Company under the name of the John Murphy Pty. Ltd. Just around this time Mr. Murphy retired from business to live quietly at ”Leeholme” until his death in 1947. The firm John Murphy Pty. Ltd. still flourishes today, in conjunction with McPherson Bros. and M.I.D. Co. as Wholesale Butchers at the State Abattoirs.

“Leeholme” was sold about 9 years ago, in 1959, to be exact. It was demolished soon afterwards, and a Service Station was built on the site. The Service Station is now the headquarters of the St. George Taxi Centre.

This article was first published in the August 1968 edition of our magazine.

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Extracts from the Citizen Newspapers 1894

Telephone Service – 24th February, 1894

A movement is on foot to try and get a telephone exchange at Rockdale and already eight or nine of the residents have handed in their names as willing to become subscribers. Fifteen subscribers are required for a day service, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and twenty-five subscribers for a day and night service. The rates for local connections with suburban exchanges within a radius of one mile for providing the line and telephone complete are for a business establishment, £10 per annum; a private house £6 per annum, and each additional quarter of a mile one pound. There is no need for us to impress upon our readers who daily use the telephone in the City, what a boon it is, nor the desirability of it, and it only requires a little united action to bring to their homes, for a mere song, what would cost one individual hundreds of pounds. It will be noticed by the scale of charges that a telephone at a private residence costs less than at a place of business so that an appeal is also made to those who would not require it solely for business purposes. Some might say, “What is the good of a telephone to me at my private house?” We would reply with one single instance, out of many, that could be abduced, viz, that to those who have families, in cases of sickness where the services of a doctor might be speedily required, it would be invaluable, and to business men who reside in Rockdale and its vicinity, and who have telephonic communication with their city business, it would be most useful in ways too numerous to particularize; and, last, but not least, to the business people in Rockdale it would be of incalculable service, and in one year would save considerably more than its cost. It would save many a trip into town when they would sooner be on the spot, and in case of a necessity arising for some immediate filling up of an order of a line they happened to be out of, and which might risk the whole thing, it could be saved and arranged in five minutes. Those wishing to join in the movement are requested to send in their names without delay to the Mayor of Rockdale, W. Taylor Esq., Railway Street, Rockdale, and it ought to be attended to as soon as possible. Alderman Callinan also spoke of the need of this being put up.

St. George’s Electorate – 12th May, 1894

Illawarra Line

There are many thousands of Sydney people who know little or nothing of this, one of the most beautiful and attractive of our suburbs, simply because it does not lead to one of the holiday resorts for pleasure-seekers. Yet for beauty of scenery we are not aware of any suburb which excels it; and for attractive residential sites, easily accessible, at moderate rates, with frequent trains running punctually from Sydney at 5.10 a.m. to 11.38 p.m., and from Hurstville 5 a.m. to 11.50 p.m., persons travelling on business or pleasure have every accommodation which Sydney residents enjoy.

St. George’s electorate commences at Arncliffe, on Cook’s River, five miles from Sydney and terminates at Hurstville, on the George’s River on the south, bounded on the east by the shores of Botany Bay and on the west by a continuation of Saltpan Creek, comprising an area of about 40 Square miles. The towns on the railway line are Arncliffe, Rockdale (with a tramline to Lady Robinson’s Beach), Kogarah (with a tram-line to Sans Souci), Carlton and Hurstville.

Arncliffe

At this point we get clear of Sydney proper, with its continuous lines of streets, with their closely-packed houses, with back premises 12 by 14ft, the hotbeds of disease, and get into the country proper, with its fresh air and breezes from Botany Bay charged with life-giving ozone.

In this neighbourhood are many attractive residences within the reach of every class of society. There is a considerable elevation above the station, on the highest point of which is the handsome residence of Mr Barden surrounded by a verandah on the upper floor, with some enchanting views, including Botany Bay and Cook’s River with its new improvements and reclaimed land, which will become very valuable for manufacturing and other purposes. In addition to the residences there are several large landowners who have sites for sale. Campbell’s Hill, for instance, has a high and commanding position; Dr Clay Hill etc. Arncliffe is one of the wards of the Municipality of Rockdale, to which it extends on the west side of Rocky Point Road as far as Harrow Road, where the Kogarah Municipality commences.

Rockdale

Rockdale is the principal business centre of St. George’s, and is divided into three wards – Arncliffe, Rockdale and Scarborough, constituting the Municipality of Rockdale. It has an area of about eight square miles and an estimated population of 5,000; has a Town Hall and School of Arts, with a good library. There are several first-class stores and business houses and in the neighbourhood some very nice residences, with more or less ground up to six acres, well planted with fruit trees. There is a large number of market gardens, producing first- class vegetables, some of these being kept by the irrepressible and indefatigable Chinamen. The immediate neighbourhood is well adapted for fruit and vegetable growing, to which might be added fruit canning; it only requires capital and the right people. There are Churches of different denominations, also public schools. A branch of the A.J.S. Bank; two hotels; a College for boys (see Advt. of Scot’s College). A tramway runs, on the arrival of each train, to Lady Robinson’s Beach, about a mile, where there are baths for both sexes. This could be made a very attractive pleasure resort on the same plan as Coogee, and Bondi, and ought to pay if taken up with spirit.

It is much to be regretted that many of the residents will waste their time and spend their money in going to Sydney to get bargains (?), when they can buy the same goods on the spot at the lowest Sydney rates, and keep the money at home; also, they will subscribe to the Sydney School of Arts, pay a pound per annum subscription and take all the trouble of going to Sydney to exchange their books, while they can get the selection from a good library on the spot for three shillings a year! Perhaps they want a free library as well as a free paper.

This is a good live town to live in, as there are frequent dramatic and other entertainments, which could be supplemented by lectures, if encouraged. There is a latent spirit of enterprise in the people, but they are shy about supporting a paper run in their interests. There is an excellent hotel, the Royal, for the accommodation of visitors.

Kogarah and Sans Souci

This Municipality is divided into three wards – East, Middle and South. It has an area of about five square miles, and an estimated population of 4,000; has a School of Arts and Public Library. It extends from Harrow Road to Oatley, and has seven churches of different denominations.

On leaving the station at Rockdale, the railway line is on the up grade, and although the ground is rather rocky and not suitable for cultivation, it presents most charming sites for residences, with views at various points of Botany Bay, with well wooded country intervening, and the charming little suburb of Sans Souci, to which a tram-line runs on the arrival of the trains from Sydney.

We commend our town readers to pay a visit to this locality, particularly if seeking a country residence.

The Moorefield Racecourse is an attraction, and there are many horses in training in the neighbourhood. This is one of our holiday attractions. The Moorefield Hotel has extensive stabling and the landlord as a sporting man will command a good share of support.

Carlton

This is little more than a railway station, but between it and Botany Bay there is one of the greatest attractions in the florists and nurserymen’s grounds, where the flowers which made the great display at the late exhibition of chrysanthemums were principally grown. A reference to our advertising columns will give the names of principal growers, and a visit to this beautiful locality, will be a treat for those who take an interest in the subject , and will give them an opportunity of securing some beautiful specimens for their grounds. We regret that for reasons stated in our last issue, that we were prevented from giving a description of our late flower show as we would have wished. The Royal Hotel at this place, kept by Mr Mitchell (see advertisement) is a first-class house which we recommend to visitors.

Hurstville

This Municipality is divided into three wards – Bexley, Hurstville and Peakhurst. It has an area of about 12 miles square, and an estimated population of 3,500, being an increase of about 750 over 1890. It has nine churches and four schools, a library, and the scenery is very attractive. There are indications of gold in the neighbourhood, resulting so far in little more than colour. There is some desirable land here worth the attention of investors.

To sum up. It is the general impression that the first step towards getting the several Municipalities out of their financial difficulties, will be a Bill for Local Government, to enable the Municipalities to collect overdue rates and force the land, now held by speculators, into the market. In the meantime the necessity for retrenchment is felt very severely by those dependent on local work, and the refusal of government support in the shape of customary subsidies, leaves the Municipalities helpless for the present.

We have to thank Mr George W Leeder, Council Clerk of Hurstville, and Mr Sayers of Kogarah, for their kindness in furnishing information, also the Mayor of Rockdale, Mr W Taylor, for his valuable suggestions; and trust the publicity given in this article will be as we wish it of value to the electorate, and a proof of the value of a local paper. The floral display at this station is quite an attraction. Mr Hall, the station-master, deserves a notice for his good taste.

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

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Merchant – Banker – Shipowner – Pastoralist – Gentleman

by R.W. Rathbone

Alexander Brodie Spark as born on 9th August, 1792 in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, the third child of George Spark, a watchmaker and goldsmith and his wife Mary Gordon. He was educated at the local academy where he showed signs of literary talent and after working for his father for some time, left Scotland at the age of 18 and travelled by sea to London

There he was employed as a clerk in the counting house of Ted and Spencer and in his spare time, he and another Elgin youth, Isaac Ketchen, founded a weekly Literary Society “for reading, conversation and mutual improvement”.

Spark did well in London and became a committeeman of the London Morayshire Club. Despite his serious and somewhat unbending disposition, he led a very full social life. He toured England widely, patronised literary functions, exhibitions of fine arts, art galleries and the like and was a frequent theatre and opera goer. He wrote poetry and prose but his literary style was so stilted that nothing of it now survives. He read extensively.

In 1816, he returned for a time to Scotland. Back in London, he gave lavish dinners, dressed pretentiously and gambled passionately. Letters from his father complained of his wasteful living and by April, 1817 he was heavily in debt. A month later he was dismissed by his employers. He was still unemployed in 1818 when his father died and left him a substantial legacy.

No doubt on the strength of his windfall, he undertook a Grand Tour of Europe which was later to have repercussions in Australia. During this tour he visited Italy and met the poet William Wordsworth. He also toured Greece and visited Mount Olympus and the Vale of Tempe.

In August, 1822 at the age of 30, Spark converted his remaining capital into saleable goods and applied to the Colonial Secretary Earl Bathurst for passage to Australia under one of Governor Bourke’s immigration schemes.

He arrived in Tasmania aboard the “Princess Charlotte” on 21st January, 1823 after a voyage lasting five months but was not impressed with his prospects there and re-boarded the ship to disembark at Sydney on 17th February.

Ten days later he opened a store in hired premises in George Street, with a bewildering array of domestic articles for sale. Later in 1823 he tendered to supply the government stores with salted pork. These ventures prospered and by 1824 he had moved into larger premises and was receiving regular shipments of goods from England. He was also a partner in a ship sailing between Sydney and Hobart. Two years later he exported his first shipment of wool to London aboard the brig “Macquarie”.

By 1826 Spark had acquired a substantial holding in the Bank of N.S.W. and was Secretary of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce. The same year he became a Director of the Bank of Australia rising 1833 to be its Managing Director, Deputy Chairman and second largest shareholder.

In February 1827 he was elected Secretary of the Agricultural Society and in May was made a Magistrate and a Justice of the Peace. He was most active in the setting up of the Australian Subscription Library, was a member of its committee and donated liberally to its book stocks. He was one of the founders of the Hunter River Steam Packet Company which operated the famous “Sophia Jane” and “William IV”.

He was, in short, a man of enterprise, wealth and influence and everything he touched seemed to turn to money.

As well as being a merchant, banker and shipowner, he was also a large landowner. At the time of the 1828 Census, A.B. Spark, Merchant of George Street was the owner of over 6,400 acres of land in various parts of the Colony. Six thousand acres of this was in the Hunter Valley where Spark employed a man named Benjamin Hall, father of the bushranger, Ben Hall, to oversee it.

Another 110 acres of this land was the area formerly known as Packer’s Farm on the southern bank of Cook’s River. This he had purchased in 1827.

Spark called the estate “Tempe” after the Vale of Tempe in Greece and the rocky prominence on the eastern boundary, he named Mount Olympus. He erected on the land a small sandstone cottage but left the administration of the estate to his overseers Patrick Crannon and Edward Owen and 13 convict assignees.

So much did Spark enjoy his sojourns at “Tempe” that he began to entertain there. The small cottage proved inadequate for his needs and in 1834 he commissioned the architect, John Verge, then working on a much grander house for him at Woolloomooloo (now Potts Point) to design for him an arcadian villa with strong resemblances to a Greek Temple. This building was completed early in 1836 and Spark decided to make it his permanent home leasing the Woolloomooloo house “Tusculum” to the Anglican Bishop of Australia, Bishop Broughton. In his first year of residence at “Tempe”, Spark entertained over 500 visitors.

The traveller, R.G. Jameson, who visited the house in 1839 described it thus –

‘In front of the mansion, a lawn, tastefully and ornately laid out sloped gently down to the edge of the river, across which the visitors were ferried in boats. The mansion itself, a large cottage ornee, with an exterior verandah and colonnades and snow white walls, constituted the chief ornament of a very pleasing landscape and presented a lively contrast with the variegated and umbrageous foliage of the garden … the apartments were richly and elegantly furnished. There was a library and an aviary and the walls were hung with Flemish and Italian paintings.

Many and varied were the guests which Spark received at “Tempe” including on 6th July, 1839, Lady Franklin, wife of the Governor of Tasmania.

In April 1840, Spark, now 48 and often referred to as ‘the Old Bachelor” announced his intention of marrying 30-year-old Mrs Frances Maria Radford nee Biddulph, widow of Surgeon Henry Wyatt Radford. It is reported that his letter of proposal reads more like a business proposition but the widowed lady accepted overtures the same afternoon and sealed the arrangement by dropping her former husband’s wedding ring from the Cook’s River Dam into the river.

They were married later that month in St. Peter’s Church of England, Cook’s River, the erection of which had been largely due to Spark’s generosity in 1836. There were six children of the marriage, Alexander, Frances Maria Ann, Mary Gordon, Edith Burnett, Stanley Herbert and Florence Sophia.

Together with the three surviving children of Mrs Spark’s first marriage (2 had died of cholera, 2 were drowned at sea and 1 had been burnt to death), they all lived together at “Tempe”.

The idyll of the rich merchant family man was to last only a sort while. In the late 1830’s and early 1840’s a property boom had occurred in N.S.W. and Spark had extended his credit to take advantage of it. This bubble burst and together with declining prices for wool and live-stock and prolonged drought conditions, he found himself unable to meet his commitments.

Late in 1841 rumours began to circulate that Spark was in difficulties and eighteen months later the Bank of Australia, in which he was still a large shareholder, crashed. In 1843, on his on petition, he was declared bankrupt although he continued in the shipping business having an interest at this time in no less than 18 ships. He also retained for a time his position as Treasurer of the Australian Gas Light Company.

Throughout 1844 and 1845 he was involved in one court case after another as his creditors tried to recover their debts and he began to suffer chronic ill-health. He never recovered his place in Sydney’s business community but remained a prominent Anglican layman and a Patron of the Arts.

In 1852 he received a small legacy of pounds £700 from the estate of his brother Colonel Robert Spark, but the following year, one of his creditors, the Australian Trust Company, insisted on offering “Tempe” for sale. Although valued at pounds £8,000 the best offer they could got was £7,000 and so the sale fell through enabling Spark to remain on as a tenant in the house he loved so much and surrounded by the family to which he was devoted.

But time was running out for the former merchant, banker, broker, company director, pastoralist and shipping magnate and on 21st October, 1856, at “Tempe”, Alexander Brodie Spark passed peacefully to his rest. He was 64.

The once prominent member of Sydney’s commercial establishment received no obituary notices and lies buried in the overgrown, and neglected graveyard of St. Peter’s Church, Cook’s River.

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

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by Alderman R.W. Rathbone, Hon. Secretary, Lydham Hall Local Committee

It is now ten years since Council, as part of its Centenary Celebrations, purchased historic Lydham Hall as a local history museum and handed it over to a Local Committee consisting of representatives of the Council and the St. George historical Society to restore and administer.

Perhaps in this year’s Annual Report, it is timely to look back over those years to see whether the Council’s initiative has been justified and what progress, is any, has been made.

Initially, the purchase and early restoration of the building were fraught with difficulties. The previous owners, Mr & Mrs G Long, had a great love of the building and were most reluctant to part with a house they had struggled for years to maintain. Only by granting them a life-tenancy was the Council able to purchase the property at all.

This was a most unhappy arrangement and resulted in serious personality clashes between the previous owners and members of the Local Committee. Another problem was the lack of accommodation as only the two front rooms and the hall could be made available for display and public viewing.

For two and a half years this frustrating situation existed and only the efforts of the late Arthur Ford, Miss Bet Otton from the Historical Society and myself, who placed ourselves on duty every weekend and endured untold provocations enabled the building to remain open and some basic restoration to proceed.

When I returned from a trip overseas in 1973, I discovered that Mr and Mrs Long had vacated the premises and negotiations were immediately entered into which, after protracted legal argument, resulted in the who building becoming available in September 1974.

The next three years were a time of unprecedented activity. Firstly, the caretaker’s quarters, which were in a very poor state, were renovated with Council’s assistance and Miss Bet Otton who had been unanimously recommended by the Local Committee, moved in as the Curator.

The Historical Society then arranged for the renovation and redecoration of the bedroom. This was followed by the re-arrangement of the sitting room and the redecoration and papering of the dining room. Then followed restoration of the room adjoining the dining room as a display room for the unique collection of Willow Pattern China which had been collected. This room was in an incredible state.

As the building had no authentic kitchen, one was created by demolition of the laundry and the toilet and by building an artificial fireplace.

Finally the upstairs gallery was renovated and many of the artefacts previously stored were able to be displayed.

For nearly three years Miss Otton and I worked every Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday and many evenings until after midnight to restore the interior while Arthur Ford maintained the grounds. Because of the complicated nature of the work, progress was often frustratingly slow but bit by bit it was accomplished.

By early 1978 the whole building was open to the public and the number of visitors per annum had increased from an average of barely 1000 in 1972 to almost 3000. Without exception, they were ecstatic in their praise. In 1978 Lydham Hall was twice featured on T.V.

In 1977, Alderman Phil Lang, a Council representative on the Local Committee, suggested that Council apply for a grant to erect proper accommodation for the Curator. Council’s application was successful and work began late in 1978. This enabled the show kitchen to be greatly enlarged and the unsympathetic fibro addition on the back verandah which had formerly housed the Curator’s kitchen to be removed.

During 1979 the former storeroom was attractively renovated as a display area for the very extensive collection of clothing the Local Committee had accumulated and during 1980 the gallery was recarpeted and provided with built in show cases. At the same time the slates on the roof were replaced, the verandah rebuilt and the rear garden landscaped.

The renovation and restoration of Lydham Hall to its present high standard of development has been quite a remarkable achievement in the relatively short period of ten years, particularly when it is realised that it was achieved by a handful of people who gave an enormous amount of their time, dug very deeply into their own pockets when funds were not available and endured endless frustrations.

Lydham Hall stands today as an outstanding tribute to the foresight of the Aldermen of Rockdale Council who in 1970, agreed to purchase it; to Miss Otton for the immaculate way in which she maintains it and to that very loyal but again, very small band, of Historical Society members who give up their time to conduct visitors through the building.

Since its opening in February 1971, more than 20,000 people have inspected the building and it has proved one of the Council’s most effective public relations outlets.

To complete this report I should mention also the work done by Alderman Reg Whiteoak and Mr Arthur Ellis in the early days of the restoration and Mr Lloyd Deller of the Council’s staff in more recent times, but above all I should record the names of three Council Officers, Mr. (now Alderman) Charles Daly, Mr Kevin Casey and Mr John Franklin. Without their sympathetic assistance and their help in so many ways much of what has now been achieved would never have been possible.

At the same time, I should mention those hundreds of people too numerous to detail individually who have given or lent furnishings and artefacts of priceless value to make this home one of the most attractive restored Victorian residences in Sydney.

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

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by Mr. J. P. Lundie, County Clerk Of St. George County Council

For years we have been taking the benefits of electricity for granted. In a sense of course this can be taken as the greatest possible compliment that could be given to the Electricity Supply Industry. People know that when they want electricity it will be there.

Yet the power of electricity has been available for only a relatively few years. Rockdale Municipal Council this year is celebrating its Centenary. Yet it was only eight years ago – in 1963 – that the Centenary of the public use of electricity in Australia was celebrated.

And yet electricity today is truly the power behind the scenes – a quiet and versatile servant that we use in so many ways each day that it is just an accepted part of our daily lives. But without electricity our way of life would not, nor could not, exist.

The story of progress in the last century right up to putting men on the moon, is fundamentally the story of electricity and the developments it has made possible.

When asked to address you tonight I was simply requested to speak on “electricity”. There were no terms of reference to guide me as to those aspects in which you might be most interested, so I decided to approach it in three parts:-

1. Outline of the discovery of electricity and its development,
2. History of the use of electricity in New South Wales,
3. The story of electricity in the St. George District.

At appropriate stages I propose to show two films:-

1. “Out of the Dark” which traces the discovery of electricity and the early development of electric lighting,
2. “Power Pictorial” which is a report on film of work of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales covering generation and major transmission developments in New South Wales.

Early History

People have known something about electricity for centuries.

The ancient Chinese, for example, were able to construct a magnetic compass and learned to induce magnetism in iron and steel. Centuries later, some six hundred years before the birth of Christ, a Greek philosopher named Thales (often claimed to be the founder of mathematics) found he could produce static electricity by rubbing amber with a piece of cloth. Doing this, he discovered, gave amber the power to attract small bits of wood, feathers, leaves and other light objects.

However, no one seems to have understood the importance of this discovery and for hundreds of years this seemed to remain the extent of electrical knowledge until the 17th and 18th centuries when scientists with a greater knowledge of mathematics were able to enquire more deeply into the phenomena observed those centuries before.

However, once scientists like Alessandra Volta in Italy, Benjamin Franklin in America, James Watt in England and Andre Ampere in France began to experiment, the body of knowledge grew rapidly. By 1808 Sir Humphrey Davey, an Englishman, was demonstrating crude forms of both arc and incandescent lighting.

I mentioned that from ancient times people had known that electricity somehow produced magnetism, but it was not until 1831 that the English scientist and inventor, Michael Faraday, asked whether the reverse could be true. Could magnetism produce electricity? After many trials he discover- ed that by moving a magnet through a coil of wire it was possible to generate a continuous current of electric energy. This is the principle used in all electric generating equipment today, and perhaps to him more than any other should go the title of ‘Father of Electricity Supply”.

After this, progress was rapid.

The first public use of electricity occurred in 1846 when arc lamps were used to light the Paris Opera House and the first occasion on which electricity was used for street lighting was in 1878, when 16 arc lamps were installed in The Avenue of the Opera again in Paris.

Electricity was generated for sale to the public in a limited way in San Francisco in September 1879, but the world’s first commercial power station for incandescent electric lighting commenced operation at 57 Holbourn viaduct, London, on 12th January, 1882. On that day – less than 90 years ago – it might be said that the electrical age had arrived. It is difficult to realise fully just how young is the electricity supply industry today, which is so highly developed technically, so enormous in size and so far reaching in effect.

With that rather lengthy introduction we will proceed with the first film.

Electricity In New South Wales

Australia, of course, made no contribution to the early development of electricity – it was a penal colony.

However, today it is among the world leaders in use of electricity, and the Snowy Scheme and the 330,000 volt transmission lines constructed to tie in the New South Wales, Victorian and ultimately Queensland state systems are major schemes by world standards.

The first recorded use of electricity in this State was in 1863 when, on 11th June, the Sydney Observatory was lit by battery powered arc lamps in celebration of the marriage of the then Prince of Wales.

One of its earliest practical uses was in 1878, when the Government was building an Exhibition Palace in the Botanic Gardens, To shorten the construction time, Sir Henry Parkes imported generators from England so that work could be continued into the night.

Sydney Arcade (now demolished) was lit by arc lamps in 1882, the year in which the first commercial power station went into operation in London, and also in that year a Mr. Kingsbury, one of the first electrical contractors in New South Wales, imported a number of electric light plants which he sold to private individuals and Government Departments. In that same year also, the Sydney Municipal Council wrote to Mr. Swan of England, Mr. Edison of New York and other authorities, and asked for “particulars of your most recent inventions in the direction of lighting by electricity”.

However, several country towns beat Sydney to the gun and to Tamworth goes the distinction of the first electrically lighted streets on 9th November, 1888. Then followed Young, Penrith, Moss Vale and Broken Hill, In Sydney the first electric street lights were not installed until 1892, when they were erected in King Street between Elizabeth and Pitt Streets.

The first public power station in Sydney was established at Ultimo by the Department of Railways, and began operating in 1899, generating power for traction purposes. However, until 1904 the supply of electricity in the City of Sydney was left to private companies, each of which supplied small groups of adjoining premises.

After a somewhat uneasy passage, the Municipal Council of Sydney Electric Lighting Act gave the Council the right to generate and sell electricity, and on 8th July, 1904, its first power station at Pyrmont was officially opened.

Other electricity undertakings were subsequently established by the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation Limited (Balmain) in 1908, and by the Public Works Department at Port Kembla in 1915.

Power to conduct electricity trading undertakings was conferred on Municipal and Shire Councils by legislation passed in 1904 and 1906, and as the advantages of electricity became increasingly recognised, small generating stations were commenced in most towns throughout the State.

The production and distribution of electricity is very different from many other commodities and services in as much as generally it cannot be stored but must be generated as required. Quite early it was seen that substantial economies could be made by establishing large central power stations to replace isolated small plants. During the first World War the first inter-connections between the systems of the Railways and the City Council were made, and in 1935 the passing of the Gas and Electricity Act represented the first major step forward in co-ordination.

The first major connection between distant power stations was the 132, 000 volt line between Port Kembla and Burrinjuck Hydro Stations, both being in the southern electricity supply system of the Public Works Department. This permitted an exchange of thermal and hydro power at different seasons of the year, and demonstrated the advantage of carrying electricity long distances from stations situated near their primary source of energy.

The second World War brought further inter-connections of the major networks as an emergency measure, and although limited in capacity, they later proved of valuable assistance at times when electricity shortages occurred during the early post-war years.

The need for co-ordination of existing resources and planning became increasingly evident, and to this end the Government established the Electricity Authority of New South Wales in 1946, with powers to promote and regulate the co-ordination and development, expansion, extension and improvement of electricity supply throughout the State.

To overcome the increasing power shortages the Electricity Commission of New South Wales was established in May 1950, to take over the generating and main transmission functions of the four former principal authorities, viz; Sydney County Council, Balmain Company, Department of Railways and the Southern Electricity Supply section of the Public Works Department, and to build up the State’s power resources on an integrated basis.

During the 1950’s also, many of the small Municipal undertakings were amalgamated under the County Council system to meet the growing demands for distribution of increasing blocks of power to retail customers, and to extend electricity beyond the towns into the rural areas throughout the State.

Today the public electricity supply industry in New South Wales is organised as follows:-

(a) Generation and Transmission:

• The responsibility of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales with some power being obtained from the Snowy Mountains Hydro- Electric Scheme (not expected to provide more than 15-20% of State’s needs).

(b) Co-ordination and Development of Electricity Distribution:

• The responsibility of the Electricity Authority of New South Wales.

(c) Distribution and Reticulation:

• Controlled by Local Government bodies and some private franchise holders.
• County Councils: 34
• Municipal and Shire Councils: 5
• Franchise Holders: 2

The extent of the electrical supply industry in New South Wales may be gauged from the following:-

• Number of consumers: 1.5 million
• Sales of electricity (units) 14,616.5 million (38% of Aust, consumption)
• Capital invested $1,500 million (50% approx. generation)
• Annual Revenue: $300 million
• Coal used (tons): 7 million
• Persons employed: 25,000

These figures do not include the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme constructed by the Commonwealth Government for the joint use of the Commonwealth and State authorities, New South Wales and Victoria are joined with the Commonwealth Government in a council which determines the pattern of development and operation of the scheme to provide the optimum power and irrigation benefits for all concerned.

I do not propose to refer to this scheme in detail, not because it is not a vital development, but perhaps because it is a subject in itself and mainly because the next film, which will be shown shortly, deals with this scheme.

St. George County Council

In view of the publicity given to the history of the St. George County Council last year during the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, including the issue of a Golden Jubilee Supplement to the “Electricity News” which is delivered into every home in the St. George District, I trust that any duplication or repetition will be forgiven.

It is of interest to note that when the St. George County Council was constituted on 4th December, 1920, to distribute electricity within the Municipalities of Bexley (now part of Rockdale), Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale, it was the first County Council formed under the Local Government Act of 1919 which provided for the establishment of County Councils as we know them today. The formation of this County Council was many years in advance of the general County Council concept for electricity distribution throughout the State, formulated as I have said in the late forties and nineteen-fifties, which I have referred to, but even in those early days it was appreciated that the four Councils acting together could provide electricity within this 27 square miles of district more efficiently than each Council acting individually.

Even then, it was set up only because, after an approach in 1918, the City Council had advised it would not be able to extend its electricity supply into this district for at least five years. In 1919, however, the Railway Department announced its intention of electrifying the Illawarra Line, thus providing the necessary supply of bulk power for distribution.

It is interesting to note, also, that the original move for electricity was initiated by the Sutherland Shire, but because the Railway electrification project was to terminate at Hurstville that Shire had to be excluded from the County Council proposal.

The first meeting of the Council was held in the Rockdale Town Hall on 4th December, 1920, and some present may recall the pioneer Aldermen who sat on that first Council:-

• Alderman W. F. Brown, then Mayor of Bexley, was the first Chairman and, with Ald. W. Bateman and Ald. F. W. Dowsett, he represented Bexley on the Council.
• Hurstville Council was represented by Ald, W. Coleborne, W. Jones and F.J, Wheeler, and
• Rockdale Council was represented by Ald. F. Farrar, G. Fortescue and W. Taylor.

The first County Clerk was Mr. Roley Rose, previously Town Clerk of Kogarah and the first Chief Electrical Engineer was Mr. E. P. Thompson.

The Council had no money to start with and it borrowed $1,600 from the four Municipal Councils in order to get under way.

And for the next fifteen months it lived on credit until the first loan of $200,000 commenced to be advanced in March 1922.

The original reticulation of the district provided for supply to 2,000 consumers and as many street lights, at a cost of the $200,000 referred to, to be expended over 5 years.

Today the County Council is supplying 460 million units of electricity to 70,000 consumers. The capital investment is over $16 million dollars which produces an annual revenue of approximately 11- million dollars.

The first consignment of two trucks of poles arrived at Arncliffe Railway Station on 30th January, 1922, and the poles were distributed in adjacent streets by bullock waggon on the same day.

The waggon was drawn by twelve bullocks and it is understood that their appearance caused quite a stir at the time,) particularly in the business centres.

Transport for the officers was almost as old fashioned; they used a pony (Dolly) and sulky on hire to travel throughout the district, and a horse (Jack) and dray to transport the drums of cables and pull the mains over the crossarms on the poles.

However, in 1923 a T Model Ford utility was purchased, then an Excelsior motor cycle, which was followed quickly by several Harley Davidson motor cycles with side cars and two Vulcan trucks with solid rubber tyres and other vehicles. Compare this with today’s modern fleet of 150 vehicles, which includes a mobile substation, a 10 ton crane and other mobile equipment.

The first premises to be connected to the supply in the County District was the Masonic Hall in Montgomery Street, Kogarah (now demolished), and the first temporary supply of electricity, by courtesy of the Railway Department, was arranged for a special shopping carnival conducted by the Hurstville and District Chamber of Commerce at Hurstville on 10th October 1922;

The Head Office building was officially opened on 9th March 1923, by the then Chairman, Alderman FE. Dowsett, who that same evening also officially “switched-on” the current the event, according to records “being hailed with a demonstration of enthusiasm by those assembled in the Hall and by the thousands of residents who had gathered in the streets.”

Bulk power is now supplied by the Electricity Commission, the generating authority) at Peakhurst (refer to E. C. and district maps), which is connected to the 330,000 volt State grid at Sydney South. At Sydney South the pressure is stepped-down from 330,000 to 132,000 volts and at Peakhurst there is a further stepping down to 33,000 volts. Electricity is then distributed by Council throughout this district at 33,000 volts to the major zone substations (refer to district map). At these zone substations the voltage is again reduced to 11,000 volts for supply to 539 distribution transformers dotted throughout the district where the supply is again broken down to the normal 415/240 volt supply to operate the normal household appliances and other equipment connected to the mains.

The consumption of electricity is being doubled each 8 to 10 years and the maintenance of a satisfactory load factor and the provision of funds for the capital expansion necessary to cope with this growth are the major problems related to the financing of the Undertaking. Although 70% of the electricity load in this district is residential, the tariffs charged are comparable with those charged by the Sydney County Council and other Metropolitan Authorities which enjoy a better balance between residential and commercial and industrial loadings.

As the district has developed, electric power has been there behind the scenes to provide the means for the development and with the growth has come the provision of increasing services to its consumers.

Street lighting has been improved and augmented so that we can now claim that the St. George District is one of the best lighted districts in the metropolitan area.

Appliance showrooms at Hurstville and Kogarah and radio-equipped vehicles providing for the repair of appliances in homes, together with the general advisory services and the special home management and cooking service are all part of the services now being provided to the consumers by their own co-operative organisation.

The Future

And what of the future!

Some of the forecasts include:-

• High-speed electric railway system will be expanded.
• Most travel within the cities will be in small electric cars and the internal combustion engine probably will be used mainly for long distance or inter-city driving.
• Industry will become increasingly automated.

The home of the future will be different too. Here are what some of the manufacturers are talking about:

• “Picture frame” television screens as large as a living room wall which will be turned on and off with the wave of a hand,
• Electric waste disposal – beams of searing light will vaporize all the refuge in a household,
• Home computers will keep the bank account and household budget up to date,
• Floor cleaning will be all-electric, probably with the use of automatic robot-like sweepers and clothes cleaning will be electric too,
• Climate control will be complete. Humidity and temperature will be completely at the home-owner’s command.
• The kitchen will almost have disappeared. Small mobile cabinets, handsome enough for the living room, will house the basic cooking and refrigerating units.

Electricity will become increasingly the power behind the scenes and the foundations for the supply of the necessary power are now being laid as will be demonstrated in this film to wind up my talk – “Power Pictorial”. This film is a report of the work of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales covering major developments to provide for the increasing demands for electricity power in the future.

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

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by Gifford and Eileen Eardley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by Anne Carolan

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Voyage from Ireland – Convict Life in Sydney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gannon’s Inn and Family Profiles

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

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

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

The following are brief notes on Michael’s children:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Vault at Tempe

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

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

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

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by Noreen Burns

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

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

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

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

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

A splendid day was had by all.

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

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by Mrs. J. Fairhall

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

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

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

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

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

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