The Water’s Edge

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Wherever waters rise or fall, there is a story. . 

ELLEN  WILLIAMS

Remembers time spent as a teenager at Leichhardt Baths, on the site of today’s Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre

 “They were wooden tidal baths. They were very nice at high tide but they were a little bit on the nose when it was low tide. … We used to have our races every Sunday morning, and when we had the carnivals … it used to get packed with people coming down to see us.”

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HOWARD  HORWOOD   

On working at Mort’s Dockyard, Balmain in the 1950s

  “I’ve seen some terrible accidents on the waterfront … I’ve seen a couple of guys fall into the Dock and killed. … You’d see a hell of a lot of accidents on the waterfront … It was part of the game.”

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 ROSE WALKER

On Balmain’s foreshore in the 1930s and ‘40s

 “We used to go down to the small beach that was down at Birchgrove Park. We’d paddle in the water and go and watch the 18 footers go out of the boat sheds, they’d be all decked out to go down the harbour to sail in the races on Saturdays and Sundays, that would have been in the late ‘30s.

 As far as I know, most of the boat sheds are not there now – on one side of the bay units were built, the boat sheds were pulled down and they built these new units. We used to walk down Louisa Road, through the park and go down to Long Nose Point. We’d spend the afternoon watching the boats go off; they used to sail them around Cockatoo Island, this was during the early parts of world war 2.

 Down at Elkington Park we’d see the American war boats going in to Cockatoo Island for repairs and you’d hear them playing all the latest American songs, like before they were released here. “Deep in the Heart of Texas” was one song I remember. We’d sit in the park and you’d hear these songs coming across the water from Cockatoo. You know, I‘ve been to Singapore and to Hong Kong, and I still believe Sydney’s got one of the best harbours in the world.”

 We want to hear from you – share your stories of life at the water’s edge in the Annandale, Balmain and Leichhardt area with us! – simply post your memories below. .

at the water’s edge : History Week 2008 September 6-14

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We are celebrating life at the water’s edge during September!

 

Wherever waters rise or fall, there’s a story, and events across the Leichhardt area in September are a great opportunity to explore just how central the water’s edge has been since before European colonisation.
 
From photographic exhibitions, speakers nights to guided walks there’s plenty happening – download our events list here (requires PDF reader):dl_brochure_web1
And don’t forget we are  wanting to hear about your time spent ‘at the water’s edge’ – log on and share your memories – see the ‘MY WATER’S EDGE’ tab at the top of our masthead, and get typing!

 

'Open Council' – the Leichhardt experience

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On Friday 1st of August The Balmain Association launched their latest publication Open Council A New Era In Local Government  by Issy Wyner.

Issy Wyner was an Alderman and Councillor on Leichhardt Council for 25 years spanning 1959 – 1991 and Mayor of Leichhardt in 1989-1990. His work and experience make him a highly relevant author on the topic of Leichhardt’s experience with the principles of an ‘open council’ which advocated public participation and open government.

Wyner doesn’t hold back in his criticism of some of those he shared the Council table with, or of state governments of any colour. Open Council A New Era In Local Government  presents a very personal view of the local government experience post-war at Leichhardt Council.

Open Council is for sale at Leichhardt Library for $20.00

The horse trough on Johnston Street. .

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Some of you might have noticed the horse trough on Johnston Street, Annandale just outside Annandale North Public School. You may even have wondered about its story or stopped to have a closer look. If you have done the latter you would have noticed on the inside the words George & Annis Bills Australia. But what is the meaning behind these words? Who were these people? And why are their names there?

 

This is the story

It begins in 1859 when George Bills was born in Brighton England. He came to Australia as a young man and he and his brother established a wire mattress manufacturing business in Kent St Sydney, which operated successfully over many years.

 

During his lifetime George was a philanthropist, who took a keen interest in seeking out cases of human need and gave many thousands of pounds anonymously to assist needy people.

 

George Bills died 14th Dec, 1927 and his wife Annis died on the 20th June 1910. After providing some personal bequests, his will directed the income from the residue of his estate to be used to provide troughs for horses, and for the purpose of preventing cruelty, and the alleviating the suffering of animals in any country.

 

 

More than 500 troughs were erected in Australia, mostly in NSW and Victoria and some in overseas countries – England, Ireland, Switzerland (for donkeys) and Japan.In the early stages of trough supply, each was individually designed and constructed. One of the first was a granite Memorial trough, hewn in one piece as a memorial to Mr Bills. It was situated in Barton St, Hawthorne, Melbourne; the trough has long since been removed.

 

Later a standard design was adopted, and Rocla concrete products supplied many hundred of the troughs in Victoria and NSW. Troughs were supplied on application to the Bills Trust by local councils and truckloads of ten would often leave the factory for installation by a team of workmen. Most of the troughs were made and supplied in the 1930’s in Victoria.

 

The cumbersome steel & concrete moulds were later transferred to the Rocla factory in Junee NSW, where about 20 troughs were made in 1938. The moulds were then taken to Sydney where about 200 were made and supplied to various areas. However the growing use of motor vehicles caused a halt in demand and none were installed after World War 2.

 

 

A large number of troughs were erected in the streets of Sydney, but have been removed over the years. There is a growing interest in the restoration of those that remain.  Annandale resident and long time campaigner for the protection of Annandale’s built heritage Betty Mason told me recently that Council had planned to remove the trough in Johnston St in the 1970’s but a strong campaign by the Annandale Association saved it. Several attempts have been made to grow flowers in the trough over the years and thankfully the ones there now seem to have taken and are surviving, which is a great improvement on the weeds & refuse which gathered in the past.

 

David Lawrence, Annandale.

 

Further info. on Bills troughs can be found at:

 

http://members.iinet.net.au/~geogem/index5.htm

http://billshorsetroughs.spaces.live.com/

 

Images:

Bills Trough, Johnston Street, Annandale, 2008

Bell's Store and the Shipwrights Arms, Balmain East

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Leichhardt Council is currently developing a Conservation Plan for the c1880’s stone building at 2-8 Weston Street Balmain. Council’s planning team are looking for information on the site’s history and any photographs of the building and surrounds prior to 1963.

 

 

Sometimes called Bell’s Store the 1880s stone building, set on the western foreshore of Darling Harbour at East Balmain, was for many years a base for Fenwick & Co. Fenwick’s were one of the longest running waterfront industries in Balmain – the company established by John Fenwick and his brother Thomas operated in the suburb from 1870 until 1986 – becoming part of the Brambles group of companies that year.

 

It is not known whether Fenwick & Co operated from the site before their purchase in 1883 or whether the main feature of the site -the stepped gable boat store – was built by Fenwick or the Bells. The sale of Bell‘s shipyard to Fenwick & Co included a wharf, store and the Shipwrights Arms Hotel. Since the 1960s the Shipwrights Arms has been a private residence.

 

 

Contact Aaron Callaghan at Leichhardt Council on email aaronc@lmc.nsw.gov.au if you can assist with information or images of the site.

IMAGES:

Bell’s Store, Balmain East c1990

Shipwrights Arms Hotel, c1930 courtesy Noel Butlin Archives

 

 

 

 

 

NAIDOC '08 – National Aboriginal and Islander Week of Celebration

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Leichhardt Town Hall, 2006

“NAIDOC week” says Craig Greene, Leichhardt Council’s Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander project worker, “should be important to all Australians as it celebrates the people of the oldest living culture in the world – Aboriginal Australians! It acknowledges our survival and our continued connection to country, language and culture. It is also about Aboriginal people being proud as legitimate contributors to the nation as a whole”

 

A Gurindji man originally from the Northern Territory, Craig and his team have got together an inspiring programme of events in the Leichhardt area for NAIDOC week which runs from July 7-11, including a celebration of Indigenous film and story telling, a heritage walk in Callan Park and two events at Boomalli Aboriginal Arts Cooperative – you can download the full programme here: NAIDOC 2008 (PDF reader required)

 

More on the history of NAIDOC and its significance can be found at:

http://www.naidoc.org.au/history/default.aspx

IMAGE: Leichhardt Town Hall, 2006

Oral history : a storyteller’s approach

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The NSW branch of the Oral History Association of Australia is holding its next workshop/seminar late July. For anyone interested in the practice of oral history these seminars are worth attending – here are the details:

 

Date:

Saturday 26 July

Time:

10 am for 10.30 am to 4.45 PM

Venue:

Metcalfe Auditorium, Macquarie Street Wing foyer

Cost:

$48, $42 (Friends), $38 (Oral History Association of Australia members), includes lunch; morning or afternoon sessions $18 each ($30 with lunch)
Bookings telephone: 02 9273 1414

 

Anna Jarrett, professional — and travelling — storyteller, takes a fresh look at oral history philosophy and practice. This presentation gives insights into the sensitivities of working with stories at every stage of oral history production from research to final representation. Discover the roles of listeners, story custodians, community cultural workers, media producers — and friends! In the afternoon Rosemary Block, the State Library’s Curator of Oral History, will conduct a practical seminar on oral history practice.

Callan Park and Broughton Hall: An Urban Haven

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Compilation of a factual history of the Rozelle Hospital site and the evolution of its architecture has become urgent. The hospital had a continuous 160-year history of providing care for the community’s mentally ill, before closing its doors at the end of April, with all patients being transferred to Concord Hospital.

The site is an integral part of Leichhardt’s evolving built environment but the demolition of 117 of its current 176 buildings is proposed. Although necessary research on Callan Park’s grand stone buildings is largely complete, together with that on former estates, Garry Owen and Broughton Hall, the significance of the newer brick buildings on the site is often overlooked.

Rozelle Hospital, ca 1900

At the time, the hospital buildings of the 1950s and 1960s were regarded as innovative and long overdue. They are a visible statement about removing the social stigma previously attached to mental illness, together with the custodial (“asylum”) approach to its care and treatment. Although these newer buildings lack the charm and grandeur of the older hospital buildings, their functional design and brick construction symbolize an era of mental health reform: Callan Park’s high surrounding brick wall fell as these modern buildings rose.

“These buildings represent pivotal change in the history of public health care” architectural historian and editor of the Leichhardt Historical Journal Peter Reynolds said. Leichhardt Historical Journal, an independent journal that has published local history since 1971, is to produce a book titled Callan Park and Broughton Hall: An Urban Haven which will record all buildings on the former hospital site. “The Journal’s acquisition of original plans of these buildings will add enormous value to the book and should help the site’s long term conservation” he added.

Peter Reynolds is collaborating with architect Ken Leong on the book; Leong’s thesis Rozelle Hospital (1819-1984) its origins and development: the amalgamation of Callan Park Mental Hospital & Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic was completed in 1984 for the degree of Bachelor of Architecture at UNSW. For more information on the project contact: John Williams on email bhopal@sydney.net or visit www.lhj.org.au

Images

– Rozelle Hospital, ca 1900

– Aerial view of Callan Park and Rozelle Hospital, 2003