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July 1970, saw the demolition of the original Cottage Hospital of St. George. It was a nostalgic moment as the last of the unique brick and concrete chimneys tottered and fell.

The last patients in “A & F”, as the original hospital has been known for some years, were transferred to other wards mid December last, Since then the original wards have been stripped of handles, locks, fireplaces, honour boards, plaques and all that was of possible historical interest. It is interesting to note that the huge lock of the front door is now the proud possession of one of the present-day Honoraries, himself a member of this Society. This was the lock in which Mrs. Lamrock, wife of Dr. J. Lamrock, would have turned the key to open the Cottage Hospital, on 16th December, 1894, exactly 75 years before.

“A & F” meant many things to many people. To the older generation of the community it has been the Hospital, for most of their lives. They and it have grown older together. A fact the younger generation find difficult to appreciate at times.

As one watched the inevitable mounting pile of rubble, the burning of the interior, the falling of the palms, many contrasts came to mind –

• the growth of St. George in 76 years, from the original 8 to now well over 400 beds,
• the astronomical rise in costs,
• the mini skirted uniforms of the 70’s, to the maxi’s of the originals.
• the availability of parking space and lack of transport of yesteryear, to the lack of parking and increasing transport of today. And now, the Honoraries have lost their “Circle”.
• the almost constant wail of sirens, a bleak reminder of the cost of progress. Accidents there have always been, but never with the road toll alone, of the present.
• the compactness of the original cottage, to the spread-eagled buildings of today.
• the tremendous advancements in medical and nursing skills in the intervening years.

As one passes to remember, tribute is paid to those in all fields who so long ago laid such strong foundations for the Hospital that has served the ever-growing community at all times. As then – so now. Patient care is still the primary concern of the Hospital. Postgraduate and undergraduate teaching is subsidiary to this.

The saga of the 70’s is being written. St. George stands pulsating with growth and expectancy as the rubble is cleared and preparations made for the erection of the new multi-storey block, whilst at the same time maintaining essential services to the community. No mean feat. Already new strides have been made as St. George has swung into the 70’s with the completion of the newly established Professorial Units in Medicine and Surgery. When the history of the 70’s is complete the names of Professors W. R. Pitney and K. R. Cox will join the list of St. George firsts, as being the first appointed full-time Professors of Medicine and Surgery, respectively.

Following are the names preserved for posterity, taken from the lists and plaques previously housed in “A & F”. Each will serve to revive the memories of yesteryear.

Foundation Stone:
“This Stone Was Duly Laid By
Mrs. F. S, ELLIS HOLT
of “SYLVANIA”
on May 19th 1894.”

Hallway – directly opposite the front door –
St. George District Hospital
Erected in Memory of
WILLIAM CHEETHAM HORN
who passed away 2nd August, 1943
After 30 years service.
Faithful Unto Death
A tribute by His Fellow Employees
Matron & Nursing Staff (Male & Female)

List of Benefactors:
St. George District Hospital
Benefactors £50 & over

• 1906 Isaac Mathews (Estate of) £63.
• 1912 W. R. Hall (Estate of) 200
• 1915 Mrs. Berdoe (Estate of) 60
• 1915 C. Howard Wood Esq. 100
• 1916 Mrs. A. C. Sturt (Estate of) 100
• 1917 Mrs. Coulson (Estate of) 200
• 1918 D. Draper (Estate of) 117
• 1919-20 Lieut, H.L. Montague 147
• 1921 J. Palmer (Estate of) 200
• 1923 MaryAnn Dewar (Estate of) 200
• 1923 Mrs. Edwd. Arnold (Estate of) 50
• 1924 F.E. Rowe, Esq. 55
• 1925 J. Powell (Estate of) 100
• 1925 Donated by Residents of Cronulla in Honour of late Mrs. C. J. MONRO 101
• 1925 P. J. Moore (Estate of) 50
• 1926 Mrs. J. Packham 50
• 1926 Dr. James McLeod Memorial Fund 200
• 1927
  • T.E. Rofe, Esq. 550
  • J. Jackson Esq. 52.10.
  • R.W.S. Harris, Esq. 55
  • A.E. Daiwood, Esq. 50
  • Mrs. D. McAlister 51.1
  • J. Dolden, Esq. 50
  • N.P. Nielsen, Esq. 59
  • W. McConnochie, Esq. 50
  • H.T. Morgan, Esq. 50
  • Miss Phyllis Stroud 50
  • Cronulla Surf L. S. Club 50
  • Nth. Cronulla Surf L. S. Club 50
  • J. P. Hubbard (Estate of) 100
  • Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 393
  • Chas. Thomas (Estate of) 50
• 1928 Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 193.15.9
• 1928 W. McConochie, Esq. 150
• 1929 Arthur Horsfield, Esq. 50
• 1930
  • Mr, C. McAlister (Estate of) 3000
  • Mrs. K.B. Thornton (in Memory of John F. Thornton 100
  • Masonic Lodge Illawarra St. George F. Wilson, W.M. 121.0.8
  • Masonic Lodge Kogarah J.H. Laws, W.M. 123.14.10
• 1934 Edwin Godfrey (Estate of) 199.16.9
• 1934 Illawarra S.F.S. Asscn. 120.3.0
• 1935 Mrs. Elva Kolling 1500
• 1943 A.H.J. Horn, Esq. 50

Beds Endowed By

• Arncliffe Parents & Citizens Association
• Como & District Progress Association
• Cronulla School Cot Fund
• Green Coupon Company
• Hurstville Superior Public School
• Lancashire Brotherhood of N.S.W.
• St. George Cricket Association
• South Hurstville Public School
• Carlton Citizens Association
• Mr. & Mrs. Tom Yates £100. Annual Endowment
• Cambridge Commercial College Hurstville. 1937. G. A. McKenzie F.P.S.A. Principal.
• Sutherland Auxiliary 1939.
• Pupils of Oatley Public School
• Kogarah Mayoral Bed S. R. Bell. Jan, 1940. Mayor of Kogarah.
• Caringbah Hospital Auxiliary
• Mr. & Mrs. H. Bentley of Kogarah. 1939.
• Sutherland Auxiliary 1937.
• The Ladies Committee of St. George Cricket Club. 1939.
• The Arncliffe Social Club. 1940.
• Two by St. George Christian Endeavour Union Golden Jubilee. 1943.
• Arncliffe Ladies Bowling Club.
• 1st Arncliffe Girl Guides.
• Miss J. Graham, Brighton le Sands.
• “Theodosia” Bed. Donated by Mrs. E. M. Bentley, Kogarah.
• In Memory of Mrs. Otto Richardson . . Mrs. G. Wallis 1940.
• Donated by Mrs. F. Thorp, Rockdale.

This article was first published in the August 1970 edition of our magazine.

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(article from October 1963)

Unless it receives another last minute reprieve, lovely “Rosevale Villa”, for more than ninety years a landmark at the entrance to Rockdale Shopping Centre will soon disappear to make way for a service station.

Persistent efforts by this Society to the Rockdale Council for removal of the building on Princes Highway have been met with marked indifference and in some cases open hostility.

The Oil Company which has bought the site on which “Rosevale Villa” stands has agreed to give the building to the Council and take the utmost care in its demolition provided the Council removes and stores it.

The Council is now trying to have the stones marked free of cost in case it ever is re-erected but from the current temper of the Council this would appear to be a forlorn hope.

The second landmark to go will be the old Brickwood family home in Turrella Street, Arncliffe, which stands in the way of proposed new extensions of the National Cash Register Factory.

This building is about 80 years old and quite unique in that it is the only known building in the St. George District with a covered courtyard and it is suspected, one of the very few in Australia with this distinction.

All this adds up to the very great need of this Society to educate the leaders of the Community and the public at large to the value of these buildings. Practically all the buildings of note in the Rockdale Municipality at least are in areas zoned for industrial, commercial or home unit purposes. All are in the gravest danger of being valued out of existence unless the authorities can be persuaded to acquire at least a selection of them for public purposes.

This article was first published in the October 1963 edition of our magazine.

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by Jean’s grandson – John Mark Williamson

Gran lived right through the greater part of the 20th century and lived a century herself in doing it. This was a great achievement when you consider those times and how Australia was affected by world events in one form or another.

Gran’s childhood was growing up while Australia was fighting for the Empire in World War One, quickly followed by the incredible Spanish Flu pandemic. We must remember there were no antibiotics in those days and Penicillin’s discovery was another 10 years away. Gran would often tell us how her Father survived this pandemic, despite visiting and helping suffering families, because he chewed tobacco which she maintained killed the germs before they could get into his body!

While going through all this, Gran was educated at Arncliffe School and, in her teen years, she achieved her “Cap and Gown” from the London School of Music the equivalent of a Diploma or Degree in music today. From this Gran went on to teach music at St. Francis Xavier School at Arncliffe.

No TV! These were days of early radio. Radio in Australia was growing rapidly and becoming popular. Gran became a featured singer on station 2UW in Sydney with a very fine Mezzo Soprano voice. She continued to use this gift later on with choir singing in her local church at Bexley as well as in the Billy Graham Crusades of 1957 and 1968.

As Jean grew into early adulthood with her three sisters, they all became, as was the fashion of the times “flappers”, which in turn introduced Jean to her favourite jewellery “Pearls”. The fashions have changed many times since, but the love of pearls never stopped for Gran.

Gran, was also at this time being courted by her husband to be, George. Over the six years of courtship Jean and George were very much into the life that was going on around them in “happening Sydney”. They went on a “joy flight” with Charles Kingsford-Smith in his famous “Southern Cross” aircraft above and around Sydney; they were at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 when Captain De Groot pushed past them on his way to beat Premier Lang cutting the ribbon to open the Bridge — exciting times in Sydney in those days.

After their marriage in 1932 they moved into their new home built on the Preddey Estate in Bexley. This was the start of 55 years of happy and exciting events including the birth of their daughter, Gloria.

When the 2nd World War started, George immediately built a very sturdy backyard air-raid shelter equipped and even fully stocked for a long stay if necessary. George never did anything by halves. When the first siren sounded across Sydney announcing the Japanese submarine attack In Sydney Harbour, George rushed out to his warden duties in the streets of Bexley. Jean and her young daughter, Gloria, meanwhile dressed and hurried to the shelter… only to find it already full of neighbours, so much so, they couldn’t even get in themselves!

For the last 20 years or so Gran lived with Gloria and John at Blakehurst.

A large part of her life evolved around her church activities, teaching Adult Sunday School at Bexley. Using this gift of teaching Gran was a Counsellor at both Billy Graham Crusades in Sydney, guiding enquirers regarding the decision they had made for her beloved Lord Jesus.

Gran also taught Scripture at various schools in the area around Bexley. It was during this time she picked out a young gentleman, Peter Ferguson, as a possible future husband for her Grand-daughter, Kate.

Up until 2 years ago Gran was still taking Bible studies in her home at Blakehurst where she lived with Gloria and John.

A few weeks after Gran fell and broke her leg at Blakehurst she moved into Huntingdon Gardens at Bexley.

While there Gran turned 100 and received so many letters from some very important people round the world, including the Queen of course, that we were all humbled to be there and to have been part of her life.

During her stay at Huntingdon Gardens each staff member bestowed so much love, time and very personal care on her that we shall be forever grateful.

As I close this tribute to a great and loving Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother I will read one of Gran’s favourite Psalms, Psalm 100 – Psalm of Thanksgiving

1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands!
2. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3. Know that the Lord, he is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.

Mrs. Preddy was an exceptionally dear lady and long-time member of our Society. Many thanks to her family for providing us with this information to share with you.

This article was first published in the May 2012 edition of our magazine.

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by Bettye Ross

At a Service recently our Minister mentioned the Eddystone Lighthouse and said the third builder of this edifice had placed at its base a plaque stating “except the Lord build the house, the builders labor in vain” from Psalm 127:1. This Lighthouse (4th on the site) had been built by John Smeaton. and stood from 1759 to 1882 when it was replaced by one of much greater height.

But to begin at the beginning I had noticed a replica of Eddystone Lighthouse at Lydham Hall, and knew I had heard of such a landmark before but couldn’t recall anything about it, so I set to at the Mitchell Library and decided to find out what was famous about this Lighthouse.

Firstly of course it is the most famous Lighthouse in the world. It is 14 miles south-west of Plymouth and 9 miles south of Rame Head, Cornwall and stands on ridges of gneiss rock which have been battered about ceaselessly from the sea with 23 jagged pinnacles rising up above the water pointing towards the land. It can only be seen half a mile away and goes down into the depths of the English Channel on a very wide base. Seafarers named it the “Eddy-Stones” because of the turmoil of currents flowing through its rocky teeth. Some sea captains gave this reef such a wide berth their ship was wrecked on rocks of the Channel Islands or the rugged north coast of France.

In 1694 a patent was granted by the crown “to erect a Lighthouse or Beacon with a light upon the rock called Eddystone off Plymouth… as safe direction for ships hereafter to avoid that dangerous Rock upon which the lives of so many of our goad Subjects have perished.” Six years later Henry Winstanley from Saffron, Walden, Essex, a ship owner, inventor, showman, designer, conjurer, engraver and businessman commenced work on the first Eddystone Lighthouse. He had drawn plans up the previous winter and his men armed with picks set to fix 12 iron bars 3½ inches. diameter in a circular pattern on the rock. Pick after pick was discarded too blunt to proceed, but with perseverance six months later the holes were ready for their iron stanchions.

Work proceed slowly and Winstanley, working from the guard ship Terrible, which had been provided for him as an assurety of safety due to England being engaged in one of the numerous wars with France, was kidnapped. It seems the captain of the Terrible strayed from his position to check out a nearby French merchant ship with an eye to looting. However a thick fag descended preventing the French ship being captured and also the Terrible from returning to Eddystone. The kidnapped Winstanley was brought before Louis XIV who was concerned at the incident, punished the officer responsible and after endowing Winstanley with many presents sent him home with the alleged words “your work is for the benefit of all nations using the sea. I am at war with England, not with humanity.”

November 14, Henry Winstanley lit the first Eddystone Lighthouse’s tallow candles suspended in the lantern gallery of this 80 ft. tower. Constant wave and spray prevented the cement between the blocks of the solid base setting, often the tower shook and shuddered as frequent storms assailed it so Winstanley set to and increased its height after encasing the whole circumference with iron bands and also increasing the size and height of its base. This cost Winstanley personally and was finished in 1699 being known as the second Eddystone Lighthouse. He stated he could wish for nothing better than to be in it during “the greatest storm that ever was”.

Unfortunately in November 1703 whilst he was effecting some repairs to his prize one of the greatest storms ever in the British Isles hit and thousands of people died in its few short hours of devastation. Houses were swept away, ships as well, with 8,000 sailors lost, and inland rivers burst their banks. When the sun case the next morning the twisted remains of the 12 iron piles which held the base stood alone. Henry Winstanley had got his wish.

Two years later John Rudyard, a Cornishman in the silk trade, decided he would design and build the next Eddystone Lighthouse and enlisted the services of two expert shipwrights from Her Majesty’s Naval Dockyard at Woolwich. He was to build it of timber and when almost completed in July 1708 lit the first 24 tallow candles on his magnificent structure. Five years later he died but it stood in service for another 46 years until one of the three keepers named Henry Hall woke one night to find a fire in the lantern room. He was a man of 94 years of age, and tried to wake the other two keepers who had had a heave drinking night. Henry using only a leather bucket was flinging the water upwards towards the fire when finally his two companions woke and tried to help but the fire had too firm a hold. The lantern roof collapsed and a bullet of molten lead dripped from its remains towards the gaze of Henry Hall who was looking up. He screamed and said “God help me. I’m on fire inside!” The others were sceptical when Henry stated the molten lead had gone down his throat and the three resumed their efforts with Henry unable to communicate. The inferno was seen from the land and a boat set out to pick the three keepers up but it was not for hours that the men were rescued.

Henry Hall was put under medical attention complaining and mumbling about his awful experiences but it was put dawn to the dreadful experience along with its shock in one of such advanced years. Henry spent 12 days convalescing before he suddenly died. The Doctor to allay all doubts of Henry’s declarations performed a post-mortem only to find a flat piece of lead weighing 7 ounces 5 drams in the pit of his stomach. Today this can be seen in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

John Smeaton of Yorkshire was a mathematical instrument maker who also turned his talents to engineering. He decided to build a new Eddystone Lighthouse of stone and work began August 1756 and was an engineering feat. At last after three gruelling years of conflict between man and nature, the Eddystone reef was once again conquered using 1,493 blocks of stone weighing almost 1,000 tons, 700 marble joggles, 1,800 oaken trenails and £40,000 to do it. He placed an inscription on the last stone “24th August 1759 Laus Deo” as well as the text from the Psalms. Some years later he commented that the glow from the lighthouse appeared 7 miles away.

Smeaton’s Eddystone Lighthouse stood from 1759 until it was decided to build another taller and larger one. This 5th and last one, still standing, was built by James Douglass 1882 and differed from Smeaton’s use of trenails and dowels to Douglass preferring dovetailing the blocks of stone together.

So next time you are at Lydham Hall take time to see the replica of Eddystone Lighthouse in the cabinet above the stairs and to the right of the back dormer window and dwell for a little time on the mammoth task each of the foregoing builders undertook.

SOURCE: The Rock Lighthouses of Britain: The End of an Era? by Christopher P. Nicholson 2nd Ed. Pub. by Whittles of Caithness, 1995

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

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The question of giving railway communication to Botany was considered in 1882 when it was proposed to extend a line from Everleigh, via Waterloo to the Botany area. In 1902 a trial survey was made from Erskineville to Botany and also from Flemington to Belmore, the estimated cost then being 107,933 and 56,738 pounds respectively.

The Minister for Public Works, Hon. E W O’Sullivan, promised that the question would be referred to Cabinet with a view to the line being referred to the Public Works Committee.

In August 1909, the question of a railway to Botany from the nearest point on the then existing system was brought under the notice of the then Minister for Public Works, Hon C A Lee, by a deputation, including the mayors of Botany and North Botany and representatives of the Pastoralists Union; The Sydney Meat Preserving Co; the Sandown Freezing Works, Clyde; the Wool Combing Mills, Botany; the Bunnerong Wool Scouring Works, Botany; the Metropolitan Coal Agency and others. It was pointed out that the construction of a railway to Botany was indirectly before the Public Works Committee in connection with the proposed line from Flemington to the new abattoirs and that a recommendation should form portion of the scheme in connection with the establishment of new abattoirs at Homebush.

It was admitted by the Minister, in the course of his reply, that the line was one that must be built, and that as soon as a new survey was completed the line would be referred to the Committee.

A further deputation representing residents and other interested bodies waited on the Minister of Public Works, Mr A Griffith, in 1911, when it was urged that as the abattoirs were to be removed from Glebe Island to Homebush Bay, and the bulk of the by-products were treated in Botany, a railway to the latter place should be put in hand at once, so that it might be available by the time the new abattoirs were completed. This proposal was submitted to the Public Works Committee in March 1912.

Two proposals for the route were considered, one from Tempe along the north side of Cooks River to Cooks River Rd, crossing Alexandria Canal a few chains south of St Peters Park, then to Ascot Racecourse terminating in a “Y” shaped branch, one of which was to terminate on Botany Pier and the other on the southern side of Botany Rd between it and the bay. The other suggestion, approved by the Chief Commissioner for Railways, Mr T R Johnson, allowed the line to leave the Illawarra line a little to the north of Sydenham Station, rising gradually, cross the Illawarra line by means of a bridge, with a connection with the Belmore line.

It was estimated that 100 tons of skins per day would be forwarded from Homebush to Botany, and in addition, the local Botany industries would require 60,000 tons of coal and 100,000 tons of raw material per year, the whole being carried from St Peters, Sydenham and Alexandria stations.

A branch line, 1 mile 50 chains long, was also suggested to Alexandria a junction with the then proposed Eastern Suburbs Railway.

After a careful inquiry, the Committee recommended that the railway extension to Botany, from Sydenham, be carried out. Construction was by the Department of Railways, and the line opened for traffic on the 11th October 1925.

The length of the line is 5 miles 28 chains long, made up of 26 chains double track and 5 miles .02 chains single track. Maximum gradient is 1 in 80 and the sharpest curve 12 chains. The main goods yard is at Cooks River with a smaller yard at Botany. A deviation of the line around Mascot airfield of 10.5 chains was opened on 22nd March 1960, making the line 5 miles 38.75 chains in length.

Sidings from Marrickville end:-

• Cooks River Goods Yard – 17 sidings.
• Southern Portland Cement
• BHP By-Products
• Mascot Goods sidings and loop
• Commonwealth sidings
• Stewart & Lloyds
• Ready Mixed Concrete
• Email
• Total Oil Co.
• Kelloggs
• Bates
• Botany Goods Yard
  • Goods line
  • Goods loop
  • Goods siding
  • H C Sleigh
  • Boral
  • Bunnerong – Switch House
  • A.O.R.
    • Boral
    • 8 sidings to Power House

This article by the late W. Foster was kindly submitted by Mrs Ruth Foster.

This article was first published in the June 1990 edition of our magazine.

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