Along Drummoyne’s main thoroughfares there are signs attached to some of the street furniture. They are not advertising, as one might expect, but an apparent jumble of words suggesting what some of our senior citizens remember about the Drummoyne they knew as children. The word association triggers a compilation of images that reminds us of…
Coin Tester & Sorting Machine This is a brown metal container approximately 300mm high, 300mm wide and 300mm deep. There are two slots at the top, with different widths, which, one could assume, would take the one shilling and two shilling coins. There is another opening at the bottom just above the long tray which,…
I was born in 1941 at Carinya Hospital on Concord Road, about a block north of Holy Trinity Church near the then Methodist Church. The hospital is no longer there but the house still exists. My parents lived in Mackenzie Street from the time of their marriage in 1938. The property was originally purchased by…
Educational requirements of Concord were commenced in a private school conducted by Mrs. Love, near Bray Grove. On Mrs. Love’s demise, her daughter continued the school, with the address on her letters: “Miss Love, ‘Love Dale,’ Concord, opposite Kissing Point.” (Note: At that time Ryde was known as Kissing Point.) Some few years prior to…
Arnott’s was founded by William Arnott, who opened up the first factory in Newcastle in 1865. The macaw parrot has been the face of Arnott’s biscuits since the 1800s. While many people today would say the parrot is based on the native Australian bird, legend has it that the model used was actually a Mexican…
MAYOR DEFIED – A WOMAN INTRUDES A stormy scene developed at Concord Council last night in sharp contrast to the usually peaceful meetings of the municipality. The Mayor (Alderman Lee) left the chair and broke up the council meeting after having been defied by an alderman, and the police were called in to eject the offender….
This area has an extensive history well beyond the Longbottom Stockade that was established there. Although there is nothing of Longbottom to be seen there now, the area still holds a lot of Concord and Sydney’s history. “Longbottom” is a traditional English place name derived from the old word “bottom”, once used in the north…
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…
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…
Concord’s Infectious Diseases Register Councils were required to keep a register of infectious diseases under the Public Health Act, 1896 (Act No. 38, 60 Vic). (This book covers the period January 1898 to March 1970.) As the local authority, Concord Council was notified of cases within the municipality by attending medical practitioners. Upon advice, the…
The ‘world’s fastest man on water”, Ken Warby (83), died this month four decades after establishing his record-breaking speed of 411km/h. This was achieved by strapping a fighter jet engine onto the back of his speedboat Spirit of Australia. This record, set in 1978, has still not been broken. What many people don’t know is…
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming over thirty members of this group to our museum. They had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed looking for the various “curiosities” we had hidden around the museum and trying to identify them. Altogether they spent about two hours with us and all agreed it had been a…