Lack's Hotel

When the Centre Court Tavern on the corner of Queen and Railway Streets was opened in November 1985 it replaced a much loved hotel by the people of Campbelltown. The site was first occupied by the Forbes Hotel, erected in 1827 by Daniel Cooper and opened by George Tait. It contained 18 rooms and the long room set aside for banquets, dancing and public entertainment. It was advertised as the 'best hotel in the country' and provided entertainment which was described as including a 'mesmerist, phrenologist, laughing-gas man, lantern lecturer and a panoramist!'

The Forbes Hotel was replaced by the Federal Hotel around the time of federation and was eventually purchased by Herb Lack in 1922. Herb was the grandfather of local solicitors John and Jim Marsden.

The hotel became well-known for its special house whisky with a guarantee of 20 years maturing in wood in Scotland. Lack claimed 'its quality creates a demand  and maintains its sale'.

The business was operated for many years by the daughter of Herb Lack, Phyllis or 'Tib' as she was better known, and her husband Guy Marsden. Mr Marsden took over the licence in 1951 and kept it until 1972 when it was sold to the Taylor Freeholds Pty Ltd. John and Jim Marsden were born and raised in the hotel as was their father.

Within the bar was an implied social division. The public bar was cheaper than the saloon bar which attracted more the professional merchant or grazier class. The public bar drinker reportedly showed no animosity towards these "silvertail' drinkers on the other side however.

According to one of our oral history interviewees, an SP Bookie set up a business in the hotel at one stage!

Almost every old local that I ask what was the best hotel to drink at in Campbelltown in days past, the answer is inevitably Lack's Hotel. The hotel was sadly demolished in June 1984.

The photograph above is of Lack's Hotel just before it was demolished in 1984.

Written by Andrew Allen

Orana Park

In the early 1950s the recently formed Leumeah Progress Association asked Campbelltown Council to find a suitable site for a park. About 12 acres was acquired and in 1955 named 'Orana Park', an aboriginal word for 'welcome'. It seemed an appropriate name considering the amount of new residents in the area.

The ground held regular sports carnivals and hosted some important rugby league matches over the years. In 1980, the Group 6 grand final played at the ground attracted a crowd of 10,000. In 1970, it had become home of the Campbelltown Kangaroos Rugby League team.

In 1983, the Newtown Rugby League club played their final season out at Orana Park. In 1985, a new grandstand was opened which attracted the Western Suburbs Magpies club to Orana Park. By 1987, it was the magpies home and three years later, was renamed Campbelltown Sportsground. This was due to the increased media and public interest in sporting facilities in Campbelltown in both the local and broader community and the similarity between the names Oran and Orana Park.

On May 2, 2010 a huge crowd witnessed the re-opening of the multi million dollar re-developed Campbelltown Stadium. The upgrade was funded by an $8 million grant by the federal government.

An undated photograph of Orana Park can be seen above.

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

McGill, Jeff 1995
Campbelltown's Streets and Suburbs: how and why they got their names
Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

William Henry Etchells

"I only hope it is all a great mistake". This line jumped out at me as I scrolled through the service record of Harry Etchells, a soldier from Campbelltown who died on the Western Front in 1917. Amongst all the formal documents and official wording of the correspondence between the Base Records Office and Harry's sister Rubie Etchells, it was this line from Rubie that brought home to me the personal tragedy of war. As ANZAC Day approaches, I thought I would briefly tell the story of one of Campbelltown's brave men that never returned.

William Henry Etchells, better known as Harry, was the son of Harry and Nellie Etchells who lived at Eckersley about 1890. When his mother died in 1894, Harry and his sister were raised by relatives in Campbelltown.

William Henry Etchells (on right) with an unidentified friend during the First World War. (Clive "Oke" Etchell Collection).

Harry enlisted in the First World War in 1914, reaching the rank of lance-corporal in the 3rd Battalion. He suffered greatly from sickness and injury during his service. At Gallipoli he was evacuated with shell concussion and he suffered a gunshot wound in France in 1916. In England, he married a woman called Florence. He returned to the front in 1917 where he was badly wounded after losing both his legs and died soon afterwards. Unfortunately for his sister Rubie and the rest of the family there was no mistake.

W.H.Etchells' grave in Hooque Crater Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium. (Clive "Oke" Etchell Collection).

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

McGill, Jeff    2001
Campbelltown & World War One 1914-1918
Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

Mossberry

Another wonderful building from Campbelltown's past that was demolished was "Mossberry". It was built on land that was originally granted to Robert Kable by Governor Macquarie in 1816. The land that "Mossberry" was built on later passed to the Warby family.

"Mossberry" consisted of a group of two buildings linked by a lattice breezeway, together with a timber shed. There was also an outbuilding which was believed to have been built by Kable around 1820. The main building was thought to have been built about 1840 and likely to have been constructed some five years after the first. It was a Georgian house with external walls of dressed stone which were later rendered and painted.

The lattice breezeway and the north east verandah to the main residence were added during the 1930's and used to link the living areas of the main house with the utilitarian areas located in the original residence.

The property passed from the Warby family to various owners up until the early 1990's. In 1993, an Interim Conservation Order was made on the building but because of constant vandalism, decay and neglect the house was seen as beyond restoration and was demolished. It was located at 15 Chamberlain Street.

                                                            "Mossberry" taken in 1977

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

KYDD, Ronald 1994
Heritage Report Mossberry
England & Kydd Pty Ltd

PB & EP Committee Meeting minutes 1993

Friend of the Strays

There is a strong argument for Patrick "Paddy" Hunt as the most colourful character in Campbelltown's history. Over the years Paddy earned the title 'friend of the strays' and became a familiar figure as he searched for food to give the stray cats and dogs of Campbelltown. Locals always knew when he was around by the number of dogs gathered.

Dressed in a navy blue suit and hat Paddy walked Queen Street almost every evening regardless of the weather, searching the garbage cans for scraps to feed the strays. In 1970, the then Member for Campbelltown said "Paddy Hunt was Campbelltown's conscience with regard to the treatment of animals" and "Paddy would go without things himself so that he could have food for his animals."
On one occasion, Paddy was featured in a TV program for his kindness to stray animals.

Paddy Hunt was born in Leichhardt in 1897 and came to Campbelltown with his parents in 1930. He was described as a "natural hard-doer" and worked at odd jobs around the town, particularly gardening.

According to Paul O'Loughlan, Paddy was also a very keen racehorse follower. He would regularly describe an entire race from start to finish and this once included the 1940 Melbourne Cup won by a 100-1 outsider named Old Rowley. He backed it and won a fortune!

Paul also described how Paddy would retrieve half smoked cigarettes from rubbish bins and keep the unused tobacco. He would then add a liquid to it and add it to his tobacco supplies.

Paddy was knocked down by a car while attempting to cross Queen Street one night in 1978. He was searching for scraps to feed the animals at the time. He never fully recovered from this accident and died in hospital on January 7, 1979. During his time in hospital he requested that a bird bath be installed in Mawson Park. This wish was fulfilled and a memorial to Paddy next to the bird bath was erected early that year.

This is the Patrick "Paddy" Hunt Memorial Bird Bath in Mawson Park, Campbelltown

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Campbelltown-Ingleburn News 30.1.1979, 5.12.1978, 9.5.1978
"Campbelltown Recollections: stories from our past" interview with Paul O'Loughlan

The Struggles of a Local Postmistress

It is difficult to imagine anyone surviving on just 10 pounds a year, even in the first half of last century. Yet this was all that Elizabeth Greenwood survived on for running the post office at Wedderburn from 1896 to 1927. Miss Greenwood was appointed to run the postal service at her stone cottage at Wedderburn following a petition by the residents in March 1896. Michael O'Shannesy would deliver the mail to Wedderburn Post Office on horseback, three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Letters held by the postal archives reveal her struggles to make ends meet. She begged for a few pounds to buy pigeonholes and a notice board. The Postmaster-General responded however saying he was not obliged to pay for extra expenses for "non official" offices. Over the years she also requested postal authorities to boost her yearly income of 10 pounds but without success.

In 1927, the post office closed its doors when Miss Greenwood became too ill to run it any longer. She eventually sold the cottage in 1936.

The stone cottage that Miss Greenwood ran as a post office still stands in Wedderburn Road. It has been neglected for years though with only the external walls still remaining.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Macarthur Advertiser 9.2.1994

HOLMES, Marie
"Wedderburn" in Grist Mills Vol. 10, No.2
April 1997

We Need Your Help!

Campbelltown Library recently had some photographs donated to us. One of these photographs (above) is of a Fisher's Ghost Festival street parade in the early 1960s. The image shows a large group of girls in front of a banner that reads "The Flying Garlands" (click on the image for a larger view). Behind this banner are others that read Please Help! Note the young girl at the front about to perform a hand stand.

The photograph is taken in Queen Street near the corner of Browne Street. In the background is the old Macquarie Cinema demolished in 1979 and a house now also demolished.

Does anyone know who the flying garlands were? Please let us know.

Written by Andrew Allen

Update

One of our library staff located a State Library photograph of a group of girls performing acrobatics in the same parade on the same day. The photo has a caption of "Parade and fete in Campbelltown to aid the Beverley Park Orthopaedic Hospital for handicapped children". It is dated the 5th of September, 1957.