Westview

In August 1888 the Sisters of the Order of the Good Samaritan purchased land for a college. The college, to be known as St John's Preparatory College, "Westview", was situated on a hill to the east of Campbelltown. The sisters came to Campbelltown in 1887 where they took over the parish school and established St Patrick's school for girls and is the current Campbelltown Tourist Information Centre.

The building that was used for the college was thought to have been an existing building on land that was owned by John Kidd and included part of George Carr's grant. It was partly bordered by Aston and Bayle's farms. A newspaper article describing extensions made to Westview in 1954 identified the building as "Hillview", however there is no evidence to support this. George Carr is likely to be the convict listed in the Campbelltown Pioneer's Register who was a labourer at Airds and died in 1940.

"Westview", St John's Boarding School for Boys around 1900. (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

In an article written by Robert Parkinson in volume 11, issue number 4 of Grist Mills: the journal of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society, the author writes "It is not clear if the sisters actually erected the cottage and called it Westview although Sr Claudia has spoken of "the old homestead where we (the sisters) had our dining room".

The buildings were added to in the following years, although they were inadequate for the college's requirements. The sisters had to make do for too long and it was decided to build substantial additions which were officially opened in 1922. The college became known officially as St John's Preparatory College, Westview. It cost £5000 and much of it was funded by parishoners. In 1954 a ceremony marked the laying of the foundation stone for further extensions and they were opened by Bishop McCabe on 2 December 1956.

Garnet Jennings and Frank Monaghan at the college in 1926 (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

In 1969 St John's closed to be re-opened in 1970 as St Patrick's School for girls. This school had moved from the old St John's church in George Street.

I visited the school a few weeks ago and met one of the teachers and the school archivist. They showed me the excellent archives collection, including many objects and documents related to the school's history. I was also directed to the site of the original building that housed the college when the sisters moved there in 1888. The building was still standing in the 1940's but it is unclear when it was demolished. I hope to have an answer for this in the near future.

The area in front of the yellow signs marks the site of the original Westview building 

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

PARKINSON, Robert

St John's College Westview Campbelltown, NSW

In Grist Mills Vol. 11, No. 4, December 1998

Campbelltown Pioneer Register

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, 4 December 1956

When Smallpox Came to Town

With the increase in coronavirus cases in the areas surrounding Campbelltown, I thought it was timely to recall another threat of serious disease to our town almost 140 years ago. In this case it was smallpox that caused a sensation and panic in the small settlement in 1881. The victim was part of a family whose name lives on in the naming of a suburb in the local area.

On 29 April 1881, the ship Brisbane proceeded to the North Head quarantine station with a case of smallpox on board. The infant daughter of On Chong had come down with a fever and rash. This was the start of an epidemic that caused much fear within the Sydney community. More cases developed and isolation at the quarantine station and vaccination of those exposed to the victims were the methods of control used. Despite the fear and panic, the smallpox outbreak of 1881 was not a major epidemic. From May 1881 to February 1882, 154 cases were notified to the authorities. Of these there were 40 deaths.

The fear of contagion spread to Sydney's surrounding areas, including Campbelltown, where the fear became reality in September that year. John Joseph Curran, a 20-year old newly employed postal worker at Campbelltown Post Office, better known as JJ, became ill at work so made his way home to his parents place on the Camden road near Narellan. Newspapers of the day describe how "Dr Goode was sent for, and that gentleman believing the case one of smallpox, telegraphed to Dr Cecil Morgan, of Sydney, who came by the first train. Dr Morgan, on viewing the patient, pronounced the case one of mild smallpox." The house was strictly quarantined and JJ was strictly isolated.

The effect on the local population was at first profound. There were rumours that Waterworks were infected and belief that a quarantine station should be established at Kenny Hill between Campbelltown and Narellan. Not long passed however, before JJ's conditioned improved, becoming obvious that he would survive and that the town would escape the epidemic.

JJ was the eldest son of Michael and Ellen Curran. Michael was a farmer, who was described as a genial soul and possessed a rare fund of wit and humour. He lived into his nineties and is buried at St John's Catholic Cemetery in Campbelltown. JJ left Campbelltown post office after he was transferred to Albury Post Office in 1887. He worked there for 27 years before resigning and starting business in Sydney, Newcastle and back at Camden. He served in the State Citizen Forces for over 20 years and rose to rank of Major. He died in Albury in 1925.

The suburb of Curran's Hill is named after Michael and his family. Unfortunately, despite much searching, including contacting descendants, I am unable to locate a photograph of John Joseph Curran.

Image courtesy of National Library of Australia

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Catholic Press, 12 February 1925, p36

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 9 September 1881, p2

Smallpox Epidemic 1881 by Raelene Allen in The Dictionary of Sydney

Martin, JB et al 2012
Reminiscences of Early Camden
Camden: Camden Historical Society

Thank you to Stephanie Woodward for her assistance with the Curran family

Campbelltown's First Newspaper

With the unfortunate demise of local newspapers, I thought it was timely to write about Campbelltown's first newspaper: the Campbelltown Herald. Further, the pending conservation treatment of the only print version of this newspaper's first issue was more motivation to write this post.

Local newspapers have kept residents of Campbelltown informed about local news since the first issue of the Campbelltown Herald published on 14 February 1880. Until then, very limited news was available on the area, apart from the occasional mention in the major Sydney press. When it was launched, the population of Campbelltown was estimated to be less than 700 people!

Consisting of four pages, it included news items such as horse stealing charges and news of the proposed Upper Nepean Water Supply. The newspaper has many classified advertisements at the front- typical of newspapers from that era. Some of the products advertised include Dr Burdett's Female Pills and Oriental Tonic. The founder and proprietor of the Campbelltown Herald was William Webb. He wrote his aims and intentions in that very first issue, under the heading "Prospectus". He said "It will be a weekly journal, representative in character, impartial in its views, temperate in tone and generous to all its foes. Sectarianism, personalities, slang and blackguardism, so prevalent in some quarters, will be eschewed by the Campbelltown Herald."

William Webb was born in 1848 at Penrith, and educated at Mudgee, where he served his apprenticeship in the local newspaper office. In total, he started about ten newspapers in many districts including Camden, Picton and Penrith. When he moved to Campbelltown from Kiama in 1879, he set his printing press up in a building owned by James Bocking. In 1884 Sir Henry Parkes unsuccessfully sued him for libel. The case was regularly featured in the press for many weeks in 1884. When he retired from the newspaper game, he embarked upon a saw milling business, then tried his hand at farming. He then went to Yerranderie where he had an interest in a silver mine. He was also at one time licensee of the Club Hotel. William Webb died of appendicitis at Camden in 1910 aged 64.

The Campbelltown Herald was published from 1880 to 1919, after which it changed its title and format and became the Campbelltown News and later Campbelltown-Ingleburn News in 1953.

Last year the Macarthur Advertiser generously donated the original and only print issue of the Campbelltown Herald to Campbelltown City Library. The newspaper requires much conservation work to preserve it for future generations. A conservator will begin work on it in the coming weeks with the aim to have it displayed at HJ Daley Library on completion.

.

Written by Andrew Allen