P H O T O G R A W I C C O M P E T I T I O N Publicity cont. C O M I N G E V E N T S/

Our major activity since the last general meeting has been organizingthe ground work for the forthcoming Photographic Competition.

As previously recited to you verbally, the Head Office of the Common,wealth Savings Bank in Martin Place has agreed to display the acceptedentries in the main Banking Chamber from 8th to 29th April next, overthe Easter holiday period, when the Exhibition will be on view to manythousands of the Bank's customers.

To supplement the Competition display, well-known Sydney and Balmainresident photographer. Mr. Hal Wise, will be doing a pictorial projecton Balmain and its People which will point up human interest and resi-denti al activities, and we hope also to cooperate with the Historicalsub-committee to produce for display some panels of historic data andphotographs.

The Competition opens 1st December and entries must be in by 29thF ebruary.

Full details and entry forms will be available at the General Meeting on7th December ... or they may be obtained by sending a stamped,self-addressed envelope to

"PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION",B O X 5 7 P. O . , B A L M A I N .

REMEMBER ... THIS COMPETITION IS OPEN TO ALL ASSOCIATION MEMBERS, THEIR FRIENDS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC .

THE SUBJECT MATTER, HOWEVER, MUST HAVE BEENPHOTOGRAPHED IN BALMAIN, AND THE FHOTO-G B A P H TA K E N B Y T H E E N T R A N T.

Photographs may be submitted in colour or monocrome and the JudgingPanel comprises six of Sydney's top rankers in their respective judgingfi e l d s .

SILVER and BRONZE Medallions will be awarded in the various Sectionsand a major TROPHY presented for the outstanding entry cf the Competit i o n .

Every member is asked to publicise this event and encoiuage as manypeople as possible to enter.

The whole aim of the Competition is to get people to come into thearea and to get to know it as other than just a place for containerberths, storage depots and obnoxious, industrial activities.There will also be a showing of the colour transparencies in the BalmainTown Hall on the nights of April 30, «knd May 1 and 2.

Further publicity will appear in photographic magazines, suburban anddaily Press and we will endeavour to get T.V. coverage, too, laterwhen die time is ripe.

A lot of hard work has already gone into this project and willcontinue togo into it ri^t up till the date when the last entries are packed up anddespatched <rff back to owners, so we do look forward to the usual wonderful support we always get from members and their friends.

o o o O O O o o o

N O E L *' Noel .. . . Your Management Committee edtends to allAssociation members sincere good wishes for a

MERRY CHRISTMAS C A HAPPY NEW YEAR**

W h a t h a s n o w b e c o m e k n o w n a s T H E A N N U A L C H R I S T M A S

^ B A R B E C U Ew i l l a g a i n b e h a l d a t 2 N u m a S t r e e t , L o n g N o s e

P o i n t8 p . m . t i l l t h e fi r e s b u r n c o l d . " . ' .

Once more we s incerdy thank Mr. and Mrs L . Masterman forlet t ing us use their extensive water f ront area, and al l members arereminded that there is NO CHARGE for this night's outing and that theymay bring the whole family and as many friends as they wish.A REMINDER ALSO to bring your own steaks, snags , etc. an d liquidrefreshments - as well as some currency for the

R A F F L E T I C K E T S

which wiU be sold during the evening. Be seeing you there '.

C H R I S T M A S C A R D S

Association Christmas Cards will again be available at the next GeneralMeeting. Early supplies ran low and we had to get some mcfte printed.

Four local edifices have been drawn by Mrs. Lorraine Power, over fourdifferent colour washes and the cards have been done up in packs of8 for $1. They are almost too good to mail away.

Idea **♦♦ why not buy a set for framing ??????

P L I E S . M O R T ' S D O C K A P P E A LW E F I G H T O N . E S S O A P P E A L .A R E D U E . F E R R Y S E R V I C E S .

□N E X T G E N E R / K L M E E T I N G —

7 T H D E C . . B A L M A I N T O W N H A L L— A T 8 P M - - S H A R P —

After die.general business of the Meeting, memberswill be addressed by Dr. Fabian Bryant of the RydePsychiatr ic Hospi ta l on the subject of

C O M M U N I T Y P S Y C H I A T R Y

APPLICATION FOR MEMBFRSHIP

Anyone interested in the Association and/or intending New Membersobtain deuils from the Secretary, Mrs. Toni Fumess, by fillingin and mailing die form below.

To the Hon. Secretary, The Balmain Association,Box 57, Post Office, BALMAIN.

. I wish to join The Balmain Associaticoi, for which Ienclose Membership Fee of $1.

. 1 world like to receive details about the Association.(Cross out whichever not applicable.)

N a m e :

A l i r e s s : ' P h o n e N o .

D E S I GS I D E CO R T H E B AW H I L E 1 M EA T P A R L J AA S S O C IP R E M I E

R A I S I N _ _S O C I A T I O NB A L M A I N .H n i l C T X t / r P

S T I NA N DC I V IE V E NT E AA B O lA R E AS E N /

C U RT H E SL A S TN I C AM A KS T O IL O D (W I T IW O R

. A W I N F O R I N D U S T R YT H A N K S W H E R E T H A N K

C O M I N G E V E N T S . C I V I CD . W E S

I R O G R E S SI e s h o r e s

P R O T E SL M A I N

S . T H EU M . F U

_ T H E A S. C O N T A I N E R B O O K L E T . O I L S T O R A G E S I N

M E M B E R S H I P S U B S C R I P T I O N S . N O T E . C O UM M T T A T r ^ C M T P A T X / r r T T M / - B L A

T H E B P; l t e n f

C O M lE R N O <

T A I L S- I I T E B( D E M4 S . AN , W E■ I E A P I

S T E CB L E O F5 E T 7 S S3 T E S T: k D E hS A M E V NO T E S l

S E N N A C H E R I B - A N D B A L M A I N

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold.And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.But die Maritime crept with die gait of a crab.In trapping of grey, and of dun, and of drab.Where little streets wandered, where people could pauseOn comers to gaze at green waters, the clawsOf the crab grabbed its prey, then let it be knownThat century memories, and century stone,And time dropping slow, and everything kind.And everything Yesterday, now was behind.Forward, containers, perish the rest.Pull down the houses, and hurry it, lestThe ghocts of old manners, old graces, old waysWrite Stop to die trespass of paddocks and bays.

N O R E P (A R C H I T E C T U R A L . F U N D R A I S I N G . L I B R A R I E S . P U B L lT R A N S P O R T S E R V I C E S . I N C I D E N T A U Y D I D Y O U K N O VT H A T T H E H U N T E R ' S H I L L F E R R Y N O W C A L L S A T D A R LS T R E E T W H A R F . D O Y O U B E L O N G T O A S U B C O M M I T T )Y O U S H O U L D . C O M I N G E V E N T S . A N O S T A L G I C G A S L IH A P P E N I N G . $ T H N O V E M B E R W E W I L L B E T W O Y E A R S (K E E P T H E D A T E F R E E . A S A L E O F L O C A L L Y P R O D U C E DH A N D I C R A F T S I N A V A R I E T Y O F F O R M S . C A N B E R R A CC O N F E R E N C E . B I R C H G R O V E H O U S E . A C Q U I S I T I O N F O :T H E W A T C H H O U S E . A N N U A L G E N E R A L M E E T I N G . I T ;I M P O R T A N T T H A T E V E R Y M E M B E R E N D E A V O U R S T O A TT H I S M E E T I N G . I T I S V O T I N G N I G H T W H E N Y O U C H O CY O U R M A N A G E M E N T C O M M I T T E E F O R T H E C O M I N G Y E JN E W M E M B E R S H I P D R I V E . A P P L I C A T I O N F O R M E M B E R SI M P R O V E D F E R R Y S E R V I C E F O R B A L M A I N . U R G E E V E R -O N E T O U S E T H E S E R V I C E A S M U C H A S P O S S I B L E T O E NS U R E I T S R E T E N T I O N . C O M B I N E D F E R R Y S E R V I C E S C O( M U N I C I P A L ) . U S I N G T H E F E R R I E S T O C A P A C I T Y W O UB E T H E B E S T A R G U M E N T F O R E X P A N S I O N O F S E R V I C E S !M O R T B A Y S . P . A . A P P E A L A F T E R M A T H . A . N . L . B E R TO U R W A T C H H O U S E . C H A N N E L 7 P R O T E S T F I L M S . C HC H R I S T M A S C A R D S . T H O S E O V E R D U E S U B S C R I P T I O N S .C O M I N G E V E N T S . O U R S E C O N D B I R T H D A Y P A R T Y . B OA N D A S M A N Y G U E S T S A S Y O U C A N . H O M E C R A F T S S JL O C A T I O N T H E W A T C H H O U S E . T H E A N N U A L C H R I S T NP A R T Y . B A R B E C U E . N E X T G E N E R A L M E E T I N G . D I C KS O N P R I M E R S I T E . R A Y F I T Z P A T R I C K Q U A R R I E S P T YL T D . B I R C H G R O V E H O U S E . F A R E T H E W E L L , P I L C H E RP A D D OP R E M I lI N D U S ' ;T H A N K IC I V I CW E S T S

NEWS SHEETS . T H EI N F O R 1l A N K S W; E V E N T) I S L A N E) . P R O C

E X P O S I T I O N . E X P L O R I N G O U R F O R E S H O R E S . C A P T A UT O M F E N W I C K . A P R I L F O O L P A R T Y . H I S T O R I C A L S U flr ' l - w r f w r ' T ' T r r o z - W T T - A i v t r n y " \ T i P - r T > A / - E C

B I R C H G R O V E H O U S E

Those of you, who - believing that what little we have left of that whichdie National Trust calls "our National heritage" should be preserved atall costs - have been waiting with held breath to leam what will be thefinal fate of Birchgrove House, will be keenly disappointed to know that,by the time this News Sheet is distributed , the wreckers will have commenced the i r ob l i te ra t ion and another l ink in our a l l - too-shor t cha in o fearly history will have crumbled to the dust.

New facts only recently uncovered by Association member, Mr. BobIrving, reveal an earlier history, bo^ of land grant and building, thanh a d h i t h e r t o b e e n k n o w n .

This information was natural ly submitted to the National Trust whowere immediately considering the question of "upgrading" the buildingfrom "C" classification (interesting and worthy rf preservation) to "B"classification (important and necessaiy to preserve).

It was widi regard to the "C" classification that the State Hanning Authority and the Council were previously skirmishing aroimd the responsi—'bil ity of acting.

The old building has changed hands again in the last three weeks (presumably at a profit) and the new owner will proceed wi^ demolition andthe erection of home imits, using the same Development Applicaticm asoriginally approved by the Council. Vandalism commenced a few hoursafter the remaining tenant vacated.

A very well documented and researched file was presented to Council inyet another last ditch stand by Mr. Irving, in time fn consideration before its meeting of 28th November. And yet the one executive of theCouncil most vitally concerned, namely the Town Planner, said in openC o u n c i l t h a t h e h a d n o t s e e n t h e s u b m i s s i o n . M o s t o f t h e A l d e r m e n

acknowledged that they had received a copy. So, at whose door canthis "oversight" be laid?

The pertinent question still remains: why did the Council do no researchon this, the oldest and most historic building in the whole of the municipality, and one of the earliest buildings still standing in Australia?

At an early stage in these last negotiations, and before granting dieDevelopment Application, why did the Council not, as a very least step,defer consideration of any Development Application (say for 12 months)that threatened such a significant building, in order to ^low preservationists to marshal their resources, research to be completed and econo**m ic f eas ib i l i t y t o be s tud ied?

T H A T M Y T H I C A L D R A F T T O W N F L A N

It would appear that this has now been approved by the Minister for LocalGovernment and the State Planning Authority, and is ready to go on exh i b i t i o n .

When asked by Alderman Origlass at the Council Meeting of 28th November whether this was likely before Christmas, die Town Planner said . .."No - most unlikely." Taking into consideration the usual Christmasholiday Council recess, it likely will be that we will not see it exhibitedimtLl January/February, 1968.

D I C K S O N P R I M E R S I T E

This was the site on which ESSO was previously seeking to erect a tankfarm. Although offered at auction this month, no sale was made. TheTown Planner was asked whether Council could give consideration to

rezoning this land. In 1963 it had been zCTied for industrial use and itwas under this classification that it was recently offered for sale. As noone was interested Council felt that it should have a very strcng case topresent to the State Planning Authority for reclassification.

K T E R M I N A L S P T Y. LT D . T A N K F A R M

No doubt most of you have read the Coimcil notice recently in the localPress outlining their exposition to the renewed application made by thiscompany for the installation of a depot for the bulk storage of chemicals,llamable liquids, fish oils, vegetable oils, molasses and etc., and inviting residents to lodge their protests against such an undertaking.

The Association's Resident has written a forceful letter to both The Linkand The Observer pointing out to all residents the urgency of die need forthem to make their protests to the Council and to attend the Council Meeing on 12th December when the Application will be dealt with.

This is something you and all people can do to help .... tell as manyas you can, and coi ong in s d nui ers to the Council Meetj .> c

Y O U R C O V E R

We make no apologies for printing die SENNACHERIB verse once againin the News Sheet. You will remember that it appeared in the firstissue of the year in February last, when the fight for Pilcher's Paddockand Mort Bay was still being waged-

Now, at year's end, Mort Bay is licking its wounds, not yet quite knowing from which angle or from which adversary it will suffer its next attack, but Pilcher's Paddock is sadly vanquished.

The background to the verse is provided by the headlines to our activities over the past year and, whilst the general tone may make militantreading and die overall outcome has not been a happy one, perhaps wecan console ourselves with the fact that we indeed have had the courageof our convictions, and hope that our efforts can produce more fruitfulresults during the year 1968.

S U B - C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T S

F U N D R A I S I N G4th November Put two Balmainians (Balmainiacs?) toget

her with a bottle ot wine and they'll talk till midni^t. Put 132 together with the necessary ingredients and they'll talk till 4 in the morning.Add waterfront garden, fairy lights, big, black freighters sliding by andstamping on the terrace (not the freighters, silly, but the Balmainiacs'.)and you have OUR SECOND BIRTHDAY PARTY. A great sue-cess wi th over $100 in the bank.

25th and 26th November Gala days at the Watch Housefor potters, painters, carvers, dyers, old wares dealers, etc. which drewinterested supporters from all over Sydney, as well as from Balmain.

Eager shoppers spent $836 in total. 1096 of this went to the Association,and another $44.80 was spent at the coffee stall and on bottles of"Emotion" perfume generously-donated by Helena Rubenstein. With thecoffee, some were lucky enough to get a slice .. before it ran out .. ofthe luscious cheese or apple c^e which was also very kindly donated byBill and Magda Gesche. The grand total profit for the weekend was$128.40. PLANS FOR 1968 are still in the embryo stage, but moredetails will appear in the next News Sheet.

H I S T O R I C A LAt its last meeting held earlier in the month, discussion

centred around die method of recording and collating the informationobtained from the columns of early Sydney newspapers now being systemauc iy read by committee members, and it was finally decided that acard system would be the most simple and practical.

An increasing number of members are now actively reading and recordingany mention of the Balmain district as it appeared in the Sydney Mca-ninizHerald. (So far, the years 1840 to 1856 are being read. Prior ^d subseqqent years are as yet unallotted.) This should prove a sound basisultimately for compiling a history of Balmain.The committee is anxious to ascertain when the first boat building yardwas established along the foreshores of Balmain .. or, better still,when the first boat was built in the area. Perhaps a chance conversationwith some old identity or family may bring this to light.

Incidently, the data already compiled by the committee is available toany member of the Association, and members of the Historical committee will be glad to help locate whatever information is required.

L I B R A R YThe petition containing over 4. 000 signatures collected by

the Committee for the Establishment of F iblic Libraries in the LeichhardtMunicipality was presented to Council early in November.As a result, Mr. Smitii, Principal of Ibrox Park High School ahd Vice-President of the above committee, was invited to put the case forl ib ra r ies be fo re the Counc i l .

Mr. Smith gave a splendid, reasoned argument and Aldermen seemedvery interested and asked many questions. It was not difficult, however,to detect a not-too-subtle hostility to the whole idea.

As an immediate follow-up to this, our sub-committee presented itsreport to Council in time for its next meeding, held on 28th November.This repa-t, writtM in conjunction with the Architectural sub-committee^aimed at convincing the Council that an adequate library service couldbe provided by adapting and equipping existing buildings. A copy waspresented to each A lderman.

Aid. Lewis, at the Council Meeting on 28th November, spoke earnestlyin support of our findings. However, the other Aldermen take the linethat asking rate payers for even a fraction of a cent in the dollar over andabove current rates could not be countenanced without a referendum,which they felt was not warranted. Therefore conveniently takingshelter behind this weak subterfuge, the Council moved that this subcommittee's report merely be "received and noted".

P U B L I C I T Y

Australian Home Journal Article Photographs of gardensbelonging to several Association memben have now been taken by theHome Journal and we are informed by the Editor Aat these and a covering article will appear early in the New Year.

Local Display of the News Sheet Time has been a rathershort (tommodity with most of this committee's members just lately,but It IS planned that the display of selected portions of the News Sheetm various suitable locatioas will commence as early as possible in theN e w Y e a r .

. . . c o n t . o v e r l e a f