Monthly Archives: June 2011

Balmain Bachelors’ Club

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Last week a lady named Laurelle donated a series of fantastic historic photographs of the Balmain Bachelors’ Club.  A few of the photographs are from the Annual Balmain & District Hospital Ball.

Man in back row & White Hat: Angus Gray hon. secretary of Balmain Bachelors Club

One photograph is dated June  1910, with an attendance of 550 people over two nights in the Balmain Town Hall. The other photos are dated 1912 with a total of 5 annual Balls under the auspicies of the Balmain Bachelors’ Society. These balls were  well organised, beautifully decorated fundraising events  of 550 people, bunting palms and other greenery decorated the town hall, with high profile public figures attending.

The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 31 July 1909 writes…..

A Ball in aid of the Balmain and District Hospital was held in the Local Town Hall on Wednesday evening, under the auspices of the Balmain Bachelors’ Society. About 150 couples were present, including the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs Minty) Alderman Lawes (President of the Hospital board), Mr J Goodsir (vice president) and many other public men, accompanied by their wives and daughters. Dancing began soon after 8 o’clock and was kept up with unflagging spirit all the evening. The arrangements, made and carried out by the committee, were complete and the ball was voted as one of the most delightful of the kind held in the Borough, During an interval Mr Angus Gray, hon. secretary to the Bachelors’ Society, stated that the hospital funds would benefit. Raising each year between £ 150 -£ 250 (SMH 31 July 1909)


Does anyone have any stories or information on the Balmain Bachelors’ Club


The everlasting mural…. 30 years so far!!!

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Annandale mural, The Crescent, Annandale, 2010


In August 2010 The Inner West Courier featured a story dedicated to  Rodney Monk’s much loved and well known Mural at The Crescent. Never has a man received as much attention from truck drivers as when Rodney Monk posed in front of the 30 yr old mural he painted in 1980. The sprawling mural at The crescent has been described as “the peoples mural.”

It has provided a colourful backdrop for Annandale residents and commuters passing the crescent daily for the last 30 years. The work was commissioned in  1980 and is packed with political messages and acts as a snapshot of the era. Bruce Lay explores the  mural which was evidentally in poor condition so so in 2003 Leichhardt Council allocated $10,000 and it was re-painted in 2003/2004 with Rodney Monk invited to tender to consider the involvement of other artist.

Many of the symbols and consensual expression of the concerns and issues that were originally  represented in the mural are concerns and values that remain strongly held today, in light of which it has been well respected and cared for over the years with minimal tagging and alteration.

Leichhardt Council has deemed the work so socially significant it has supported a study into it’s history which has been completed by Bruce Lay of  Heritage Solutions.  Bruce Lay explores the social and political history of murals and Public art in the Whitlam era with a acute focus on the Annandale Mural.

“‘The Mural in The Crescent was the community activism spurred by key events such as opposition to the Vietnam War and the sacking of the Whitlam government, but also social movements around personal liberation including sexuality, gender, racism and ethnicity, and the self- expression of alternative lifestyles and cultural activities.” (Lay 2010) Please find the full study in the link below.

Annandale Public School 125th anniversery 1886 -2011

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Annandale is one of Sydney’s oldest suburbs, steeped in history with the original land grant given to Lieut.Col. to George Johnston in 1793. Developed mainly between 1870 and 1913,  it was a model town, there was even a competition to design it. This planning led to a number of wide open streets in the suburb, a rarity in most inner city areas. There was a time towards the end of the last century when to have a Johnston Street address was to see yourself well up on the social ladder. Johnston Street is one of the widest and most impressive in Sydney, named after George Johnston, solider and “first fleeter” who joined the notorious NSW Corps and rose rapidly through the ranks.

In August this year Annandale Public school located at 25 Johnston Street, will celebrate it’s 125th anniversary which opened on the 31st August 1886.

The school-house was originally built of brick upon1 stone foundation’s, and furnished accommodation for about 600 children. It is a plain hut substantial building, and well suited for the requirements of the neighbourhood. The building comprises four large school-rooms, two class- rooms, and a master’s and teachers’ room. It was furnished throughout with the latest appliances, and was well furnished with desks and other school furniture.   SMH August 1886

Annandale Public School, infants dept.

For many years between 1886 – 1920 it was referred to Annandale Superior Public School

The original Sandstone gates of Annandale House were moved to the front of Annandale Public  School in 1976.

Annandale Gates

The gates originally stood just off Parramatta Road, on the crest of the hill, on the south side, where the Globe Cinema stood until 1988 and where a row of three businesses including a computer outlet stand today at 192 Parramatta Road.  At the centre of each gate hung a cast iron shield featuring the Johnston crest, the flying spur. From the gates an avenue of Norfolk Island pines led south to the house.

Dating the gates is not easy in the absence of documentary evidence, but the impression stylistically that they date from about 1875-1880 is consistent with the changing situation of the Johnston family at that time.The gates had been removed and re-erected at Liverpool showground and subsequently dismantled again. In 1972, they were located by the Annandale Association in storage at Liverpool Council’s depot. Liverpool Council presented the gates to Leichhardt Council in 1972, to commemorate Leichhardt’s municipal centenary. In 1976 it was agreed that they should be included in the landscaping by the Department of Education of the area, now part of the school grounds, where the house “Greyholme” had stood. The Education Department, the school’s headmaster Mr P. Bracks, Leichhardt Council and the Annandale Association agreed to this proposal.

Sources: “Our History” Annandale Public School 1886-1986

Leichhardt Local History Vertical files.

Keep posted for the new publication of Annandale Public School 1886 – 2011 being compiled by the current P&C.

Oral history @ the library

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Oral history is the recording of memories of people’s unique life experiences. Often the only way to find out about the past is to ask someone who knows about it. Through oral history the past comes alive.

THE COLLECTION

Since 1997 we have interviewing people to capture their memories of living and working in the area in earlier times. Interviews are conducted by volunteers, local history staff and oral historians that are funded through Leichhardt Council’s Local History Grants programme.  At present 120 interviews are held in digital format and will be going online later this year.

WHAT AREA HAS BEEN COVERED BY THE INTERVIEWS?

The Oral History Collection covers all parts of the Leichhardt local government area, which comprises the suburbs of Annandale, Balmain, Birchgrove, Leichhardt, Lilyfield and Rozelle. Between 1968 and 2003 the suburbs of Glebe and Forest Lodge also came within the Leichhardt area, so the collection includes interviews relating to those suburbs undertaken between 1997 and mid-2003.

WHO HAS BEEN INTERVIEWED?

Interviews have mostly been with people who have had a long association with the area. Some of them grew up in the area and went to school here and tell about their memories of childhood and growing up. Others worked in local industries and remember their working lives, working conditions, etc. Some owned small businesses in the area. Many interviewees have useful and interesting comments to make about social conditions in the area during the Depression, about jobs and industries which have now disappeared, and about local businesses and corner shops which are no more.

WHY INTERVIEWS?

Hearing the voices of people who actually experienced the times they are describing makes history come alive in a unique and fascinating way. Their reminiscences greatly add to our understanding of the social history of the Leichhardt area, and in many instances, if these memories had not been recorded they would now be lost forever. People can often be much more interesting than documents, and they often have anecdotes to tell which will not be found in the formal records.

Oral history interviewees Molly Mc Sullea, Peter Flaherty and Howard Horwood

COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

The Fishermen of Iron Cove

A collection of 12 interviews undertaken by oral historian Annette Salt in 2006 with the Italian fishing community of Iron Cove

Rozelle Hospital Project

11 interviews undertaken by oral historian Roslyn Burge in 2008/9 with former workers of Rozelle Hospital and its parent institutions Callan Park Mental Asylum and Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic.

Transforming the Local

20 interviews  by oral historian Paula Hamilton and community volunteers on social and cultural changes in the Balmain area since the 1960s. Interviewees included long-term residents and those who moved into the area in the1970s and 80s. More information on this project can be found at www.transformingthelocal.net.au

Leichhardt’s Environment

10 interviews undertaken by the library’s local history staff and community volunteers on environmental change. Interviewees included bushcare and community garden volunteers, local environmental activists and Leichhardt Council staff such as planners and engineers.

With My Heart On My Sleeve – the Weroona Life Stories Project

11 interviews with residents of Weroona Nusing Home, Lilyfield.

Saving 2.6

Our current project exploring the experiences of local residents who fought to save Ballast Point  -a 2.6ha headland in Birchgrove- for community open space.

For more information on our oral history collection and projects contact us at localhistory@lmc.nsw.gov.au or telephone 02 9367 9266

Annandale House

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In 1793 George Johnston received a grant of 100 acres on Parramatta Road later additional 290 acres was granted and the suburb was named after his birth place in Scotland. The house was entered through the gates situated on Parramatta Road and was marked by an avenue of Norfolk Island Pines.               

 

 

Prior to Annandale being established as a suburb it was a farm that was governed by the Johnston family who owned Annandale House which was built in 1799. the house no longer exists however it was one of the first large brick buildings in the colony and was convict built.  The estate was like a miniature township, with a butcher, bakery, smithy, stores and out houses. At one point the property even had an orangeries. Which is said to have produced the juiciest oranges in the colony and a vineyard. In 1832 Annandale Farm was considered “One of the Most complete farms in the neighbourhood of Sydney” The original Sandstone gates of Annandale House were moved to the front of Annandale Public  School in 1976.