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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.

Browse the magazine archive.

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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