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 is Green Point, previously called Bachelor’s Point, which was refurbished in 2019 and renamed Wangal Reserve, in recognition of the traditional owners whose lands stretched along the southern shore of the Parramatta River (Burramattagal) from Blackwattle Bay to Silverwater.
At the northern end of the reserve was a community dance hall, a popular venue on a Saturday night. In the distance can be seen the Dutch-style gatehouse marking the entrance to “Rivendell”, formerly Thomas Walker Hospital, completed in 1893 by Dame Eadith Walker in memory of her father.
In the opposite direction, taken from the same vantage point is Tennyson Road, formerly Wharf Road and once part of Burwood Road that snaked its way across country to link with the current Burwood Road. At the top of the hill the AGL works can be made out with one of its gasholders visible on the left.
Cows can be seen grazing near the tramway about halfway up the hill. The village of Mortake is scattered about with houses and a few stores well-spaced out. Many of the workers at the gas works came to work on the tram that ran between Enfield and Mortlake via Burwood.
Why do some Honour Rolls in Australia use the American spelling of “Honor”? Honour rolls were first used in America circa 1905. Communities erected them to remember those who fought in the American Civil War. The rolls appeared in churches, schools and community centres rather than official spaces. The first honour rolls in Australia adopted…
Governments borrowed heavily to pay for the war. They issued government bonds and raised taxes to pay growing interest debt. The result was increasing inflationary pressure, higher cost of living and an erosion of wealth for those on fixed incomes and pensions. Shortages of manpower as a result of war casualties lead to increased wages,…
When news reached Australia in August 1914 that Britain and Germany were at war, more than 50,000 men enlisted within a week, while Prime Minister Andrew Fisher promised that Australia would defend the mother country, “to the last man and the last shilling”. The immediate priority was to remove the threat posed by the German…
If you look at enough Great War memorials, it becomes apparent there is little uniformity in the way they are presented. Some list names in alphabetical order, others separate these by rank or in the order individuals enlisted. Before 1927 there was no national agency to collect the names of those who served or died…
Fifty-seven years ago, on the 25 February 1961, Sydney’s last electric trams operated on the La Perouse and Maroubra Beach lines. The last day of trams is a great date to remember for trivia nights. This wonderful image taken by D.R. Keenan shows an R1 class tram at Maroubra Junction on the day. It was…
Permission Refused The following article was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, 20 February, 1922. The introduction of boxing into the district is objected to by the Central Concord Progress Association which has written to the local council protesting against the granting of an application for permission to hold a contest in a…
