Yearly Archives: 2017

Preserving Food:  Have you ever heard your grandparents call a refrigerator an ‘icebox’? Have you ever wondered what an ‘icebox’ was? How did people keep food fresh back in the…

On Tuesday, 17th April, 1900, the Daily Telegraph published the following article: Through the courtesy of the trustees of the Walker Estate, the 5th Regiment (Scottish Rifles) camped for the…

The first NSW Military Unit with a Scottish Association was The Duke of Edinburgh's Highlanders formed in 1868. The Unit wore a kilt of Black Watch tartan and became known as the Highland…

If you cut too many corners you’ll just keep going around in circles Your problems are only as big as you make them The trouble with living alone is that…

Australian theatre has a long and distinguished history. It is a history which was influenced by both the United States and Britain. British born entrepreneurs were the fathers of Australian…

Fox Shot - Concord Raid A fox was shot at Concord this morning. It had a weather-worn collar around its neck and apparently had once been a pet.  For several…

Christmas is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus although there is no evidence he was born on that day. It was declared his birthday in 440 AD. In England Christmas…

Prior to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Scotland was a Catholic country rather than a Protestant one, trial marriages were very common. At annual fairs the unmarried of…

Here’s an idyllic, family scene, isn’t it? A little boy or a little girl crawling into his or her’s grandparents laps, cuddling them while the old folks whisper sweet things…

Australia cannot lay claim to any great empires or epic conquests, but we do have one distinction that no other nation on Earth can boast: we are the only country…

These decorative brass tins were sent by Princess Mary to members of the British, Colonial and Indian Armed Forces for Christmas 1914. Over 426,000 of them were distributed to those…

Get ready for Christmas now - it’s closer than you think. (Read instructions carefully) 1 cup butter          1 cup sugar          4 large eggs …

The struggle for a station at North Strathfield was very much a people's struggle. In the early 1900s there had been a general acknowledgment of the need for a station…

You hear this argument all the time these days. Everything is made of plastic. It’s never built to last. It breaks when you sneeze on it or drop it once.…

Memorial gates erected by parishioners and friends commemorate philanthropist Dame Eadith Walker. Dame Eadith Campbell Walker (1861-1937), philanthropist, was born on 18 September 1861 at The Rocks, Sydney, only child…

The passing of Dame Eadith Walker has left a great blank in the life of the community. From the earliest days of the colony her father was connected with its…

In November 1827 Governor Darling received a letter from Lord Bathurst, Secretary of state for the Colonies, authorising the expenditure £200 a year on founding and maintaining a museum for…

We recently received a donation of this set of framed photographs of several boats which carried the inscription:  Presented to P. Edwards, Esq., by the boys of the Concord Dinghi…

Sydney is made up of many fascinating suburbs and areas, many of which are such a normal part of Sydneysiders lives that they spare little thought for the history of…

Following the death of Alfred Llewellyn Bray, the first Mayor of Concord, his home “Braygrove” was purchased by R. Tulloch & Company and in 1915 the Iron Works transferred from…

The Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney is a series of late-nineteenth-century commercial maps that provides a portrait of the city during a period of rapid growth and suburbanisation. It…

Jack, age 87, and Jill, age 79, are excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding and on the way they pass…

We'd like to share with you a couple of items from David Sansome's talk at our map unveiling. The photograph, circa 1900, is of Parramatta Road, Five Dock.   The…

Catering for the swimming fraternity in the days before Environmental Impact Statements were invented wasn't a difficult matter if the enterpreneurial activities of the Fisher family at Five Dock Bay…

Cavill migrated to Australia, reaching Melbourne with his family in February 1879.  He soon moved to Sydney and set up as a 'professor of swimming' at his Lavender Bay Baths. …

For many years one of the Blue Mountains’ most distinctive landmarks was a large white cross on the cliff-edge at Mount York which could be glimpsed from the highway between…

At 16 I left home in Balgownie to live with my grandmother in Darlinghurst so I could get a job. I had developed into a fine young woman, the change…

Found in our collection was this stunning outfit.   Unfortunately we don't know anything about it. The only clue we have is an attached piece of paper saying it was…

If you didn't attend our August event you missed a great day.  Betty Candy's talk was a great success bringing over 60 guests to hear her. It's amazing how many…

With the invention of the pendulum clock in 1656, Christiaan Huygens increased the best accuracy of clocks from 15 minutes deviation a day to around 15 seconds a day An…

In the 1840's the most select residences in Sydney were a row of five houses in Liverpool Street called Lyons Terrace, facing the south end of Hyde Park. Elegantly attractive,…

Having ascertained that many bakers had been supplying shortweight bread of inferior quality, His Honour the Lieutenant-Gover­nor announced that production and sale of bread would be controlled. All persons who…

Little is known about the early life of Henry Brewer, one of the first free settlers to receive a land grant in Concord. Born in 1739, he must have spent…

An interesting souvenir of the opening of the first railway in New South Wales from Sydney to Parramatta Junction is a miniature bucket. When the railway was opened on September…

Historians use historical maps for several purposes:  as useful tools for reconstructing the past, to the extent that maps provide records of features, landscapes, cities and places that may not…

Mortlake was originally 30 hectares of land granted to John Miller, John Robertson and Benjamin Butcher in July 1795. This land was subsequently acquired by John Ward and then by…

In 1825, one James Bibb, an enterprising spirit built a hostelry in a clearing by the stately gumtrees at Abbotsford Point on the Parramatta River, and soon the "Red Cow…

The first rugby club to represent the district was Burwood, which competed in the Sydney Metropolitan Competition until the introduction of district rugby.  The club was formed in 1900 but…

Way back in the early days of our society we were researching some of the old buildings in the area. One which aroused our curiosity was the ancient hotel, the…

While browsing the internet recently, researching our August speaker, I came across an article by Cleo Braithwaite, who said:  There is a floating forest growing out of a shipwreck in…

From Bennelong Parkway From Homebush Bay Drive, turning into Australia Avenue, passing Bicentennial Park main entrance, turn right at Bennelong Parkway, follow the signs to the Archery Centre, veering right…

Lets say that your great-great-great uncle Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. A cousin has supplied you…

Ardill House, originally called Clermont House, was constructed in 1861 on a grant to Henry Bray, third Mayor of Concord.  Henry died in 1896. Subdivision of the estate began in…

A tale of one persons dedication. Keith was born in Moss Vale in 1933 and, aged 14 months, became a resident at Rosslyn Hall, Rockdale. This Home was a link…

Macquarie's Military Hospital - Fort Street School - National Trust Centre As the NSW National Trust celebrates its 70th anniversary in April this year (2015), another important `birthday' will be…

Turning the First Sod The ceremony of turning the first sod of the tramway line, which is to connect the suburb of Enfield with Mortlake, was performed yesterday afternoon by…

Cockatoo Island was largely undisturbed until 1839 when Governer Gipps chose it for the site of a new penal establishment to alleviate overcrowding on Norfolk Island. Convicts were put to…

By 1916 three hundred men from Concord had enlisted, eleven had died, twenty-one wounded and five invalided home. They went to Gallipoli, France, the deserts of Egypt and North Africa.…

A prominent Sydney physician, Dr George Fortescue, bought an estate on the Parramatta River in 1851. He named the area “Chiswick” after the village on the Thames River and his…

CYCLISTS! YOUR KING & COUNTRY NEED YOU! New cyclists battalions to be raised at once.   Who will ride in the ranks of the famous Essex regiment?   Unique opportunities…

The question of what becomes of beer confiscated by the police in raids upon sly grog shops was raised at Burwood Court yesterday. Mr. Williams S.M., said that he thought that the…

At the first mention of the word “Denison” we immediately think of Fort Denison. I am sure that the builders of our complex had a former governor in mind when…

This post is about the shocking murder of two innocent men during the botched robbery of the local toll-gate at Parramatta in 1814. In addition to the two deaths another two men…

Exploring the oldest road in Australia, George Street.  The content is from a frail old book The Story of Old George Street – A Chapter in Old Sydney (1920) by Charles H.…

The opening of Concord West railway station in 1887 led to an increase of population in that area and the Catholic Church saw the need to establish a church so,…

The NSW suburb of Abbotsford was originally part of Five Dock farm and takes its name from our own Abbotsford House.   Our Abbotsford House was built in 1878 by…

When Europeans arrived in 1788 Homebush Bay consisted of extensive tidal wetlands and thick bush. The area was first known as ‘The Flats’, and was recorded by Captain John Hunter…

Before he 19th century, most women just wore nothing beneath their chemises.  The no knickers thing was not as scandalous as you might think, dresses were long and worn with…

I don't think our kids know what an apron is The principal use of Grandmas's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because…

As previously explained, the Bailey and Cashman families took over the crossing service from about 1832 or soon after – both families competed for customers, each having a boat ready…

Just inside the main entrance to Parramatta Park is an obelisk which marks the spot where Lady Mary Fitzroy, wife of Sir Charles Fitzroy, former Governor of New South Wales,…