Armed Apes

I was reading about the new movie 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and how a scene of an ape firing a gun has shocked fans. The controversial scene depicts an ape who pretends to befriend two armed humans before stealing one of their guns and shooting them both. This scene reminded me of a similar incident in Campbelltown's history which caused similar horror from a movie audience involving an ape.

During the 1930s the owner of the old Macquarie Cinema often staged bizarre Vaudeville acts as an added attraction. One such act involved a live ape shooting at a piece of fruit suspended on stage. The act went haywire when the ape bit the owner and began pointing the rifle at the audience. After eventually taking a rather wild shot at its target, the bullet was eventually fired harmlessly into a nearby wall. This left a bullet hole which remained until the building's demolition in 1979! I'm assured this is a true story and in fact old timers still recall the remarkable event.

The Macquarie Cinema was on the corner of Queen and Browne Streets in Campbelltown.

An undated photograph of an audience at the Macquarie Cinema watching a Saturday matinee

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Daley, John 1982
"Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage: The Macquarie Cinema, Campbelltown, 1920s-1979
In Grist Mills, Vol. 1 No. 1

McGill, Jeff 1993
Campbelltown Clippings
Campbelltown: Campbelltown City Council

A Sad Ending

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the demolition of the old Royal Hotel at the corner of Railway and Hurley Streets. The hotel was demolished in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning July 6, 1986. Newspaper reports described how at 5.30am council workmen first set up safety barriers around the hotel. By 6am a massive Hitachi caterpillar-tracked back hoe commenced clawing the building down and by evening most of the remains had been removed from the site.

There was much controversy about the demolition of the hotel in the weeks and months leading up to the demolition. On one side there were those that were strongly opposed to the destruction of such a much loved historical building. On the other side however was Campbelltown Council who had exhausted all its options. Council needed to widen Hurley Street and unfortunately the Royal Hotel was in the way of this.

The Royal Hotel was originally known as the Cumberland Hotel in the 1880s and became the Royal Hotel in the 1890s. It dates back to the first half of the 19th century.

Interestingly, sandstone from the foundations was used on buildings such as the Campbelltown Library and the Bicentennial Art Gallery.

I thought I would show photographs from the library's collection of the hotel over time. They begin with the earliest known photograph when it was "Hodge's Royal Hotel" right up to its demolition in 1986.

4 unidentified men outside "Hodge's Royal Hotel"

A procession outside the Royal Hotel in 1958

The Royal in 1977

The Royal in 1986- the year it was demolished

Gone!

Written by Andrew Allen

Mt Gilead Windmill

 

 

 

An article in the local newspaper last week on the historic windmill at Mt Gilead prompted me to recall an interesting fact concerning its history. The article in the Macarthur Advertiser discussed the latest attempts to have the windmill listed on the State Register. The construction built from convict labour is rapidly falling into disrepair.

The windmill at the Mt Gilead property on Appin Road was built by Thomas Rose in 1836. The mill tower, which is built from sandstone quarried on the property, is 60 feet in height, comprises four stories, and is reputed to have contained the finest millstones in the colony. No metal was used in its construction and all the moving parts were fashioned from ironbark grown on the property. The tapering stone tower was topped by a moveable cap made of wood (as the sails had to be always facing into the wind, the moveable cap carried the sails and driving shaft). A stone wall surrounded the windmill, to protect animals from touching the rotating sails.

The interesting fact I thought I would raise was that on the night of August 20, 1857 the mill was struck by lightning and received minimal damage. Coincidentally this was the same storm that caused the Dunbar to be famously wrecked at South Head killing 121 souls.

Mount Gilead is the last remaining tower mill in New South Wales. It has been and still is a favourite study for artists and photographers. Lets hope it can be listed on the State Register and survive for centuries to come.

Written by Andrew Allen

Update: I recently finished reading Larry Writer's excellent book "The Shipwreck" which tells the story of the Dunbar. In it he describes the storm that night. The winds were from the south east and there is no mention of lightning in Larry's book or the original newspaper reports. Lightning to my knowledge is not usually associated with an east coast low such as the one that struck that night. 

Sources:

Morris, John F.
Mount Gilead Estate and Windmill, Campbelltown
In Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings
Vol. 27 (5), pp 359-66, 1941

Fowler, Verlie
Mount Gilead
In Grist Mills
Vol. 7 (4), 66-87, July 1994

Fred Sheather

Fred Sheather must surely hold the Australian record for years served as Town Clerk for one council. Remarkably, Fred served as Town Clerk for Campbelltown Council for the years 1901 to 1927 and then again from 1929 to 1944- a combined total of 41 years of service.

Fred Sheather was born at Mittagong (some sources claim Berrima) on July 9, 1875. He was the second son of Charles and Elizabeth Sheather. Fred came to Campbelltown in 1896 and joined the staff of the Campbelltown Herald managed by Joseph McGlynn. His long and dedicated service to the Campbelltown community began immediately upon his arrival. From 1896 to 1900 he was the secretary of the local Picnic Racing Club.

Fred married Ruth Pett in 1901 at St Peters Anglican Church and they produced 6 children: 3 boys and 3 girls. Ruth and Fred were to form a long and loving marriage until Ruth died in 1952.

That same year Fred began his role of Town Clerk for council, replacing Alexander Munro. He was most successful in that role. In 1921 to mark 20 years in that position, a function was put on by prominent people of the town. Former mayor Fred Moore made a speech and praised Sheather for making Campbelltown's rates the lowest in New South Wales at that time. Dr William Mawson also heaped praise on Fred and wished him 20 more years in that position (he would serve 21 more!).

In 1927 Fred decided to retire as Town Clerk. In 1929 his replacement left and Fred was coaxed into coming out of retirement. He continued to serve until 1944.

Fred Sheather's involvement in other community activities included president of the local football club, president of the Red Cross, secretary of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows, trustee of the municipal band, president of the Church Committee and life member of the Show Society.

Those who remember him today talk about his friendly nature. He would sit on the verandah of his house in Railway Street and give a cheery hello to passers by.

Fred Sheather died in 1953. Sheather Place in Campbelltown is named after him.

     Fred Sheather c1929-1944

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown Pioneers Register
Campbelltown-Ingleburn News 15.6.1953

Dairying in Campbelltown

Dairying and its related services was the largest employer in the Campbelltown district during the 1900s. By 1939 Campbelltown district was sending 16 000 gallons (72 800 L) of milk each week to the city. There were three main trains direct to Sydney. One of these was the Milk Pot which collected milk from Menangle to Ingleburn and delivered it to Sydney.

In 1922 a new milk depot was proposed for Campbelltown Railway Station. There were about 68 dairies in the district and 45 of these dairies were interested in taking shares in a cooperative factory on the western side of town in Badgally Road (then called Broughton Road). Built at a cost of 6000 pounds, the milk depot was a branch of the Camden Vale Milk Company and opened in mid-1923.

In 1920 the Macarthur family set up the Camden Vale Milk Company and built a milk processing plant in Camden at the eastern end of the main street adjacent to the rail line. Whole milk was railed to Darling Harbour and bottled under its own label until 1926. Between 1920 and 1922 Camden Vale Milk, which became a co-operative in 1921, had 162 milk suppliers and 289 cream suppliers. Milk was delivered to the factory on a daily basis by horse and cart, even up to the 1940s.

Within a year of the Broughton Road factory opening at Campbelltown Railway Station  the district was railing 13 000 gallons (59 150 L) of milk per week to Sydney. In 1924, 220 000 gallons (over 1 million L) were delivered within six months.

In 1929 the Camden Vale Milk Company amalgamated with the Dairy Farmers Milk Company.

Early mornings and long days were a typical day on a dairy farm, workers beginning their days at around 2am, not finishing until 6pm and often in bed by 8pm to be up again for the next day. Many men were given lodging and meals whilst working on the farm. Women folk were kept very busy cooking three meals a day often for 10 or more people.

Workers say that having a social life was difficult due to the early start and long hours. Some say if they did wish to go out on a Saturday night, usually to a dance or the movies, they would have missed going to bed at all.

Milking time at "St. Andrews", Minto in 1935 including Jack Thomson, Arthur Collins and Leo Kelly (Stan Thomson Collection) 

By Cathy Mitford

 

Sources:   Grist Mills Vol.21 No.1 Pg 7  2008

               :   Campbelltown: The Bicentennial History by Carol Liston 1988

               :   Camden   by Ian Willis

 

 

Farmland Before The Urban Sprawl

Last week Campbelltown Library was generously given access to a large number of photographs from the collection of Peter and Marie Thomson. The Thomsons lived on the St Andrews property in the suburb of the same name. The homestead and its outbuildings located in Shiel Place are likely to be the oldest constructions in the Campbelltown Local Government Area. They possibly date from as early as 1810.

Most of the photographs from the collection are aerial shots taken by Marie as Peter flew his aircraft. They are of the land surrounding St Andrews farm and show Campbelltown, Raby and St Andrews Roads in the early 1960s. There are also aerial shots of Minto and Campbelltown from the same period. It's amazing to see how much has changed in the photographs in such a short time and compared with today's same scene.

I have chosen two photographs from the collection to show. Both scenes are virtually unrecognisable today.

This aerial photograph taken in the early 1960s is of Eschol Park House and its surrounding buildings. The road that runs behind the buildings and across the photo is Raby Road. Where the road changes to run in a straight direction is about where the large roundabout that leads to Eagle Vale Drive is today. The dams and creek have disappeared and are now where the Eschol Park Sports Complex is. The Eagle Vale Shopping Centre would be behind the last dam on the right of the photograph in the middle. (click on the image for a larger version)

This aerial photograph above is of Hannaford's Farm on Campbelltown Road. To get an idea of where this is, you can just make out the turnoff to the left that is Raby Road just after the house. The sight of Hannaford's Farm and house is now developed with housing in the suburb of St Andrews. In the background is Minto. The photograph was taken in 1960. (click on the image for a larger version)

Written by Andrew Allen

Camels in Patrick Street

                   (Photo courtesy of Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)


I've always been fascinated by this photograph. It was taken in Patrick Street, Campbelltown around 1900 and shows two unidentified men watching over some cattle and three camels! I wonder what the camels were used for and whether this paddock in Patrick Street was their usual home? Maybe someone out there can shed some light on this. Note in the background Reeve's Emporium on the corner of Patrick and Queen Street (see my earlier post on Reeve's Emporium by clicking on http://campbelltown-library.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/reeves-emporium.html).

Written by Andrew Allen