The Hordern business was originally established by a free immigrant from England, Anthony Hordern, in 1823, as a drapery shop. A further large menswear store was later opened in upper George Street. It went on to become Anthony Hordern & Sons with a famous department store in Sydney. One of its advertising slogans was that…
The image, from a postcard dating to the first 10 years of the 20th century, is an evocative glimpse into a business that has long been linked to Martin Place (then Moore Street). Martin Place had long been a bustling hive of activity, full of people going about their daily work. This bustling activity made…
Our member and dedicated guide for the Walker Open Days, Hazel King, was recently awarded an OAM for her service to horticulture and to community history. Over 90 years ago her father came to Australia from England, where he had worked as head gardener on a large estate. He obtained employment, as head gardener, on…
Australians can be an ingenious bunch. Here are some of the best inventions to have come out of the nation. Black box flight recorder: This has helped make commercial air travel the world’s safest form of travel. It was invented by Australian scientist Dr David Warren, who lost his own father to an aircraft tragedy in…
Arnott’s always had a good eye for advertising. There were colourful posters that shops could put in their window, but it was for its tins that Arnott’s was always justly famous. The brightly decorated biscuit containers became synonymous with the company – like the red trucks, they were the public face of the company, they…
Extract from my autobiography (an unfinished project) by Peter Bryant In the 1920s, some of Concord’s large estates like “Yaralla” on the Parramatta River, were subdivided and made available for housing. By 1926, the year my mother and father married, new streets and avenues had been laid out. They ran down to the edge of…
Industrialisation in Europe and North America in the late nineteenth century engendered a wave of populist nationalism across the world. People who had once regarded themselves as having an affinity with a particular region, now thought in terms of their national identity. The idea in popular culture of a set of values that was unique…
I knew the Farleigh Nettheim tannery at Concord during my childhood days. I was born in 1935 and lived with my family at No. 6 Finch Avenue. Our back gate opened onto the eastern end of Crane Street which we always referred to as “the back lane” since it was an unpaved dirt road that…
As a tribute to the 20th Anniversary of the Sydney Olympic Games our museum had planned a special display. Unfortunately, COVID-19 intervened and we had to postpone it. However, with things improving and the upcoming Tokyo Games we will now go ahead as planned in July. Our guest speaker for July will be Kerrie Quee,…
1896: Edwin Flack becomes Australia’s first Olympian. The first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens from 5 to 10 April 1896. Edwin Flack, an accountant and Australasian champion runner, is considered Australia’s first Olympian. He won the 800-metre and 1500-metre sprints, took part in the marathon and won a bronze medal…
In August 1916, Private Douglas Grant departed Australia on a troop carrier bound for the United Kingdom. Like thousands of other young Australian men, Grant had signed up for the AIF and wound up fighting in the trenches on the Western Front in France. The Germans captured Grant in June 1917 and he spent the…
THIS SAMPLER was embroidered by Maria Darling in 1834. It demonstrates her skill with embroidering letters and numbers as well as various designs within a border. The verse reads: What is the world, all things hereTis but a bitter sweet.When I attempt a rose to pluck,A prickling thorn I meet. This is one of the…
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