Reverend Canon William Stack

William Canon Stack was born in Ireland, eldest son of Rev. Edward Stack, a clergyman in the United Church of England and Ireland, and his wife Tempe Bagot. William was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and was ordained in Ireland.

Reverend Canon William Stack and his wife emigrated to Australia, arriving on the 31^st October 1837 on the ‘Andromache”, taking up an appointment on January 1^st at West Maitland Anglican Church. He was then transferred to St Peter’s Campbelltown in about 1847, where he remained until June 1855, when he was transferred to Balmain. The Stack’s had 13 children.

William was described as having a manly character, earnest in the cause of religion, frank and genial manners, and universally beloved and respected. To all classes he was peculiarly courteous and gentle, yet remarkably firm and fearless where conscientious scruples had to be maintained. He was the first clergyman advanced to the dignity of the title Canon ‘by the suffrages of his brethren’.

Reverend Stack is pictured in the middle row on the right.

For 32 years he fulfilled the duties of his profession in New South Wales. He was constantly moving among his congregation, and visiting the poor and the afflicted. On Sunday June 11^th, he preached on the words “I have glorified thee on Earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”. The following day, June 12^th, he and Mrs Stack embarked on a trip to visit their son in Walgett, who had met with an accident that threatened to prove fatal. Early on the morning of Tuesday 13^th, an accident occurred when the wheels of the coach in which they were travelling went into a rut, and the coachman was thrown from the coach. The horses took fright and bolted, and Mr Stack, in an endeavour to seize the reins, was also thrown off. The coach passed over him and crushed him beyond any surgical aid. At the Coroner’s Inquest held on 14^th June, 1871 at Murrurrundi, a verdict was given of ‘died of injuries accidentally received’. His body was brought to Balmain for a funeral service, and then taken for burial at Campbelltown.

Tragedy came to the Stack family when their two infant daughters died. The church burial register recorded: Tempe Stack, 2 years 8 months died 1 June 1852 and Olivia Bagot Stack 4 years 4 months died 17 August 1852. A tablet in memory of the children was placed in the church on 20 December 1852, on petition of the churchwardens. The story passed down by parishioners is that the little girls drowned in the well beside the old parsonage, but, by the two different dates on the register, it was either two separate accidents or one of the babies must have lingered for several weeks. The parsonage, built slightly to the south of the present rectory, was built around 1840 and demolished around 1887.

During his time at Campbelltown, another daughter died and was interred at St Peter’s with Tempe and Olivia, and a son died whilst he was at Balmain and was returned to St Peter’s for burial. With his last words, Reverend William Stack requested to be buried at St Peter’s. His wife Mary lived to the age of 83 and was also buried at St Peter’s.

Reverend Stack's monument in St Peter's Anglican Cemetery

 

 Written by Andrew Allen

KO'd by his Uncle

It's summer time again and many of us will head to the beach, pool or one of our local waterways. Unfortunately hazards come with swimming, like drowning, being stung by blue bottles, swallowing nasty pathogens or...being knocked out by your uncle!!

One stifling hot day in early January 1966, a family were spending a relaxing and fun picnic at the Georges River at Macquarie Fields. Twelve year old Mark Payne from Goulburn was swimming in the river, when all of a sudden his uncle fell on him from a tall tree above the river. The uncle had climbed the tree on the eastern side of the river bank in order to put up a swing. As he bent forward to adjust a rope, he lost his footing and fell directly on to his nephew.

Mark lost consciousness, was pulled from the water, and a member of the party set off to call an ambulance. The ambulance soon arrived together with two policeman from Ingleburn. On arrival, they stripped to their underclothes and swam with a floatable stretcher to the far side of the river where an unconscious Mark was lying. He was brought back to the other side of the river bank.

At Liverpool Hospital, an examination revealed he had sustained a fracture at the base of his skull. He was reported to be still in a serious condition at the end of the next week. No further reports in the weeks after the accident could be found. I wonder did Mark recover and I wonder, in the days and even years that followed, what the relationship between Mark and his uncle, R. Bowerman of Sefton, was like? Perhaps someone out there knows or knew them?

In an interesting sidebar, the two policeman involved in the rescue had to be taken to hospital to treat severe and large blisters on their feet. The barefoot constables had to walk over searing black sand at midday after swimming to the boy.

Beach area on the Georges River at Macquarie Fields taken in 1999 by Stan Brabender

Written by Andrew Allen

Disappearing Street

Howe Street in the Campbelltown CBD once ran from Broughton Street to Cordeaux Street. The part of Howe Street that once ran from Browne Street to Cordeaux Street is now part of Mawson Park.

The closure certainly didn't happen overnight. St Peter's Anglican Church first sent a request to Campbelltown Council in June 1962 to consider closing the street from the bowling club to Cordeaux Street. Council investigated the costs and sought feedback from the public. The only negative response came from a J. Moore who complained that it was too close to the main shopping centre and would reduce valuable parking. So council approved the proposal subject to the church providing an area for parking adjacent the bowling club.

For reasons unclear, the project stalled for most of the 1960s. It did reappear in council minutes in 1965, after the proposal was listed in the Government Gazette. The Minister for Lands was of the opinion that "it was expedient to close that section of Howe Street, Campbelltown, separating "Mawson Park" reserve for public recreation." Objections were again sought and a notice placed in the local media. It appears nobody objected this time. Still, it was 1968 before things started to move. Towards the end of 1968 a draft agreement for a six foot strip of St Peter's Church land for car parking opposite the bowling club was drawn up. In July 1969 the resubmission of the proposal was received. It aimed at having the work completed before the bicentenary celebrations in April 1970. Council approved the proposal.

The park was extended and more car parking space was made available in Cordeaux Street. The street was blocked off and grass planted for a public reserve. It was hoped that the warmer summer conditions would aid in the growing of the grass. The work was completed in early 1970. A number of houses in Cordeaux Street, including Lysaght's "Rosangeles" on the corner of Cordeaux and Oxley Streets, were demolished for extra parking.

An undated photograph of Billy Rixon in Howe Street. This is long before the street was closed off from Browne Street. In the background are numbers 7 and 9 Cordeaux Street. Number 9 belonged to Dr Mawson.

The road closed in late 1969. (Campbelltown and Ingleburn News)

 

Written by Andrew Allen

 

 

 

 

Percy and Lionel: Two Local Heroes

Last Sunday marked the Centenary of the Armistice. The ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra was very moving, but no more than the deeply moving ceremony at St Patrick's College for Girls last Friday. A number of stories of soldier's experiences in the Great War were told by the students of St Pats, who had family connections to soldiers, and many a tear was shed. The girls did their school proud. They inspired me to do some research into some of the area's own soldiers and I came across two brothers whose story I had previously been unaware of. Most of their story comes from Lauren Hokin's comprehensive book "ANZACS of Macarthur".

Percy McDonald was 26 when he enlisted in the AIF. He was living in Atchinson Road, Macquarie Fields. Percy was joined by his brother Lionel, who signed up the following day. They both left Sydney on the 8th of October 1915. Things started to go wrong immediately after they arrived in Egypt, when Percy was admitted to hospital with mumps. In June the following year their battalion proceeded from Egypt to the Western Front in France. Shortly after arriving in the frontlines, they participated in action during the horrific Battle of Fromelles. Tragedy was to strike between the 19th and 20th July when Lionel was reported missing in action. Despite his brother's disappearance, Percy had to continue with his duty. Percy and his family hoped against hope for any news. Percy survived Fromelles and by August 1916 had been promoted to Sergeant. Sickness was to follow, including hydrocele and later hospitalization from a hernia from an undescended testicle. On the 4th of May, he was sent back to Australia for home service. He was later considered medically unfit and discharged in August 1917.

Percy McDonald (National Archives of Australia

Percy returned with his new bride to the Ingleburn area. They lived in a house in Fawcett Street, Glenfield named Tillicoultry. At the time, the McDonalds received news that a Court of Enquiry had concluded that Lionel was killed in action in July 1916. Witnesses stated that they had seen him lying dead in the German first line trench. This resulted in years of correspondence and paperwork that had to be filled out and forwarded to the army and other institutions. In 1921 Percy contacted the army and requested that all correspondence be sent to him, as it was "opening old wounds" and he feared for his father's health.

Percy decided to take up arms again in the Second World War! His twin brother Ernest signed up in 1942 and Percy joined him a week later. He was appointed Lieutenant of the 11th NSW Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps. He resigned the following year.

Percy was a keen artist and his unique drawings and paintings were often seen on exhibition. He passed away on the 18th of May 1964. The location of Lionel's remains are unknown.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

HOLKIN, Lauren 2016
ANZACS of Macarthur: the men and women who served in The First World War
Campbelltown: Veterans Recreation Centre

Avoca Vale Public School

Occasionally I come across information that I was completely unaware of- just when I think I knew everything about Campbelltown there is to know! When researching an enquiry for someone, I discovered there was a school in the area named Avoca Park Public School. This school operated for a very brief period. It was established in 1881 and closed down about 1910. So where was it? Further research revealed that it was situated next to Kilbride homestead, today part of Kilbride Nursing Home in Rosemeadow. A parish map in our collection shows where the school was located: between Appin Road and the water race that ran close to Kilbride.

Amazingly, a search of our photograph collection resulted in a photograph of this school! Taken in about 1909, the faded and grainy image shows a group of children from a different age. A time when the world seemed more innocent. When the pace of life moved so much slower. When World War I had not yet arrived to scar and destroy families from throughout Campbelltown and the country. In front of the photograph are a couple of straw hats and perhaps a cap. I wonder what lives these innocent children were to have?

A search of the Government Gazette on Trove revealed some of the teachers at the school. A Mr Walsh moved there in 1885, followed by John Bath, Miss Crouch, Miss Dash, Miss O'Reilly and Miss McManus in 1908. The children are unidentified, although it is possible that a Haydon girl (later Mrs Jackson) is in the photo. An alderman on Campbelltown Council by the name of Roy Fitzgibbon also attended the school.

Nothing remains of the school today.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Good Intent

Earlier this year I wrote a brief article for the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society's newsletter 'The Kernel' on the Hotel Good Intent. Below is the full article.

The Good Intent opened its doors to the public on March 24, 1939. It was built on the site of Alpha House which was demolished the previous year. The license was transferred in the names of Mr and Mrs Kerr from the nearby Commonwealth Hotel to the Good Intent.

Aubrey John Raymond, better known as “Titus” Oates, became the licensee of the Good Intent after winning the lottery. “Titus” seems to have been a divisive personality in the town. Many enjoyed his company and regarded him as a generous man. Others are less complementary. Whatever the views, no one could doubt his courage as a pilot. During the 1949 coal miner’s strike, he would go a on a “beer barn-storming mission” flying his Comper Swift, to ensure the beer supply at the Good Intent was kept flowing! He would fly as far as Adelaide locating supplies for the hotel. In 1954 “Titus” sold the Good Intent hotel, in order to enter television production and film making.

 

 

The Good Intent was one of the more popular pubs in Campbelltown during its existence, especially on Sundays. It was a two-story brick building at the front and had three levels at the rear. A large car park was situated on the southern side of the building. The pub was set on a large block of land and included a brick shed, living quarters and a large garden at the rear. In 1973 a drive-in bottle shop was added.

The hotel closed its doors for the last time on April 17^th, 1982. This was an unpopular decision and many regulars defied the demolition signs on the hotel doors and arrived for their usual drink on the Sunday morning- the day of the demolition. They were eventually coaxed out of the bar by a security guard. It was demolished to make way for Campbelltown Mall.

 

 

Written by Andrew Allen

Jack Crawford

Jack Crawford was a famous Australian tennis player from the 1930s. He is perhaps remembered best for almost winning the grand slam in 1933. He lost the US Open, the last slam for the year, after tiring in his match against Englishman Fred Perry, which he led by two sets to one. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997. Jack was known to have taken a shot of whiskey between sets if the game was tense. He was Queen Mary's favourite player.

 

Jack Crawford rolling his sleeves down in a match because of the cold (State Library of NSW)

Jack Crawford had connections to Ingleburn. His wife Marjorie Cox, also a tennis player and a State representative, came from Ingleburn. After his heroics in 1933, Jack and Marjorie returned to Australia and, needing time for relaxation after an exhausting schedule, spent some time at Ingleburn with her parents to recover. In early November the following year, Jack played in an exhibition match at the newly opened Ingleburn tennis courts in Memorial Park.

Jack Crawford died on 10 September 1991 and is buried with Marjorie at Denham Court Cemetery.

 

Jack and Marjorie's grave in Denham Court Cemetery

 

 

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources: KERR, David

               Old Ingleburn

               In Grist Mills: Journal of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

               Vol. 21, No. 1, March 2008

 

Wikipedia

 

Ernest James Walsh - truth is often stranger than fiction!

Who would have thought that a simple request for information about why Ernest Walsh Reserve is so named, would take me down a rabbit hole of the fascinating history of a number of people with somewhat colourful pasts.
Ernest James Walsh was a well-known radio identity from the 1930s who broadcast from several radio stations including 2CH and 2UE and did voiceover work for Movietone. He married his first wife Kathleen in 1931, but married life did not suit Ernest. In 1936 he was put in charge of the evening radio session on 2UE and was a keen sailor on weekends, keeping him away from home for long periods.  The marriage was rocky, and eventually Kathleen took Ernest to court in 1938 on the grounds of desertion and a decree was given in 1939. Ernest was said to have claimed “he preferred the single life”.
Meanwhile, Robert Hudson, a timber merchant, and his wife Trixeena, had two daughters, Frances Verdie, and Trixeena Bertine. The family had homes in both Randwick and Leumeah, both named “Kumbogan”.  Frances was tragically killed in a car accident at age 20, leaving Trixeena the only remaining child. She would become the second wife of Ernest Walsh. They became engaged in August 1941, and married in September the same year. Trixeena and Ernest had two daughters, Verdie in 1943 and Ernestine in 1946. Ernest gave up the radio business and went into sales, before starting his own pottery firm – “Rochefort Pottery”, which became highly successful.

Robert Hudson was a keen racing man, and was the owner of the brilliant racehorse Lordly. Lordly had been purchased at the 1947 yearling sales by Robert for 190 pounds. He was trained by George Johnson, who, in 1948, after another of his horses returned a positive drug swab, was banned for life from racing by the A.J.C.  Upon hearing this news, Robert, who had a heart condition, had a heart attack and dropped dead at his property “Kumbogan”  in Leumeah. Lordly had won the Randwick Novice Handicap the previous week and continued to race under the syndicate of Mrs T. Hudson, and Trixeena and Ernest Walsh. He went on to win the Encourage Handicap a month after Robert Hudson’s death, and the Homebush Handicap another month later.

Lordly was retired to the newly formed “Kumbogan Stud” in Leumeah in 1953, managed by Ernest Walsh. However, trouble was brewing on the home front again for Ernest, and he and his wife Trixeena divorced. She remarried in 1957 to Gerrit Stel. It would appear that Ernest stayed on in Campbelltown, whilst Trixeena lived the life of a socialite. She divorced Stel in 1962.
Meanwhile, Ernest married Mary Ridgeway in 1961 in Campbelltown, with whom he would remain until her death in 1987. They lived on a property called “Wal-Park” and the family home stands on the corner of Leumeah Road and Parkhill Avenue.
Perhaps the most bizarre part of the tale is the ongoing story of Trixeena. She was named as a co-respondent in the divorce case of Lord and Lady Montagu in 1964 whilst they were living in Australia.  In 1966 she claimed the 27 year old Lord Angus Montagu was the father of her 5 month old baby. She had changed her name by deed poll to Montagu, and engaged a lawyer to represent her. Trixeena moved to London, and left the baby in a pram, with a note to Lord Angus, in trendy Quaglino's restaurant. She also claimed that Lord Angus owed her some money. A court ordered blood tests to prove paternity, which ultimately showed that Lord Angus was not the father of the child. Despite utterly denying that he was father, rumours were that no-one was more surprised than he when it turned out that he was not. Trixeena reverted to her middle and maiden name, and died as Bertine Hudson in 2002 in Queensland.
Ernest, on the other hand, became a well known and respected resident of Leumeah, and after his death in April 1992 his family requested that Parkhill Reserve, which had formed part of the Walsh property, was renamed  “Ernest James Walsh Reserve”.  This was granted by council in July 1992.


Written by Claire Lynch
Sources
Trove
Ryerson Index
CCC minutes

A Popular Young Man

In the library's recent cemetery tours, we looked at the tragic death of William Saunders. William's headstone had been flattened by vandals, so it was decided by some enthusiastic locals to get the stone standing upright once more. Led by local history devotee Learna Coupe and with the approval of St Peters Church, William's headstone was raised in recent weeks.

In May 1881, a contract was given for the construction of the tramway line between Camden and Campbelltown, to be completed by January 1882 for a cost of just under 13500 pounds. Generally the line followed the contours of the ground, with one exception- Kenny Hill, where a deep summit cutting was necessary. In August 1881, it was reported that "thousands of tons of stones have been removed" from the Kenny Hill cutting. This part of the construction was responsible for about half of the cost of the line.

The workers lived in a tent village, and among these workers was William Saunders. Young William, aged 18, died in an accident at the "Kenny Hill Quarry" on 16 February 1882. An inquest was held into his death on February 17th, and the cause noted as "death from a blast". William's estate was valued at two pounds. No parents or other family are noted in either his death or burial record, although it was recorded that William was born in Wales, and was a stonemason, hence his work at the quarry. William was buried at St Peters, with a memorial headstone raised by his co-workers. This indicated that William must have been a popular young man.

The tramway opened on 10 March 1882, just 22 days after the accident.

Written by Andrew Allen

When Harry met Mary

Joseph Hickey was from County Kildare in Ireland. He came to Australia in 1856 with his second wife Maria, and three children from his first marriage. After working in Liverpool as a butcher for a few years he moved to Menangle and opened a butchery business, which became a general store. Joseph had eleven more children, one of whom was Henry Joseph, who was known as Harry. As a young man, Harry assisted his parents with the storekeeping business at Menangle established by his father. After the death of his parents, the business carried on under the name Hickey Brothers.
In 1902, the building of the Cataract Dam at Appin began, the oldest dam of Sydney's water supply system. At the time it was the biggest engineering project in Australia. Harry established a business taking goods by horse and dray to the Cataract Dam site, where "Cataract City" was established for workers on the dam. The newspaper reported that at Cataract Dam "Mr Hickey, Menangle, has a large and capacious store built of wood, where every necessity may be obtained".


The main street of "Cataract City", (photo - Campbelltown & Airds Historical Society) Note the general store on the right.

Miss Mary May Carroll was born at Borenore, a small town near Orange, and educated at the Convent of Mercy at Carcoar. An exceptional student in all areas, Mary (who was known as May) was an excellent horsewoman, seamstress and musician. In her early twenties May travelled to Cataract Dam to care for her three brothers who were working on the construction. Whilst there she started up a school to teach children that lived in "Cataract City". It was here she met Harry Hickey.
After completion of the Cataract Dam in 1907, the Carroll brothers and their sister May moved onto the construction site of the Barren Jack Dam, now known as Burrinjuck. Harry Hickey opened a store there. Love flourished in the temporary cities created at the construction sites of the Cataract and Burrinjuck dams, and Harry Hickey and Mary Carroll married in 1911.

Wedding of Harry Hickey and May Carroll 1911.
(courtesy 'The Descendants of Timothy and Ellen Carroll' compiled by Judy Rayment)

They had two daughters and a son and lived in Appin and Menangle while Harry continued to work in the family business. Even after moving to Parramatta, Harry worked in Appin and Menangle until 1928, only coming home on weekends. Harry died in 1939 at the age of 68, and May in 1960. They are buried together at Rookwood Cemetery.

The headstone of Harry and May at Rookwood.

Written by Claire Lynch


Sources
"The descendants of Timothy and Ellen Carroll" compiled by Judy Rayment
Trove

Bow Bowing Creek

Back in the days before the public swimming pool at Bradbury was constructed, or Gordon Fetterplace Aquatic Centre as it is now known, most people either swam at The Woolwash or in the Nepean River at Menangle. There was however, another swimming hole that provided relief on a stinking hot Campbelltown day: Bow Bowing Creek.

Bow Bowing Creek's headwaters are found in Glen Alpine and the creek runs permanently, thanks to a natural freshwater spring. Fisher's Ghost Creek and Smith's Creek are two of its tributaries. It would once meander past the township on the western side of the railway line and be prone to flooding at Leumeah and Minto after heavy rain. The original course has altered greatly since a concrete channel was constructed in 1979. The channel cost $198,000 to build and was built to provide reasonable flood protection and to enable projected sales of council land adjacent to Campbelltown Road to proceed.

Many years ago, children from the southern end of Campbelltown would swim in Bow Bowing Creek in a hole known as "the Wattles". Kids from the north would swim in a hole known as the "Leg-o-Mutton". Alf Cooper, who lived most of his long life in Campbelltown, explained "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 (today's western end of Dumaresq Street) we'd be naked. The Wattles was a bonzer spot and I was a coot for diving."

It is difficult to imagine that fish were once caught in the creek! A fish called a gudgeon could be found in the creek, which grew to 20-25cms, had very little scale and was quite edible. It became extinct a very long time ago.

Old bridge on Redfern Road, Minto being flooded by Bow Bowing Creek (Jones Collection, Campbelltown City Library)

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

McGILL, Jeff 1995
Campbelltown's Streets and Suburbs: How and why they got their names
Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

Campbelltown- Ingleburn News, 22 May 1979, p18

FOWLER, Verlie
Reminiscences of Alf Cooper
In Grist Mills Vol. 10, No. 4, December 1997

FOWLER, Verlie
Mervyn and Kathleen Whitten: Living on the Farm
In Grist Mills Vol. 21, No. 2, July 2008

Memories of East Minto Public School

by special guest blogger

Laurie Stroud

East Minto Public School opened in September 1898 in Hansens Road, East Minto. The two classroom school served children who lived within a 3 mile (5 kilometre) radius. The solid brick building had a verandah in front with one end enclosed and a store room at the other. The building was painted in “public school brown”.

On the end wall of the main classroom were two blackboards, each had two sections which could be raised or lowered. In effect this gave the teacher four blackboards which was quite helpful, given he had at least three classes to teach. To one side of the blackboards was a large piece of cardboard on which the multiplication tables were printed. (Leaning multiplication by rote was somewhat distracting for the other pupils but we all had to learn this way and just accepted it.) There was also a fireplace but it was seldom (if ever) used. The pupils sat at bench type desks with holes where inkwells could be placed.

East Minto Public School in 1920.

There were two tanks at one end of the building where the kids could have a drink. The square tank shown in the above photo was replaced by a corrugated iron tank to match the other. (The square tank was moved to the side fence and placed on its side to become the incinerator where rubbish was burned.) Sufficient rain water was collected from the school roof to ensure the tanks never ran dry.

The school grounds occupied about two acres with the bottom half of the site mostly bushland, including many large trees. There were three outside toilets – one for the boys, one for the girls and one for the teachers. The section between the front of the school and the main gate was covered with asphalt. This was where assembly was held at the commencement of each school day. It also boasted a flagpole – complete with flag on important occasions.

The immediate area around the school was cleared (no grass) to facilitate access and provide an area to play games during the lunch break. Sometimes there was a cricket match but the surface was rough. A bat or a proper cricket ball was seldom available. This meant that rounders became the favoured game. Rounders was played using an old tennis ball. Also it was relatively easy to fashion a baseball type bat from a sapling or a tree branch. The kids soon worked out that the longer the bat, the further they could hit the ball. However this advantage had to be balanced by the increased difficulty in actually hitting the ball. The “happy medium” was a bat just over one metre in length.

Playing rounders was not without some risks, particularly for the kid assigned to the outfield during  spring. Each year a pair of magpies would build a nest in one of the large ironbark trees towards the back of the school yard, adjacent to the side fence. The maggies considered any intrusion into their territory had to be strongly resisted. If the batsman succeeded in connecting with the ball it would invariably land in disputed territory and the person fielding the ball would be swooped repeatedly until he retreated – with or without the ball.

One year it was decided that we should not continue to be the subject to the indignity of these unwanted attacks. It was decided that force should be met with force. On the appointed day an arsenal consisting of bows and arrows, catapults, stones and acorn flicks was assembled. One kid who possessed a pith helmet hat was designated as the “lure”. When he ventured into magpie territory and was swooped, the kids responded with a barrage of stones, arrows and acorns. This only proved to be a temporary success. The wonder was that the “lure” escaped unharmed as accuracy was not a prerequisite for participation.

One of the positives of schooling in those days was the free provision by the Education Department of slates and crayons for the younger pupils, while the older ones were provided with exercise books, pens, ink and pencils. Any “extras” such as text books and sporting equipment had to be purchased by the Parents and Citizens Association (known simply as “the P&C”). Homework was unknown.

East Minto was initially a one-teacher school. The school's first teacher was Cecil George Browning Sutton. He remained at East Minto Public until he retired in 1921 and remained in the district as an active community member until his death in 1951. The altar at St James Minto is dedicated to him.

In the 1930s the teachers were Mr Edwards and Miss Frost. The next teacher was Percy Kable who also taught at Campbelltown Public School. He was followed by Mr Haines or Pop Haines as he was known. The school's numbers remained high during this time and at one stage there were two teachers. A Miss Henderson taught years 1-2 while Mr Haines took 3-6. He was regarded fondly by his pupils.
A former pupil by the name of Keith Longhurst remembered him playing cricket and rounders with the children at lunch time. Keith described his days at East Minto further: "We were taught reading, writing and arithmetic. And I don't mean maybe- we WERE taught. The only thing that spoilt my school life, if any, was that I was shifted from 2nd class to 4th class in one jump and it was a long hop and of course I missed my tables that you had to learn in 3rd class".

East Public School 1934, present Mr Edwards and Miss Frost.

(Denison Collection .Campbelltown City Library)

Names such as Etchells, Denison, Longhurst, Porter, Johnson and Hansen being prominent among the pupils.  Other names including Benjamin, Bentley, Goodwin, Hatfield, Leech, Mitcherson, Moore, Pickett, Stroud, Walters and Worrall also come to mind.

Another former pupil, Laurie Stroud from Kentlyn, enrolled at East Minto School at the beginning of the 1939 school year. It was about one kilometre further to walk each day compared to Kentlyn School but East Minto had two teachers at the time. This indicated a better learning environment. It was still a long walk for a bare footed five year so on some days his Dad would take him to school on the back of his bike. At this time Mr Haines was the headmaster. He was assisted by Miss Miles who taught the younger pupils.

Laurie recalls one winter’s day in 1941 when the school dentist arrived – unannounced. One by one the kids had their teeth checked. “For some unknown reason I had several of my first teeth removed. I had no indication of a problem other than a couple were a bit loose.  After the extractions the dentist said, ‘You can now go home, son’. I took the short cut which was in a direct line to my home through the bush; about a two kilometre walk. It started to rain before I reached home. I can still recall the shocked look on my Mother’s face when this wet bedraggled kid with blood trickling out the corners of his mouth arrived unexpectedly at the back door. Fortunately I suffered no serious aftereffects and went back to school the next day.”

Parents and students at East Minto. Mr Haines is at the rear. (Circa 1942)

Following the attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese midget submarines in 1942, the Education Department decided that schools should be prepared in the event of air raids. The order went out that a slit (Z shaped) trench should be dug where the students could seek shelter should an air raid eventuate. In response to this request a number of fathers, complete with picks and shovels, gathered one weekend to excavate a trench. The ground was hard and progress was slow until Alf Longhurst arrived with his draft horse and scoop. The work was then soon completed. Fortunately the trench was never used for its intended purpose. However the boys quickly made use of this newfound play area to fight their own make-believe wars. When it rained the trench filled with water. Soon the walls collapsed and it had to be filled in. So much for that brilliant idea.

The P&C was quite active raising funds for the school, usually through raffles (3 pence a ticket or 5 for a shilling). The main expense was the purchase of books to be given to the pupils as prizes at the end of the year. Occasionally the level achieved in the class at the end of the year was noted for the senior students but most books simply contained a presentation sticker signed by the headmaster with a notation that the prize was awarded for “general proficiency”. This sounded impressive and must have pleased many parents. One weekend the P&C hired a bus and took all the kids to the beach at Thirroul on the south coast. This was a novel experience for many and greatly appreciated by all.
After the retirement of Mr Haines there was a succession of temporary teachers and the quality of education suffered. It was not unusual for a temporary teacher to fail to arrive and the kids had the day off. Falling numbers of pupils saw East Minto become a one teacher school. In 1943 a “permanent” teacher was allocated to the school. His name was Samuel Cook (affectionately referred to by his wife as “Cappy”, no doubt due to his surname). Initially he was unable to obtain temporary accommodation in the area so he and his wife plus two daughters lived in one of the classrooms for several weeks. This was a rather tough introduction to his new posting, particularly as the school did not have a kitchen or a bathroom.

Mr & Mrs Cook with most of the pupils. (Circa 1944)

Mr Cook proved to be an excellent teacher and he increased the academic standard and motivation of the students considerably. Instead of pupils automatically going to Liverpool Junior High at the end of sixth class to complete their schooling, his tuition and dedication enabled several pupils to pass the exam necessary to gain admission to the selective high school at Parramatta where they were able to attain the leaving certificate at the end of fifth year. Some achieved a sufficiently high standard at the special exam to be awarded a bursary to Parramatta High School. (A bursary was means tested but virtually all the parents of the pupils had no difficulty in coming in under the financial threshold.)
It is worth noting that despite the general poverty (by today’s standards) of the district, a number of students went on to become successful in their careers. These included a TV news reader, an entrepreneur (now a multimillionaire), a lawyer and a senior public servant.

On October 2, 1947 the school was destroyed by fire. It started in the early morning and destroyed everything except a store-room. Some suspected arson and others thought the fire may have started as a result of an electrical fault.

East Minto Public School after the fire that destroyed it in 1947.

(Rear)

Following the fire, existing pupils were temporarily re-located to the large open verandah on the house next door owned by Mr Jim Angus. This became their new classroom until other arrangements could be made. However as the population of East Minto catchment area had decreased after World War 2, it was decided not to rebuild. Students were then bussed to nearby schools and eventually they would attend a new school at Minto.                                                                                               

Mysterious Rock Throwing

I recently came across an unusual story that I was unaware of. In the winter of 1901 a local family suffered a traumatic experience at their home on the Glenlee Estate near Menangle. The family was terrorized by rock throwing that lasted for at least three months. The disturbance appears to have stopped as suddenly as it started.

James Carroll, a respectable and well-to-do dairy farmer, was overnight the focus of media attention. His family first noticed rocks being hurled at their farmhouse in May 1901. These missiles were hurled from the foot of the steep knobby hill next to their home. All attempts to identify the culprits failed, despite large groups of police and civilians camping out each day and night to catch them in the act. What puzzled everybody was that James and his family had no enemies or any cause to attract them. He was popular with all who knew him.

The house was attacked mostly at night, often in the small hours and almost always from the adjacent hill. The rocks landed on the iron roof but occasionally on other areas of the house and sometimes striking members of the family. The matter was reported to the police after a week. The missiles still continued, even after the police kept guard. Large search parties were formed to scour the surrounding land for miles around but nobody was ever found. The Evening News reported that "For weeks men formed a cordon along the hill, six at a time, and watched in relief of four hours each, crouching in the frost behind bushes and stumps, but without result." The newspaper went on to describe how "One evening one of the employees, going outside, sang out, as a challenge, "Give us a stone now!" Swift and sharp came the reply, as a stone struck the wall of the house beside him with a loud knock".

Damage to the place included broken windows, a hole knocked in a corrugated iron tank and roof damage. A state schoolgirl named May Ryan, living at the house, had her temple cut open as she was carrying wood. As soon as stones were heard crashing into the house, police and family members would rush out to find and hear nothing but "the moaning of the wind in the trees".

On one or two occasions unidentified people were seen on the hill. Each time they disappeared as soon as they were persued.

James Carroll later believed that someone was determined to remove him from his property. He told media outlets that he suspected why but this was never published. James was quoted as saying "They can make it as hot as they like, and I'll stand my ground all right with them, until they get tired".

The reports in the media suddenly stopped after 16 August when they reported that it had been a week since the last incident. I could find nothing else in the library's records about this episode. James Carroll's property was called Hillside Farm and he later bought Sugarloaf at Menangle. He died in 1936.

I'm not sure if the house still exists but I'd like to find out more about this story. Perhaps one of our readers knows more or know descendants of the Carroll family.

A sketch of the house in the Evening News

Written by Andrew Allen

Coronial Inquests - Dr Arthur Scouler

It was customary in the 1800s as it still is today, to hold coroner's inquests on unusual and accidental deaths. These required a coroner and medical witnesses to give testimony. One of these was Dr Arthur Scouler, who gave evidence at inquests in Campbelltown, Camden, Picton and Liverpool.
Born to William Scouler and Janet McArthur in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on March 10th 1810, Arthur went on to study medicine. He became house surgeon at the Glasgow Eye Infirmary under William Mackenzie.
In 1838, Arthur departed Scotland on board the barque "Renown", which departed from Greenock on June 11th, coming to Sydney via Hobart and arriving in Sydney on November 23rd.  Arthur wasted no time on his arrival in Sydney, advertising his services in the Sydney papers.


Dr Scouler's advertisement in the Sydney papers on his arrival

In 1839 and again in 1843 he was given eligibility as a medical witness at coroner's inquests and inquiries in New South Wales, having the necessary testimonials and qualifications.
Arthur found himself in the Campbelltown area, perhaps because his services as a medical witness were in high demand. As inquests were often reported in the newspaper, we are able to see the sort of incidents Dr Scouler was called to be witness to. In 1842 an inquest was held upon Mary Warner who suffered from "excessive indulgence in habits of intemperance". The jury's verdict was "Died by the Visitation of God". Others over the years included witnessing to assault cases, the accidental death of Thomas Hynes and later the murder of Thomas Hynes wife Ellen; the fall from a horse and resulting death of John Duross; Peter Finnamore's death from apoplexy; the early death of Catherine Hurley; the death of Patrick Tighe of asthenic apoplexy; the death of James Booth who fell from his horse and died from injuries exacerbated by a debilitated state due to intemperance; the railway accident of John Dawson losing both his legs; the murder in Picton of Elias Trapand; and perhaps one of his biggest cases - the murder of Constable Raymond at Picton.
Dr Scouler was also in practice looking after broken bones, amputations, accidents, and visiting the Immigrants Home with medicine and attending the sick. In 1845 he married Harriet Blackburn in Campbelltown. They had three children, Jane, James and Emma.
Arthur also took part in local affairs - donating to a reward for finding the person responsible for the burning of John Hurley's stables in 1851, attending local political meetings, appointed commissioner for Campbell Town's Water Works and appointed Medical Referee for the Australian Mutual Provident Life Assurance Society.
Dr Arthur Scouler passed away on Boxing day in 1868, and his library, which contained about 500 volumes, which included about 120 bound medical works, his museum of anatomy, his surgical instruments and a large collection of medicines and other requisites for a man in a large medical practice were sold by auction. His widow Harriet died in 1886. Both are buried at St John's Anglican Church Cemetery, Camden, but do not have headstones or a marker.

Destroyed by Fire

With the sad news this week of fire destroying much of the iconic General Gordon Hotel at Sydenham, I was thinking about buildings in Campbelltown destroyed by fire over the years. While most buildings that have vanished fell victim to the bulldozer, a small percentage were burnt down. I've researched four such buildings.

Denham Court Rectory

This impressive two story building was built in 1847. It was described as a "beautiful old English Parsonage". It was closed as a rectory in 1882 upon the retirement of the Rev. George Napoleon Woodd, who had been the incumbent for 26 years. The building then became Miss Gordon's Boarding School for Girls. The school later closed and the building was leased out.

Severe bushfires broke out in early September 1895 as a result of hot and dry winds. On Saturday, 7 September the occupant of the parsonage decided to bake scones. The wooden shingles of the roof caught alight and in the hot, dry conditions the fire could not be extinguished and the parsonage was gutted.

A second rectory was built in 1922 utilizing the lower story of the original rectory. A private residence now occupies the site after the second rectory was demolished in the 1960s. Bricks from the second rectory were used in the house's construction.

Denham Court Rectory after it was gutted by fire in 1895 (Denham Court Collection, Campbelltown City Library)

Glen Lorne

At 11pm on the Thursday night of 9 July 1981, Campbelltown Fire Brigade was called to a fire on Appin Road. This was the empty and derelict house known as "Glen Lorne" that dated back to 1823. The timber house had been empty for fifteen years and was owned by Lady Dorothy Macarthur-Onslow. It was built on land granted to George Woodhouse in 1823. It was purchased by an architect named G A Mansfield in 1876 and then followed a succession of owners. The house was long admired by Campbelltown residents and a landmark on Appin Road for many years. No official cause was given for the fire, although vandals were suspected.

Glen Lorne pictured around 1981, shortly before the fire (Turner Collection, Campbelltown City Library)

Glen Alpine

What was it about fire-destroyed houses that started with Glen! Glen Alpine was the home of Campbelltown's first clergyman Rev. Thomas Reddall and dated back to the 1820s. Glen Alpine House was built on land south of Campbelltown in today's suburb of the same name. It was a brick and stone house, probably single storey, with a verandah and French doors opening to the garden.

After Rev. Reddall's death in 1838, three of his daughters lived in the house until the last daughter Amelia died in 1900. The house and surrounding 375 acres of land was sold in 1902 to James Sheil.

According to local tradition, the house was burnt down around the turn of the century. Local severe grass fires in 1902-1904 were thought to have been the culprit.

The site today is in Heritage Park, a reserve in Glen Alpine suburb.

 

Members of the Reddall family standing in front of Glen Alpine; with an inset photograph of two unidentified people beside a horsedrawn buggy (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Hope Inn

The Hope Inn stood opposite the Court House in what is today's Mawson Park. A licence for the inn was granted to Isaac Rudd in 1841. William Rixon had the licence in 1847 and to William Phipps in 1850. The inn burnt down in 1854.

In 1898 The Cumberland Mercury ran an article about Campbelltown. A line from the article reads "old hands say that the stocks, which were part of the punishment inflicted upon the drunken and incorrigible, were erected on the reserve near the old "Hope Inn"."

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

HIGGINBOTHAM, Edward
Historical and Archaeological Analysis of Glen Alpine, Campbelltown, N.S.W.

'Historic Home Razed"
In The Crier, 15 July 1981

The Story of St. Mary's The Virgin Anglican Church, Denham Court, N.S.W.

Ferrets in the Vault

This wasn't the first time that Campbelltown folk had to deal with ghosts in their town. One night in early December 1929, unexplained lights were seen emanating from St Peters Anglican Cemetery. The newspapers reported that The light was first seen by a local baker, who informed his next-door neighbor. When they came out the front of the shop, however, the light had vanished, only to reappear a few minutes later, and to twinkle for a minute or two, and vanish again. It was thought that tramps had made their home in the cemetery, particularly as it was summer.


Observers could make out that the lights were coming from the vault of the Tyson family. The vault was well known to the population, as James Tyson was regarded as the country's first millionaire. The vault was on the southern side of the cemetery.


It didn't take too long before the mystery was solved. Two boys, one of them a Camden boy by the name of Jimmy Meredith, had come across to do some rabbit hunting, and had lost their ferrets. Some boys had told them they had seen them in the cemetery. This means it was probably a moonlit night, but how could they still know there were ferrets in the cemetery and what were these boys doing hanging around there anyway?

Showing great courage, the boys then braved the perils of the fallen-in vault and retrieved their ferrets. What I found remarkable was that this story was news for many newspapers around the country for this day.

The Tyson vault in St Peters Cemetery in the 1950s (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Evening News (Rockhampton, QLD), Friday 13 December 1929, page 8

Tom Bass AM -sculptor

Whether you know it or not you have probably seen a sculpture by the artist Tom Bass. His works are not hidden away in art galleries but forever on public display outside company buildings, universities, hospitals, churches, wineries, parks and other open spaces across Australia and overseas. John Macdonald called his sculptures “part of the fabric of the city.” Much of that cloth was cut from the very earth of Minto.

Born in Lithgow in 1916 Tom’s father was an unsettled man. Constantly moving, the family ended up in the then slum of Erskineville. During the depression, Tom remembers they would shell almonds around the dinner table to earn money. Later employment included "shop boy" at the Mick Simmons store alongside fellow shop assistants Don Bradman and Stan McCabe who signed cricket bats to sell. He became a rouseabout, sandblaster, swaggie, golf course rubbish collector, pottery designer, mannequin maker and model to Norman Lindesay.

His local story, though, begins in 1937 when he met fashion artist Lenore Rays whose parents lived on a farm in Minto. During their romance, Tom would cycle from the Rocks at 5:00 a.m to arrive at Minto at 7:30, just after milking, for breakfast.
Tom found the sweeping countryside of Minto idyllic and the food heartening after experiencing a “hunger backlog” for much of his life.

After national service he married Lenore and they spent their honeymoon at the “Good Intent’ hotel which he always felt “seemed right”. With just five pounds, no job and living at Lenore’s parents’ the couple took a stroll one morning into the village of Minto where they met a man by his broken down car. Hearing that Tom was a painter, the stranger gave Tom a job. Walking a little further along Ben Lomond Road they discovered a vacant house for rent and so their two major problems were solved with one leisurely walk - though house painting wasn’t what Tom had had in mind! In 1948, with three children to look after, he graduated art school.

Tom’s life would, in so many ways, be shaped by pure happenstance. Needing a new chimney the Bass’ hired bricklayer  Jack Porter. Now ‘Old’ Jack was also a brick maker and knew the couple were artists. He asked if they’d ever worked with the local clay. They went outside and Jack pointed some out in the soil.

Tom’s passion for creation ignited and with a bucket of clay from a nearby hillside he fashioned a bowl which, though never fired, he kept the rest of his life.

During the 40’s through to the 60’s Bass won a myriad of commissions and worked to evolve a number of sculptural techniques at his Minto studio, first creating clay maquettes and then using “grass roots engineering” to deposit copper electrolytically for large scale sculptures when bronze casting was simply not available. Tom’s projects grew ever larger and when in 1953 he needed to cast a forty-foot high falconer for the Uni of NSW he rented half a barn from a neighbouring farmer.

The neighbour needed a dam and so Tom struck a deal – he used the farmer’s plough, scoop and horse and dug the dam for him in exchange for the clay he found there. Tom would use and re-use this clay for the rest of his working life.

In 1963 one sculpture, for shipping company P&O, courted controversy over its form. Recently opened by Prime Minister Robert Menzies it soon featured on the cover of Oz magazine. Tom Bass’ P&O wall fountain was described as an attractive urinal with a continual flushing system with basins set conveniently at different heights. Nor did you immediately have to spend a penny to use it, you could P & O!

Cover of Oz magazine from February 1964 

From the University of Wollongong's online collection

Editor Richard Neville and his colleagues were charged with obscenity and put on trial. Tom Bass was called – for the defence and had pleasure in commenting that he thought it witty and a “fair comment.”

In 1967 Tom embarked on a major work over two metres high, twenty-one metres long and comprising three tonnes of copper the giant lintel would hang over the doors of the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

Tom works to complete the fittings on the underside of a lintel sculpture. c1967.
Jones Collection (Campbelltown City Library)

Tom talks to Minto Public School students about his sculpture in 1968 before it begins it's journey to Canberra.
Jones Collection (Campbelltown City Library)

Minto Public School pupils on excursion to the nation's capital view the Tom Bass sculpture in situ above the entrance to our National Library. 

Jones collection (Campbelltown City Library)

 After being unable to teach the way he wanted at the National Art School Tom spent a year cleaning up a warehouse in Sydney and in 1974 began the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School where he taught very late into his life. It still holds classes and the students still use the clay he dug from Minto all those years ago.

Tom wrote that the hard times of his life were “parts of my process of learning” and seemed even grateful for them on reflection. Tom died in 2010 aged 93 having said, ‘we will sleep well knowing we are all used up’

Elizabeth Macquarie Memorial, Mawson Park, his last major work inspired by his keen love of history.

Officially unveiled in August 2006 when Tom  was 90 years of age.

Written by
Michael Sullivan


References

- Tom Bass retrospective -Sydney celebrates the sculpture of Tom Bass", December 2006
- Tom Bass Totem Maker by Tom Bass and Harris Smart 1996
- Search for meaning Caroline Jones ABC radio.
- University of Wollongong

Leslie G. Rouse - man of the turf

In 1923, "Blairmount" was purchased by Leslie G. Rouse, a well-known racing identity from Sydney. Leslie was born in Mudgee to parents Richard and Mary. His family owned Biraganbil and Guntawang stations at Mudgee, and they had become prosperous through the production of fine wool and beef cattle. Perhaps more important was their reputation as breeders of some of the finest racing and carriage horses in the colony. Their "Crooked R" brand inspired Banjo Patterson when he wrote 'A Bushman's Song', declaring that there were no better horses than those that wore the 'Crooked R'.
Leslie followed in his father's footsteps as a "top notch gentleman jockey" and he rode in amateur races as a young man. He studied to become a solicitor and was admitted in 1894, practicing law in Armidale and Gulgong. In 1897 he was appointed coroner for Gulgong, but his love for horses and horse racing was still a driving force in his life. He resurrected the Gulgong Races in 1899 and acted as handicapper, and was elected as an officer of the Mudgee District Racing Club the same year. The Mudgee Guardian described him as 'a young man with plenty of go'.
Leslie was appointed as a Stipendiary Steward for the A.J.C. (Australian Jockey Club) in 1904, and in order to fulfil this role he sold his Gulgong legal practice. The same year he married Hilda Bowman of Merotherie Station. Leslie devoted himself to the A.J.C. and in 1913 was appointed Keeper of the Stud Book and Registrar of Racehorses. His love of breeding, bloodlines, and racing made him the ideal person for this job, in which he remained until his untimely death in 1928.

Leslie G. Rouse (Photo Sydney Mail 22.6.1927)

Leslie used Blairmount as a breeding establishment for fine thoroughbreds, and he regularly submitted yearlings to the annual Yearling Sales in Sydney. After his death at the age of 58, the stud was dispersed, and the 11 broodmares who had produced beautiful foals for Leslie were sold at the William Inglis & Sons Easter Sale in 1929. Blairmount, perfectly set up for horse breeding, was then sold to Frank Young, who also bred horses, though of a very different type - Clydesdales!


Written by Claire Lynch


Sources:
Trove

A Pestilent Problem

The property "Blairmount" on Badgally Road has an interesting history with many associated stories. One of these is that of brothers Vic and Clive Ducat who lived at Blairmount (which at the time was called 'Belmont') in the 1920s, running a dairy herd. Vic served as an Alderman on Campbelltown Council. The brothers sold the bulk of the property in 1923, but retained some land in the area until 1929.
It was during the 1920s that Prickly Pear, an introduced noxious plant species, was having a devastating effect on rural properties, infesting over 60 million acres of land in Queensland and New South Wales. The problem was so serious that the Prickly Pear Destruction Committee was set up. In 1926 the Camden News reported that Prickly Pear was steadily insinuating itself throughout the districts of Campbelltown, Picton and Camden. The answer to eradicating this problem plant came in the form of the cactoblastis cactorum, commonly known as the Cochineal bug, the larvae of which draws food and moisture from the Prickly Pear, ultimately killing it.

from 1987 booklet "Prickly Pear Pest in NSW". An infestation of Prickly Pear. 

 Vic Ducat, whose property had been invaded, wasted no time and took up the challenge of ridding his property of the pestilential plant. After trying many methods to diminish its rapid growth, it was reported in The Campbelltown News in June 1926 that Mr Ducat had "made exhaustive enquiries throughout this and the Queensland State, and learned of the Cochineal Insect, and with fervent haste, procured a supply of this combating enemy". The insect was applied, despite local skepticism, to a portion of the offending plants, and within 18 months, the results were being reported as "a huge success at little cost". The story continued with "...the results are conspicuous. The patch is now dying and the insects have traversed 60 to 100 yards in every direction."
This biological control agent was so successful that by the 1930s all large infestations of Prickly Pear in Australia had been successfully reduced. Vic Ducat played his small part in one of the most successful stories of weed control in Australia.


Written by Claire Lynch
Sources
"Campbelltown's streets and suburbs : How and why they got their names" by Jeff McGill, Verlie Fowler and Keith Richardson
Grist Mills Vol. 9 No.1
"Badgally Road Campbelltown : The other side of the line" by Marie Holmes
Trove

How to Renovate and how NOT to Renovate!

Two of Campbelltown's most historic and treasured buildings both underwent renovations in the 1960s. Campbellfield at Minto and Macquarie Field House both had work done to them. In the case of Macquarie Field House, the renovations saved the house from demolition or falling down. In the case of Campbellfield, the "renovations" almost completely destroyed one of the most valuable examples of colonial architecture and construction, not only in Campbelltown, but the entire country.

Campbellfield at Minto was built on a grant of 800 acres made to Dr William Redfern in 1811. Redfern came to the colony as a convict in 1801 and became a medical practitioner and respected colonist. He retired to his farm at Campbellfield after 1816 and built this house before 1820.

In the mid 1960s crude and disastrous renovations were carried out on the cottage. The first lot of alterations and additions saw a detached kitchen and stables demolished as well as closing in of the rear veranda and the house extended at the northern end. Further renovations virtually destroyed the building, leaving only the stone flagged veranda, a chimney and stone cellar intact. Redfern expert and historian Arthur Jones, who was a teacher at nearby Minto Public at the time, was told by his pupils that Redfern's house had been pulled down. When he went to see what happened at recess, he found that most of the building had been demolished.

Now for the good story. Macquarie Field House in the early 1960s was in a sad state of decay. At one stage it faced likely demolition. In fact it had fallen into such a state of dilapidation that it was almost beyond restoration. A melancholy ruin on a lonely hilltop and mercifully mostly hidden by trees. Enter David Jamieson. He leased the property from the Department of Agriculture and between 1962 and 1963 completely restored the house, entirely at his own expense. It was restored to the requirements of the Government Architect and the National Trust. What a pity Campbellfield didn't have the same requirements. It became Jamieson's home and arrangements were made by the Trust to make periodical inspections. Today this grand old colonial house stands proud on that same hilltop adjacent to the new suburb of Macquarie Links.

An interesting fact about the restoration of Macquarie Field House was that the house's missing fireplace mantles were replaced by marble mantles from "Subiaco", one of the finest colonial homes built in Sydney. It was located at Rydalmere and built between 1833 and 1836 and demolished in 1961.

Below are before and after photographs of Campbellfield and Macquarie Field House after their renovations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbellfield, Guernsey Avenue, Minto
A Heritage Study For the Ministerial Development Corporation, February 1996

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, 15.7.1975

Sydney Morning Herald, 22.9.1961

Macquarie Field House and it's restoration- notes from James Munro's Notebook

Macquarie Fields House to be saved- newspaper extract from CAHS Dr I. G. Thomas estate.