History Club Girls Win Again!

On Monday October 23, my colleague Michael and I attended the presentation of the ANZAC Day Schools Award to the girls of the Year 11 History Club at St Patrick's College for Girls. This is another outstanding achievement for the History Club girls and their teacher Fran Musico Rullo. Fran's passion for Campbelltown's history is amazing and is reflected in the girl's dedication to whatever project they take on. The award was announced in August and resulted in a prize of $3000. This year's theme was Australians and the Vietnam War and the History Club researched the experiences of local people during the conflict. It included interviews of three veterans and the creation of a website. Each girl gave a short presentation and local Federal Member for Macarthur Mike Freelander was in attendance. 

Congratulations Fran and the girls of the History Club on this well deserved recognition!

This is the link to the website:

FINAL- Campbelltown NSW and the Vietnam War (1).pptx - Google Slides

One of the girl's presentations revealed something I was previously unaware of. On 8 June 1966 a 21-year old Campbelltown woman living in Rudd Road, Leumeah named Nadine Jensen was arrested and charged for offensive behaviour during a welcome home march for Vietnam veterans in the city. A video was presented of the incident. Miss Jensen had drenched herself with a mixture of kerosene, turpentine and red paint. She said it was symbolic of the blood being shed in the Vietnam War. Dripping wet, she threw her arms around the leader of the march who was the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion. Colonel Preece shrugged Miss Jensen off and kept marching. Nadine Jensen later said "I'm glad I did it. I wanted to make the politicians realise that some people in Australia are opposed to sending troops to Vietnam".

The protest was headline news in the press the next day. However, Nadine Jensen seems to have disappeared into history. Local researchers have attempted to trace what happened to her but without success. I have endeavoured to locate her, searching the usual resources for an answer. I have had no luck. Perhaps someone out there knows what became of Nadine Jensen?

 Nadine Jensen at the time of arrest (SMH)

The incident with the red paint at the march (SMH)

Written by Andrew Allen

A First Hand Account of our Worst Bushfire

There is little doubt that the bushfire of 1929 was the worst recorded since colonization of the Campbelltown area. Although there were no fatalities, the fire destroyed three houses and severely damaged a further five. Much property was also destroyed, leaving a number of families with severe hardship, made worse in the years that followed with the Great Depression. No lives were lost fortunately.

The library contains in it's collection an account of that bushfire. Edna Willis (nee Hayward) lived all her life in Campbelltown and was living with her family at Kentlyn at the time. She was aged around 15 or 16. The interview was recorded in 1977 when she was aged 64. 

Edna starts her description..."Well we were out at Kentlyn then and we could see this great pall of smoke...I might have been 15 or 16 and saw this great mass of smoke going across - just unbelievable - you know when it comes out of a big chimney stack - just like that- going and going. Oh, it was shocking hot. Yes the wind was behind it. The westerly wind brought it right from the railway line, I believe, and it just mowed everything down in front of it. Just took it down." Edna was asked where it came from and she replied that it started from the railway line at Leumeah and Minto and that it was thought that it was from a spark of a train in the grass. She described the roar of the fire that day: "I don't know whether you've heard the roar of a bushfire. They could hear it coming and they just ran with what they had on - this Col Longhurst- his mother and father were one of the families that were burnt out and Mervyn had a pair of shorts on, because as I say, it was a stinking hot day...nothing on his feet, no shirt or anything." She said that this Longhurst family ran to her place because Mrs Longhurst and her mum were very close.

Edna was then asked if the fire came close to her place and if it just got to the river and stopped. She replied that it didn't come up her end and that "it eventually went over the river. Well then it burnt away into nothingness over there. It was quite a wide strip out at Kentlyn. It went through and then it was out at Wedderburn. It was a pretty bad run out there, too. In fact of an evening, you'd sit like and see the flames right up the trees and you'd wonder how much further it was going to come by next morning."

Edna Willis passed away in 2010 aged 96. Below is a photo of her taken in her younger days.

Photo comes from the collection of daughter Jennifer Scott

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

Interview with Edna Willis on 30 November 1977

Hurley Park

The beautiful and peaceful Hurley Park is often overlooked in comparison with Mawson and Koshigaya parks. I find myself regularly drawn to it. It has a history that dates back to the early days of Campbelltown's settlement with it's convict-built reservoir and cattle tanks the dominant attraction.

Locating information about Hurley Park that was not associated with early water conservation construction proved a challenge. Much has been written about this aspect of the park and I will concentrate on the rest of the park in this post.

Hurley Park was either named for the well-known pioneer John Hurley or his son P.B. Hurley. John Hurley, a convict, had arrived in Campbelltown by 1832 and was listed as an innkeeper at the King's Arms. He was also a successful pastoralist and politician. John has been incorrectly identified as the man who saw Fred Fisher's ghost in 1826, probably because it sounded like John Farley who actually saw the apparition.

A 1948 aerial photo of Hurley Park

Besides the occupation of the cattle tank and reservoir, the park was originally a paddock where cattle grazed. According to Jeff McGill in his book Campbelltown's Streets and Suburbs, the park appears to have been used as a "common", however in 1897 it reverted to the Crown. Jeff further writes that Alderman Charles Bull led efforts to have the paddock declared a park. Hurley Park is mentioned in the Daily Telegraph in 1889 where it discussed how the residents of Campbelltown were very indignant at the state of the park. It wrote that some time ago the council tried to get the care of it vested in them, and they intended petitioning the Government on the matter.

Not much is written about the park until 1918 when the reservoir was the scene of a regatta that is referred to as Jack's Day. Most of the town went and there is a photo of boats and swimming to mark the occasion.

Jack's Day Regatta on the reservoir in 1918

Starting in the 1920s the park was a popular moonlight rendezvous for young lovers in Campbelltown. During the 1920s through to about the 1950s, it was common for teenagers attending dances at the Town Hall in Queen Street to be seen taking an alternate course home through Hurley Park. Apparently, old timers recalled after chilly mornings that horses were regularly found without their winter rugs after the teenagers moved them to the frosty ground! 

In 1926 Hurley Park was leased to Vince Tripp for one pound a year and for three pounds the following year. In 1933 debate raged in the town about whether or not cattle and bulls should be allowed to graze in the public park. The threat of bulls charging at people terrified the locals.

Former local historian Ed McBarron wrote about the trees in the park. He claimed that the trees came from the State Nursery in Badgally Road. The park was and is still home to Moreton Bay Figs, Canary Island Pines, Stone Pines, Bunya Pines and various gums and eucalypts.

According to Ed, the drainage gully in the park was once used as a favoured place to play two-up on Sunday mornings. There was always one bloke posted to act as "cockatoo"!

The park was the scene of a tragedy one day in 1961. Six year-old Greg O'Brien from nearby Allman Street drowned in an excavation that was dug for a new playing field. It added to other drowning tragedies in the cattle tank in the 1920s and 30s.

There was even a rubbish tip in the park. Maps show the location adjacent to Lithgow Street, not far from where it meets George Street. It was quite small and no traces remain. The park was also home to an early inn where Dumaresq Street once met George Street.

In the 1960s the park was reconfigured for sporting fields. Baseball was played regularly on the new sporting field and football and cricket were later played.

Baseball on Hurley Park  in 1970

Do you have any interesting memories from Hurley Park that you would like to share?

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

McBarron, Ed

The Trees of Hurley Park 

In Grist Mills Vol. 2, No. 2, April 1984

Daily Telegraph, 12 August 1889, p5

Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 1961

McGill, Jeff et al 1995

Campbelltown's Streets and Suburbs: how and why they got their names

Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

McGill, Jeff 1993

Campbelltown Clippings

Campbelltown: Campbelltown City Council

Voices From the Past

Some years ago Campbelltown Library received grant funding to digitise our collection of audio visual material. Included in this collection were audio cassettes of oral history interviews recorded in the mid to late 1970s. These interviews are particularly valuable as they record memories of Campbelltown people born around the late nineteenth century or early twentieth century. For example, we can listen to descriptions of what businesses occupied Queen Street in the early 1900s and of people who lived and died long ago.

Listen to Rita Brunero's recollection of the regatta on the convict-built reservoir in 1917; Aline Haydon's ostrich story or Ambrose Bourke's experiences of enlisting for the First World War. These are just a sample of many wonderful stories featured in Campbelltown Library's Voices From the Past Display. 

This will be the first time these interviews have been made accessible to the public. Learn more about these people and hear their memories at HJ Daley Library during History Week from 2-10 September.

Hillsborough

If you have lived in the area long enough, you might remember a little slab cottage on the western side of and very close to Appin Road, a few kilometres out of Campbelltown. Long demolished, this cottage was known as 'Hillsborough' and was one of a number of properties owned by the famous Hume family. The 'Hillsborough' property has been the focus of recent archaeological investigation and the land and former homestead are now part of the new Figtree Hill development at Gilead.

Taken in 1977 (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

In 1823, 84 acres were granted to John Kennedy Hume and he named this grant 'Hillsborough'. John was the son of Andrew Hamilton Hume and brother of the explorer Hamilton Hume. The name 'Hillsborough' was probably named after the birthplace of Andrew Hamilton Hume in County Down, Ireland. John also acquired land in the vicinity of the town of Gunning between Goulburn and Yass. Evidence reveals that John only lived at 'Hillsborough' for around 10 years and raised cattle there during that time. John Kennedy Hume was killed by bushrangers near Gunning in 1840.

'Hillsborough' later passed to John Kennedy's son Andrew in 1859. It was later owned by Lucy Hassell in 1888, before passing to Jo and Francis Williams in 1917. The property continued to change hands until Stefan Dzwonnik owned it in 1981.

Taken in 1980 by Daphne Kingston (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

The remains of the homestead include foundations, concrete paving, stock fencing and an orchard. As part of Lendlease's rezoning proposal, the area around 'Hillsborough' will be protected for environmental conservation.  As part of this, the plan is to include some public walking trails and signage which is allowed within the conservation areas, around the historical remains. 

An interesting anecdote: Appin Road in the 1820s was often the location for raids on settler's homes by thieves. But the carpenter who built 'Hillsborough' had, knowingly or unknowingly, built in a safety factor. If thieves or bushrangers came crashing through the front door, they would soon come to a crunching full stop. Hillsborough's front door was just four feet eight inches high! The door is still held by the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society.

Taken in 1989 by Daphne Kingston (Campbelltown and Airds Historical Collection)

The 4ft 8in front door of 'Hillsborough' displayed at the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society's home at 'Glenalvon'

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

"History Corner" by Verlie Fowler

Hillsborough

913 Appin Road, Gilead

Heritage Assessment and Management Strategy

Tanner Kibble Denton Architects

June 2017

 

Those Golden Wattle Days

Beginning in 1917 the children of “Campbelltown Superior* Public School” gathered, boxed and sent thousands of golden sprigs of wattle to their “city cousins” in inner Sydney for Wattle Day.

Reported in 1920, the children spent a pleasant afternoon picking and packing the “rich glory of gold” after obtaining Mr Elletson and Mr Bocking's kind permission.” Quite why they sought the earlier town Mayor’s okay we can only speculate, perhaps they were collecting further afield than the school grounds? But whatever the source the sprays of vibrant yellow were certainly well received, with several appreciative replies from inner-city school children.

Young recipient, Charles Dobeson, of 4B Gardner’s Road Public, lamented there was very little growing around their area, being in the middle of the "factory district" and what there was, was of “inferior quality.”

Pupil, Leslie Levy proclaimed, “The fragrant smell was all over the place - all the boys were smelling it. OUR two trees had very little on them.” Another decried theirs were - “stunted with poor sandy soil.”

Among the 7th class "a good many already had wattle when they came to school but soon discarded theirs for yours." Many letters noted Campbelltown as being blessed being close to the bush.

Teacher, Mr Long even hoisted a bunch up the flagpole along with the flag and the school gave a cry of three cheers for the boys and girls of Campbelltown.

Wattle trees blooming in the Memorial Wattle Grove outside H.J. Daley Library.

Wattle has always held a prominent place in Australia’s consciousness, using it for display, symbolism and reminders of home during WWI. First nation peoples used the tree for thousands of years as food, fuel, medicine and objects like spears, bags and boomerangs. Though the first official Wattle Day was celebrated in 1910 the golden wattle was only officially proclaimed as Australia's national floral emblem 1988.

In 1923, the school children of Campbelltown had kept their promise to the "city kids" with the wattle seemingly harvested on an industrial scale! Mr Klein of Paddington S.P.S. reported that all 1500 of their children were, by 11 o'clock, wearing the Campbelltown wattle.

Charles Gardiner of Balmain wrote to say their sprigs were being sold for a penny/half penny a spray - to raise funds for books in the library.

The last word we’ll leave to Leslie who wrote, “Your kindness to us proves you do not easily forget your friends.”

 * Superior Public Schools were schools that were officially recognised as providing both primary and post-primary education.

**Postscript. 

The Teacher Librarian of Campbelltown Public School, Debbie Gilroy, has kindly contacted us to say that the school children had asked Mr Bocking's permission because they walked out to his property to collect the choicest wattle. 

Thank you very much Debbie for shedding some light on the story.

Written by Michael Sullivan

References:

Wattle Day Pleasantries: Campbelltown Pupils' Gifts to their City CTN news Fri 27 Aug 1920

Wattle for City Children. CTN IBN News Aug 1923 p1,8

National Museum of Australia

Old Film Brings Campbelltown Back to Life

An exciting film has recently come to light showing life in Campbelltown in about 1958. The home movie made by local Stan Reeve, provides an insight into a slower paced and more innocent time. The recently digitised film runs for approximately 15 minutes and features various personalities who were prominent in Campbelltown at that time. Moving pictures often reveal so much more about a person's personality compared to still shots and this film is no different. Unfortunately, there is no sound.

The film opens with a view of the Ducat house where today's Macarthur Square is located followed by scenes featuring the Camden Tram 'Pansy' as it steams along beside Narellan Road. Keep a watch later  for cameo's from St David's church, St Peter's church and a small slice of the northern end of Queen Street.

Here is the film:

Gillian Blackstone, Stan Reeve's son Tom and a few others have identified the people in the film. Thank you to Tom Reeve for sharing his father Stan's home movie. The film is copyright to Stan Reeve.

The following is the breakdown of people with a brief description that matches the time in the film:

1.20    John Farrow (cub)    Back left

1.20     Paul Bartley (cub)    Middle

1.21    Elizabeth Farrow    Middle

1.12    Suzanne Farrow (plaits)    In front of Elizabeth   

1.26    Charlie Hannaford and Eric Henson at Scout Hall

1.26    Dianne Penfold    In GFS uniform (middle)

1.26    Roger Woollard    Scout leader (top left) 

1.26    Hazel Routley    Middle left

1.26    Mary Foulks    grey skirt next to Hazel

1.26    Phyllis Rixon (nee Gorrie)    Far right in green

2.29    Mrs Woollard (nee Shafer)    Holding pram

2.56    Harold Reeve

3.02    Mrs Price

3.05    Betty Mercer    Green hat

3.05    Bob Pratt    Centre

3.09    Margaret King    Wife of Dr Ted King

3.13    Eric Avenell    Grey suit right

3.15    Herb Lee

3.36    Julie Lee (Blue dress)

3.40    Rev. Louis Anderson

3.43    Lilian Sproule (nee Bradman- Don Bradman's sister)

3.47    Audrey Larnach    Pink

3.53    Mrs Reeve and Marj Bursill (Pink hat)

4.02    Athol Tompkins

4.10    Dave Archer    Red and white tie

4.24    Dr Ted King

4.27    Hank Reeve

4.40    Beth and Lynne Fairburn

4.49    Merle Bromley

5.01    Mrs Fairburn (Jnr)

5.33    Marj Bursill

6.00    Reeve and Fairburn children

6.16    Hilda Davidson

6.57     Meg King (check skirt)

7.06    Ted King Snr and Mercy

7:30    Leila and Mrs Spearing

7.34    Jim Helm

7.56    Charlie Hannaford at his home 'Miramichi'

8.56     Billy North

9.51     Rev. John Rofe

10.01    Bob Dinney

10.26     Mrs Steele

10.45    Field Day at St Elmo Estate with Eric Routley

11.38    Mrs Witts

11.54    Ron and Jean Cameron

12.27    Harold Reeve with grandchildren

12.55    Freda Ballard and Betty Burgin

12.56    Percy Marlow

13.04    Percy Marlow and Harley Daley

13.26    Emily Longhurst

13.45     Mrs Wolledge

13.52    Bert Kitt