It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved member, Hazel King, on 31st August. She was a dedicated guide on our Open Days at Yaralla and Rivendell and, in 2021, was awarded an OAM for her service to horticulture and to community history. Hazel’s father was employed as the head…
At about 9:30 pm on Saturday, 27th July 1935, there was a loud explosion coming from the vicinity of the Concord Quarry in Ian Parade, opposite Exile Bay. People living nearby immediately contacted the police when they could hear shrieks of distress coming from the area. When Constable Adams, who was on his way to…
An Inspired Life Although now largely forgotten, George Cummins lived a remarkable life, inspiring all who knew him by his achievements as much as his generous spirit. He was a leader on the sporting field, an officer in both world wars, an admired teacher and a much-loved family doctor. Born 17 June 1886 on Dumaresque…
In April 2023, unbeknown to us, author Vanessa Berry visited our museum and left this comment on our website. With Vanessa’s permission, we are sharing it with our many subscribers. On display in the City of Canada Bay Museum is a model of the car ferry that crosses the Parramatta River between Mortlake and Putney. Although officially…
A Naval Jacket (c late 19th Century) A dark navy blue wool serge, double-breasted naval “under dress” uniform with gold braid trim and 8 rows of brass buttons. It was worn by Lieutenant-Commander Rupert Oswald Jones, OBE, RNR (Rd.). The style is traditional to the late 19th Century Royal Navy uniforms but with a twisted…
“They” say we have no history, but “they” don’t understand. We know it’s steeped in history, it’s a proud and ancient land. Hume and Hovell, Burke and Wills made tracks across the years; Each wrote a page of history, in blood and sweat and tears. Other lands have Beech and Oak and Chestnut wide and…
Abbotsford was known as Bigi Bigi by the Wangal, the traditional owners of much of the land along the southern bank of the Burramattagal (Parramatta) River and its adjacent estuarine wetlands. It was a traditional meeting place for the Wangal providing an abundance of fish, eels and shellfish, as evidenced by the eroded middens of…
We were recently contacted by Christine, who now resided in Western Australia. She has a solid wooden chair that originally came from the Ramp Wards at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, which she would like to donate to our museum. However, we have a problem. It is large and quite heavy and we don’t have the…
Prior to settlement. the area now known as the City of Canada Bay was occupied by the Wann-gal clan (also often referred to as ‘Wangal’) whose name was derived from the word for their country. The Wann-gal were a clan of the Darug (sometimes spelt Dharug) tribe or language group. They called themselves the Eora,…
On Saturday, 1st July, 2023 Lois and I attended the 65th Annual Changeover Dinner of the Rotary Club of Concord, held at the Concord Golf Club as guests of the outgoing president, Allan Petersen. After enjoying a lovely meal we came to the business of the evening. As part of this, we were totally surprised…
The Beginning of the Motor Industry in Australia It is very fitting that my Grandfather, Arthur Edwin Wood begins this story with his own words: “Evolution of the Motor Industry and the Man Behind the Wheel…This is the story of a beginning – the beginning of a new era in Australian history. It is the…
In the early hours of Tuesday, 6 June 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in the history of warfare began. The noise of war reverberated along 50 miles of the Normandy coast. Whilst the crackle of gunfire and rumble of explosions filled the ears of those landing on French soil that day, those on Sword Beach…
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