The Circus Comes to Town!

An ad for Wirth's Circus c1932. Wirth's made numerous visits to Campbelltown during their 83 years of touring the country

Step right up! Read about the escaping circus lions that sent Campbelltown into chaos. Learn about the day a freak wind blew down the big top. Did you know that a monkey once escaped a visiting circus here by jumping on an electric train! Read further to learn more about these stories from the history of the big top in Campbelltown.

Campbelltown has a long history of circus visits. In 1889 Fitzgerald's Circus performed to a packed house. One of the best features of their show, according to the Illawarra Mercury, was by the pony "Commodore" who enthralled the audience with his array of tricks. A contortionist also gave a display of his 'astonishing powers'. Other circus companies made visits to the town, such as Eroni's Circus in 1896. Two years later Bristol's Great American Circus visited the town. It featured for one night only 'European Eccentriques' such as August Roland, king of the high wire; the Bellmonts, trapeze and serial artists; Tom-Tom the famous clown and jester; Malic Zidoni, queen of the air, from the Cirque-de-Nouvre, Paris, who would accomplish her daring, awe-inspiring, death-defying terrific slide for life from the tip of the main pole to the ground amidst a blaze of colored fire illuminations.

One of the most regular companies to visit was the famous Wirth's Circus. In August 1907 a huge crowd of 400, almost a third of the entire population, watched their show of "side-splitting clowns, wild animals, wire-balancing acts, and Maori war dancers". They visited again in 1914 where the highlight was "Daredevil Desperado" who dived, from the roof, a distance of 50 feet, on to a crescent shaped wooden platform. It appeared that he must have been crushed to pieces, but he would slide along the platform, and in an instant was bowing and smiling to the astonished spectators.

Over the years there have been a number of locations where the Big Top has set up. In the early days this included a paddock across from Milgate Lane. Some years later the site of King's Paddock was used. This was on the corner of Queen and Broughton Streets where Campbelltown Council is now located. This was the site for many years. Other locations include between Lithgow and Dumaresq Streets between Moore-Oxley Bypass and Queen Streets. In later years a site around the vicinity of Marsden Park was used and also on the old showground site where Harlequins Rugby Club is based.

Ashton's Circus on a visit to Campbelltown in the 1980s. This location is believed to be near today's Marsden Park (Robertson Collection)

As mentioned above, there have been some unusual incidents over the years. On September 1, 1917 two lions escaped from a cage from Wirth's Circus at about 6am. This caused great excitement and panic and most people made themselves scarce! At first they prowled around a paddock and then wandered further afield. One ended up in Mr Kershler's garden under a pine tree and the other was captured in the Presbyterian Cemetery.

In 1934 an elusive monkey escaped from a circus camped at Campbelltown and boarded a train. After the train stopped at Liverpool railway station, frantic attempts were made to capture it. At one stage it was reported as 'bearing its teeth viciously at all who approached it.' It continued to fight off engine staff and at Cabramatta the stationmaster and guard endeavoured once more to remove it, but after mauling the guard's hand severely, the monkey hung on to a luggage rack. It avoided capture until it got to North Sydney! The monkey was returned to Campbelltown. It is not known if the circus company was charged for its fare.

In February 1979 a large scale disaster was averted when a freak wind caused a tent to collapse. The Great Hungarian Circus occupied a vacant allotment in Queen Street. The collapse occurred only 24 hours before it was to give its premiere performance. It was a financial disaster for the Urban family who had sunk $200,000 from their life savings into the circus. The only casualty was Karl Urban who was hit in the left eye by a support pole. The tent was damaged to the tune of several thousand dollars.

Do you have memories of the circus in Campbelltown? Please let us know what they are.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Illawarra Mercury, 31 August 1889, p2

Campbelltown Herald, 24 August 1898, p2

Campbelltown Herald, 9 May 1914, p3

Camden News, 6 September 1917, p2

Campbelltown Herald, 28 August 1907, p2

Campbelltown Ingleburn News, 20 February 1979, p1

McBarron, Eddie et al 1985
Campbelltown 1930-1940: Dumaresq Street and Environs
Campbelltown City Council

The "Pride of Campbelltown"

In 1881, 22 acres of land on Badgally Road were established as a State Nursery. It was bounded by what is now Blaxland and Johnson Roads, with Bow Bowing Creek flowing prettily through it. The first Superintendent of the Nursery was young Scotsman Alexander Moore. Born in 1855 in Dundee, he came to Australia with his family. His father Charles had trained in the Botanic Gardens of Trinity College, Dublin, and became the Director of the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Alexander followed in his father's footsteps and was appointed to the State Nursery. Sadly, he would only serve there for 3 years, dying of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1884. His successor John McEwan would work at the Nursery until his death in January 1913. They were followed by a succession of dedicated men, many of whom after their tenure at the nursery, would go on to work in various positions at Centennial Park and the Botanical Gardens.
The role of the State Nursery was to supply, free of charge, trees, shrubs and seedlings to various institutions around the state. These included schools, councils, railway stations and many others. Plants were originally dispatched by rail to the Sydney Botanical Gardens for distribution.

An example of the huge numbers of plants distributed by the State Nursery in one year.

A Superintendent's cottage was erected in 1882. By the turn of the century, an arboretum had been established and the Nursery was connected to Sydney Water. After 1903, plants were packed and dispatched directly from Campbelltown by "rail, coach, and steamer".
The Nursery also played a role in research. The trees in the arboretum were tested for suitability for timber and other uses, and also for adaptability to soil and climate. Early experiments in cotton growing were conducted, and some 50,000 Phylloxera-resistant grape fines were planted. Phylloxera was a huge problem to the grape industry in the area at that time.
The grounds of the Nursery were beautiful, being described as "The Pride of Campbelltown". The entrance was marked by two magnificent Bunya pines and a formal driveway. High clipped hedges acted as windbreaks, and the creek was crossed by several rustic  bridges. The drive was flanked by lawn strips and throughout the garden trees and shrubs of many varieties grew, including some rare species. Over the years more improvements were made including bush houses, a glass house, a carpenter's shop, a propagating house, a seed room, a potting and packaging shed and a mess room. Subsoiling with explosives was undertaken and sprinklers installed for watering.

Ladies in the State Nursery Gardens. Photo courtesy CAHS, Tom Swann Collection

 Many of the men who worked there did so for up to 25 years or more. Twenty men, including Barkley Haydon, George Huckstepp, and Cosmos Meredith. Barkley Haydon worked as gardener there for about 30 years, and Cos Meredith drove a horse drawn cart taking potted seedlings to the railway station. George Huckstepp was head gardener, giving 26 years of service.
Sadly, and abruptly, in 1930 the Nursery was closed. Many of the workers transferred to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. Some employees stayed on to help with the heartbreaking task of removing trees and plants. Fortunately many plants were relocated and trees dug up and taken to Sydney by motor lorry. Although the State Nursery was never intended to be a paying proposition, in 1929 it ceased supplying plants free of charge, and the demand fell rapidly. This combined with the Great Depression was probably the major factors in it's closure.
Campbelltown was dismayed, and the Mayor tried to have the closure reversed. Apart from the loss of jobs, the State Nursery had played a significant role in supplying trees, shrubs and plants for many towns and institutions, parks and gardens. Sadly, the decision had been made, and the land was sold to a Miss Chapman, who then sold it to Mr Alf Highfield. Mr Highfield was a major shareholder in Searls and Jeans, and the State Nursery began the next chapter of it's life as a flower nursery for Searls Florist Shop in Sydney. After initially being managed by Jack Hay, Alf Highfield arranged for his cousin Eric Malvern to take over the management in 1938. Eric and Elma Malvern and their baby Max arrived from Mudgee, and moved into the old Superintendent's residence. The Malvern family made the nursery their home, and had four more children whilst living there. Many trees remained from the early days, and the Malverns planted more. The huge lawn in front of the house was big enough for Alf Highfield to install a mini golf course. Tennis courts from the early days remained, and these were made great use of by Campbelltown residents.
Eric Malvern would cut roses early every morning, and other flowers late in the afternoon. They would be carefully packed in special boxes and taken to Campbelltown Station to make the 7a.m. train to the city. The flowers would be picked up by van from the train and delivered to various florist shops.

1956 - Badgally Rd running diagonally across the photo, with the oasis of the State Nursery centre.

This idyllic setting remained home to the Malverns for about 30 years. The site was eventually rezoned industrial, and although factories now occupy the former State Nursery site, many of the old trees remain. The legacy of the State Nursery lives on through the many thousands of trees and plants that were sent around the state, to parks, cemeteries, convents, churches, court houses, The Domain, Centennial Park, Prospect Reservoir, Jenolan Caves, and the Soldiers Settlement at Campbelltown, to name but a few.

Written by Claire Lynch
Sources:
"Badgally Road : the other side of the line" by Marie Holmes
Grist Mills Vol.1 No.3, Vol. 10 No. 1, and Vol. 18 No.2
Trove

Lane to an Arcade

In early 1979 bulldozers began to remove the road surface of what was then known as Milgate Lane. The lane that ran between Downes Department Store and Flemings Stores was to be transformed from a road to an arcade to house shops and offices. The arcade would link the car park to the main shopping thoroughfare of Queen Street.

The transformation of Milgate Lane had begun some years earlier when many of the houses that lined the southern side were demolished. At one stage in the 1930s there were ten houses that stood in the lane. They ran from Queen Street all the way down to the railway line. In the early part of the 1900s, on the opposite side of the street, there was a paddock where circuses would often set up. A past resident named Eileen Duguid remembered Wirth's Circus using the vacant paddock. The houses were small two roomed timber dwellings, situated very close to each other. The names of the people who lived there in the 1930s included: Charles Selems; Thomas Curry; Charles Augustus Jones; Frederick Scott; Jack Hutchenson; Alfred Duguid; John (Chinnie) Hund and Robert Coogan who lived in the last house before the railway line. Other names living there before this included: Mrs Evans, Mrs Brookes, Larkins and Masons. A concrete car park now occupies this site.

The Coogan family lived here for many years. It was the last house in Milgate Lane before the railway line (Clissold Collection).


Milgate Lane was named after Spencer Samuel Milgate who in the 1870s and 80s operated a produce store on the site now occupied by Milgate Arcade. He was born in Sussex in the UK in 1834. He moved to Australia with his parents in 1840 and took over his father's store in Campbelltown after his death. Spencer bought Eschol Park off William Fowler in 1878. Then tragedy struck when his mother and three daughters all died within two years of each other. He sold Eschol Park and moved to Sydney. Spencer Samuel Milgate died at Wentworthville in 1911. Milgate Arcade and the remaining stretch of Milgate Lane remind us of this early pioneer.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

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

Oral History Interview with Eileen Duguid 1977 Held at Campbelltown Library

Macarthur Advertiser, 13 February 1979

Burning the Kaiser

The artwork above was painted by Arthur Streeton on 12 November 1918, the day after the signing of the Armistice to end World War One. It's titled Australian burning effigy of Kaiser in Square, Armistice Day. It depicts a crowd of soldiers gathered around a bonfire with an effigy of the Kaiser hanging from the gallows. The scene summed up the country's feelings towards the enemy after such a long and bloody conflict.

The people of Campbelltown carried out the same 'ceremony' at the end of the war. A large crowd gathered at Mawson Park, still then known as "The Green". They constructed an effigy of the Kaiser made out of straw and other materials and placed it on a large bonfire. The burning accompanied marching and dancing. Crowds massed in Queen street, church bells rang out and many locals took the train into Sydney where they jammed into Martin Place to celebrate.

Unfortunately there are no known surviving copies of the local newspaper to provide a more detailed description of the day's celebration.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Digitised Oral History of Eileen Duguid 1977, Held at Campbelltown City Library

Tear Down This Wall!

Campbelltown's second court house was built on the same site as the first court house and was officially opened in 1889. In 1963 major additions and alterations to the building were planned. This work was carried out during 1965 and 1966. The extensions were opened on 2 December 1966 at a cost of $180,000.

When the Minister of Justice, Mr J.C. Maddison made his speech on the opening day, he spoke of 'the very fine and necessary extensions to this court house'. The improvements to the inside may have been fine, but to the folk of Campbelltown the outside was a disaster. Part of the work included an exposed dark brick addition across the main level of the façade. Over the years this brick extension attracted many complaints due to its out-of-character look which was so unlike the original architecture. The high front iron palisade fence and gates with stone plinth were removed.

The Court House extension taken a few weeks after the official opening in 1966 (State Library of NSW)


To make matters worse, an ugly wall was constructed in the late 1980s. The wall hid the brick extensions but also hid the view of the lovely old court house from the street. The public, including local politicians, detested the wall. One Councillor summed up people's feelings when he said it was "a real crime to have a monstrous wall hiding such a lovely old building in the heart of the CBD". Another said "It's a blot on the landscape and should not be in the main street of any nice town".

In 1995 plans were made to have the facade restored to its former glory. The State Government stalled for some years, but finally in March of 1997 the town celebrated the ugly brick facade's removal.

How the monstrosity looked in 1995 with the 'ugly wall' (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

There is an interesting side note to this story. Sandstone pillars and a section of the original cast iron fence that were removed in the 1966 extension, were installed at the house of Max Dunbier, the former MP for Campbelltown. Mr Dunbier's father, who was the member for Nepean, bought the fence in the 1960s when it was taken down to make way for the brick extensions. While the fence was in storage in Liverpool, thieves attacked it with an oxy torch and stole the gates and several cast iron sections.

Back to it's original best: how it looked in 1999 (Stan Brabender Collection)

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown Court House
In Grist Mills: Journal of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society
Vol. 8 No. 1, Jan 1995

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, December 6, 1966

Macarthur Advertiser, March 19, 1997

Macarthur Advertiser, April 27, 1994