Victim of Progress

(Bruce Hatfield Collection)

I have written about Railway Street in Campbelltown before and how it has transformed over the years. This photograph was taken in the 1980s. The view looks east and shows the police station and residence, as well as a group of shops, including a hairdresser and an electrical contractor. Lack's Hotel is on the corner and the Royal Hotel is just out of the picture on the right. Lack's Hotel was demolished in 1984, so it probably dates to the early 1980s. All of the buildings and plants in this scene have vanished. Only the plants in Mawson Park in the background and the court house (the chimney can just be made out in the background on the left) still exist. The new court building on the left and a car park on the right now dominate this same view.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Drunk's Express

In the 1940s an old liquor law was re-introduced that meant anyone was forbidden to drink at a hotel on a Sunday unless they travelled more than 25 miles. They were regarded as "weary travelers". Occasional raids were made by police to check identity cards which would prove where they lived. As Campbelltown was 32 miles from Sydney it was seen as a prime target for drinkers. This was good news for hoteliers looking for business and thirsty out-of-towners after a weekend drink, however it also proved to be a nightmare for hotel owners at the same time. It was also understandably unpopular with thirsty locals.

The train that the town came to dread was the arrival of the 1.30pm at Campbelltown Station. It became infamous as the "Drunk's Express" or the "Ghost Train" as it was packed with hundreds of loud-mouthed city louts that invaded Campbelltown every weekend. One hotel that attracted these louts was the Royal, located inconveniently or conveniently depending on your situation, next to the railway station. The licensee of the time, a Mr Knap, commented "They're the roughest crowd I have ever seen in my life. They come in hundreds. I slam and lock my doors at 3pm on Saturdays, and they stay locked until 5.15. By then they are nearly all gone again, but in the meantime, they nearly kick my doors in."

In January 1944 a sailor and two female companions travelled on the 'ghost train' for a drink at the Good Intent Hotel. They ended up spending a night in the lock up after they were charged with various offences after a boozy brawl. Newspaper reports describe there being about seventy people inside the pub and several waiting to get in. The magistrate for the hearing said "that shortly there will be a beautiful argument about the question of bona-fide travelers. It is apparent that most of these people come to Campbelltown only to get drink, and I have very grave doubts about most of them being bona-fide travelers."

The Good Intent Hotel was one hotel that attracted huge numbers of 'travellers' in the 1940s (Steve Roach Collection)

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Truth, 16 January 1944, p22

Campbelltown Clippings by Jeff McGill 1993

The Way We Were- Part 4

Some more then and now photographs

The corner of Copperfield Drive and Archibald Crescent, Rosemeadow in 1999 and 2017. The view is looking towards Copperfield Drive. The photograph above shows the land sales office at the new Rosemeadow Gardens Estate.

Above is "St Elmo" in Broughton Street taken around 1900. Below is the same scene today with those pesky trees in the way!

 

Taken in Railway Street looking towards Campbelltown Railway Station. The photo above was taken in 1986, just days before the Royal Hotel was demolished. This was difficult to line up a then and now comparison and not just because it was taken from the middle of the road! There was also some strange looks coming our way. If you look carefully you can just make out a chimney under the street light in the 1986 photograph. This is the same chimney under the aerial and near the replacement street light in the bottom photograph. This then and now comparison provides an indication of where the Royal Hotel was in relation to the realigned Railway Street.

Written by Andrew Allen

A Sad Ending

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the demolition of the old Royal Hotel at the corner of Railway and Hurley Streets. The hotel was demolished in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning July 6, 1986. Newspaper reports described how at 5.30am council workmen first set up safety barriers around the hotel. By 6am a massive Hitachi caterpillar-tracked back hoe commenced clawing the building down and by evening most of the remains had been removed from the site.

There was much controversy about the demolition of the hotel in the weeks and months leading up to the demolition. On one side there were those that were strongly opposed to the destruction of such a much loved historical building. On the other side however was Campbelltown Council who had exhausted all its options. Council needed to widen Hurley Street and unfortunately the Royal Hotel was in the way of this.

The Royal Hotel was originally known as the Cumberland Hotel in the 1880s and became the Royal Hotel in the 1890s. It dates back to the first half of the 19th century.

Interestingly, sandstone from the foundations was used on buildings such as the Campbelltown Library and the Bicentennial Art Gallery.

I thought I would show photographs from the library's collection of the hotel over time. They begin with the earliest known photograph when it was "Hodge's Royal Hotel" right up to its demolition in 1986.

4 unidentified men outside "Hodge's Royal Hotel"

A procession outside the Royal Hotel in 1958

The Royal in 1977

The Royal in 1986- the year it was demolished

Gone!

Written by Andrew Allen

The Changing Face of Railway Street

The scene of today's Railway Street is completely different to that of even 40 years ago. So different in fact that not one building from then or before 1970 remains today. It has gone from a street bustling with shops, pubs, a police station and houses to a street dominated by a car park on one side to the new court house extension on the other. So, what did Railway Street once look like and what places could we find if we jumped in a time machine and travelled back to when it was a hive of activity?

If you were to walk from the Railway Station towards the street and start with the right hand side the first building you would have come across would be the Royal Hotel. This hotel was built in the 1840s and was originally called the Cumberland Hotel. It became the Royal Hotel in the 1890s. Licensees included Charles Laws, W. Hodge, Thomas Meehan and Mrs Sexton. The hotel was demolished in 1986. In the 1940s the hotel was a destination for the Drunks' Express. This was when people were forbidden to drink beer in a hotel on Sundays unless they had travelled more than 25 miles and regarded as "weary travellers". As Campbelltown was 32 miles from Sydney it was a prime target and the Royal would've been the first hotel encountered from the railway station.

Today's taxi rank is located where the hotel once stood.

The above photograph shows four unidentified men pictured outside the Royal Hotel in its early days

Continuing your walk up Railway Street you would then come across a house owned by Fred Sheather. Fred was the Town Clerk for the council for an incredible 43 years from 1901 to 1944.

Next was a house where Geoff Winton lived and this adjoined a milk bar at number 11 that he owned. It was famous for its ice cream and banana splits. In 1946 Alf and Elsie McLean purchased the shop. The business prospered by selling 7 days a week: morning and afternoon teas; sandwiches, drinks, ice creams and sweets; cigarettes and tobacco. In the 1960s Alf Billington took over and the property was later sold and became part of a car park.

Continuing the journey along the southern side of Railway Street in the 1930s you would next find Vic Ducat's Auctioneers followed by a barber shop. At the back of these shops was a snooker parlour ran by Paddy Hunt. In later years the auctioneers was replaced by a doctor's surgery. This building was owned by the O'Loughlan family who lived in a house next door at 29 Railway Street. This house was built in 1872 and had numerous owners over the years starting with Elizabeth Graham. The O'Loughlan family were the last to live there until it was demolished in 1967. According to Paul O'Loughlan the house was built of sandstone and was freezing in winter.

A 1970 photograph then shows a long building running parallel to Short Street that was used originally as stables but later for car parking. Then on the corner of Railway and Queen Street was Lack's Hotel. Built by Daniel Cooper in 1830 as the Forbes Hotel, in 1901 it was refurbished and renamed the Federal Hotel. The license was transferred to Herb Lack in 1929 and it became Lack's Hotel. After Herb's death in 1956, his son-in-law and daughter Guy and Tib Marsden took over. Lack's Hotel was demolished in 1984. A modern commercial building including a modern tavern now take its place.

Photograph showing Lack's Hotel from Railway Street undergoing demolition in 1984 (Verlie Fowler Collection).

The other side of Railway Street, or the northern side, always contained fewer buildings. Beginning from the bottom of the street was the police house and next to this was the police station. The station was built around 1890 and was typical of the style for that period. The old cell blocks and stables were located on the building's north side. A tunnel was supposed to have linked the
cells to the nearby courthouse! The police station was pulled down in 1987. The new court house extensions are on the site of the old police station.

Above is the police station and adjoining police house as they looked in 1979.

Finally, on the corner of Railway and Queen Streets is the old court house built in 1886.

This photo was taken in April 1970 and shows how the street looked then. Compare it to the Railway Street of 2012. (Geoff Eves Collection).

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Paul O'Loughlan Interview October 2012

Demolished Heritage Buildings of Campbelltown, 2005

Do you have memories of buildings from Railway Street's past? Please share these with us.