Macarthur Square

Macarthur Square Shopping Centre was officially opened on Monday, September 10, 1979. A crowd of about 600 people attended the opening. The centre cost $30 million and was completed six months ahead of schedule. Workers were still delivering the finishing touches to the centre on opening day as live music played in the background as well as the Macarthur Square jingle!

Various businesses immediately advertised their products and services. P & S Michael advertised a 2 piece safari suit for $89.90 and the supermarket sold Stork margarine and a 1kg bag of sugar each for 10 cents. Macarthur Dry Cleaners offered an enticement of $1.20 per article of clothing to be dry cleaned.

High drama struck the square one day in early December 1983. A three year old boy plunged 10 metres from the balcony to the tiles below and fractured his skull. Ali Elassad and his brother were looking over the railing at Christmas decorations on the ground floor when the accident happened. Ali became known as the miracle boy of Sydney after he escaped death and permanent injury. After some weeks in hospital he returned home for Christmas.

I'm sure many people have wondered who the faces of the people are on the Bolger Street facade of the centre. The artworks were created by local artist Fiona McDonald in 2006 and are of people connected with the Campbelltown region. They include John and Elizabeth Macarthur, their son James, Nanny Barrett a representative of the local Aboriginal people, Charles Sturt, Hamilton Hume and local community identities teacher Kat McGuanne, town clerk Fred Sheather and publican John Hurley.

An $160 million expansion in 2005, which expanded the centre's floor area from 29,000m² to 90,000², saw Macarthur Square become one of the largest shopping complexes in Sydney.

This photograph is of Macarthur Square looking from Macarthur Station. It was taken in the 1980s. (Macarthur Development Board Collection. Campbelltown City Library. Local Studies Collection.)

Written by Andrew Allen

The First Man Hanged in Campbelltown

On the 7th of August, 1829 at Campbell Town Supreme Court, John Holmes was sentenced to death for maliciously setting fire to a barn of James Bean with intent to injure and defraud. The execution of Holmes on August 21 was the first public hanging in the Campbelltown area. In the early days of the township executions were mostly carried out in the area where Mawson Park is located and opposite the court house. However, in this case the hanging occurred at the scene of the burning. This was at the farm belonging to James Bean at Menangle, where gallows were specially erected.

According to the Sydney Gazette, Reverend John Therry communicated Holmes's confessions to the "numerous assemblage of persons who were collected to witness the execution." He told the crowd that the unfortunate culprit acknowledged his guilt, as well as the justice of his sentence; that he had committed many crimes, but sincerely hoped that God had forgiven him, as he freely forgave all those by whom he had ever been injured. Holmes than spoke and warned the crowd about them taking the same path of crime as himself. He then joined in prayer with great devotion, and in a few minutes the drop fell.

After the hanging, perhaps because it was the first in Campbelltown, the dead man's family were allowed to take the body away for private burial.

Written by Andrew Allen

Fred's Lack of Spirit

This Sunday, June 17 marks the 186th anniversary of the death of Fred Fisher, so I thought it was timely to share the following story with you. When I interviewed local identity Norm Campbell in November 2011, he spoke about the night in 1956 the town came out to witness the re-appearance of the ghost of Frederick Fisher. The ghost was scheduled to appear at midnight on the night of June 17. 

Publicity for the event was started by Sydney radio station 2UE and a liquor company that sold spirits (no pun intended) in the weeks leading up to the night. They had promised that "Fred" would make an appearance that night. Estimates of the crowd from the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News were around the 1500 mark- an extraordinary number considering Campbelltown's population. The newspaper counted the cars at 229 at 11.25pm. By the time midnight had come around those that were still there had waited up to three hours. There was no entertainment and the night was freezing cold but the crowd waited patiently for midnight.

In his interview, Norm relayed that the local police sergeant Whiteley accused him and Jim Vernon, both from the local newspaper, of stirring things up. Norm tried to explain that it was 2UE that originated it all.

Approaching midnight the crowd began to leave the warmth of their cars and began to congregate along the bridge. At midnight of course nothing happened and the crowd slowly drifted away. The newspaper described how "the anti-climax seemed to hit the crowd as a body. People were not backward in saying what they thought. Typical was a woman from Crow's Nest who said it was terribly disappointing after leaving a warm home to wait three hours for nothing." Many had left feeling Campbelltown had let them down.

Within a half an hour only a handful remained. By 12.50 only 2 had remained, determined to be the last in case something appeared. Norm remembers when he left the scene, while walking through long grass, literally stumbling over the local doctor Thomas. He was sitting in the grass with camera just in case the ghost appeared!

Norm Campbell's interview as well as many other interviews can be accessed by contacting the local studies section of the library. A small number of interviews can be borrowed from the library and this number will increase in the near future.

This photograph was taken at Fisher's Ghost Bridge in the 1950s. Note the mannequin on the railing of the bridge. (Ivor G. Thomas Collection, Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Written by Andrew Allen

Milton Park Homestead

For years this charming two storey house dominated the landscape between Ingleburn and Macquarie Fields. Built in 1882 by hotelier David Warby, Milton Park changed ownership and uses many times during its history. Why it was named Milton Park is unknown.

At one stage it had a rooftop garden, tennis court, private golf course and an orchard all surrounded by superb gardens. A large verandah once surrounded the house but was pulled down after it was purchased in 1937 by Allan Newmarch.

The property was purchased by the McGarvie Smith Institute in 1952. One interesting use for the property was as a poultry farm and model stud that covered 44 acres. The farm had accommodation for 2000 birds, 1500 of which were white leghorns, some prize-winners at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College.

The property continued to be used as a research laboratory by the McGarvie Institute until 1972 when it was sold to Cantua Pty Ltd., who then sold it to Campbelltown City Council. A large sporting complex that now adjoins the old house site is called Milton Park.

Photograph of Milton Park taken in 1981. (Verlie Fowler Collection)

Do you have any experiences of Milton Park homestead that you would like to share with us? Please click on the comments link.

Sources:

Liston, Carol
Campbelltown: The Bicentennial History
Campbelltown: Campbelltown City Council, 1988

"Milton Park" Pamphlet File, Campbelltown Library

Written by Andrew Allen

Can you help us identify this photograph?

The library needs assistance in identifying the people and location in the above photograph. The photograph was a recent donation to the local studies section and is not dated. The sign near the front door reads "South British Insurance Company". Do you know where the Campbelltown News Printing Works were located? Please let us know if you do!

Update

This building was located in Patrick Street. In the 1920s this was next to Brunero's Sawmill (now the Coogan Lane car park).

Written by Andrew Allen

The Flying Doctor comes to Campbelltown

The sprawling weatherboard homestead of "Glen Lorne" was built in the 1820s on the Appin Road, not far from Campbelltown. In 1936, the house was used to film the movie The Flying Doctor starring Charles Farrell and Mary Maguire and a special appearance by Don Bradman playing himself. Farrell, an American star of the day, and a British crew were imported. The plot revolves around a complicated love triangle, a doctor who falls in love with a married woman and then becomes a flying doctor in the outback. Box office receipts were poor but the film lead to a flood of donations to the flying doctor service. "Glen Lorne" homestead was destroyed by fire on 9 July 1981.

Another old Campbelltown homestead was the scene for filming in November 1969. St Helens Park was used as a film set for the ABC television series Delta. The series starred Frank Thring, John Gregg and Kirrily Nolan and was based on a fictitious scientific investigation unit. Frank Thring attracted the most interest, playing a "sinister anthropologist" who had returned to Australia after living in the wilds of New Guinea. The house and grounds were described as a "hive of activity" during those days of shooting back in 1969.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Shop Famous for its Snake!

Bursill's Produce Store was an institution in Campbelltown for many years. It supplied the local farmers with all their feed requirements. The building stood on the southern side of a shop run by Bussell Brothers on the corner of Queen and Lithgow Streets. The shop's most infamous occupant was a carpet snake that terrified and fascinated the locals. The snake was used to keep the rodent population down and so protect the produce. Long time former resident of Campbelltown Lily Hepher, now in her late nineties, remembered as a young woman looking at the reptile through the top floor window of the store. It was always a source of fascination for her and other passers by. Another local David Milliken when interviewed remembered that when moving a bag of feed in the shop one day he was startled to find the snake right in front of his eyes. The shopkeeper assured him with an "its alright mate it won't hurt you".

The colourful Dr Ivor Thomas of Campbelltown in the 1940s was one night returning from a call in the early hours of the morning when he saw an obstruction over the trellis in the driveway. The storeman at Bursill's had his sleep interrupted that morning by a phone call from the doctor. "Come down and pick up your bloody snake" was the call. When the man arrived he found Dr Thomas busy photographing the snake which habitually escaped from Bursill's Produce Store and roamed the town at night. So much for Occupational Health and Safety!

Update: Susan Chandler, daughter of local identity Bon Wrightson, also discussed Bursill's snake in an interview she gave the library in August 2011. She said one day as a child she found it in the strawberry patch at her home in Dumaresq Street. She yelled at her grandpa that she found a big lizard. A worker from Bursill's who also lived next door retrieved the snake, knocked it out, wound it around his arm and took it back to Bursill's store! Susan also explained that after it had escaped so many times Dr Thomas lost patience and had it killed.

             This shot was taken from the interior of Bursill's shop in 1950. (Col Clissold Collection)

Do you have memories of or have heard stories about the snake? Please share them with us.

Written by Andrew Allen