Keeping in time

While preparing our files for digitization we recently came across an interview from 1987 with Mr. John Cheeseman on the occasion of him and his sisters donating a beautiful ebony and silver baton of his father's to the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society.

Arthur & Louisa Cheeseman

The interview, conducted by an earlier Local History librarian, Joan Warton paints a fantastic picture of our area, of a tyrant school teacher and a kind baker. We'd like to share some of his recollections with you.

John's father, Arthur, had worked for the railways in Junee. In 1911 he was transferred to Campbelltown to maintain the automatic signals between the Picton and Liverpool lines.

Upon arrival, he and his wife, Louisa were presented with a little freshly painted cottage between Hannaford's Pub and the Coach house. John recalls his mother saying to the estate agent, "I'm not going in there!"

Taken aback the agent asked, "Why not?"

"There's bugs in there - I can smell them!" Louisa grabbed a stick, ran it along the window sill and held it up. Sure enough there WERE bugs. "They'd painted over them. That was our introduction to Campbelltown," 

"But," John said, "it all turned out for the best in the long run."

After living at Hannaford's pub for a while the family moved into a house in Stewart Street paying rent to Mrs. Munro. They had a huge vegetable patch next to the lane and a hedge of geraniums in which ducks would hide. John recalls every Sunday they would gather the ducks and take them through the gate for a swim in a hollow in (what is now) Innes Street. 

At Christmas, when the bake was done, Crowes Bakery allowed people from the town to put their Christmas roast into the large oven to cook.

One character he remembers well was Mrs. Seymour who lived behind St Elmo's and would get around in an old skirt, black apron, old felt hat and hardly ever with teeth in. But on Sunday's heading to confession she'd be dressed elegantly in Black Taffeta adorned with a beautiful bonnet with a single black Ostrich feather. She still had men's boots on but would also have her teeth in. 

At 5, John started school at Campbelltown Primary School where he had the notorious Miss McGuanne for a teacher. He remembers her, "She wore 4 different frocks that all swept the ground.  You never refused her bidding." 

She'd often get him to carry her shopping which made his mother wonder where he was. She also set aside a time in the school day for "conversation piece" where the children would have to say what had happened at home. "She'd find out all the gossip and scandal in the town." She also made her mark on John when he was fiddling with a pencil in the groove of the desk. Miss McGuanne brought a cane down upon his knuckles breaking a finger.

John's father, Arthur, leader of the Campbelltown band met for band practice every Thursday night at the Town Hall in Queen Street. Apparently, John's mother sent John along to make sure Arthur didn't come home via the hotel!

Arthur and his band played in many processions. One parade John remembers distinctly was the day of the Kangaroo march. In an effort to enlist army recruits for the first World War, a group marched from Wagga through many towns gaining men along the way. The band accompanied them from Kenny Hill playing them into Campbelltown where a further five recruits joined the recruitment drive.

Band Leader Arthur Cheeseman's baton. 

Photo courtesy of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

More Colourful Characters!

 I recently gave a talk to the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society on the second part of my Colourful Characters of Campbelltown presentation. I have chosen three characters for this post who you can read about below.

Characters. Campbelltown sure has had its fair share over the years. Enough for me to give a two- part presentation on them and I probably could have given at least one more. Every town has had them, but Campbelltown seemed to attract them more than most. They all live fondly in our hearts and memories and often bring a smile to our face when remembering them. Some made significant contributions to the town and some lead quieter lives.

Some had only bits that I can mention so I haven’t included them in the list. Like Arthur Luff of Allman Street that Eddie McBarron so wonderfully described in his valuable and entertaining Dumaresq Street book. Arthur, he described, walked with a limp and a stick, and characteristically sat on the verandah smoking incessantly his bent-stemmed pipe. The puffs were interspersed with mighty spits which carried from verandah to road. Another local told me about James Brooker who would drive his milk cart down steep Broughton Street to the Milk Depot near the railway line. He had no brakes so would attempt to slow it down by using the gutter at the side of the road. However, one day he was going too fast and rolled his cart over milk and all.

I have included 14 in my presentation today. Some I can talk a lot about…others not very much.

For some of those it is probably a stretch to call them characters- maybe they were more icons or in one case more of a curiosity- but their stories were worth telling so I have left them in there under the subject of characters. Frustratingly, I could not locate photographs of them all, so I have tried to include something associated with them. If anyone has photos of these characters or know who would have them, please let me know. Again, the characters will be presented alphabetically.

I have contemplated producing a short publication of some sort on todays and last year’s characters presentation. So, stay tuned for that.

Alf Cooper

Alf Cooper was born in 1916. He spent his boyhood years at Tamworth before coming to St Peters in 1926. The following year he came to work for George Chinnocks, who owned a store in the main street of Campbelltown- now one of the Georgian terraces. His mother said to him when he was 10 years old “How’d you like to go to Campbelltown? There’ll be horses and there is a shop, you’ll have lollies, you’ll have this, and you’ll have that”.

Alf sold newspapers for Chinnocks, rising very early in the morning to collect the newspapers for his billy cart from Campbelltown station at 3.30am. He then delivered them to the shop before delivering them on horseback to homes. This happened as Alf put it in “rain, hail or snow”.

When he was about 12 in 1929, Alf participated in a children’s party at the Town Hall. He stole the show dressed as Huckleberry Finn and sang a solo on stage that brought the house down. However, it was his attempt in the “boy who could laugh the heartiest” competition that he excelled. His “response excelled the greatest noise ever heard in Campbelltown, and so he won the prize” according to The Campbelltown News.

Alf Cooper used to do trackwork on the old racecourse at Leumeah in the 1930s. He would train racehorses that belonged to George Chinnocks. This course was known as Rudd’s Racecourse. Horses were Alf’s great passion.

I love the words that Alf used to describe people. He once said in an interview in his later years: “My old grandma- she was an old battleaxe. Old grandma would be in the kitchen and if they didn’t do something she would pick up anything and hit you. Another time he once said, “I was a bit of a wildie”. I love it when he described swimming as a child “When we came out of school we’d shout “Last to the Wattles is lousy. Across the public school we’d start undressing and by the time we ran down Sewer Lane we’d be naked (imagine kids doing that now). The Wattles was a bonzer spot, and I was a coot for diving.” Another time he said “Henderson the baker had two boys. One was named Glen. I used to knock around with Glen. We were good cobbers.”

Alf would ride bicycles, sometimes organising races. His mates were amazed that he only ever rode in bare feet- sometimes winning races this way.

Alf was a strong as an ox. He was employed to build the new Good Intent Hotel and a balcony was being built and concrete was needed for the upstairs balcony floor. Alf was used as the “horse”. He pulled the wheelbarrow filled with concrete up the plank while another bloke pushed. He demonstrated amazing strength.

Alf used to host casino nights in his barn on his farm.

Alf and his wife Eileen came to Leumeah in 1943. They remembered Leumeah when there were only dirt roads that turned to mud every time it rained.

I was lucky enough to meet Alf at Pembroke Lodge about 2 weeks before he died in 2010. Unfortunately, he was too sick to tell me much about his life but just meeting him was a wonderful experience.

Alf died in August 2010. He is missed by so many, especially the horses.

“Red Mick” Rixon

 

Frederick William Algernon was better known as Mick or Red Mick Rixon. He was born in 1897 at Campbelltown. He is pictured here with his wife Mary Selby at their wedding in 1920.

“Red Mick” was well known for his tracking abilities. He once tracked and located some lost girls in the Wedderburn area in 1926. They became lost while picking wildflowers.

He was quite a character. On one visit to the barber for a haircut Mick decided he didn’t want to wait. He untied the bag he was carrying and let out a snake. He quickly got rid of the queue!

At Wedderburn, Red Mick had quite a few acres, lots of dogs and native birds, including a lyre bird, and a very old bush timber style hut. Mick bred bloodhounds and harriers very successfully, he gained many prizes for his dogs at Bankstown and other shows, and he was very well known for the tracker dogs that he bred for the police. One of these champion dogs was named Heedless and the other Blutcher.

Mick won first prize in the Royal Easter Show around 1930 for top rooster. This prompted his brother John to ask Mick for a loan of the rooster for breeding purposes. After being asked by John, Mick’s reply was that it was too late as he had just eaten him!

Mick’s brother remembers one of his daughters being the subject of an article in the Truth newspaper in about 1958 entitled ‘This Miss Never Misses’. ‘Dutchie’ Rixon was charged with attempted murder in shooting some male. Apparently, Mick was interviewed and stated that it couldn’t have been attempted murder because if his daughter had meant the shot to kill then she would certainly have done so. Mick died at Liverpool in 1964 and is buried at St Peter’s Cemetery, Campbelltown.

 

Ernie Selems 

Cecil Ernest Selems, known as Ernie, was born in 1904, the son of Joseph Henry and Ellen Butchers. He married Lorna Smith in 1918. 

He enlisted in February 1916, serving as a WW1 soldier in France with the 45th Battalion. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in March 1917 and briefly was acting Corporal just prior to being seriously wounded in action in June 1917. He suffered a fractured skull and thigh injury and was hospitalised in England for several months. He returned to Australia at the end of 1917 and was discharged in Australia in February 1918

Ernie Selems had a hard life as a small dairy farmer on the Mount Annan ridge. The Selems family leased a dairy from Ted Sedgewick’s aunty on the edge of town on the Menangle Road. The farm was part of the remaining Church of England Glebe granted in 1823 and still owned by the church in the 1850s.

Ernie had to take his milk cans down a steep track then through the Claremont property to the Menangle Road (at the Glen Alpine roundabout). Twice a day he would take the milk into town at the Milk Depot and he would be at Lack’s Hotel at 10 in the morning. There are also references to it being parked most days opposite the Good Intent Hotel awaiting Ernie to drive it back home. After staggering out of the pub drunk, he would get back in the cart and the horse would lead him home. You would see the horse sauntering along. He is believed to have been the last local farmer to use a horse and cart to bring his milk to the Campbelltown Milk depot (to mid 1960s). It was a distinctive old white horse and cart. The milk depot building was burnt down in 1969.

In fact, Ernie never did the actual milking- this was done by his sister. All Ernie did was transport the milk in cans to the depot.

I couldn’t find a great lot else about Ernie, apart from that in 1954 he was charged and found guilty of failing to destroy rabbits on his property. I know he was also involved with the Campbelltown Show.

After Ernie died his house was cleaned out and a huge number of cheques were found- all not cashed! They went back many years.

Ernie died on 4 December 1987.

 

Written by Andrew Allen

 

 

Remembering a Policeman and a Brave Engineer

Tomorrow will mark the 100th anniversary of a sad event in our area's history. On 9 March 1924, an arrested man shot and killed two men in a car that was transporting him from Cordeaux Dam to Campbelltown Police Station. Both brave men's lives were cut tragically short, and the perpetrator was ultimately hanged that same year.

The incident that lead to the double murder was a break and enter at the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board at the settlement at Cordeaux Dam by William George Gordon Simpson. Work on the now heritage-listed Cordeaux Dam began in 1918 and was completed in 1926. Simpson had stolen two revolvers. After his arrest, Simpson was conveyed to Campbelltown by Constable James Flynn and dam engineer Guy Chalmers Clift. Clift's car was used for the operation, and he was the driver. As the car was one mile (1.6kms) from Appin, Simpson drew his revolver, and shots were fired. Constable Flynn was shot through the stomach. Following the fatal shot, Clift immediately pulled the car up and sprang at Simpson. After a struggle, Clift was then shot in the groin. Despite this, he was able to wrench Simpson's revolver from his grasp. He then punched Simpson in the jaw, got him out of the car, and drove towards Appin for help, despite heavy bleeding. A man named Gibson who was on his way to work at the dam, came across the scene just after the shooting. Clift told him to ride back to Appin as fast as he could and tell the police and that he would attempt to follow him in the car. Clift got there first and pulled up at the Appin Police Station where the brave hero struggled up on the police veranda on hands and knees to get help, where he was eventually found by a Constable Porter. On hearing Clift's account, the constable then set out to reach the prisoner Simpson. Flynn and Clift were soon transported to hospital, where the Constable died soon after. Simpson had boarded a car from the scene of the shooting and was later located at the Appin Hotel by Constable Porter. He found him in the backyard and then overpowered him with the help of another man. He was then arrested and taken to Campbelltown where he was charged with murder and other charges the following Monday. Clift was conveyed to Camden Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following morning. He was buried in Camden General Cemetery.

The opening of Cordeaux Dam in 1926 (Wollongong City Library)

Constable James Flynn was unmarried. He was known as 'Porky', aged 23 and had been a policeman for two and a half years. He was from Lithgow and his body was transported back there for burial. He joined a long list of policemen that have died in the line of duty in Australia.

Guy Chalmers Clift's hometown was Maitland in the Hunter Valley. Aged 37 at the time of his death, he was described as having some grey hairs that made him look older. In his boyhood while at Maitland Public, he was remembered for creating some amazing inventions. This creativity passed on to his adult years and he became proficient and later qualified in engineering. He obtained his degree from the University of Sydney. He used this qualification soon after when he became employed at Cordeaux Dam. He lived in a cottage at the site with his wife Muriel and his four children. Guy was described as quiet, retiring and competent. He would later have bravery added to these qualities.

Guy Clift's grave in Camden General Cemetery

William George Gordon Simpson was a motor mechanic and aged 37. When younger he was noted as a good footballer and first-class boxer. But it appears that there were deep underlying issues with William Simpson. He was reported as being kicked in the head by a horse as a child and thrown off a tram and fell on his head. These injuries were thought to have contributed to his personality. This claim was provided by his family to the Executive Council in an attempt to save his life.

It was claimed by Simpson's defence that he was drunk on the day of the murders. One witness described him as drunk from whiskey. It therefore appears as though alcohol was a contributing factor however, comments made by Simpson after the murders provide an insight into his mental state and probably therefore make a stronger argument for poor mental health as the cause of his actions. On hearing of Clift's death, Simpson said "This is terrible. I must have gone mad. I don't know what made me do it." He claimed that Clift and Flynn were his best friends and the last men in the world he would injure. He also stated that they were killed because they were preventing him from committing suicide. His father had committed suicide 16 years previously and he had tried twice. At his trial Simpson claimed that he took his revolver out to shoot himself.

William Simpson's 1924 Long Bay Gaol photograph

It was thought by a number of people that the real reason Simpson had acquired a revolver was to rob the Cordeaux Dam pay car. The car was supposed to have carried an enormous amount of money and would have been an easy target on the area's quiet roads. Simpson had previously driven the car. Cars were an unusual site around Appin and the dam. A 14-year-old Syd Percival wrote later in life that he remembered seeing Clift's car pass while picking pears at Cordeaux on his brother-in-law's farm. 

William Simpson's trial was on 6 June 1924 at the Criminal Court. He pleaded not guilty. Simpson was found guilty by the jury and Justice Ferguson passed a sentence of death. An appeal was lodged on the ground that the murdered man's dying depositions were wrongly admitted in evidence. The appeal was upheld, and a new trial ordered on September 2. The jury had to consider whether there had been deliberate murder. After only 45 minutes, the jury again found Simpson guilty. The media reported that Simpson had made an outburst of obscene language against the judges while he was being removed to the cells. He later made an appeal to the High Court that was refused. A letter written to the Minister for Justice by Simpson was never made public. 

On the morning of December 10, after he slept well through the night, William George Gordon Simpson ate a hearty breakfast and smoked a last cigarette. At 9am he was led to the scaffold. When asked if he has any last words, he did not reply. Death was instantaneous. 

I was initially intrigued over why Simpson was allowed to carry a revolver with him in the car. After further reading it was revealed that Constable Flynn did not regard him as dangerous but also that Flynn had searched Simpson, but the revolver was hidden in his sock and on the side of the boot.

A plaque dedicated to the memory of Guy Chalmers Clift on the Cordeaux Dam wall.

Update

I have received feedback from Deidre D'arcy about this story. Deidre wrote that her father Norman Percival heard the shots and that it all played out on Wilton Road, across the paddock from Northampton Dale (outside the entrance to what is now the turkey farm). She explained that Ellen D'arcy was driving her sulky into town from her family farm when Simpson tried to jump into the sulky. She "took off at the gallop towards the police station in Appin".

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Whitaker, Anne-Maree 2005

Appin: The Story of a Macquarie Town

Adelaide Chronicle 15 March 1924, The Sun 11 March 1924, The Herald (Melbourne) 27 November 1924, Evening News (Sydney) 11 March 1924

The Wesleyan Chapel

The Wesleyan Church c.1902

You might have driven or walked past this building and wondered about its history. The old Wesleyan Chapel has stood on the corner of Allman and Oxley (now Moore Oxley Bypass) Streets for over 177 years. Built in 1846, it has been known by three different names since its opening.

On 30 June 1843 the colonial government made a grant on the north-eastern corner of Oxley and Allman Streets. It was for a school, church and residence. A sandstone chapel was built, and it measured only 8.5 metres by 5.5 metres inside. About 40 people were present for the opening in October and the service was conducted by Rev W.B. Boyce. Remarkably, considering the small membership, the church was paid for only two years later.

The simple building was built of Ashlar stone and cost one hundred pounds. Its features include round headed windows and a gabled roof with barge boards. Early photos show a picket fence surrounding it. 

Around 1856 some members stopped attending the Wesleyan Chapel as they did not like the doctrine that was being preached. Some of the disaffected members joined the newly formed Congregational Church established by James Bocking and John Cobb. They built their church nearby in Allman Street in 1859. This disaffection resulted in the Wesleyan Chapel eventually being closed down for twenty years from 1865 and the result was a building left dilapidated and rundown. It re-opened in 1885 with a "Friday night tea meeting and concert" following a service. "Oranges and lollies were freely distributed during the intermission!

In 1900 the church building was extended by six metres at the rear and a front porch was added. Other improvements were made, and the The Campbelltown Herald wrote "The improvements consist of a commodious room so built for extension of the church accommodation at any time, while from outside appearance the old church has entirely disappeared, giving place to a modern appearance." Two years later the Methodist Union of Australia was formed and so the Wesleyans became Methodists. Around this time a fervid and zealous Methodist, Thomas Henry Reeve came to live in the town. The church revived under him, and membership gradually rose. 

In 1947 the parsonage was built, and the vestry enlarged in 1950. A new hall was built in 1961 to serve the needs of the Sunday School and the church was renovated with the installation of new pews.

With the union of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches in the 1970s, it was renamed again in 1977 as the Campbelltown Uniting Church.

A new church building was later opened in 1982 (the old 1846 building only seated 90 and was therefore grossly inadequate for special occasions) and was used as a multi-Purpose Centre. It was the talk of the town and proved to be a useful but also aesthetic building. In 1993, Hurley House was built in Allman Street to provide residential care for disabled young adults.

The church in 1979, not long before it became the Campbelltown Uniting Church

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown Clippings by Jeff McGill 1993

Campbelltown Ingleburn News 14 September 1971

The Campbelltown Methodist and Uniting Churches: A History by Wayne Williams 1996

Running the Cinema: the many challenges!

Many of our older readers would remember Macquarie Cinema on the corner of Browne and Queen Streets. There are many fond memories of the Macquarie that are regularly recalled, like in last week's library social media post. But what was it like to own the cinema? In 1979 Fred and Ida Eves were interviewed about their time as operators of the Macquarie Cinema. Interestingly, Fred and Ida were interviewed in August that year- only four months before the former cinema building was demolished, yet at the time of the interview both had no idea of the pending fate of the building.

Fred and Ida Eves bought the cinema from a Mr Holdsworth in 1930. The building was owned by Dr Mawson. Fred's father owned a theatre in Bathurst where Fred was living before he moved to Campbelltown.

Taken in 1932 at a Saturday night dance in the cinema

One of the early perils experienced by the Eves' were when the "talkies" arrived and with the sound that accompanied them. Fred Eves explained: "They used to have a record with the soundtrack on it. When you started the machine with the film in it would automatically start the record with it. As it spun around, and the film came on the screen it was synchronised with the record. The trouble with that was if anyone walked into the operating box and bumped the door the needle would jump across the record. It would throw it out of synchronisation and it became a comedy. When John Bowles was supposed to sing there wasn’t a sound and as he walked off he would sing. Then a lady would come out to sing and it would be a man’s voice. It would be all mixed up and you couldn’t do anything about it until that reel eventually ran out." You couldn't lift the needle to move it because there was nothing to tell you where to put it. Therefore, everything came out of sync and it was hilarious!  Instead of becoming a drama it became a comedy and everyone loved it!”

Another problem was when the records were cracked. The records came from the city on the train, and they would be packed like glass. If you bumped them, they would crack and then you would be in trouble.

The viewing of the Melbourne Cup was a big deal in those days, and everyone wanted to see it run that night. It would come up by plane. They would process the film, send it up to Sydney, send the cinema a copy and it might go to Nowra and Fred would drive down to get it. He would drive anywhere to give the people of Campbelltown the Melbourne Cup that night. Sometimes they would have a reel to reel switch with Camden and when the reel came off Fred would drive back and forth to Camden. Of course, the community didn’t know anything about that and what went on behind the scenes.

An undated photo of a Saturday afternoon matinee

 

Macquarie Cinema had no air conditioning and therefore was freezing in winter and stifling hot in summer. According to Fred: “We thought we had to do something, and we put some fans in. We put them right around the walls. There were about 8 of them but that didn’t seem to make much of a difference with the circulation. So, the audience decided to have some fun with them. They would throw lollies into them and when they hit them, they used to go off like a cracker. We used to try to stop them, but it was terribly hard. We used to call them hair raisers of the dark because they would do it in the dark. We always used to warn them and if we caught them playing up, we wouldn’t let them in anymore. We would walk up and down the aisles and if we caught them, we told them to go out and stay out. That was the worst punishment you could give them. When they would come up to buy their ticket, we would tell them that they were barred for three months. They would ask how they could come back again. We would tell them that when they came and apologised to Mr Nickless and say you are sorry, he will give you a sentence. That was the only way we could control them. If they didn’t cut it out, they could stay out because we weren’t interested. We could do that. If they didn’t stop it there would be nobody there at all, people wouldn’t come. People would complain why couldn’t we stop it. That was the only remedy we had. One time we had 20 on the blacklist, they could not get in. They used to try to sneak in and we would chase them up the hill.”

 

One point that the Eves’ made was the problem with soldiers during the Second World War. It was so bad that you had to pull the shutters down so they couldn’t get in. They would muck up because they were free from the restrictions they were experiencing in the camp. During the war years there was a soldier who was about 6 foot 6 inches, and he was up in the middle of the circle, and he was screaming out at the top of his voice. He was disrupting the whole house. The usherettes came down and said they couldn’t get him out. He was screaming all the time. Nobody could listen to the picture because of him. Fred went up and he said what do you want. He didn’t answer him. He couldn’t think how he was going to get him out. Fred went past him and said if you don’t shut up, I will take you outside and belt you. He said you will? and Fred said yes come down the stairs. With that he ran down the stairs and he chased him. He couldn’t find Fred as he had gone back into the theatre. That was the only way Fred could get him out. He wasn’t a local- he came from the camp. The next day Fred was in the office, and somebody said there is a chap that wanted to see him. He was the same soldier from the camp. He was asked to come in and he said if he could have seen Fred the other night, he would have knocked his head off. Fred said I know but how else was I going to get you out. The soldier said he was a brave man.

Religion also could be an issue. Often churches would ask not to show a particular picture. One such picture was called Wild Rice which Fred regarded as very mild. It was not uncommon to have to cut the offending part of the movie out.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Fred and Ida Eves Oral History Interview, August 1979

Europeans in Eckersley

Please refer to our earlier post about the Lost Suburb of Eckersley, for some background information.

The history of “Grodno”, Isaac Himmelhoch’s vineyard at Eckersley is peopled with some fascinating characters. The first of these was Charles Adam Marion de Wroblewski. 

From Le Courrier Australien 1972

Wroblewski was born in Grodno, Lithuania, Russia and educated in Russian Poland, reportedly studying Chemistry in Vienna. He came to Australia in 1885 and was employed as an analytical chemist with the Royal Commission for the Conservation of Water in New South Wales. Travelling widely in the colony, he worked at such locations as Rooty Hill, Warren and Mungindi. After returning to Sydney he analysed water samples and completed maps. In 1888 he was employed by Monte Cristo Pyes Creek Silver Mining Ltd. During the shearers' strike in 1890 Wroblewski was a special constable and earned thanks by Sir Henry Parkes's government for his services. 

The second of these interesting characters was Baron Piero Cavalchini, who arrived in Sydney in 1887. It is believed that Wroblewski and Cavalchini met at the French Club in Sydney and hatched an idea of making wine in Australia. Wroblewski had already taken up 320 acres at Eckersley in 1886, and named it after his birthplace, Grodno. He began to develop it. 

Cavalchini took up a selection of 960 acres at Eckersley in 1889. In 1896 Wroblewksi took up 960 acres, although I could not determine if he was taking ownership of Cavalchini’s conditional grant.  These grants were in wild country, with poor sandy soil. This was perfect for Cavalchini’s theory of poor soil growing the best wine. Grodno was "improved" with about 22 acres of vineyards, 350 fruit trees, 20 cleared acres, and a further 30-40 partially cleared. The two gentlemen were viewed as a source of wonder to the few farmers in the district. Parties from Sydney of many European nationalities would come for a visit, and the French cook at Grodno was kept busy. 

Sale of Grodno in 1892, Daily Telegraph

Joachim Tester, a Swiss national and practical vigneron, was brought in to develop the vineyard. He also took up land at Eckersley – 80 acres in 1889. Grodno was terribly expensive to develop, and for several years no return was made. Despite the fact that the first wine produced proved to be of excellent quality, Wroblewski and Cavalchini were forced to mortgage the property and it was put up for sale in 1892.  It was at this point that Isaac Himmelhoch, a Polish financier would become the owner of Grodno. 

Vineyards at Grodno, Sydney Mail 1901

Wroblewski had married Daisy Serisier in 1891, the daughter of a French storekeeper and vigneron. They would go on to have three children, two boys and a girl. After losing Grodno, Wroblewski busied himself by launching the French-language weekly Le Courrier Australien. He transferred Le Courrier Australien to Léon Magrin in November 1896 and took his family to Victoria, where he established an importing firm. In 1903 he moved his business to Perth and founded the City & Suburban Advertising Co., later run by his son Charles. During World War I Wroblewski returned to Sydney and is said to have become an interpreter for the military, using his knowledge of seven languages. His elder son Leo Emile served in the Australian Imperial Force and was killed in France in 1918. Wroblewski retired to Melbourne and died in 1936. His wife, daughter and one son survived him. 

Cavalchini returned to Naples in 1892. Not much is known of his life after returning to Europe although he still continued to maintain an interest in wine making. In 1905 he took out a patent in France for a composition to combat insect parasites of plants, in particular Phylloxera, an insect that causes serious damage to vineyards.

Their legacy at Grodno was expanded and improved by Isaac Himmelhoch who made a huge success at Grodno, building wine cellars, planting more vines, and modernising. Grodno Vineyard became known as the best vineyard in the state, producing a record vintage of 6000 gallons of wine in 1906. Himmelhoch died in 1911, and sadly, Grodno was resumed in late 1913 by the Commonwealth Military authorities. Thus ended the dream started by Wroblewski and Cavalchini and continued by Himmelhoch. 

Written by Claire Lynch

Sources - 

Trove

Ancestry

A Jovial Giant Remembered

It was not long after 11pm on the night of 24 July 1979. A group of 14 miners were having dinner in a crib room about 600m underground at a coal mine at Appin when it is believed sparks from a fan starter box ignited a build-up of methane gas. One of the group was a man by the name of Jurgen Lauterbach. I would like to write about his story and that fateful night all those years ago.

My interest in Jurgen's story developed when I came across a number of books in Campbelltown Library's local studies collection dedicated to the memory of Jurgen Lauterbach and his death in the Appin Mine Disaster. The finding stirred my curiosity and I thought I would research the story further. Much of this post comes from information from Jurgen's younger brother Frank.

Earlier on that awful day, Jurgen had made his way from his home at Chester Hill that he had shared with his wife Maia to the Appin Colliery. They had been married for only a year and were soulmates. Jurgen was nine years younger than Maia. Like many who worked there, Jurgen held some concern about the safety of the mine for some time. Still, the job paid well and the financial benefits seemed to outweigh any safety concerns. Jurgen was always a glass half full kind of guy anyway. He was described by his brother Frank as in-your-face- a real can-do person. He stood at 6 foot 7 inches and was always jovial and joking around. When Frank visited the body not long after the disaster, Jurgen still has a smile on his face.

Jurgen's joviality was a remarkable trait considering his background. His 11-year-old brother Udo, described by Frank as a perfect child, died from drowning, leaving his mother devastated. His parents had a strained and combative relationship from that point and his mother went on to become bipolar and abusive. Jurgen was left to virtually raise his two younger siblings on his own. Despite this burden, Jurgen remained positive and ambitious, studying engineering. He was also interested in getting his pilot's licence and dreamed of flying around Australia's entire coastline. Little wonder that Frank, aged ten years younger, idolised his older brother. 

Did Jurgen Lauterbach and his 13 other colleagues die in vain? One positive outcome from the tragedy was the formation of Work Cover, an organisation set up to regulate the state's workplace health and safety. However, on the other side was the fact that following an investigation straight after, no charges were laid, despite two subsequent inquiries into the cause of the blast. The NSW Mining Department also investigated only hours after the explosion. No person was ever fined or gaoled after the incident. A similar tragedy occurred at Bulli in 1965 that left four dead and that also saw no person or company punished- a fact that along with the outcome of the Appin enquiry, left Frank and his family unsatisfied and disillusioned that justice wasn't served.

Jurgen Lauterbach was cremated at Leppington and his ashes moved to Rookwood. He was aged 30. His wife Maia never remarried.

I would like to thank Frank Lauterbach for sharing his story with me and wish him well in fighting for justice and to overcome the mental health battles he has had to endure since the incident in 1979.

Frank is pictured here with his brother Jurgen on the right. It was the last photo taken of them together on Mother's Day 1979. (Frank Lauterbach Collection)