Our Own Pool

It was a long time coming but the people of Campbelltown finally got their own pool in 1967. There was now no need for a hike out to the Woolwash or a drive to the river at Menangle or having to be satisfied with a cool down from the garden hose.

A pool had been planned by council as early as 1960. The following year a swimming pool committee was formed and there were expectations that building of the pool would be started by 1963. When the then Town Clerk Harley Daley was asked by Alderman John Marsden when he thought work would start he replied: "The Summer of 1963". However for a number of years continuous arguments raged over where, when and how it should be built. Finally in 1965, with the help of the Campbelltown Apex Club, council set up a pool construction fund, and six months later a pool was announced as the next fundraising project of the Fisher's Ghost Festival.

Bradbury Pool in 1970 (Geoff Eves Collection)

Deciding on a location then proved to be a problem with the north and south of the LGA staking their claims. It was eventually decided to build in the new suburb of Sherwood Hills which is today's Bradbury. Anticipation in the town was high during the lead up to the opening. Cars would continuously drive around the site checking the construction progress. It was hoped and planned that the pool would be opened in December so the population could cool off during that summer. However they had to wait until March and then suffer the disappointment of a cold weekend for the opening. On Saturday March 11 1967 the Campbelltown Swimming Centre was opened. It was an Olympic-size swimming pool and, at the time, the only nine-lane pool in NSW. It cost $304,000. Despite the freezing wind and cloud for the day after the opening, 1152 people poured through the gates for a dip in the new pool.

Taken in the Summer of 1971-72 (Clarice Stretch Collection)

On the 12th September 1987 a new heated indoor swimming pool was opened at the Centre by Mayor Bryce Regan. The official opening was originally set down for August 15, however for several days prior to the opening  there was a malfunction in the sand filter, causing a major constructional fault.

The official opening of the indoor swimming pool in 1987

In 2011 the pool was re-opened and re-named after an extensive $1.2 million upgrade. It was named after former Campbelltown Mayor Gordon Fetterplace who died in 2008 after a battle with cancer.

Written by Andrew Allen

Minto Public School - then and now

This year marks a very special year in the history of Minto Public School. Turning 150 years old, the school is the oldest public school in the district of Campbelltown.
The school had had three locations. The first was on a small portion of land donated to the Catholic Church by Mr J. Pendergast, (who owned a rendering works on his 50 acres at Saggart Field, Minto) for the purpose of building a school. In June 1866 the small Roman Catholic School opened, called "Saggart Field School". The one acre block was on the western side of the railway line, on the south-east corner of Campbelltown Road and Redfern Road (now Ben Lomond Road). The first teacher, Mrs Clarke was unpaid, received free lodging at the school, and was supported in whatever way the families of the pupils could manage. Mrs Clarke wrote to the Council of Education to enquire about receiving a salary, but because the Council of Education could not give government funds to denominational schools, arrangements were made in 1867 to transfer the school from the Catholic Church to the government. The school was known as Saggart Field Provisional School for it's first eighteen years.
Due to severe overcrowding, and the inadequacies of the building, a new, single classroom school building with an adjoining teacher's residence was completed in 1882 on the corner directly opposite the old school building. In 1884 the school was renamed Minto Public School. At his second location the school grew over the years, with the numbers of students increasing and the addition of a garden, cricket pitch and tennis court.
In 1898, due to the number of children living in East Minto, many of whom did not attend at all, East Minto Public School was opened in Hansen's Road, East Minto, on the corner of Hereford Place. Unfortunately in 1947 the East Minto Public School burnt down. The Department of Education decided to resume a two and a half acre block on the edge of Minto village to build a new, larger Minto Public School to take pupils from both Minto and East Minto. This new Minto Public School on the corner of Pembroke Road and Redfern Road opened in 1954, where it still stands today.
The centenary of the school was celebrated in 1967 during the headmastership of Mr Arthur Jones. Mr Jones, a keen historian and photographer took the photo below during the centenary year.

(Jones Collection. (Campbelltown City Library, Local Studies Collection)

Minto PS students, staff, and Campbelltown Library staff recreated the photo in 2017

Written by Claire Lynch
Sources

"Truth and Courage : commemorating the first 125 years of Minto Public School 1867-1992" by Laurie Porter
Campbelltown City Library "Our past in pictures" photo database

50 years ago today - raining cats, dogs and shoes

Tuesday August 8 1967. The Campbelltown district had just experienced an astounding 17cm of rain. Heavy winds blew down trees and a number of narrow escapes were reported. Electricity and telephone services had also gone down. Minto residents in Lincoln Street took to placing household items on tables as a precaution. A large bulldozer which had been working the previous day nearby was found completely submerged.

At Glenfield, water inundated Railway Parade and although cars could get through many stalled. Work ceased too on the electrification of the railway line as the deluge prevented both the "wire" train and "work" train from continuing.

Against this watery backdrop, Campbelltown police reported a number of car accidents during the flood but "most thankfully were not serious". An accident that occurred just prior to the storms involved a car crashing into Bunbury-Curran Creek, Macquarie Fields. The occupants were nowhere to be seen but the vehicle had previously been noticed at the scene of a burglary at White’s Shoe Store in Ingleburn. When towed from the creek a large quantity of shoes and boots washed into the water from within. News soon spread and the spot became hugely popular with swimmers, many of whom were soon sporting brand new, if sodden, footwear or as the newspaper put it "booty."

Bunbury Curran creek in flood in 1975. Photographer: A. Gleave.

written by Michael Sullivan
　

Source: Campbelltown Ingleburn News 8 August 1967 p 1,4, 9

　

Bayley's.

During the early 1960s, it became apparent that there was a need for a history of Campbelltown to be put together in one volume. Both visitors and residents felt the need for such a history to be written. In 1963 Alderman F. Ward requested council have such a publication prepared. Other aldermen were also enthused by the proposal and an author was commissioned. He was William Alan Bayley, resident of Bulli, collector of local history, a teacher with the New South Wales Education Department and fellow of the Royal Australian Historical Society. He had previously written similar histories for other areas including Albury, Bega, Bulli, Crookwell, Goulburn, Grenfell, Kiama, Nundle, Shellharbour and Young.
In 1966 the finished work "History of Campbelltown" was launched in the Council Chambers. Mayor Tregear and other dignitaries were present. Both William Bayley and Mr Stephen Roach, local artist and designer of the book jacket were also in attendance.
After the launch everyone moved to the library where a display of historical items had been prepared in association with the Campbelltown Historical Society. The book went on sale for $2.70!
Not everyone was happy with the final product. A letter to the newspaper, although generally complimentary, noted the omission of references to cultural activities in Campbelltown and the importance of the St Elmo Estates to the growth of Campbelltown. These points must have been noted as they were addressed in the revised and expanded edition published in 1974.
The book remains an important reference tool for the history of Campbelltown and is commonly and affectionately referred to as "Bayley's". We hold both editions at H.J.Daley Library in the Local Information collection.

Written by Claire Lynch
Sources
Campbelltown Ingleburn News
National Library of Australia website