Louisa Fisher

An amazing photograph came to light last week. The library was sent a remarkable image of  Louisa Fisher- the sister of our famous ghost Fred Fisher. This is the first time the library has seen a photo of one of Fred Fisher's immediate family. I wonder did she look like her brother Fred? The only description we have of Fred Fisher is through convict records. They describe him as having average height with a fair complexion and brown hair. Not much detail there.

Louisa Ellen Fisher was Frederick's younger sister. The photograph is in the possession of a direct descendant of Fred and Louisa's brother Samuel. Samuel Fisher's son Samuel migrated to Australia to find out about Frederick's estate. There were concerns of fraudulent activities. Young Samuel remained in Sydney and married there in 1849.

Thank you to the descendant John Wise for sharing Louisa's photo with the library. John's link to her and Fred was proven with a DNA match.

Louisa Fisher is photographed above. Date is unknown. (photograph courtesy of John Wise)

Written by Andrew Allen

The Collins family stores and Ingleburn

The Collins family arrived in Ingleburn in 1884, having come from Gunning. William John Collins Snr had established a brickworks in Gunning which supplied bricks used in connection with the railway in that district. He, his wife Honora and their five children then moved to Ingleburn where William set up a general store in the small village of Ingleburn. This wattle and daub building was on the southern side of the Oxford and Ingleburn Road intersection.

William Snr also continued to use his brickmaking skills supplying handmade bricks for local building projects. He was active in having a school opened in Ingleburn, starting a church, and providing the mail service from his home. He was one of the founding Aldermen of Ingleburn’s Municipal Council in 1896.

The early W.J. Collins General Store c1880 (Photo courtesy CAHS)

William Snr and his wife Honora’s (known as Nora) sixth child, a son, was born in Ingleburn, and was named Thanet. This name was derived from the place in Kent where William John Snr was born – the Isle of Thanet.

The J.W. Collins Store was on the corner of Oxford Road and Ingleburn Road, right near Ingleburn Railway Station. It sold everything, including explosives for which William had obtained a permit in 1888.

After their father died suddenly in 1919, the store was taken over by William John Jnr and his brother Thanet and became W.& T. Collins Store. In 1922 they called for tenders to build a new brick store. This would be situated on the northern side of Oxford Road opposite the old location. Groceries, paint, produce, hardware, haberdashery were among items sold. Eventually a milk bar and petrol and oil service were added. Train commuters were catered to with the store being open as early as 6am and closing as late as 7.30pm. 

W.&T. Collins Store c1930 (Photo Courtesy CAHS)

When William Jnr died in 1936 the store was continued by Thanet, and became known as T. Collins Railway Store. Thanet remained a storekeeper into the 1960s, but had retired by the time of his death in 1972. The Collins family had served the Ingleburn community for close to 90 years. 

Written by Claire Lynch

Sources: Trove, Grist Mills Vol.1, No.4, "More than bricks and mortar" - Andrew Allen

The Lamplighter

Every day at dusk you would see him. He would walk around the quiet streets of Campbelltown carrying his small ladder and kerosene can with its long narrow spout. It was a routine that he loved and that he had perfected through years of practice. As he approached each lamp post he would take the lamp out and clean the globe and then fill the lamp with kerosene and light it. A ritual from another time in a slower paced and less complicated world.

Edwin James Bamford, known as Ted,  was born in 1865 in Picton. He was the son of Edwin Bamford and and Elizabeth Reeves. The family came to Campbelltown when Ted was only 3 or 4 months old. Ted secured his first job aged only 13 when he began constructional work on Sydney's first water supply. His main duty was to supply horses to the surveyors, moving them between Campbelltown and Fairfield where they were stationed.

He began his lamplighting in 1902. Although there were not many lights in town, it still required some travelling by foot. There was a light outside the town hall, one on the corner of Allman Street, one on Dumaresq Street, one near the corner of Lithgow Street, one near the park and one on the corner of Broughton Street. They never showed much light according to local Frances Meredith.

As a boy, Fred Seers assisted him with the lamplighting for threepence a week. Fred grew up to be one of the town's much loved characters himself.

Lamplighting was not the only job that Ted was skilled at. Perhaps his greatest joy in life was as Verger for St Peter's Church. He followed in his father's footsteps with this. He would clean the church, ring the bell, chase pigeons and undertake rounds of the graveyard. He reputedly knew the inscription of every tombstone in St Peters. Later he worked in the tiny library in a small building at the back of the town hall. He was the librarian there and he also looked after two billiard tables in the small building. There was a fireplace and he kept the logs on the fire in winter. He later moved to the new Soldiers Memorial School of Arts on the corner of Queen and Lithgow Streets and worked as the librarian.

Ted had a keen interest in botany. He was able to give the botanical name of every tree, pine and shrub that you could find in Campbelltown!

He carried out his work as lamplighter up until the time that electricity was installed in Campbelltown in early 1924. No more would this gentle old character wander the streets lighting up the town. 

Ted married Frances Holland at St Peters, Campbelltown and they had three children. The untimely death of his daughter Fanny had a profound effect on him and was believed to have contributed to his death not long after. He had suffered from asthma throughout his life. Edwin Bamford died in 1936 and was buried in the cemetery at St Peters that he dutifully cared for. 

Can you help with finding a photograph of Edwin Bamford for us?

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown News 24 July 1936

A Stroll Through St Peter's Churchyard, Campbelltown NSW by Marie Holmes

Frances Meredith oral history interview 1977 (Held at Campbelltown Library)

Earthquake!

Campbelltown has had its share of natural disasters over the years, including floods, fire and even a tornado. However, reading about an earthquake was something I wasn't prepared for. Many of you probably remember it.

It was early Saturday morning on 10 March 1973. The peace of that Saturday morning sleep-in for most was suddenly shattered when the ground began to shake. Many were quite alarmed and looked for an explanation of what just happened. Reports of people's experiences were shared around the town, some of which were no doubt a little exaggerated! According to the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, the army copped much of the blame. As soon as the rumblings began they straight away thought that the army was out on early morning manoeuvres, doing "town laps" in Queen Street. Another explanation favoured by many was that the army was blasting away as usual out at Holsworthy but, just a bit earlier than usual. Another explanation is quite hilarious: one lady attributed the violent shaking to her collie dog scratching for fleas on the front verandah!

Accounts of some of the residents are also very amusing. One young boy shared his story with all seriousness that his sister had been thrown from her bed and landed (without injury) on the other side of the room. There were stories of suitcases falling from the tops of cupboards, smashing glasses and dogs going beserk.

At Campbelltown Police Station a typewriter fell off a desk with a sudden jolt. Many attempted unsuccessfully to contact the station by phone so they arrived at the station seeking reassurance from the police that it wouldn't happen again!

I thought I would check if there was a record of the quake. There is an entry on Wikipedia under the heading 'List of Earthquakes in Australia' with an entry for that day. It registered a 5.6 with most of the damage centering around Picton, Bowral and Wollongong. The damage bill was $2.8 million.

Do you remember the earthquake?

Campbelltown Police Station in December 1979. It was here that many searched for reassurance.

Written by Andrew Allen

Come for a Stroll

I have always held a love of cemeteries. There is something calming about them. I disagree that they are places to avoid and that they are scary, forbidden or melancholy. Instead, I have the opinion that they are havens in a crazy and frantic world. Even in Campbelltown, St Peter's Anglican Cemetery, bound by busy roads, generates a feeling of peace amongst the hustle and bustle of the CBD. Occasionally I will wander up to St Peter's during a lunch break to reflect, clear my mind and soak up that peace it provides.

Working as local studies librarian means I get to perform quite a lot of research and often it leads me to learn about our town's pioneers and to the amazing lives some of them lead. It often feels like you get to know them personally! Irene Scattergood is an example. Many times I have read about the tragic circumstances that lead to her premature death in 1925 and the shock felt by her family and the Campbelltown community. Irene and others whose stories I have stored in my brain are people that I wish I could meet. I wish I could interview them like I do with the living's oral histories and record how they made their journey through life...and death.

This year marks 200 years since the first burial in St Peter's Cemetery, making it almost as old as Campbelltown itself. I hope you can join me next month for a Stroll through St Peter's Cemetery and discover some of the people buried there. You will learn about Australia's first millionaire, a Melbourne Cup winning jockey and the man who saw Fisher's Ghost- a man who is often overlooked when it comes to the Fisher's Ghost legend. And of course I will introduce you to Irene Scattergood and explain her heart breaking story as well as others that left such an indelible mark on our beloved Campbelltown. 

Details of the cemetery tour are as follows:

St Peter's Anglican Cemetery, Howe Street, Campbelltown.

Saturday, 15 April from 10am-1130am. Meet at the main gate. Bookings are essential and are through Eventbrite. Cost is free.

Irene Scattergood's headstone in St Peter's Cemetery

Curious Campbelltown

Many libraries are now discovering the popularity of podcasts and a number of metropolitan and state wide libraries have jumped on board. However, the subjects each of these libraries focus on differs widely.

Campbelltown City Library's Curious Campbelltown podcast was launched in November last year. Since the launch we have released four episodes: All Things Fred (Jeff McGill), For King and Country (Lauren Hokin), A Man of Colours (Gary Seddon) and A Proud Campbelltonian (Jim Marsden).

Our local studies section of Campbelltown City Library works enthusiastically to uncover Campbelltown’s unique and fascinating history. We are very fortunate that much of this history has been preserved in the form of such platforms as oral history interviews, sound recordings, photographs, documents and family histories. Rather than have these hidden away in the library’s archives, our team are determined to make them available for our community to enjoy. Our new podcast “Curious Campbelltown” is an example of this.

Campbelltown has a long, interesting and sometimes unusual history. From its establishment in 1820, there have been many stories that could fit under the banner of curious. Of course, probably the most famous of all Campbelltown’s stories was Fisher’s Ghost. There was no more curious and stranger story than that of the murder of Frederick Fisher and of course if Fred came back as a ghost. From the legend of Fisher’s Ghost to Campbelltown’s own “Saving Private Ryan” war story to the colourful and eccentric Tom Cooper, Curious Campbelltown will take you on a journey of discovery into the town’s colourful past.

  

Jim Marsden (above) talked about growing up in Campbelltown, his role in the formation of the Wests Tigers and his legal career

I encourage you to explore our Curious Campbelltown podcast. The next episode to be released next month will look at the career of former NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, particularly his association with Campbelltown, including the Macquarie Fields riot.

Curious Campbelltown is available through Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts and the library's website.

Lauren Hokin (above) talked about the experiences and stories of the town's brave men and women who served in the First World War.

A Colourful Character

Last year I gave a presentation to the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society titled Colourful Characters of Campbelltown. I included 18 of some of the town's most lovable identities from the past. One I thought I would share with History Buff readers is Bob Hazelwood. Much of the information for his story came from Gillian Blackstone, daughter of former Campbelltown Council alderman Arch Walker. Ted Sedgwick also contributed to his story.

Robert Hazelwood was born in Campbelltown in 1898, the son of Stephen and Sarah Hazelwood. Bob worked on the railways before helping Arch Walker on the farm after he retired from the railways. He lived in Mrs Rixon’s boarding house alongside the railway line in Broughton Street. 

Bob was a heavy drinker, and one local remembers seeing him get hit by a car one afternoon outside the picture theatre. Somehow Bob managed to curl himself up in to a ball before he hit the road and rolled down the road a bit, got up dusted himself off and continued on his shuffle home.

Gillian Walker remembered him as a very thin, rather quiet man with a deep voice. He was very loyal and helped her father Arch immensely.

Bob would sometimes walk down the street and catch a local he knew and ask him for a winner. Off he would then go to the SP bookie. Most stories about Bob revolve around him going to the horse races on a Saturday- his day off. He was in work clothes all week, but on Saturday he would get all dressed up in his best suit with hat atop his head and walk to the station to catch the train for his day out. On his return at the end of the day he would alight the train looking slightly dishevelled having had one too many beers. Travelling on foot, swaying from side to side he made his way home to his little pensioner unit in Lindesay Street which was just north of Mereil Street in North Campbelltown.

Arch and Bob had finished milking one afternoon, the door of Arch’s truck was open and a stray German Shepherd dog, that had been hanging around the front gate to the farm for several days, decided he would hop into the truck and go home with them. The two scaredy cats Arch and Bob weren't game to push him out, so they sidled in next to him and brought him home for dog loving Gillian to deal with. He became a beloved member of the family. 

Every Christmas for years Mrs Walker would serve up a Christmas lunch for Bob, place it on a tray with all the trimmings, roast chicken and assorted vegetables, pudding with cream and custard, bon bon, nuts, lollies, the lot. Arch and Gillian would deliver it piping hot to his place. When they arrived, Bob had set his little table with tablecloth, cutlery, napkin etc. in readiness. Gillian would pop the bon bon with him, he'd put on his party hat to please her and we left him to enjoy his lunch. Although they had asked him to join them at home over the years he always declined and was happy to dine in his own home.

Bob died on 26 October 1980, he was hit by a car while walking home along the Moore/Oxley by-pass. He was 82.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of Bob. If anyone of our readers do, I would love to see one!

Written by Andrew Allen