A First Hand Account of our Worst Bushfire

There is little doubt that the bushfire of 1929 was the worst recorded since colonization of the Campbelltown area. Although there were no fatalities, the fire destroyed three houses and severely damaged a further five. Much property was also destroyed, leaving a number of families with severe hardship, made worse in the years that followed with the Great Depression. No lives were lost fortunately.

The library contains in it's collection an account of that bushfire. Edna Willis (nee Hayward) lived all her life in Campbelltown and was living with her family at Kentlyn at the time. She was aged around 15 or 16. The interview was recorded in 1977 when she was aged 64. 

Edna starts her description..."Well we were out at Kentlyn then and we could see this great pall of smoke...I might have been 15 or 16 and saw this great mass of smoke going across - just unbelievable - you know when it comes out of a big chimney stack - just like that- going and going. Oh, it was shocking hot. Yes the wind was behind it. The westerly wind brought it right from the railway line, I believe, and it just mowed everything down in front of it. Just took it down." Edna was asked where it came from and she replied that it started from the railway line at Leumeah and Minto and that it was thought that it was from a spark of a train in the grass. She described the roar of the fire that day: "I don't know whether you've heard the roar of a bushfire. They could hear it coming and they just ran with what they had on - this Col Longhurst- his mother and father were one of the families that were burnt out and Mervyn had a pair of shorts on, because as I say, it was a stinking hot day...nothing on his feet, no shirt or anything." She said that this Longhurst family ran to her place because Mrs Longhurst and her mum were very close.

Edna was then asked if the fire came close to her place and if it just got to the river and stopped. She replied that it didn't come up her end and that "it eventually went over the river. Well then it burnt away into nothingness over there. It was quite a wide strip out at Kentlyn. It went through and then it was out at Wedderburn. It was a pretty bad run out there, too. In fact of an evening, you'd sit like and see the flames right up the trees and you'd wonder how much further it was going to come by next morning."

Edna Willis passed away in 2010 aged 96. Below is a photo of her taken in her younger days.

Photo comes from the collection of daughter Jennifer Scott

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Interview with Edna Willis on 30 November 1977

The "Hope Inn" - on this day 165 years ago

We have mentioned the “Hope Inn” a couple of times in other posts, but have managed to unearth some more information about it.
Henry Thatcher was the earliest  publican of the Hope Inn (1838)  that we know of, followed by Michael McQuade (1839). The Inn which was situated on a block fronted by three streets – the Sydney Road (now Queen Street), Browne and Howe. This large block originally belonged to William Howe. It's frontage on the main street was 118 feet, (36 metres).

Bordered by Browne, Howe and the Main Road, opposite the court house.

The two storied brick building was built on stone foundation, and had 10 rooms, a bar, and a flagged verandah the whole length of the building. Outhouses included a brick kitchen with a store attached, two stables – one weatherboard and one brick, capable of housing 14 horses, and a granary. A large yard and garden were at the back of the building.
Isaac Rudd had the licence from 1840 to 1846. He was followed by William Rixon who took on the Hope Inn licence in 1847, however Rixon died the same year, and the following year his wife Ann Rixon took on the licence. Records do not show who held the licence from 1849 to 1853 however William Henry Phibbs had it in 1853, after marrying Ann Rixon in 1852.
The Hope Inn was advertised in February 1854, for sale by auction. It is reasonable to assume Edward Fitzgerald purchased the Inn at the auction held on March 1st of that year as his licence was dated 21st April 1854. Unfortunately this would not be a happy purchase for Edward.
On Tuesday 14th November 1854 a fire destroyed the Hope Inn completely. All of Edward Fitzgerald’s furniture, stock of spirits, ale and porter, and 200 pounds cash were destroyed. Locals took up a collection for Edward, and he moved to the other end of town, taking up the licence of the Farrier’s Arms. Along with the Inn a store also burned down, which had only recently been opened by a Mr McGrath. It was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that “in consequence of the want of an engine people could only stand and look on, instead of lending efficient aid”. A fire brigade was still 37 years away.
We do not have a picture of the Hope Inn, however it does appear on an 1840 map of Campbelltown, faintly written. The large block on which it stood eventually was absorbed by Mawson Park and the Bowling Club.

Very faintly, the Hope Inn is marked on this 1840 map of Campbelltown.

Written by Claire Lynch
Sources
Trove
With many thanks to Brendan Leenders of Museum Macarthur

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.

Rain, Wind and Fire

The month of January has a history of inflicting natural disasters on Campbelltown.  Arguably the three worst natural disasters to strike the town have all occured in January. The first disaster was in 1901 when a fierce storm struck bringing "phenomenal rainfall". The second occured in 1929 when a devastating fire destroyed property in the area and the third in 1944 when a violent tornado hit Campbelltown. I thought I would give a summary of all three, mostly sourced from newspapers of the day.

The Storm

The district had never seen anything like it before. It was Monday January 21, 1901. Campbelltown residents felt a storm brewing for most of that afternoon but none of them could imagine the ferocity it would bring. At 6pm the rain began to fall and it lasted for around 4 hours. The Campbelltown Herald reported that it "raged with exceptional severity and did incalculable damage". The worst part of it was between 7 and 8pm with the streets in the low lying portions of the town converted into river-like watercourses. Many businesses suffered severe damage but it seems that a Mr E.J. Whyte, chemist, was the most affected. He lost furniture and clothing to the value of 30 pounds and his house became a "mass of mud and filth". George Chinnocks, a butcher, also lost large amounts of stock from his slaughteryard. Roads were badly affected and cost an immense amount of money to repair.

The storm finally abated around 11pm and 6 and a half inches were recorded in the gauge. The Herald described it as "something to remember".

The Fire

"Fire- Damnable Enemy" screamed the headlines on the front of the Campbelltown News for January 11, 1929. It went on to describe it with further dramatic sub-headings of: Devastating Sights, Homeless Families, Ruination to Several Settlers and Miraculous Escape of Human Lives.

Early on Wednesday afternoon January 9, 1929 a spark from a passing train at Leumeah commenced the most devastating fire in Campbelltown's history. The flames soon reached the bush country of East Minto and swept through thousands of acres, devouring everything before it. The rural bushland now known as the suburbs of Wedderburn, St Helens Park, Airds, Ruse, Kentlyn and Leumeah was devastated. The area of East Minto, now known as Minto Heights, was the worst affected.

An account of the fire was provided by East Minto resident George Mardell.  He told the Campbelltown News "All at once I saw the flames lash out through a narrow strip right at my home and my wife only had time to pick up the baby and run". "I tried to beat off the flames, but could not...(and) we stayed in the cultivation paddock for some time, and saw we were likely to be hemmed in, so we made a dash for Bendorp's".

The houses of three settlers were destroyed and five others were severely damaged. The buildings were not insured. One of the homes destroyed belonged to a Mrs Gracey in Junction Road. When the blaze was approaching, Mrs Gracey locked herself inside. The door had to be chopped down with an axe to rescue her.

The fire caused many people to suffer very serious loss and hardship, which few could afford as the Great Depression approached. The fire was never extinguished and eventually burnt itself out with a loss of many thousands of pounds worth of property.

The Tornado

Probably the most spectacular of the three natural disasters was the tornado of January 1944. The Camden News reported: "The most violent storm in the history of Campbelltown, accompanied by rain and hail lashed through the whole width of the township. Dark clouds thickened over the town and a strong wind rose, followed by rain. A heavy gale sprung up which brought heavy rain and hail. This momentarily developed into a cyclonic tornado with power reaching a velocity at its peak of 150 miles per hour.''

No lives were lost although some of the inhabitants suffered injuries and were very shocked. However, more than 30 buildings were severely damaged and there was a blackout. Smaller buildings such as stables and sheds were demolished and there were many residents who suffered great inconvenience when their outhouses were blown away. Many trees were uprooted. The town was strewn with sheets of iron and rafters from the buildings that were damaged. The town received about 13mm in 10 minutes.

Let's hope this January passes quietly with no dramatic weather event!

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 17 January 1944, page 4
Campbelltown News, Friday 11 January 1929, page 1
The Campbelltown Herald, Wednesday 23 January 1901, page 2

McGill, Jeff 1995
Campbelltown's Streets and Suburbs

Fire Fighters of Kentlyn: History of the Kentlyn Bush Fire Brigade 1946-1996