Jill of All Trades

 Annie Maria Kershler was born in 1881 at Mount Gilead, the daughter of John Kershler and Annie Oxley. Apart from a few years living at Randwick in her early childhood, she spent most of her life in the Campbelltown District. Her father John Kershler married at Campbelltown in 1879 and later took over the licence of the Federal Hotel in 1901. However, he lived most of his life in Mosman.

One of Annie's many talents were as a dressmaker. She operated a dressmaker shop in Queen Street next to the Club Hotel. A photograph taken in 1912 shows Annie and her staff posing outside the premises. Her skills extended to making and designing the uniforms of the Campbelltown-Camden Brass Band. 

The dressmaking making business in Queen Street. Annie is in the dark dress at the left. (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

In 1914, she married Percy Marlow at Mosman. Percy, the son of a former Alderman CJ Marlow, also served on Campbelltown Council, including three terms spanning the 1920s to the 1950s. As mayoress, Annie provided constant support to her husband with his mayoral duties. However, her terms as mayoress formed only a small part of her community contribution. Annie was very proficient with a rifle and won several prizes for her shooting. This was an interest she shared with husband Percy. She was President of the Campbelltown Ladies Miniature Rifle Club. Further, she was president of the Freemason's Benevolent Institute Ladies' Auxillary. 

The Campbelltown Rifle Club. Annie is in the centre of the photograph.

Annie was also treasurer of the Ladies Social Committee of the Campbelltown Bowling Club. She would later be elected as 'Patroness' of the Campbelltown Women's Bowling Club. Her contribution to Campbelltown's Centenary celebrations, alongside her husband, was also significant.

Campbelltown Centenary Celebrations Committee at the showground in 1920. Annie is in the white dress in the back row. (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Another organisation she supported was Legacy, training debutants for their Ball. She also worked for Red Cross, CWA, The Crippled Children's Hospital and was a Life Member of both Camden Hospital and the Institute for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. She was on the committee for the AH&I Society and Patroness of a number of groups. But wait there's more! Annie also worked towards the establishment of the Memorial School of Arts in Campbelltown and was active in war committees!  

Annie with Campbelltown Public School principal Alan Allen on stage at the Town Hall

One of the talents Annie was known for was for her driving. She was one of the first women in town to own her own car. The Daily Telegraph wrote an article about her, describing how she knew her traffic laws by heart. It went on to describe how "In her car Mrs Marlow has toured to all parts of the State. The ease with which she manipulates the wheel has brought Sydney close to her own hometown."

Annie Marlow died on 6 July 1957. She was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery on the corner of Moore and Broughton Streets. A pulpit honouring Annie was donated to the newly renovated Presbyterian Church in 1958. Her husband Percy died in 1971. They had lived in the same house at 7 Cordeaux Street since they were married in 1914.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

FOWLER, Verlie

Federation and Beyond: The Marlow Collection

In Grist Mills: Journal of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society, Vol. 19, No. 3

Campbelltown News, 21st October 1952, p1

Daily Telegraph, 18 July 1928, p20

Flood in Queen Street

(Photograph courtesy of Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)


This remarkable photograph was taken on the corner of Queen and Lithgow Streets in Campbelltown between 1910 and 1920. It shows Queen Street transformed from a dusty street to a fast flowing river. It's hard to imagine the scene from this same spot with today's modern drainage and guttering.

The shot was taken by Percy Marlow from his shop on the southern corner. It was called Marlow Bros. Premier Store and later became Solomon Bros. Store. Percy Marlow was a prolific photographer from this time. The ANZ Bank stands on the site in 2014.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Presbyterian Cemetery

The Presbyterian Cemetery was originally a gift made to St. David's Presbyterian Church by Alexander McDonald, most likely in the 1830s. The deaths of his two children Jane and William are the earliest deaths shown on a monument in the cemetery. Alexander's own death was in 1847.

There are 177 monuments in the cemetery recording the deaths of about 326 persons. The cemetery has some notable Campbelltown names that rest there. These include:

John Kidd- owner of Blair Athol. He was an MLA for Camden in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Thomas Swann- well known photographer from Wedderburn.

Percy Marlow- member of Campbelltown Council from 1926-56 including mayor for 3 separate terms.

Samuel Bursill- mayor of Campbelltown 1909-1914.

James W. Kershler- mayor of Campbelltown 1930-1937.

In 1987 that portion of the cemetery lying adjacent to Moore Street was resumed to allow for widening of the road to become the Moore-Oxley Bypass. The Department of Main Roads compiled a register of all persons buried in the affected area and contacted those descendants who were able to be located. In March 1987, graves and/or memorial stones were moved to other locations within the cemetery or other cemeteries.

A total of 17 remains were exhumed and reinterred into another section. All but one of the 55 headstones were relocated to another section and they now stand in 4 rows in the north-west corner. These remains were left in their original burial place under the new road.

St. David's Presbyterian Cemetery, Broughton Street, Campbelltown before the widening for the Moore-Oxley Bypass. 1984 (Copyright Verlie Fowler)

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

HOLMES, Marie
The Presbyterian Cemetery Campbelltown