First Town Clerk

 

                               Thomas Jenner Winton photographed in 1884

It was commonplace for newspapers in the nineteenth century and well into the next to give the deceased a highly complimentary obituary. Although the obituary for Thomas Jenner Winton is lost to history (no copies of the Campbelltown Herald for 1887 survive), existing documents and oral tradition provide adequate proof that this man's character was exceptional.

Thomas Jenner Winton, often referred to as TJ, was born at 'Sugarloaf', Menangle in 1846 to William Winton and Mary Anna Larkin. His parents had migrated from England in 1840. The name Jenner was his grandmother's surname. Not much is known about Thomas's early life. We do know that he was educated  by a private tutor with his Uncle Edward Larkin at Windmill Hill, Appin. In 1868, Thomas married Helen Sophia Nicol at Campbelltown.

                            Helen Sophia Winton (Stan Thomson Collection)

Thomas was bailiff at Campbelltown District Court for several years where he had a reputation as a kind-hearted man who frequently paid the small debts of locals rather than see their homes repossessed.

He was chosen from two applicants for the position of first Town Clerk of Campbelltown in 1882. His friendly advice and opinions and his ability to perform unpleasant tasks in a kindly manner assisted the town through its transition to modern government and won him high praise from the community.

When Thomas died unexpectedly in 1887 Campbelltown was shocked. News of his death sped rapidly around the town and work was 'almost entirely suspended'. His funeral was enormous. The procession to the Congregational cemetery was headed by members of the Oddfellows Lodge, followed by the mayor and aldermen and other dignitaries from the town. The rest of the town followed. James Bocking made the comment that 'A prince in Campbelltown has fallen today'. A marble memorial was erected by public transcription over his grave.

Thomas and his family lived at "Jennerville" in Dumaresq Street. When he died in 1887 he was living at 'Belmore Farm' at Campbelltown. Thomas and Sophia had eight children.

Family of Thomas Jenner Winton outside their house "Jennerville" in Dumaresq Street 1882-1899 (Stan Thomson Collection)

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

LISTON, Carol 1988
Campbelltown: The Bicentennial History

HOLMES, Marie
The Congregational Cemetery
In Grist Mills, Vol.17, No.2, July 2004, pp40-41

There was an old mayor who swallowed a fly...

 
Gordon Fetterplace served three terms as mayor of Campbelltown for a total of seven and a half years. His first term began in 1976 and his last year was in 1992. One of his favourite phrases according to local author and editor Jeff McGill was "good for the town". He always backed anything that would help Campbelltown. He was very popular with voters with his man-on-the-street personality.

In 1985, he was in to his second term as mayor. One day that year he arrived at Hurlstone Agricultural High School for speech day and was walking towards the stage as part of the official party when he accidently swallowed a fly. "Everyone was in academic robes, and everything was very proper, with me walking down in my mayoral robes as the kids got up to sing the national anthem" he said. "Somehow the fly got into my mouth and I just swallowed. But maintaining the dignity of the occasion, I just had to keep on walking and just let him flutter all the way down...it was the most nauseating-and embarrassing-experience of my life. I survived, but I don't know about the fly."

Written by Andrew Allen

 

Sources:

Macarthur Advertiser, 20.11.1991

McGill, Jeff 1996
First Citizen: Mayors of Campbelltown since 1982

Ivy Cottage

I'm forever wishing I could go back in time. To be able to walk the streets of Campbelltown 50, 100...even 150 years ago would be amazing. One of the buildings I'd make a priority to visit would be Ivy Cottage in Allman Street. There was nothing grand about it. Just a simple little cottage but one full of charm and character that many happy families called home.

Local storekeeper William Gilchrist purchased land in Allman Street and built Ivy Cottage on it for his brother, Rev. Hugh Gilchrist, a Presbyterian minister appointed in 1838 to take charge of Campbelltown and many other surrounding towns. The cottage became the Presbyterian Manse and served as such until about 1882. The cottage would've held weddings in its early years as Presbyterian marriages were not conducted in church but in private houses.

An undated photograph of Ivy Cottage (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

After Gilchrist's death in 1852, his brother sold Ivy Cottage to Alick Osborne. It then passed through many owners including John Hurley who rented it out after the death of his wife Mary in 1859. John and Ellen Thurston were living there in 1865. In 1882 it was owned by a W.J. Wilson followed by a Patrick Cullen who died in the cottage in 1893.

The cottage became home to the Vardy family some time around the early 1900s. It's unclear exactly when they moved in. The Vardy family numbered 12 with Michael and Mary the parents. Michael and Mary had lived at the cottage for a period prior to 1877 when it was still the Manse. When his father died, Michael inherited Springfields at Menangle, and he moved there. He returned to Ivy Cottage when he retired.

Members of the Vardy family outside Ivy Cottage c.1920 (Tess Holm Collection. Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Photographs of the cottage show a building that was symmetrical with a picket fence around it. A newspaper advertisement in 1861 describes it as containing a dining room, drawing room, 3 bedrooms with attics, detached kitchen, servants' room and sheds. Also a flower garden in front and a spacious kitchen garden at the rear.

The cottage was occupied by members of the Vardy family right up until the late 1950s. In 1957 unmarried siblings, Cyril and Gertrude, still resided there. For many years piano music could be heard playing inside the cottage. Gertrude was the sister who played the most and apparently played so loudly as she was deaf. The piano was owned by her mother Mary who would play for many years as the organist for the Catholic Church.

Unidentified group of women and children on verandah of Ivy Cottage (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Another sister was Cora who lived with her husband in the same street as Ivy Cottage. Her husband would look after the garden at the back of the cottage and in the forties and early fifties kept between 200 and 250 hens in the backyard to supply the Egg Board.

Ivy Cottage was sold for re-development after 1957 when Cyril Vardy died and Gertrude moved out. I'm unable to locate an exact date for its demolition. It stood at 31 Allman Street.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Sydney Morning Herald, 10 October 1861 p8

HOLM, Tess et al 1985
Campbelltown 1930-1940: Dumaresq Street and Environs

THORNTON, Kathryn
People, Places and a Piano
In Grist Mills, Vol. 24, No. 1, February 2011 pp 3-9

Demolished Heritage Buildings of Campbelltown
November 2005

Ugly Man Contest

In 1959, the Fisher's Ghost Festival Committee organised a "Back to Campbelltown Week" as part of the festival's celebrations. They decided to organise a novelty competition during this week to replace the Festival Queen contest that had been run since the inaugural year of 1956. This competition was to be an Ugly Man contest where the local candidates representing various community organisations were to raise as much money as possible. The winner was not so much the ugliest man but the one who raised the most money.

On the evening of March 7, 1959 at just after 11pm an afternoon and evening of carnival and contests culminated in the crowning of the Ugly Man by the mayor. The winner of the dubious title of Ugly Man was Les Warby, representing the Rotary Club. He had raised 541 pounds. A crown was placed on his head and a blue sash hung around his shoulders. Second prize went to Ray Percival who raised only 15 pounds less than Les. "I feel proud of the result" said Les Warby. Ray commented "It was one of the happiest times I have had here".

The Ugly Man contest ended up being a one off. The following year was a Mr and Mrs Campbelltown contest with a Mr and Mrs Sharpless winning the honour. The next year saw a return to the Festival Queen quest with the name changed to Miss Spirit. The quest continues today with the Miss Princess contest as part of the Fisher's Ghost Festival held every November.

Les Warby appears to have died on March 14, 1965.

Do you have any memories of the Ugly Man contest? Did you know Les Warby? Please let us know if you do.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, March 10 1959

Refuge at Long Point

Sydney in the 1930s was a busy time for criminals and gangsters. It was in the height of the depression that the razor gangs operated throughout the city, especially in the east around suburbs like Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Names like Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and Frank "The Little Gunman" Green were commonly found in the newspapers.

Sometimes things became too hot for these high profile gangsters. During these times they would use small houses set up in Long Point bushland as hiding places from the law. Long Point is now a tiny suburb in Campbelltown near Ingleburn and Macquarie Fields.

Many of the early residents of Long Point were also families left homeless by the Great Depression who built little shanties in the bushland. Here they could live by catching fish in the river or rabbits in the scrub. Despite the growing population of Long Point and nearby Macquarie Fields, the Department of Education wouldn't establish a school because there was no permanent population: families had only taken refuge in the area until work was available elsewhere.

                     Charge Sheet of Sydney criminal Frank Green in the early 1930s

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

LISTON, Carol 1988
Campbelltown: The Bicentennial History
Campbelltown: Campbelltown City Council

McGill, Jeff et al 1995
Campbelltown's Street and Suburbs: how and why they got their names
Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

“The Red Menace” – Communism comes to Minto!

In 1958, Campbelltown made national headlines! Handmade signs appeared overnight on main roads at Campbelltown, pointing motorists to a “Communist Training School”! This was at the height of the Cold War, and the ‘Communist menace’ was cause for sensation!

The front page of the Campbelltown Ingleburn News of July 1^st 1958 reported “Bushlovers Club Mystified Over Signs”. Eric Aarons, who identified himself as manager of the “Bushlovers Club”, gave the newspaper a statement, saying that on June 20^th, Sun Herald reporters had come to premises in the bush at East Minto (otherwise known as Minto Heights) with one of the offending handmade signs in the back of their car. The reporters had followed the rough bush track, coming to a clearing with a few buildings, and a welcoming group of men and women reading.

 Four days later the police arrived at the premises to find out “what was going on there”. They were shown around, and left, having satisfied themselves that nothing sinister or untoward was occurring at the premises. Mr Aarons had explained that members of the Bushlovers Club, and their friends, came to the retreat on weekends, holidays, or in their spare time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, as well as to read, study and discuss many topics including politics. An extensive library at the Club included many works, including some of Marx, Lenin, Engels and other Marxist writers.

This was in fact, only part of the story. Mr Aarons was in fact Eric Aarons, Communist Party Australia member who played an important role in the party’s work from the mid-1940s to the winding up of the party in the early 1990s. He rose to be in charge of party education, to be a leading theorist and author, a powerful advocate for de-Stalinisation of the CPA (Communist Party of Australia). He also became joint CPA National Secretary in 1976.

1958 saw the founding of the CPA National Training School – as ASIO used to call it – aka The Bushlovers Club!  The Minto Bush camp functioned as both an educational facility, and a leafy retreat. Much to the disappointment of ASIO however, despite their spying, no paramilitary training took place there! Eric Aarons was essentially the first principal of the school – he had spent three years studying in China and upon his return he developed a fundamentally different approach to party education that was only partially implemented, due to resistance from older members of the CPA leadership.

 

Eric Aarons

 

The Communist Party of Australia eventually wound up in 1991, when it became clear that the party could no longer continue to function due to both the collapse of communism as an idea and the shrinking of its membership and influence. Eric Aarons stayed on in the area, publishing a number of books including “What’s Left? Memoirs of an Australian Communist” in 1993, and “What’s Right” in 2003. He also became an accomplished sculptor, holding an exhibition of his work at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre as recently as 2013, at the ripe old age of 94.

One of Eric Aarons well known sculptures at Campbelltown Arts Centre

 

The real mystery was the origin of the signs put up in 1958 – surely done to invite curiosity and concern. Eric Aarons later said “local reactionaries erected a number of signs… and the story was splashed over the front page of a Sunday paper”.  However, the camp caused no more controversies, simply becoming an accepted part of the local scene.

 

Written by Claire Lynch

Sources

Campbelltown Ingleburn News 1958

Macarthur Advertiser June 6 2012, Reds in Minto by Jeff McGill

Macarthur Advertiser March 3 1993, The party’s over for a true believer – glory days with Red Eric

dictionaryofsydney.org “Minto school and Communist party camp” by Richard Strauss

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"