Colonial Robert Watkin Savage                              (2nd AIF and Royal Australian Signals Corps)
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Colonial Robert Watkin Savage (2nd AIF and Royal Australian Signals Corps)

Concord Man chosen to command AIF Ski School Bob Savage (born 30 September 1906) had a lifelong interest in the military, starting when he joined the militia at the age of 14. He was commissioned into the ‘Militia Signals Corps’ (Royal Australian Corps of Signals), in 1927 and was promoted to Captain in 1933. He…

Lest We Forget: John “Jack” Milton Booth
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Lest We Forget: John “Jack” Milton Booth

As we prepare for Anzac Day 2025, our family reflects on the uncle we never had the chance to meet, the young boy from Rhodes who answered the call for King and the Empire. John “Jack” Milton Booth was born in Ashfield, NSW on 1st May 1922, the eldest child of Robert and Vivienne Booth….

The Millinery Trade
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The Millinery Trade

Gladys Leslie who lived at 289 Concord Road, Concord ran a small dressmaking and millinery business from home during the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was an occupation that women were able to continue in after marriage and children. Gladys originally learnt dressmaking and tailoring in Lithgow, before joining a millinery firm in Sydney before marriage…

Charles Bergevin (Langevin): A Canadian Convict at the Longbottom Stockade
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Charles Bergevin (Langevin): A Canadian Convict at the Longbottom Stockade

by A.J. Bergevin In November 2024 I embarked on a journey to research my ancestral grandfather, Charles Bergevin, who was a prisoner at the Longbottom Stockade. I visited the City of Canada Bay Museum, where there was a display and information about the Longbottom Stockade, as well as the Canadian exile monument in Bayview Park….

Lois Michel, her legacy and her wedding dress
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Lois Michel, her legacy and her wedding dress

Lois Michel OAM is a living treasure of the City of Canada Bay Heritage Society. Lois has been the Secretary of the Society since the inception of the Concord Heritage Society in 1969 only stepping down this year due to poor health. The City of Canada Bay Heritage Society was formed by the amalgamation of…

pen sketch

I Remember – Do You?

I remember when the loo was a dunny, And the pan man came at night; It wasn’t the least bit funny Going out the back with no light. The interesting items we perusedFrom the newspapers cut into squaresAnd hung from a peg in the outhouse –It took little then to keep us amused. The clothes…

I Remember …

Starched circular petticoats which stood up by themselves after being ironed Listening to the “Argonauts” and “Yes What” on the wireless Taking the billy can out to meet the milkman in the morning. It was filled from the huge milk cans on the back of a horse-drawn cart. Catching the tram to school. The fare…

Memories of Old Concord

I was very interested in Mr. Stanton’s article on old Concord. I would like to add to it. I have been waiting for an abler pen than mine. I went to Concord School 72 years ago (1889). Concord School then was a small weatherboard building on the corner facing Burwood Road (Wharf Road) about fifty…

Kit Johnston – Memories

Kit Johnston (c1978) I came to Concord 63 years ago and have seen many changes. Our road, Alexandra Street, was not made and we had no kerb and guttering and no concrete footpaths. As a matter of fact, the road was so bad, I was coming home from Burwood and the pram with my young…

John and Mary Bray

John and Mary Bray

Private John Bray and his wife Mary reached Sydney in June 1790 on board the Neptune with the first detachment of the New South Wales Corps. Within three years John Bray had been promoted to the rank of sergeant and on 11th November 1794 he was granted thirty acres of land at the “Entrance of…