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…
Most residents of Mortlake-Cabarita and Breakfast Point know the Palace Hotel in Tennyson Road. Opened in 1926, the Palace has been synonymous with the changing character and fortunes of the district. Some residents might also be aware of an earlier Palace Hotel – the only reminder of which is Palace Lane, a pedestrian thoroughfare between…
Gale Street, Mortlake Gale Street is a busy thoroughfare between Tennyson Road and the junction of Mortlake Street and Brays Road. Most travellers pass through Gale Street without realising that it is a distinct entity with a history going back more than a hundred years. Originally, Gale Street formed part of Burwood Road, a serpentine…
Peter Whittaker was born in 1868 in Altrincham, Wilmslow, England. He arrived in Brisbane in March 1891, where he joined the Royal Australian Artillery the following year. In 1904 he resigned with the rank of Corporal. He married Blanche Bushell in 1898. They had four children – two sons, Eugene and Norman, and two daughters,…
The boat shed at the bottom of Hilly Street, looking towards Green Point, taken from the top of Montgomery’s Palace Hotel c1920s. The Mortlake-Putney Punt now crosses the Parramatta River from this spot. Nearby is a small beach, known as Fairmile Cove, where naval boats were assembled during World War II. In the middle distance…
At the time of the First World War there was little understanding of what today is termed post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD). Returned soldiers often suffered lingering psychological damage which, although largely unrecognised, was at least as debilitating as physical injuries. Doctors were generally reluctant to diagnose a patient with shell shock, attributing their condition to…