The Old Police Station

 

The Campbelltown Police Station was once situated in Railway Street. Dates for its construction vary from 1880, the late 1880s and 1890. It replaced an earlier station around the corner in Queen Street near the Courthouse.

The police station was built in typical late nineteenth century style for police stations. It had cast iron brackets decorating its ten verandah columns. To the north of the station were the cell blocks and stables. These cell blocks were linked to the courthouse in Queen Street by a tunnel. A police sergeant's residence was situated next to the station until it was demolished in 1970.

The station operated until August 1985, when it became far too inadequate for Campbelltown's growing population. A fibro extension to ease the congestion did little to fix the problem. 

The old station was eventually demolished in 1988 and it was controversial. The Attorney General's Department owned the building but regarded the station as having no real historical significance. The National Trust however recommended that it be retained. Members of the public were vocal about its pending demolition including Deputy Mayor John Hennessey, who claimed "this is nothing short of public vandalism". A new court complex now stands on the site. A more modern and much larger station was built in Queen Street.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

ALLEN, Andrew 2018

More Than Bricks and Mortar: Remembering Campbelltown's Lost Buildings

Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

Macarthur Chronicle, 17 November 1987, p17

Victim of Progress

(Bruce Hatfield Collection)

I have written about Railway Street in Campbelltown before and how it has transformed over the years. This photograph was taken in the 1980s. The view looks east and shows the police station and residence, as well as a group of shops, including a hairdresser and an electrical contractor. Lack's Hotel is on the corner and the Royal Hotel is just out of the picture on the right. Lack's Hotel was demolished in 1984, so it probably dates to the early 1980s. All of the buildings and plants in this scene have vanished. Only the plants in Mawson Park in the background and the court house (the chimney can just be made out in the background on the left) still exist. The new court building on the left and a car park on the right now dominate this same view.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Way We Were- Part 4

Some more then and now photographs

The corner of Copperfield Drive and Archibald Crescent, Rosemeadow in 1999 and 2017. The view is looking towards Copperfield Drive. The photograph above shows the land sales office at the new Rosemeadow Gardens Estate.

Above is "St Elmo" in Broughton Street taken around 1900. Below is the same scene today with those pesky trees in the way!

 

Taken in Railway Street looking towards Campbelltown Railway Station. The photo above was taken in 1986, just days before the Royal Hotel was demolished. This was difficult to line up a then and now comparison and not just because it was taken from the middle of the road! There was also some strange looks coming our way. If you look carefully you can just make out a chimney under the street light in the 1986 photograph. This is the same chimney under the aerial and near the replacement street light in the bottom photograph. This then and now comparison provides an indication of where the Royal Hotel was in relation to the realigned Railway Street.

Written by Andrew Allen

McLean's Store

McLean's was the sort of shop that you could find almost anything. Their slogan of 'You Can Get It At McLean's' was generally accurate. Charming little shops such as this are mostly a thing of the past, unable to compete with today's supermarket giants. Let me share with you some of Rod McLean's memories of McLean's Handy Store and Tea Rooms that was located at 11 Railway Street in Campbelltown. 
 
The exact date of construction of the building that later became McLean's shop is not clear. We do know that it was considerably old and constructed of sand stock bricks. There were rumours that the building had operated in the 1800’s in various industries. One was that sly grog was sold from it.
 
The shop had been operated for some years by the Winton Brothers prior to and during the Second World War. The Winton's were famous for their ice creams and banana splits. They would use large metal scoops to get the ice cream out and so a generous helping always excited the awaiting children!
 

An advertisement from the local newspaper in 1948. Check out the phone number at the bottom of the ad.

In 1946 Alf and Elsie (known as Bobby) McLean purchased the shop. The business prospered by selling seven days a week. It offered morning and afternoon teas, sandwiches, drinks, ice creams and sweets, cigarettes and tobacco as well as catering services for weddings and group gatherings.
 
The business was a source of employment for a number of local girls. In the early 1950s Alf commenced a fruit and vegetable service to outlying farms around Campbelltown including Appin, Wilton, Menangle and Douglas Park. The service started with a 1928 Chevrolet Table Top and later to a Ford Blitz. This service continued for some years and was later taken over by Alf Billington.
 
The main building consisted of the main shop, a storeroom on the eastern side and a living room behind the shop with two bedrooms. The rear of the building was later converted into two flats. After the death of one of the residents, due to a motor accident in 1958, son Roderick and his wife Miriam moved in till 1962.
 

 

 Photo taken in the 1960s after the verandah was removed (Rod McLean Collection)

According to Rod McLean one of the characters around town would often come into the shop in an old Army coat asking for some metholated spirits to rub on his arms as the doctor had instructed (with vigorous demonstrations of arm rubbing).

Being opposite the Police Station came in handy at times, especially when known trouble makers were about!  At the start of school terms, boarding students getting off the train and returning to St Gregory’s College made the most of the short time they had to stock up on sweets and biscuits, before boarding the bus to school.

In the 50’s most of the new residents coming to look at land and houses in expanding Campbelltown would stop at the tea rooms for their first “cuppa” in Campbelltown  before venturing into town, or out to Sherwood Hills or Bradbury Avenue.

In 1966 or 67 the property was sold and before too long Council released a plan of the location which encompassed a number of house sites for parking in Railway Street. McLean's was demolished, joining a number of others in Railway Street to succumb to the bulldozer. The shop's address of 11 Railway Street has little relevance today as there are no buildings on that side of the street between Short and Hurley Streets.

My thanks to Rod McLean for providing information and photos of the shop.

Written by Andrew Allen

 

 

 

 

New Railway Street Photographs

Paul O'Loughlan has kindly provided the library with photographs of two buildings that once stood in Railway Street, Campbelltown. In a previous post on Railway Street, I wrote about how it has almost completely changed compared to what it once looked like and not that long ago. The sites for both these buildings that once stood in Railway Street now form part of the car park bordered by Railway, Short, Patrick and Hurley Streets.

The photograph above was once 29 Railway Street and was taken in 1962. Paul O'Loughlan lived here with his family. This house was built in 1872 and had numerous owners over the years starting with Elizabeth Graham. The O'Loughlan family were the last to live there until it was demolished in 1967. According to Paul the house was built of sandstone and was freezing in winter. There is a red post box on the exact site today.

This photograph was taken in September, 1959 and is of 23 Railway Street. The front section was re-developed about 1959-60. It was eventually resumed by Campbelltown Council in 1975 to extend the car park. The building included a hairdresser, doctor's surgery and a first floor flat.

Pictured in the photo are from left Jack O'Loughlan, Laura O'Loughlan and Paul O'Loughlan. It's not known if the O'Loughlans owned the VW Beetle!

Written by Andrew Allen

The Changing Face of Railway Street

The scene of today's Railway Street is completely different to that of even 40 years ago. So different in fact that not one building from then or before 1970 remains today. It has gone from a street bustling with shops, pubs, a police station and houses to a street dominated by a car park on one side to the new court house extension on the other. So, what did Railway Street once look like and what places could we find if we jumped in a time machine and travelled back to when it was a hive of activity?

If you were to walk from the Railway Station towards the street and start with the right hand side the first building you would have come across would be the Royal Hotel. This hotel was built in the 1840s and was originally called the Cumberland Hotel. It became the Royal Hotel in the 1890s. Licensees included Charles Laws, W. Hodge, Thomas Meehan and Mrs Sexton. The hotel was demolished in 1986. In the 1940s the hotel was a destination for the Drunks' Express. This was when people were forbidden to drink beer in a hotel on Sundays unless they had travelled more than 25 miles and regarded as "weary travellers". As Campbelltown was 32 miles from Sydney it was a prime target and the Royal would've been the first hotel encountered from the railway station.

Today's taxi rank is located where the hotel once stood.

The above photograph shows four unidentified men pictured outside the Royal Hotel in its early days

Continuing your walk up Railway Street you would then come across a house owned by Fred Sheather. Fred was the Town Clerk for the council for an incredible 43 years from 1901 to 1944.

Next was a house where Geoff Winton lived and this adjoined a milk bar at number 11 that he owned. It was famous for its ice cream and banana splits. In 1946 Alf and Elsie McLean purchased the shop. The business prospered by selling 7 days a week: morning and afternoon teas; sandwiches, drinks, ice creams and sweets; cigarettes and tobacco. In the 1960s Alf Billington took over and the property was later sold and became part of a car park.

Continuing the journey along the southern side of Railway Street in the 1930s you would next find Vic Ducat's Auctioneers followed by a barber shop. At the back of these shops was a snooker parlour ran by Paddy Hunt. In later years the auctioneers was replaced by a doctor's surgery. This building was owned by the O'Loughlan family who lived in a house next door at 29 Railway Street. This house was built in 1872 and had numerous owners over the years starting with Elizabeth Graham. The O'Loughlan family were the last to live there until it was demolished in 1967. According to Paul O'Loughlan the house was built of sandstone and was freezing in winter.

A 1970 photograph then shows a long building running parallel to Short Street that was used originally as stables but later for car parking. Then on the corner of Railway and Queen Street was Lack's Hotel. Built by Daniel Cooper in 1830 as the Forbes Hotel, in 1901 it was refurbished and renamed the Federal Hotel. The license was transferred to Herb Lack in 1929 and it became Lack's Hotel. After Herb's death in 1956, his son-in-law and daughter Guy and Tib Marsden took over. Lack's Hotel was demolished in 1984. A modern commercial building including a modern tavern now take its place.

Photograph showing Lack's Hotel from Railway Street undergoing demolition in 1984 (Verlie Fowler Collection).

The other side of Railway Street, or the northern side, always contained fewer buildings. Beginning from the bottom of the street was the police house and next to this was the police station. The station was built around 1890 and was typical of the style for that period. The old cell blocks and stables were located on the building's north side. A tunnel was supposed to have linked the
cells to the nearby courthouse! The police station was pulled down in 1987. The new court house extensions are on the site of the old police station.

Above is the police station and adjoining police house as they looked in 1979.

Finally, on the corner of Railway and Queen Streets is the old court house built in 1886.

This photo was taken in April 1970 and shows how the street looked then. Compare it to the Railway Street of 2012. (Geoff Eves Collection).

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Paul O'Loughlan Interview October 2012

Demolished Heritage Buildings of Campbelltown, 2005

Do you have memories of buildings from Railway Street's past? Please share these with us.