Newtown, Marrickville and Marcus Clark & Co

HHT - Marcus Clark & Co

From a modest start in the Sydney suburb of Newtown in 1883, Marcus Clark & Co rose to become one of the city's largest department stores with a network of branches in towns and suburbs across Australia. Henry Marcus Clark (1859-1913) established the company when he purchased the drapery business of his former employer, John Kingsbury. The business quickly expanded, trebling itself within five years, and soon opened new stores in Marrickville and Bondi Junction. In the Sands directory for 1894, Marcus Clark was listed as a "wholesale and retail draper, tailor, milliner, boot warehouse and fancy repository; the largest, best lighted and most comfortable establishment in Newtown, the floor space covering nearly an acre."

Newtown - Sands directory 1858 - Goodsill, trustee of Cook's River Road

Sands 1858

Goodsill, Frederick J., trustee of C. R. Road,
Cook's River Road

Newtown - Sands 1909 directory - street by street, name by name

Sands 1909

NEWTOWN,

INCLUDING

SOUTH KINGSTON.
BOUNDED on the north by municipality of Camper- south by Erskineville and St. Peters; and on the west down; on the east by Redfern and Darlington; on the by Petersham and Marrickville. Proclaimed a Municipality, 12th December, 1862, Area—480 acres. Number of houses—5,500. Number of assessments—5,740. Miles of streets—26|. Assessed Value—£193.160 10s. Annual rental—£212,390. Estimated Capital Value of all Ratable Properties—£3,540,272 4s. Council Chambers—Town Hall, King-street.

Erskineville - Robert Henderson of Henderson Road and the gravelling of Erko Road

Robert T. Henderson - Page 15

Robert Thomas Henderson
Alderman for O'Connell in 1871-76

His father was Robert Henderson (1798-1865) whom the 'Gardeners Magazine' of February 1865 says superintended the layout of the 'once-famed gardens' of Alexander MacLeay's Elizabeth Bay House estate. His mother Elizabeth was daughter to Thomas Shepherd who operated the nursery in Chippendale from the 1830s which was known as the Government Nursery or the Darling Nursery because, as Victor Crittenden says, it was vice-regally approved by Governor Ralph Darling. (Francis Low's Directory of 1844-45 mentions a James Henderson working at the Darling Nursery.)

Robert Henderson married Elizabeth Shepherd in 1831 and started the Camellia Grove Nursery in 1838 on four acres nearby in the low lands in what was the Kingsclear grant of 1794 and now is land on the corner of Henderson Road and Park Street Erskineville. The first son Robert Thomas Henderson was born in 1837, brother Charles JBN Henderson in 1845.

Newtown Mayor with a Cook's River Road address - William Bailey

Mayor William Bailey JP - Page 6

Mayor William Bailey JP

Mayor 1871-76, Councillor/Alderman 1863-64, 1867-78

He was a builder, he was no doubt pragmatic and the longest-serving of the early mayors.

His place of residence is unclear according to the Sands Directories; in Cooks River Road in 1858, in Station St/Enmore Rd between 63 and 71 (in 'Camborn Terrace' between Cooks River Road and Union St), in Cavendish Street in 1873 and in Enmore Rd in 1877 and at Trafalgar Terrace in 1886.

It is said that he belonged to the Church of England but this should be checked as the Sydney Mail of 10 August 1861 reports that a certain Mr W Bailey was appointed replacing Alderman Robert Dunlop to superintendent the Newtown Wesleyan schools.

He built the Congregational School which operated as a Sunday school and regular school. Thomas Holt MP officiated at the laying of the school's foundation stone on 23 January 1862, saying 'it is destined to be instrumental in working a great moral reformation in NSW' ('Sydney Mail'). Nicholas Trengrouse, a senior draghtsman in the Railway Department and an alderman in Marrickville's first council, designed it...

My list of Sydney's race tracks and circuits. 

or checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports. 

Marrickville and Fort Street link - Charles Haddon, dramatist

Dictionary of Australian Biography Ca-Ch

CHAMBERS, CHARLES HADDON (1860-1921),
dramatist,

was born at Sydney on 22 April 1860. His father, John Ritchie Chambers, who had a good position in the New South Wales civil service, came from Ulster, his mother, Frances, daughter of William Kellett, from Waterford. The boy was educated at the Petersham, Marrickville, and Fort-street schools, but found routine study irksome and showed no special promise.

Marrickville - another reference to Sans Souci and Thomas Holt

We-R1.org Our Area

Holt, Thomas - Born in Horbury, Yorkshire, 14th November 1811. Was a proficient swordsmen and stickler for physical fitness. He vested into many enterprises including wool and establishing the AMP society. He built many mansions , some of which are the remains of Sutherland House, now a garden feature in a Sylvania home.

Marrickville linked with Sans Souci - via Thomas Holt and 'The Warren'

afs007

The area was originally a grant given to Catherine Cooper in 1830. The Coopers built a home on the land which was called Charlotte Point or Rocky Point. The Coopers later ran a distillery there. In 1853 Sans Souci (French for 'without care'), was named after the mansion built by Thomas Holt on Rocky Point road for his wife. Being too isloated, Mrs Holt refused to live in it so he built her another, 'The Warren' on the Cook's River at Marrickville. William Rust acquired the property and turned it into the Sans Souci Hotel and the suburb adopted the name Sans Souci. [Pollon 1991, p. 252.]

Marrickville - or Hurlstone Park, really - Sydney's first sugar mill

Apt 7, 2-4 Sugar House Road HURLSTONE PARK $399,000 @ domain.com.au

SUGAR MILL - Riverside Retreat

This striking apartment has been created within the elegant sandstone walls of Sydney's first sugar mill, built in 1841. Set on the banks of the Cooks River, the spacious security apartment occupies a serene cul-de-sac setting, just metres from parkland and waterfront walking trails. The unique residence is also within 18 minutes to CBD and close reach of the station, local shops and Marrickville Golf Course.

Marrickville - Meeks Road - named for James Meek, market gardener, and family

Library of NSW Search - Manuscripts, Oral History, and Pictures Catalogue - State Library of New South Wales

Title
"Stone Cottage", Harriett Street, Marrickville

Level of Description Series

Date of Work
undated [ca. 1880s]

Type of Material Graphic Materials

Call Number
SPF/695

Physical Description Photographs : cabinet card photograph ; 10.6 x 16.5 cm.

Administrative / Biographical Note
The Meek family arrived in the Marrickville district in 1839. James Meek Snr. was a market gardener.

Marrickville - Calvert Street - named for John Jackson Calvert

Calvert, John Jackson (1830 - 1915) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Calvert took an active part in community affairs; on 24 June 1878 he was appointed an additional member of the board of the Marrickville Public School; a street in Marrickville still bears his name. He was a trustee of the Sydney Domain, a founder of the Civil Service Club, and for some years a member of its house committee. He was a member of a number of commissions which attended to the representation of New South Wales at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1878, the Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition in 1887, the Centennial International Exhibition at Melbourne in 1888, and the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893.

Charles Street, Marrickville and surrounds - a potted history. Part 2

This is taking forever, so just to remind you, whilst I am looking at Charles Street, Marrickville in particular I am using a very broad brush... in general Charles Street was part of the "Beer's estate", released for subdivided sale in 1891...

Or go back to Part 1!

"Clearance sale, Beer's Estate, Marrickville [NLA cartographic material] / to be sold by Watkin & Watkin on the ground on Saturday 27th Dec 1891 at 3.30 p.m. Sales plan for land in the suburb of Marrickville in Sydney, bordered by Illawarra Road, Horton Street, Charles Street and Addison Road. Terms! 10 per cent deposit. Balance - by equal payments at 1,2 & 3 years with interest 6% payable halfyearly. Torrens title".

Who was "Beer" and how did they come to own this land? I don't know. It was dairy farmland prior to that, and probably somewhat swampy. Illawarra Road passes right past and remains a narrow track, whereas the estate's streets are wider. Thomas Chalder's Marrick Village is just 100m or so away.

Anyway, on with part 2...

1. "1920 - Airport (later Kingsford-Smith) at Botany. Extension of St Peters municipality to west of Unwin’s Bridge Road. Tresillian (built 1900) bought by Royal Society for the Welfare of Mothers and Babies." Tresillian was a 'mothercraft' home and I can recall my baby sister being weighed and measured in the front rooms in the early 1960s.






2. "1920 - Fowlers set up main works in Fitzroy Street. 1921 - Census shows Marrickville, 42240; Petersham, 26236; St Peters 12700; Newtown 28169. St Brigid’s Church and monastery at Marrickville. Salvation Army Training College opened" (Livingstone Road).






3. "1922 - Marrickville Town Hall opened" at corner of Petersham and Marrickville Roads.






4. "1925 -Duly and Hansford in Carrington Road. 1926 - Electrification of Illawarra and Bankstown railway lines. Opening of city stations at Museum and St James’. 1927 - St Peters Town Hall, Unwin’s Bridge Road opened. General Motors plant in Carrington Road. 1928 -Abergeldie estate subdivision and sale (last major subdivision). Small’s Confectionery at Stanmore. Electrification of Parramatta railway line. Cooks River Road becomes Prince’s Highway. 1929 - Major extensions to Globe Worsted Mills, Sydenham. Onset of Depression brings severe unemployment to industrial Marrickville. 1931 - Census deferred until 1933 but population estimates for 1931 were Marrickville 46590; Petersham 28340; St Peters 13890; Newtown 28660."






5. "1932 - Opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Town Hall at Wynyard stations. Henson Park created on site of Daley’s brickworks became Rugby League Centre." This statement undervalues our history - it was a cycling facility, a big velodrome, that drew thousands of people to weekly night-time races. It also hosted the closing ceremony of the 1938 Empire Games. Charles Street remains an important access road to Henson Park if you are travelling from the north and east.






6. "1936 - General Motors move to Pagewood: Carrington Road site occupied by Davis Coop Cotton." The GM Pagewood plant took over the site of one of Australia's largest film studios, National Studios. When GM vacated the plant in the 1970s it was redeveloped into a shopping centre and a bus depot.




7. "1936 - Crago Flour Mill silos erected. 1938 - Opening of new Petersham Town Hall on site of old Hall. 1939 - Outbreak of World War Two. Despite manpower and material shortages, war gave a fillip to Marrickville industry. Development of Welfare groups under patronage of municipal councils. 1941 - Census deferred until 1947 but population estimates for 1941 were Marrickville 46300; Petersham 27580; St Peters 12520 ;Newtown 24630. The population had declined slightly over the decade.






8. "1942 - Metal Processors set up at Donney’s Works. 1945 - End of World War Two. 1947 - Beginning of new migration policy and rapid rate of arrivals. 1948 - Local Government Areas Act: Marrickville, St Peters and Petersham combined as Marrickville. Most of Camperdown Cemetery resumed as Rest Park. 1949 - New Marrickville Municipality with headquarters at former Petersham Town Hall. Seymour’s Store (est. 1900) destroyed by fire. 1950 - Globe Worsted Mill moved to Victoria. 1953 -Beginning of decline in number of smaller manufacturing concerns in Marrickville. 1954 - Population (on 1969 boundaries) 95189."






9. "1957 - Tramway services discontinued; replaced by buses. Conversion of Tempe Depot. Camdenville Park on site of Speare’s Brickworks. 1960 - Midden deposit and stone axe head were found at Marrickville Golf Course. 1961 - Population (on 1969 boundaries 91396; the first census to contain a significant number of inhabitants born overseas, other than in the U.K. and N.Z.






10. "1962 - Beginning of large scale flat (later home unit) development. Vicars merged with Australian Woollen Mills. 1966 - Population (on 1969 boundaries) 92745. Greek Orthodox church in Marrickville Road. 1968 - Marrickville expanded to include Enmore and parts of Camperdown. Incorporation of South Sydney (originally Northcote) municipality. Fowler’s Potteries taken over by Newbold General Refractories. Coptic Church in former Methodist Church in Railway Road, Sydenham. 1971 - Population 98700 (including 13171 of Greek origin). "






11. "1974 - Marrickville Administrative Centre, Petersham, opened. 1975 - Fowler’s ceased to produce pottery at Marrickville. 1976 - Population 90750. Vicars Woollen Mills company wound up. Addison Road Community Centre set up", replacing the Army barracks and stables.






12. "1980 - Salvation Army Training College relocated to Bexley", from Livingstone Road. 1980 - Marrickville Margarine complex, Edinburgh Road, sold." This site was lit up with an impressive (for its day, anyway) Christmas display every year. It became the site of Marrickville Metro shopping centre in 1987. "1981 - Population 83448. 1982 -Fowler’s Pottery demolished and land subdivided. Reference: Marrickville Council website.




13. Also useful to look up is the History of Transport, Marrickville






14. Marrickville South and the Warren is referenced as well at the Council site: "Before Richardson’s Lookout, there was only The Warren, a remarkable castle-like structure owned by Thomas Holt. The surrounding estate was filled with rabbits for sport, alpacas and other exotic animals, and Holt used the hunting grounds to entertain royalty and other guests. When he returned to London in 1886 (to help the Salvation Army and Dr Barnardo), he left his estate to Carmelite nuns. In World War I, The Warren was modified by the government into housing for returned soldiers. After the war, The Warren was demolished, and the site left abandoned until a Marrickville alderman named Warren Cook Richardson led a campaign to revitalise the park. It was renamed in his honour in 1936 and all that is left of The Warren are two pillars taken from the demolished house".






15. And the National Library contains useful details (and maps) of subdivisions, such as this "sales plan for land bounded by Livingstone and Marrickville Roads, and Francis, Arthur, Stanley, Lilydale Streets, Marrickville, New South Wales. * Oriented with north to left.* Torrens title"






16. And "Pilgrims Estate, Marrickville [cartographic material] : close to the tram on Marrickville Road / auction sale on the ground, Saturday 12th December, 1908, at 3 o'clock ; Richardson and Wrench Ltd., 98 Pitt St., auctioneers"






17. And "Plan of allotments at Marrickville between Victoria Road and Chapel Street with Harbers Land adjoining. Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-f642d"






18. And "Local sketch, Tracing of allotments between Crinan Street and New Canterbury Road Marrickville. Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-f615a
"





19. And also "The Warren, Marrickville [cartographic material] : the property of the Excelsior Land, Investment & Building Co. and Bank Limited : first subdivision (1893). Sales plan for land in the suburb of Marrickville in Sydney, bordered by Illawarra Road, Premier Street, Cary Street, Renwick Street, Warren Road, Park Road, and Excelsior Parade. This magnificent estate, so well known as the late residence of the Hon. Thomas Holt, has now been subdivided, and the directors of the above company have much pleasure in submitting a portion of it to the public with every confidence that it will be appreciated as it deserves. Purchasers of land on land will enjoy the following advantages:- healthy and elevated position, splendid views, good soil, excellent drainage, wide roads, 66 and 80 ft., large reserves, and above all, easy access to the city by tram, bus, and railway, as the tramway is now completed for sale, the 'bus runs regularly, and the Illawarra Railway line is surveyed to pass right through the estate. Every facility is given by the company for the erection of dwellings, etc., on the estate. 90 per cent of the cost of building will be advanced, or the company will themselves undertake the erection on their well-known liberal terms. This is the best guarantee that the value of the land will increase rapidly, as where buildings are constantly being erected land is sure to rise also. For example, the Elswick Estate was subdivided by this company twelve months ago, there are now over 200 buildings and the land has increased in value some 25 per cent. Take particular notice of the liberal terms of sale ... T. S. Parrott, Surveyor, 57 Pitt Street".




20. And "allotments in the estate of the late Joseph Graham Esq., J.P., Marrickville [cartographic material] / for auction sale on the ground, Saty. 22nd Dec. 1894 ; W. Pritchard & Son, auctioneers, 100 King St., Sydney. Sales plan for land bounded by Livingstone and Marrickville Roads, and Francis, Arthur, Stanley, Lilydale Streets, Marrickville, New South Wales."






21. And at "The Grove, St. Peters [cartographic material] : close to Marrickville Railway Station : for auction sale on the ground, by order of the mortgagees, Saturday 1st July 1893 at 3 o'clock / by W. Pritchard and Son ; G.H. Barrow, draftsman Sydney.






22. And "a sales plan for land in the suburb of Sydenham in Sydney, New South Wales, bounded by Creagh Street, George Street, Yelverton Street and Cook's River Road. Torrens title. Note: The vendors reserve to themselves the right of closing or altering the lane between the unsold portions of the Estate. Arnold W. Love, surveyor under Real Property Act, St. James' Chambers, King Street. Easy terms. North is oriented slightly to the right. Valuable properties of Thos. Chalder Esq [cartographic material] : St. Peters, Cooks River Road : to be sold on the ground on Monday 22nd March 1875, at half past 2 o'clock / by W. Pritchard."




23. And lastly (for me, you can keep searching if you want) "Marrickville [cartographic material] : 14 good building lots, splendid position / for auction sale, on the ground, Saturday, August 4th, 1900, at 3 p.m. ; by Hardie & Gorman, auctioneers. Sales plan for bounded by Petersham and Illawarra Roads, Marrickville, New South Wales. Includes local sketch. Printed in red. Torrens title. Terms: 1/4 cash deposit & the balance in 1, 2 & 3 years at 5 per cent interest."
    

Sounds like a good deal to me. More posts soon.

Charles Street, Marrickville and surrounds - a potted history. Part 1.

Where will I start? This is a bit of a brain dump folks.... I should say I grew up in Marrickville, hence the immediate interest...

1. In fact I grew up in Charles Street, so this web reference to Stuart Alchin Laing, "born at Marrickville in May 1896" is interesting. Stuart left a will dated 23rd August 1917 stating in part that "I devise and bequeath all my real estate unto my mother Charlotte Laing wife of Charles (sic) Laing of “Tara” Charles Street Marrickville Sydney in the State of NSW. ”





2. Do I know which house was the aforementioned "Tara"? No, but I'll keep looking...





3. Interesting that the Princes Highway was, in part, called Cooks River Road, extending as you'd expect from Parramatta Road to Cooks River. Before that it was known as Bulanaming Road (until the 1820s) and perhaps also as Newtown Road (once New Town store lent its name to the district, anyway.

The section of Cooks River Road between Bligh Street and St. Peters Station was renamed as King Street in October 1877.

A local government document on Marrickville village history may be found here. Especially interesting to me is that "Marrickville Road’s length formed a portion of the extensive farms and grazing areas which had belonged to the consolidated Wardell Estate. From the time of Dr Wardell’s death, smaller units developed. The soil was suitable for agriculture, gardening and grazing and came to be used by proprietors serving the Sydney market." Dr Robert Wardell was killed (presumed by local aboriginals, but there are other possibilities...) down by the Cooks River. Wardell helped start The Australian newspaper. Wardell Road was named after him.

Also, "In the 1850s, there was some subdivision. Chalder’s Marrick estate (60 acres) was auctioned in 1855. It became a simple village bounded by Illawarra Road, Chapel Street, Fitzroy St, and Sydenham Road. The last of these, originally Swamp Road, gave access from Parramatta Road and continued across the swampland to Unwin’s Bridge Road. The little centre of Marrickville (the name was adopted with the arrival of local government in 1861) was never substantial. It had shops, a school, a hotel and, in 1879, the Council Chamber. But the population remained small and the district semi-rural."

Much of that "village" is still there - the pub on the corner of Chapel Street, some shops, the chapel attached to the school and the site of one of the first council buildings, now demolished for the (approx 100 year old) Primary school building on the corner of Shepherd Street. That's the school I attended in the 1960's. Chalder donated much of this school land and Chalder Street was named for him. Chalder himself lived in St Peters.

Other council chambers were on Addison Road, near the Post Office, and (perhaps later) next to the Marrick (or Henson Park) pub itself. When the school took over the site on Shepherd Street the council built on a new location in Illawarra Road. In 1922 the council moved to Petersham Road and that earlier site also became part of the school.

The principal access roads to the Marrick village were Illawarra Road, a narrow track running south and Swamp (later called Sydenham) Road, running from the west to the south-east. A western track ran from Parramatta Road through Petersham and downhill to link up to Swamp Road, later becoming Petersham Road, and another (again from Parramatta Road) became Livingstone Road. To the south (on higher ground) was another track which became the present Marrickville Road. As now, it ran from current New Canterbury Road to the swampland at Sydenham. Crucially, it connected all the north/south tracks in an east/west fashion and came into its own when the trams were routed down Victoria Street (Road) and the Bankstown railway line came into being.

Another Council document on the History of The Gumbramorra Swamp is worth a look, especially this extract: "early settlement of the upland areas naturally impinged on the swamp. Since much of the region was given over to grazing and timber-getting, the edges of the Swamp served a useful purpose to the inhabitants who worked the later Wardell estate. The existence of habitation on both sides of the Swamp encouraged some traffic across. By the 1840s, a track, and then a road, ran across the swamp to Unwin’s Bridge Road. This ‘Swamp Road’ is Sydenham Road".

And "in 1855 the 60 acre estate of Thomas E Chalder, called Marrick, was subdivided. It became the village named Marrickville (1861) and the centre of the municipality. The village remained small, with only the minimum of community services. It was bounded, generally, by Illawarra Road, Chapel St, Fitzroy St and Sydenham (Swamp) Road and was in the vicinity of the north-western section of the Swamp. The construction of the tramway along Victoria St, the principal north-south route on the western side of the Swamp, in 1881 promoted settlement in the district at a time of large-scale suburban expansion. At the same time, plans for the Illawarra Railway (opened 1884) concentrated on the eastern side of the swampland, adjacent to Unwin’s Bridge Road. The Swamp area was no longer a relatively isolated and neglected sector."

Sydenham railway station (on the Illawarra line) was originally Marrickville Station, renamed when today's Marrickville station, closer to the intersection of Illawarra and Marrickville Roads, was established.

Going further back, the Marrickville Council website reports that "the original residents of Marrickville were the Cadigal people, who lived in the area for more than 40,000 years. The Cadigal were a clan of the Darug people and spoke the coastal Eora language. Other clans of the area included the Wangal, the Kameygal and the Bediagal. They did not settle in the Marrickville area, but for thousands of years roamed through territory that stretched from Port Jackson to Botany Bay. Aboriginal artefacts found around Cooks River and Alexandra Canal area indicate at least 7,000 years of occupation."

I previously reported in this blog that when the Alexandra Canal was dug aboriginal remains were found, including evidence of Dugong predation (something unexpected this far south).

Further, Marrickville's "European settlement of the area commenced with the first land grant in 1789. By 1809 all land within the district had been granted. By the 1830's Marrickville had been consolidated into five great estates. The area was not heavily populated. Only several hundred people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including English, Scottish, Italian, German, Dutch and Chinese, lived here. With just a small proportion of the land having been cleared and cultivated, the principal occupations were rural - grain-growing, market gardens, timber cutting, dairy farms, pig and poultry farms."

I would add that Charles Street was almost certainly in a dairy area. The Dairy Farmers Coop was also sited not far away on Addison Road.

"In 1861 the Municipality of Marrickville was proclaimed. It was soon followed by Newtown (1862), then St Peters (1871) and Petersham (1872). Camperdown was proclaimed in 1861 but did not function until 1868. From the 1880s to the 1920s Marrickville grew from a sparsely settle rural area to a densely populated industrial region. By 1948 the combined population of the original municipalities peaked at over 113,000 people. The 1996 Census indicates that this has decreased to 76,000."

"Following the introduction of the Local Government (Areas) Act of 1948, there was an amalgamation of Marrickville, Petersham and St Peters Municipal Councils. They became the enlarged Marrickville Municipal Council on 1 January, 1949. Camperdown Municipal had been amalgamated into the City of Sydney in 1908 and Newtown followed in 1948. In 1968 there was a readjustment of local government boundaries and parts of Camperdown and Newtown were added to the Marrickville local government area (LGA) to form the present Council area." All of these quotes are from the Council website.

From which you may also peruse the History of Marrickville Suburbs.

There's an interesting and detailed chronology there as well, from which I have gleaned what really interested me:

"1700 - Lieutenant James Cook at Botany Bay; his probable examination of the Cooks River entrance. 1788 - First Fleet at Botany Bay and Port Jackson. Settlement at Sydney Cove and first exploration of surrounding area. 1789 - Captain Hunter and Lieutenant Bradley, on separate expeditions, explore Cooks River."

"1793 - Land grants available to officers and officials. Grants to Johnston (Annandale), Rowley (Kingston) and White (Hammond Hill). Timber yard at Petersham. 1794 - Numerous grants to officers, soldiers and emancipists in order to form a “chain of farms” along Parramatta Road. 1797 - Major repairs to Parramatta Road (first formed 1790-2). 1799 - Beginning of consolidation into large land holdings: main beneficiaries were Moore, Smyth and Johnson. 1803 - Rowley consolidates Kingston Farm", now known as Newtown and Camperdown.

"1805 - Bridges erected on Parramatta Road. 1806 -Camperdown grant to Governor-elect Bligh. 1808 - Rum Rebellion. Campbell acquires Smyth’s property. 1809 - Last free grants in Marrickville region. 1810 - First road to Cooks River." I presume that's Cooks River Road, now King Street or the Princes Highway, but Unwin's Bridge Road parallels it.

"1810 - Toll bars on Parramatta Road. 1813- Crossing of Blue Mountains. 1815 - End of Napoleonic War. Beginning of large-scale transportation of convicts to New South Wales. Road over Blue Mountains. 1817 - Rough paving of portions of Parramatta. 1821 - First stage coach service to Parramatta. 1826 - W.C. Wentworth begins land purchase at Petersham." Wentworth was both a prominent citizen and a partner with Dr Robert Wardell.

"1827 - Racecourse on Camperdown estate (O’Connell)." Makes sense, but exactly where? the current Camperdown oval, given the proximity of Derby Street? (Wikipedia says the hospital site was on Missenden Road instead.)

"1830 - Robert Wardell purchases Thomas Moore’s land and amasses a 2000 acre property based on Petersham House and Sara Dell. 1831 - Abolition of free land grants and beginning of a policy of minimum upset price. Campbell subdivides Smyth’s farm. 1832 - New Town Store (John Webster) opened". Leading to the naming of Newtown itself.

"1833 - Punt on Cooks River." I assume (again) that this was on Cooks River Road, but perhaps closer to the end of Unwin's Bridge Road than the current road alignment.

"1834 - Murder of Robert Wardell. This initiates the process of breaking up his large estate. 1835 - Subdivision of Wardell estate begins."

"1835 - Second road to Cooks River with punt crossing." Now I presume (again) that this is Unwin's Bridge Road.... there are probable remnants at the river of old crossings and the later dam at Tempe, mixed in with later works to divert the Cooks River and to build the railway but it's unclear to my inexpert eyes what's what.

"1835 - Temporary Anglican church at later St Peters. Enmore House (John Verge) built for Captain Browne. 1836 - Unwin’s Bridge across Cooks River. Completion of A.B. Spark’s Tempe House. 1838 - Foundation stone of St Peters Anglican church. Beginning of construction of Cooks River dam. 1839 - Consecration of St Peters church."

"1840 - Completion of Cooks River dam. Opening of St Peters cemetery. St Peters village laid out. Beginning of land sales for workingmen at Tempe. 1841 - Subdivision of Enmore Estate. 1842 - Tempe village laid out. Petersham rececourse" (sic - I guess they meant "racecourse", but where? Petersham Oval?).

"1843 - Homlewood built. 1844 - Foundation stone of first St Stephen’s church (Anglican), Newtown. Economic depression producing many forced sales and bankruptcies. 1847 - Stanmore House begun. 1848 - Inauguration of National education system. Subdivision of Petersham estate. Reiby house probably erected by this time. Foundation stone of St Thomas’ Catholic church, Lewisham. Temporary building for St Peters Anglican school.(permanent building in 1855). Goodsell family brickworks. Fowler’s Pottery.

"1849 - Sydney Railway Company incorporated. Camperdown cemetery." To which I'd add that Fort Street Model School was started at the Rocks in Sydney in that year. Later, in 1916, the Boys' High School was split from the 'model school' at Observatory Hill and re-established on Parramatta Road, Petersham. The Girls' High School remained at the Rocks until reunification began in 1974. Trust me, I was there!

"1850 - First Methodist church at Newtown. Beginning of railway construction. 1851 - Gold Rush begins. J. G. Church builds The Grove. 1853 - Cast iron overbridge at King street, Newtown. 1854 - Large-scale subdivisions at Petersham (Sydenham village) and North Kingston. Petersham village laid out. 1855 - Chalder’s Marrickville estate laid out." That's the village described earlier in this post.

"1855 - Railway to Parramatta Junction opened. Station at Newtown. " That was at Station Street, to the west of the current location. 1856 -Sydenham House, Petersham, built. 1857 - Station at Petersham". Those original platforms remain intact, unused, on what is now the express lines on the northern side of the railway, with new tracks and platforms on a new alignment added later.

"1858 - Municipalities Act. Newington Inn opened. Thomas Holt purchasing land to form The Warren estate. 1859 - First municipalities (Randwick, Shoalhaven) incorporated. 1861 - Municipality of Marrickville (1920 acres) incorporated. 1862 - Municipalities of Camperdown (435 acres) and Newtown (442 acres) incorporated. Bellevue House erected. 1863 - Cook’s brickworks at Newtown (later Marrickville, then Tempe); Koll’s tannery (now Metro site); Schwebel’s quarry". I can only presume that Schwebel gave his name to a street in Marrickville...

"1864 - Holt’s The Warren substantially completed. Marrickville National school began (new buildings, 1865). 1865 - Marrickville post office in temporary premises." Possibly Addison Road, or perhaps in Chapel Street. 1868 - First street lamp in Newtown. Municipalities Act. 1869 - St Peters cemetery closed (Petersham cemetery opened 1863). Temporary Marrickville Council premises in Chapel Street." I'm unsure if this was the site next to the Marrick Hotel or further down Chapel Street, on the corner with Shepherd Street.

"1871 - Census statistics of existing municipalities: Newtown, 4328; Marrickville, 1464; Camperdown, 638; Petersham, 750. Incorporation of St Peters Municipality. Incorporation of Petersham Municipality. Roseby Congregational Church opened. Gladstone Hall, Dulwich Hill, built. Porter’s brickworks, Wardell Road. 1872- The Lodge, Stanmore, built. 1873 - Gentle’s brickworks, Newtown. 1874 - Alcock and Davenport’s boot factory (had taken over Koll’s tannery). Tempe Public school. 1876 - Main Roads Act (ending the Trust for Cooks River Road). 1878 - Marrickville Town Hall, Illawarra Road built (opened 1879). St Peters Town Hall (demolished 1927). Petersham Congregational church."

"1879 - New Undercliff bridge over Cooks River. Newtown Railway bridge widened. Marrickville Town Hall" opened, I presume.

"1880 - Tramways Extension Act. Work on Nepean Water Scheme, with reservoir at Petersham. Cranbrook (Fowler) built. Newington College moved to Stanmore. 1881- Steam tram from Newtown to Marrickville. Newtown tram depot. Newington College opened." The tram ran down Enmore Road to Victoria Road, skirting the swamp and running up the gentle slope to what became Seymour's corner, turning right onto Marrickville Road. A later steam service ran along Stanmore Road.

"1881 - Census showed Marrickville, 3501; Petersham, 3413; St Peters, 2272; Newtown 8327; Camperdown 1175. Fowler’s Cranbrook completed. 1882 - Newtown toll gate closed. Dixson acquires Abergeldie estate and begins to build on it. Auction of Terry’s Marionette estate; “Tempe Park” sub-division. Petersham Town Hall. 1883 - Enmore estate subdivision; Enmore House demolished. Stanmore Public school. 1884 - Illawarra Railway opened (to Wollongong, 1888). Petersham Public school. Petersham cemetery closed. South Annandale subdivision. Subdivision of The Warren. 1886 - Carmellite nuns occupy The Warren and grounds. New Stanmore station. Rebuilding of Petersham station. Whipple truss railway bridge over Long Creek completed. Lewisham Railway station. Standsure Brick company begun. 1887 - Petersham reservoir completed; Nepean water scheme in operation. Frogmore Estate subdivision. Camperdown Town Hall."

1888 - Celebration of Centenary of foundation of New South Wales. Newtown telephone exchange. 1889 - Great Marrickville flood. Lewisham Hospital (for children). Unwin’s Bridge rebuilt. Tramway to Dulwich Hill. 1891 - Census showed Marrickville, 13507; Petersham, 10369; St Peters 4860; Newtown 17870; Camperdown, 6658. Beginning of western Sewerage scheme. Tramway to St Peters. Severe economic depression in South-Eastern Australia."

"1892 - Present Newtown railway station. 1893 - Vicars’ Woollen Mills. Banking crisis in Victoria has repercussions in New South Wales. Depth of economic depression. 1894 - Beginning of construction of Alexandra Canal (to 1896). 1895 - Railway to Belmore opened (to Bankstown, 1909). 1896 - Crago flour mill erected. Completion of Alexandra Canal. 1897 - Marrickville Cottage Hospital. Marrickville district pumping station. Enmore School opened. Petersham Post Office opened. 1899 - Cooks River Bridge at Wardell Road completed. 1900- Seymour’s Store opened." That's the "Seymour's Corner" I mentioned earlier, basically a large hardware store on the curved tram alignment, corner Marrickville and Victoria Roads.

"1899 - Tempe Tram Depot. 1901 - Federation achieved. Census shows Marrickville 18775; Petersham, 15307; St Peters’, 5906; Newtown, 22598; Camperdown, 7931. Tempe Park Wesleyan Methodist church (now Coptic) 1902 - Further Reiby House subdivision and alterations to house. 1903 - Sydney (formerly Jubilee) Brickworks on Silverleigh site. Peacock Jam at Stanmore. 1905 - Demolition of Annandale House. 1906 - Local Government Act. 1908 - Camperdown municipality merged with Sydney. Marrickville Margarine factory opened. Development of Grove estate. Australian Woollen Mill established (merged with Vicars, 1965). Newtown Rugby League Football Club begun. 1909 - Salvation Army at Ballevue" (sic - perhaps that should be "Bellevue"?).

"1910 - Final sale of Marionette estate. Sts Peter and Paul’s Catholic church built on site. William Thornley engineering opened. Sydney Steel founded. 1911 - Census shows Marrickville, 30653; Petersham, 21712; St Peters, 8410; Newtown, 26498. 1912 - Electrification of street lighting beginning."

Of special interest to me (because of family connections) is "1913 - Addison Road Army barracks" opened. My grandfather (with the Light Horsemen) stabled his horse here at some point after the First World War. Presumably the land here was boggy and undeveloped, or was used for dairy cattle up until this point. Charles Street (where we started, remember?) backs onto the camp, now a community centre.

"1914 - World War One. 1915 Malco Industries (Malleable Castings) founded." On Victoria Road, near Chapel Street.

"1915 - Illawarra Railway duplicated. Electric lighting along Parramatta Road. 1916 - Fort Street Boys’ High School to Petersham. 1918 - End of World War One. 1919 - Spanish Influenza epidemic. Local Government Act. Marrickville Winged Victory statue. Resumption of The Warren by Housing Department. Planned subdivision for returned servicemen."

That's enough for now - or on to part 2!

Sydney's airports - more than just one

Just a few air-side places to visit, virtually or otherwise...

There's RAAF Richmond, roughly adjacent to and north of the old Clarendon airfield.



Nearby neighbour RAN base Schofields, a bit too close to Richmond to survive, so it didn't.


Of course there's Sydney(Kingsford-Smith), but that's obvious.



And of course Bankstown, a big, busy GA field with a long history, hemmed in by development but hanging in there.


And Top Gear Australia for a brief time made the most of Camden's distance from Sydney to make use of its quiet taxiways for TV car tests. It's a useful and historical airfield that plays a key role in training and GA work but remains fairly underused. 


And Hoxton Park has been axed. chopped up and largely built over.


There's also long-lost Hargrave Park - too close to Bankstown - that is just a memory, and a collection of interesting street names


Did I say long-lost? How about the Jamison Park airfield at Penrith


And many more ex-WWII airstrips dotted around the city's extremities, most lost, a few active like Oaks Airfield or not, like at St Marys.

Checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports.

More interesting places to virtually visit

Sydney is awash with tramway remnants, if you care to look. Check these out for starters...

The curves left behind... take the trams away and you just have an oddly-shaped street with a touch of curving mystery at both ends...


Above, Chippo's Meagher Street


Above is Eddy Ave at Central Station, including ramps (later reused for the current 'light rail').


North Sydney station, where the trams ran to the north of and parallel with the railway, running up a ramp (now used as a car park) and across a bridge (over the roadway) to a tram station opposite the Milson's Point railway station. From there they ran on reserved track on the opposite side of the Harbour bridge from the railway, entering a tunnel and terminating at Wynyard.


Above, Randwick Racecourse had it its own tram station, with platforms and an overhead bridge. You can still see some of this structure.


Above and below, Anzac Parade - the busway seen here was once reserved track, and there was a lot of it from here down past the SCG and the Showground and along Alison Road as well. There was reserved track on both sides of Anzac Parade in places, as well as in the central reservation further towards Maroubra.

My list of Sydney's race tracks and circuits. 

or checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports. 

Interesting yet discarded - part 2

Another bridge, further down the Parramatta River... at Gladesville. You can see where 'Victoria Place' diverts from current Victoria Road, running down to a lower-level bridge. There is a similar arrangement on the northern bank with a strangely-wide and curved road leading from the ferry wharf. You can picture the trams climbing up to Drummoyne, can't you?

And another, but on the Hawkesbury River near Brooklyn. It was Peat's Ferry, in its day the only way across the river by motor vehicle. Replaced with a bridge that was then semi-replaced with a Freeway. Note the roof of the mothballed eat-in/drive-in '50s-style roadhouse:

Meanwhile, down south on the Georges River, Forest Road ends abruptly, as though you are meant to start swimming... or catch a ferry. There are 'remains' on both sides of the river. Forest Rd was the original road link to the Illawarra, so, like Peat's, this would have been a busy vehicle ferry.

Interesting yet discarded - part 1

Sydney is filled with interesting yet discarded or ignored history. You can go and explore on foot, or just browse here...

The Maroubra Speedway was just about there... in what is now Coral Sea Park.

Old road bridge lost in the Christmas '94 fires... it was a wooden trestle bridge from memory, just east of the current Ryde Road. I always meant to photograph it, then it was gone...

Roseville. Interesting approach (Babbage Road) to a low level bridge, replaced by a higher one, of course! There was once a recreation/holiday camp/dance palais on the Forestville side of the river, too.

Iron Cove... another bridge that was, with just the ramparts left on both sides... and note that there's a tram lane on the "new" bridge, too, now used as a T-way:

Mod Daynighter

Mod Daynighter_060
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Tribal Sydney in the late '70s, early '80s. Mods roamed the streets on Vespas and Lambrettas from the 1960s onward, especially enjoying a re-birth with the 1979 release of the Who's film 'Quadrophenia' (which also helped rebirth the British film industry).

This is a scan of a cheap and cheerful Mod 'zine from circa 1980.

Mod Scene Club mag

Mod Scene Club mag_061
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Tribal Sydney in the late '70s, early '80s. Mods roamed the streets on Vespas and Lambrettas from the 1960s onward, especially enjoying a re-birth with the 1979 release of the Who's film 'Quadrophenia' (which also helped rebirth the British film industry).

This is a scan of a cheap and cheerful Mod 'zine from circa 1980.

King Street - ahhh, what a streetscape

Narrow, slightly bendy, lined with double-storey shops. I remember Brennans and its hydraulic messaging system, the Newtown Bridge, the tram shed, the Elizabethan theatre. Well some - much - of it is still there and worth prerserving. Luckily, by quirk of planning, the station and the tram sheds are still largely intact, and lining up for some preservation.

Read on for some local history... Kingston Farm, O'Connell Town, the Newtown Store, Burren Farm... I stumbled over this (via @Stilgherrian)

Heritage Branch Website - Listing Heritage Items - State Heritage Register - Item View

In the 1840s Newtown was described as 'a beautiful village of New South Wales, situated on the road to Cook's River, about three miles from the city of Sydney; it contains 323 houses and 1215 inhabitants, of whom 631 are males and 584 females'.