Bradbury Park House

In 1816, Governor Macquarie gave a grant of 140 acres to Joseph Phelps who sold it to William Bradbury the following year. Bradbury Park House was built on this land in 1822. That year Macquarie and his party were touring Airds and the Illawarra and they had breakfast at Bradbury's. Macquarie noted that Bradbury was then building a good two-storey brick inn on a "very pretty eminence immediately adjoining Campbelltown". He also wrote that he named it Bradbury Park. It would have been one of the first substantial private buildings in the town vicinity.

Bradbury Park House had a quadrangle of kitchen, servants' quarters, wooden stables, granary and barn behind. Elaborate flower and kitchen gardens lay to the south of the house. These gardens are featured prominently on an 1844 map of Bradbury Park Estate below.

When Bradbury died in 1836, his estate was inherited by his daughter, Mary Shiel. Bradbury Park Estate was subdivided in 1844.

The house was located about 140 metres opposite where the town hall is located in Queen Street. Today's Asher Place off Bradbury Avenue is the location of the house. The two storey house still standing at the corner of  Moore-Oxley Bypass and Lithgow Street is said to look very similar to what Bradbury Park House looked.

Unfortunately, Bradbury Park House was demolished in 1954. Interestingly, two nails from the building are held at the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo.

                           Bradbury Park House around 1918. (Claude Haydon Collection)

Source:

Demolished Heritage Buildings of Campbelltown, 2005

Camden News 18 December 1941

Written by Andrew Allen

The French Pedestrian

He may not be as well known as other Australian explorers such as Sturt, Flinders and Burke and Wills but Henri Gilbert's achievements were just as admirable. The French journalist is believed to be the first white person to walk across Australia from west to east coasts. Gilbert travelled from Fremantle to Brisbane in 1898 solely on foot. His visits to towns and cities along the way, including Campbelltown, aroused much excitement and fanfare each time.

Gilbert was attempting to walk around the world by May 1900 and win a 10,000 pound bet put up by a Parisian syndicate. He left Paris on foot in February 1895 to walk around the world with special instructions not to beg his way or solicit help. By the time he arrived in Australia, he had already walked through Spain, the Middle East, India and Singapore.

At 32, he set off from Fremantle in August 1897, arriving in Brisbane in 1898. Gilbert had became something of a celebrity and large crowds came to see him. His diary, now held by the State Library of Queensland, is packed with Australian newspaper clippings about his travels. It talks about the harshness of the climate and countryside and describes his Australian trek as the "most suffering I have ever known". He came close to death when he collapsed from dehydration while following the telegraph poles through the Nullabor Plain.

                     Henri Gilbert photographed at Barcaldine in April 1900


Henri Gilbert's visit to Campbelltown in August 1898 created similar excitement. The Campbelltown Herald described him as the "French pedestrian". The newspaper wrote that "M. Henry Gilbert bobbed up serenely on Wednesday last. His arrival at Campbelltown was looked for by a large number of people, and during the time he remained in town he was the object of much curiosity. Immediately upon entering the place he sought the postmaster, and that gentleman, in a book provided for the purpose, certified to the arrival of Gilbert at Campbelltown on foot, the hour being 12 o'clock (noon)."

Gilbert took 3 hours to walk from Camden. After visiting the postmaster he visited the office of the Campbelltown Herald where he spent an hour or two and then set off in the direction of Sydney. He altered his plans at the last minute however and decided to remain at Campbelltown for the rest of the day and night. He left by train the next morning.

Nothing was heard of the adventurer after he left Brisbane bound for China. Dr Colin Dyer has recently published a book on the explorer. He has written to every fourth person with the Gilbert surname in his birth region of Nantes, France, and has tracked down Gilbert's birth certificate, but has been unable to discover his fate, or whether he indeed collected his bet.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Campbelltown Herald August 24, 1898

Regarding Henri, Research at UQ at http://uq.edu.au/research/index.html?page=4164&pid=0

The Oar Factory

Campbelltown once had an oar factory. The factory, built of sawn timber framework, was founded in 1947 by Thomas William Gonsalves in a large garage in Queen Street. It was extended in 1954. It produced about 800 boat oars and 100 pairs of sculls per month. In 1957, the company branched out to make wooden crates for Crompton Parkinson and occasionally small boats and caravans.

To make the oars the factory used an oar shaped template to score out the basic shape from Mountain Ash wood. These were then shaped with a circular saw and sanded with a fine blue-metal sanding belt. A final dressing was applied and then the oar would be ready for the drying shed.

After Tom Gonsalves' death in 1956 the factory was run by his son-in-law, Brian Favelle.

In 1973, the factory closed as Rod Lawrence was interested in acquiring the property. The poor quality of mountain ash wood it received was another factor.

The factory was located at the northern end of Queen Street at what was once 20 Sydney Street which later became 32 Queen Street. The Brands on Sale business is now located on the site.

The oar factory was a recognisable landmark at the northern end of Queen Street for many years. (Photo supplied by Brian Favelle). 

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Favelle, Brian and Jennifer
The Oar Factory
In GRIST MILLS Vol. 3, No. 3, July 1986

Indecent Exposure

Readers of the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News would have choked on their corn flakes on the morning of Tuesday January 13, 1970 when they sat down to read their local newspaper. There on page 14 was an advertisement for Peter Williamson Toyota, Liverpool that featured a bare-breasted attractive young woman next to the heading of "Why Be Hot and Bothered". The ad went on to describe the benefits of buying their Toyota Hi-Lux and Hi-Ace and finished with the line "Demonstrators are always available".

Although 1970 was in the middle of the flower power and free love movements there was still a large element of conservative thought at that time. An ad like this would have been shocking for some. The advertisement attracted disapproval and condemnation and Peter Williamson Toyota was forced to make an apology in the following week's edition.

Below is the apology that appeared in the January 20 edition. The library holds past issues of local newspapers on microfilm and hardcopy.

Written by Andrew Allen

Campbelltown Recollections Project Update

Interviewing continues for our Campbelltown Recollections: Stories From Our Past project. We have gathered many wonderful stories from locals from different backgrounds and various ages. These filmed interviews provide a fascinating insight into our area's past. Various forms of multimedia such as photographs, film and music will be used with these interviews to help make each story come to life.

Each of the 9 interviews will be shown as part of an exhibition at H.J. Daley Library in January 2013. They will also be available for viewing on the library's website.

An example of one amusing story from the interviews comes from Paul O'Loughlan. One day when Paul was a small boy he was playing cowboys and indians and, feeling rather adventurous, lit a fire and did an indian war dance. The fire however got away from him and completely burnt out the paddock behind his house in Railway Street. Smoke could be seen for miles and the fire almost burnt 3 houses and the nearby Hayes's cordial factory. Lucky for Paul the local fire brigade got there in time. He said he never played with matches again!