A Respected Cop

 

“He was a character, Slats. But he kept the town in order, one policeman. We had respect for him, I think that was it. We had respect. If we didn’t, we got a clip across the ears, or a boot up the backside.” These comments seem to reflect the town’s feelings toward a much-respected cop. A man who well and truly left his mark on Campbelltown.

Bernard Patrick Slattery, known affectionately as Bernie, joined the police force on 3 July 1939, at the age of 21. After initial training, he was posted to Sydney’s Clarence Street Police Station until 1945. Then transferred to Camden, he remained there for eleven years. At Camden he was promoted to Sergeant 3^rd Class and then got sent to Grenfell for two years.

A rugby league match at Camden between fierce rivals Camden and Campbelltown threatened to erupt one year in the 1950s. Before the match, Bernard went to both dressing rooms and said we might just arrest someone today. There had never been an arrest at a football match in the area before. It ended up one of the cleanest football games anyone had seen.

In October 1960, Bernard transferred to the position of officer in charge of Campbelltown Police Station. Sergeant Slattery served 12 years in charge of the little station in Railway Street. He lived in the police sergeant’s residence down from the police station in the same street. In those days, the station was closed between midnight and 8am so the telephone had to be answered by the lock-up keeper.

Sergeant Slattery earned a reputation of being a fair and respected policemen. Young offenders, after receiving a stern lecture, then benefited from the Sergeant’s advice. He would say “I am not just a jailer waiting for you to put your foot wrong. I like to think I am here to protect life and property and that I can lead the community and encourage citizens to be law-abiding.” One story told by his son Michael concerned a certain Campbelltown youth who was in the habit of stealing bikes. Sergeant Slattery bought a second hand bike and lent it to the boy but asked him to look after it, including oiling it regularly. He wanted him to bring the bike in every second Saturday so he could inspect the boy’s work. After a while, he gave the bike to the lad permanently.

Bernard rose through the ranks from constable to sergeant, inspector and finally superintendent, where he oversaw a division incorporating Campbelltown, Fairfield and Liverpool. He was later sent to Broken Hill, Philip Street in the city and then Wollongong, before “returning home” as superintendent in charge of I division which covered Fairfield to Bargo. He considered the high spot of his career as the time when he was in charge of police arrangements in Sydney on the day that the Whitlam Government was sacked in 1975.

Following his retirement from the Police Force in 1978, Bernie became a member of the Campbelltown Hospital Board and director of the Campbelltown Catholic Club. He always held Campbelltown dear to his heart. Bernard Slattery died in 2002 aged 83. The cramped and inadequate Railway Street police station, was eventually demolished in 1988. The Police Sergeant’s house was demolished in 1970.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, 27 June 1978

Macarthur Advertiser, 15 June 2002

Interviews with Robyn Watson, Ted Sedgwick and Michael Slattery

The Old Police Station

 

The Campbelltown Police Station was once situated in Railway Street. Dates for its construction vary from 1880, the late 1880s and 1890. It replaced an earlier station around the corner in Queen Street near the Courthouse.

The police station was built in typical late nineteenth century style for police stations. It had cast iron brackets decorating its ten verandah columns. To the north of the station were the cell blocks and stables. These cell blocks were linked to the courthouse in Queen Street by a tunnel. A police sergeant's residence was situated next to the station until it was demolished in 1970.

The station operated until August 1985, when it became far too inadequate for Campbelltown's growing population. A fibro extension to ease the congestion did little to fix the problem. 

The old station was eventually demolished in 1988 and it was controversial. The Attorney General's Department owned the building but regarded the station as having no real historical significance. The National Trust however recommended that it be retained. Members of the public were vocal about its pending demolition including Deputy Mayor John Hennessey, who claimed "this is nothing short of public vandalism". A new court complex now stands on the site. A more modern and much larger station was built in Queen Street.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

ALLEN, Andrew 2018

More Than Bricks and Mortar: Remembering Campbelltown's Lost Buildings

Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

Macarthur Chronicle, 17 November 1987, p17

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 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.