Menangle Park Silos

Chances are you have noticed that the silos at Menangle Park have sadly been demolished to make way for the new development. These silos stood undisturbed in the vacant paddocks on the Thomas Vardy Estate for many years. They were a testament to Campbelltown's farming days and the importance that agriculture once played in the area. It was hoped that they would be retained and perhaps integrated into parklands as part of the new suburb. Alas, this wasn't to be. A report published shortly before development started wrote of the significance: "The proposed removal of the silos in the southern portion will have a greater than minor heritage impact." "Although the silos are not listed on any statutory registers, they are important to the local area as evidence of dairying in the Campbelltown district, and dairying practices in the 1930s." "They are examples of a standard concrete silo design promoted by the NSW Government Department of Agriculture during the 1930s Depression as structures associated with the NSW Government unemployment relief scheme of that period." "Consideration should be given to partial retention of the silos for interpretational purposes."

One person who was sympathetic towards saving the silos was Cr Warren Morrison. In 2018 he said, "It would be perfect timing as we head towards the Campbelltown bicentennial in 2020 to try to preserve our history wherever possible". "The silos can be seen from the Hume Highway, and they are a visible reminder of our past as an agricultural region". Another proposed project that never eventuated was the establishment of a Military Memorial Precinct in the vicinity of the silos. It was envisaged that the silos could be restored and painted with WW1 graphics.

Unlike the iconic silos on Appin Road, I have been unable to find much information on the Menangle Park silos. There are references on Trove to silos in the Menangle area, but it is unclear if they are the silos on the Vardy Estate. The estate property was originally granted to Thomas Byrne in 1812. Thomas Vardy later became owner of the land about 1840. The property appears to have operated as a dairy farm in the twentieth century and, along with the information about the unemployment relief scheme of the 1930s, helps date the silos to that period.

I came across a photograph taken around the 1960s of the silos and an adjacent house. Also included below is one of a similar view taken in 2020 and three years before demolition.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Menangle Park Land Release Area Volume 1

South West Voice, 9 October 2018

The Twin Silos

Situated about two kilometres from the centre of Campbelltown are the iconic twin silos. They have been a landmark on Appin Road for many years, somehow surviving demolition when Appin Road was re-aligned and widened. The twin silos continue to stand proud and serve as a reminder of Campbelltown's rural past.

The land that the silos were built on was originally a 30 acre land grant given to James Haydon. He sold 28 acres of this to George Simpson in 1828. Simpson built a house on this land between 1828 and the early 1830s. The house was described in an early heritage study as being located at 302 Appin Road, having early colonial characteristics and stood very close to the old alignment of Appin Road. The walls were of stone and brick, stuccoed, windows were small paned, the front door had side lights, the verandah was stone flagged. The house passed through many hands until was eventually demolished in the 1970s.

A rear view of Simpson's Farm House, Appin Road. The house was demolished in the 1970s. (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

It is likely that the silos at Ambarvale were built under the unemployment relief scheme, or at least drew on guidelines and plans provided by the Department for the construction of concrete overhead silos under that scheme. Long time Campbelltown farmer Arch Walker said the twin silos were built in 1933 or 1934 while the Johnston family leased the property from Jeremiah Quirk. The size of the silos were built according to the size of the herd on the farm. This was about 50 to 60 head of cattle. The silos are about 7.7 metres high with each having a diameter of 4.7 metres. When full they could hold between 85 and 107 tonnes.

Silos were usually built in conjunction with or close to feeding stalls and other structures associated therewith, so it is possible that other structures, such as feeding stalls, barn or loft may have existed close to the site of the silos.

The silos as they appeared on Appin Road in the 1960s (Steve Roach Collection)


After the nearby farmhouse built by George Simpson was demolished in the mid 1970s, the silos were the only remaining structures on the land. A caption under a photograph of the silos from a 1977 edition of the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News describes the silos as finding a new lease of life and served as an advertising structure for the new suburb of Ambarvale. The caption also explained that the towers would be demolished to make way for the widening of Appin Road. The road was rebuilt in 1981 but the towers miraculously survived.

The silos in 1988 with the advertising hoarding still on them (C. Sullivan Collection)

There are moves under way to have further restoration work done on the towers. They are now under the responsibility of the Roads and Maritime Services.

The silos were chosen as the emblem for Ambarvale Public School.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Williams, Wayne
History of Ambarvale
In Grist Mills Vol.22, No.3, Oct 2009 pp3-24

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, June 7, 1977

Kerr, Rosemary
Heritage Assessment, Lot 1, D.P. 590591, Ambarvale "The Silos"