FAMILIES OF DOONSIDE

Based on the NSW State Electoral Roll of 1913

Entry for Mayoral History Prize 2018

Carol Horne

2

CONTENTS

Topic Page

Introduction 4

Government Grants at Doonside in early 19th Century 5

The Shire of Blacktown in 1913 5

Major Estates and Property Owners in Blacktown in the 1910-1920 Period 6

Country Estates and Homesteads 7

Life at Doonside 9

Water 9

Electricity 9

Sanitation 10

Shops 10

Post Office 11

Postage Stamps 12

Railways and Steam Trains 12

Electric Trains 13

House Names and Numbers 14

Education 15

Hospitals and Doctors 15

Newspapers 17

Churches

St. Bartholomew’s Church of England, Prospect

St. John’s Anglican Church, Doonside

St. Alban’s Church Of England, Rooty Hill

St. Brigid’s Catholic Church, Prospect

St. Patricks Church, Blacktown

Baptist Church, Rooty Hill

Christ Church Anglican, Blacktown

Presbyterian Church, Blacktown

Church of Christ, Doonside

The Slab Church, Schofields

17

17

17

18

18

18

19

19

19

19

20

Police 20

Fire Brigade 22

Rural Fire Service 22

Relaxation 22

Children and their Toys 23

The Women 24

The Men 25

3

Inns, Hostelries and Hotels

Sykes Pub, Eastern Creek

Imperial Hotel, Rooty Hill also known as the Wallacia Hotel

Prospect Inn, Prospect

Fox Under The Hill, Prospect

Royal Cricketer’s Arms, Prospect

The Bush Inn, Eastern Creek, also known as The Old House At Home

Royal Hotel, Blacktown

Fitzsimmons’ Hotel, Blacktown

Reservoir Hotel, Prospect also known as Buckett’s Hotel

26

26

27

27

27

27

28

28

28

29

Family Activities 29

Magic Lantern Shows 29

Picture Theatres

School of Arts, Blacktown

Rivoli Theatre, Blacktown

School of Arts, Prospect

School of Arts, Rooty Hill also known as the Regal Theatre

Boomerang Picture Theatre, Plumpton

Warwick Theatre, Blacktown

Olympia Theatre, Riverstone

Empire Theatre, Quakers Hill

29

30

30

31

31

31

31

31

31

First World War 32

Doonside’s Soldier Settlers 32

Sawmills and the Timber Workers 33

Development at Doonside 34

Attractions

Nurragingy Reserve

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Western Sydney Parklands

Blacktown International Sports Park

Blacktown Sports Park

Sydney Motorsport Park

Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway

Australia Zoo

37

37

37

38

38

38

38

38

39

Local Politics 40

State Politics 40

Federal Politics 40

Electors Living in Doonside in 1913 41

Explanation for the Listing of the Families of Doonside 42

Doonside Electors and Their Close Relations 43

Electors and Their Families Based on the NSW State Electoral Roll of 1913 46

Photographs, Maps and Images 108

Bibliography 110

Newspapers 111

Organisations and People 112

4

FAMILIES OF DOONSIDE

Based on the NSW State Electoral Roll of 1913

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this project was to identify and collate information and consequently try to

reconstruct the lives and activities of the Electors who lived in Doonside in the old Shire of

Blacktown whose names were recorded in the New South Wales State Electoral Roll in 1913. While undertaking this research, many ancestors and descendents of the Electors have also been identified.

Curiosity about those real people of yesteryear arose while researching WW1 soldiers for the

book Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-19181 and later investigation into the now vanished

Sawmills of Blacktown City and the lives of the Timber Workers themselves.

Newspapers from 1880s to the present have been extensively used and credit is given to the

National Library of Australia for Trove, its search engine.2 Its availability online is a marvellous

resource.

Not every article found in the newspapers has been incorporated into this project but at least one

article will illustrate the Elector’s activities, membership of an organisation or participation in a sport

or social event. The articles provide a glimpse into their daily lives and give readers of the 21st Century a deeper understanding and appreciation of Doonside in the late 19th and early 20th Century

― and beyond.

Information of general interest has come from researching the lives of the Electors from other localities in the Blacktown Shire (Blacktown, Bungarribee, Colyton and Eastern Creek) for which

identification projects have now been completed.

Please note that maps, photographs and images used as illustrations are referenced at the end of this document.

Each topic in this story of Doonside could very well be made into a book of its own. Perhaps

this very much abbreviated history will generate in the reader a sense of living in Doonside during the

late 19th Century and the early decades of the 20th Century. Doonside in its early years was extremely different from the Doonside we know today.

The history of Doonside (once named ‘Bungarribee’, Bung meaning ‘creek’ and garribee

meaning ‘cockatoo’3) starts back in the Dreamtime when the local indigenous Dharruk/Dharug/Darug

people lived on the land between Parramatta and the Blue Mountains.4

Europeans lived at Doonside from as early as 1802 when Governor Philip Gidley King set aside

land for a Government Stock Reserve. For the next twenty years, convicts herded cattle and sheep on

its grazing land. In 1822, Governor Thomas Brisbane granted part of the stock run to Scottish immigrant Robert Crawford (Principal Clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office

5) who named his

homestead and land ‘Milton’ but then changed it to ‘Hill End’. This whole area was known as Hill

End until the 1930s.6

Crawford’s property was enlarged in 1826 when he acquired Joseph Bigge's 300-acre grant

fronting onto Richmond Road which he named ‘Doonside’ after the poet Robert Burns’ birthplace

beside the River Doon in Scotland.7 Doonside’s name was changed to the Aboriginal ‘Wolkara’ (also

the name of the post office and railway station) when the new railway station was constructed in

1921. In 1929, the name reverted to Doonside after local residents protested at the change.8

1Horne, J., Horne, C., and Bostock, J. 2015, Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-1918. Blacktown and District

Historical Society Inc. 2 National Library of Australia, . 3 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 4 Barani, Sydney’s Aboriginal History, viewed 22/7/2018. . 5 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 26 July 1939, page 12 6 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 7 Ibid 8 Ibid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Gidley_Kinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Brisbanehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian

5

GOVERNMENT GRANTS AT DOONSIDE, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

THE SHIRE OF BLACKTOWN IN 1913

6

KEY

9

A The Quakers Hill Estate L The St Kilda Estate

B Headingley Estate M The Fitzsimmons Estate

C The Lalor family N William Inglis & Sons cattle saleyards D The Blacktown Estate – “Billy Goat Hill” P Vidler Bros. Brickworks

E The Bowman family estates R The Blacket property

F The Crawford family property S Griffiths’ 60 ac [24ha] horse paddock

G The Bungarribee Estate T Stewart’s Blacktown timber mill

H Riverstone Meatworks’ spelling paddock U Flushcombe Farmlets

J The Lytton Estate V The Campbell family – ‘The Turrets’

K The Larbert Manes Estate W Wall family land

9 Map, Imer, Gerard, 2015, Blacktown and District Historical Society Collection

MAJOR ESTATES AND PROPERTY OWNERS IN BLACKTOWN IN THE 1910-1920 PERIOD

Heavy lines denote estate boundaries, some approximate

7

COUNTRY ESTATES AND HOMESTEADS

In 1911, the total population of the Shire of Blacktown (which included Doonside) was 3,487.10

One hundred years later, according to the 2016 census, Doonside’s population was 13,451

11 while the

‘suburb’ of Blacktown alone had reached 87,705 residents in 2016.12

Doonside in 1913 was just a little hamlet compared to the village of Blacktown and was

significantly smaller than Eastern Creek just up the road on the old Western Road now called the Great Western Highway. Today Eastern Creek is a busy industrial and warehousing hub close to the

M7 motorway. Other villages nearby were Rooty Hill and Prospect which, from the 1880s, was

heavily populated due the construction of Prospect Reservoir. When the Dam was completed, its tented population radically declined. Riverstone was even larger due to its flourishing meatworks

(established in 1878) which had become the principal employer for the district until its closure in

1994.13

Plumpton in the early 1890s had seven hundred people living within a radius of three kilometres due to the Woodstock Fruit Cannery.

14

In 1913, on the northern side

of the Main Western railway and

the Doonside railway platform (once called Crawford’s Siding),

small cottages were scattered

along the road, such as it was, leading to the Crawford family’s

comparatively large residence

‘Hill End’ built around 1823.15

The road, little more than a track,

then led to Richmond Road.

Hill End Road, named after

the house, and Crawford Road, named after the Crawfords, are

now.

Another cluster of houses huddled near Major John Walters’ home ‘Bungarribee’ on Doonside Road not far from the Western Road. This lovely homestead, built in 1825 was demolished in 1958

16

but its footprint can still be seen in the Western Sydney Parklands in the modern suburb of

Bungarribee.

10 Daily Telegraph, viewed 22/7/2018. .

11 Qpzm, viewed 22/7/2018. . 12 Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 22/7/2018.

13 Riverstone Historical Society, viewed 22/7/2018. . 14 Australian Town and Country Journal, 7 September 1889, page 26 15 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 16 Canberra Times, 21 March 1987, page 3

‘BUNGARRIBEE’, DOONSIDE

‘HILL END’, DOONSIDE

8

Further westwards along the Western Road at Eastern Creek (near the Lighthorse Interchange

M7 and M4 junction) was another large property called ‘Hollinsworth’. It was the family home of William (Lumpy) Dean, an ex-convict and successful publican who ran the Corporation Inn.

17

Several of Lumpy Dean’s descendents lived in this house in 1913 and they included his

granddaughters Suzannah Jane Learmonth,18

her daughter Edith Anne Learmonth,19

her son Lindsay

Victor Learmonth20

and her sisters, Matilda Elizabeth Beasley21

and Florence Murray (Win) Learmonth (nee Beasley).

22 All that remains of ‘Hollinsworth’ today is an old beehive well hidden

amongst straggly scrub beside the Great Western Highway.

A neighbouring property, purchased in 1827 on the south side of the Western Road, was Wall

Grove, or Wall’s Grove23

, the sizeable estate and residence of Lieutenant Colonel Charles William Wall,

24 a retired British soldier from the 3rd Regiment (Buffs).

25 He died in 1841. Over 110 years

later, the site of his property was used by the Australian Army as a WW2 training camp in 1942.

Eastwards towards Parramatta was ‘Veteran Hall’ built on Prospect Hill before 1822 by the explorer William Lawson who, together with Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth, had

crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813. The house and its estate were later used as an Army Remount

Depot during WW1. After the war, the condition of the house deteriorated so the Water Board announced its demolition in 1925.

26 The driveway with its old Bunya trees can still be seen on the

left on William Lawson Drive, the road leading towards Prospect Reservoir.

17 The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December 1904, page 11 18 Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1918, page 5 19 Nepean Times, 2 October 1947, page 1 20 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 8 January 1921, page 9 21 Sydney Morning Herald, 16 August 1941, page 20 22 Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 1939, page 9 23 The Sydney Monitor, 10 November 1828, page 8 24 Australian Royalty, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 25 The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December 1904, page 11 26 Prospect Heritage Trust, viewed 22/7/2018. .

‘HOLLINSWORTH’, EASTERN CREEK

‘VETERAN HALL’, PROSPECT, c. 1910

9

Closer to Blacktown and stretching from the Reservoir Road near the Western Road to Doonside

was the large ‘Flushcombe’ estate. Its grand house, ‘The Turrets’, built in the early 1880s was destroyed by fire in 1909. Oliver Garrard, son of the owner, Daniel Garrard, was living in a cottage

on the estate at the time.27

The estate has been subdivided many times since and all that is left is a

grassy hill. Today, the gates of ‘The Turrets’ stand as lonely sentinels in the park on the corner of

Flushcombe Road and Lancelot Street, Blacktown.

LIFE AT DOONSIDE

Life was tough in Doonside in those early days of the 20th Century. Families were generally larger and their life expectancy shorter. Victoria Margaret Crawford (wife of Robert Crawford born

1827) had at least fourteen children, some stillborn and others who died quite young.

WATER

In 1913, water, so essential for life ― drinking, cooking, bathing,

laundering and watering crops and animals ― was drawn from hand-

excavated wells.28

Windmills drew water from bores which was then stored in metal tanks. Despite the proximity of Sydney’s water supply

at Prospect Reservoir, the supply of town water to Doonside was an

ongoing issue. Water was required for domestic use but the most affected were the farmers and returned soldier-settlers who needed

water for the survival of their livestock. In 1921, a small amount of

water was available to the Soldiers’ Settlement from the water main

supplying the Doonside Tile Works.29

In 1923, water was laid on to the settlement and a few surrounding properties.

30 However, the

Water Board (then known as the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply

and Sewerage) only approved an extension of the water main along Walters Road and the Great Western Road in 1927. Another extension

of the main from the Soldiers’ Settlement to Bungarribee Road required a length of 2933 yards of 4-

inch pipe, and this, the Water Board said, was not warranted due to the cost.31

ELECTRICITY

Women’s housework was labor-intensive. They worked from dawn to dark without electricity

and the convenience of electric lighting, irons, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens or washing machines because electricity was not connected to Doonside until 1929.

32 The men’s responsibilities

were even more physically demanding. They did everything by hand ― chopping down trees,

building houses, erecting fences etc. without the benefit of chain saws, or the countless other petrol-driven, electric or battery powered gadgets which men seem to collect today. Everybody milked the

cows (no milking machines) and the sheep were shorn with blade shears (no electric shears).

27 Evening News, 1 February 1909, page 1 28 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 29 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 28 October 1921 page 12 30 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 17 November 1923, page 3 31 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 7 January 1927, page 15 32 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. .

‘THE TURRETS’,

FLUSHCOMBE ESTATE,

BLACKTOWN, pre 1909

WINDMILL

AND WATER TANK, 1913

10

SANITATION

Back then, it was uncommon to have an indoor toilet ― let alone a flushing one. A wooden, or later a fibro, lavatory (often called the “dunny” and shaped like today’s portaloo) was built at the rear

of the garden, quite a distance from the house due to its unpleasant, fly-attracting odours. A visit to

the lavatory entailed a long walk from the back door on dark, cold and wet nights. The toilet of those

days would not be too dissimilar to the “long drop” toilets we often see in National Parks around the country today. Of course, if the weather or a Redback spider under the seat was too daunting, a china

or metal “gozunder” was placed under the bed at night and emptied outside the next morning.

There was no soft two, three or four-ply toilet paper in those days. Old black-print newspapers and second-hand brown paper, cut into small squares threaded with wire, were hooked onto a nail on a

wall ― and that just had to do! Once a week if you were lucky, a metal pan or container, inside a

wooden box with a seat and lid, had to be physically removed on the shoulders of a man driving a horse and cart or later by a sanitation truck. The pan was replaced by a clean pan. Jim Baldwin of

Doonside remembers that the sewerage line finally came to his home around 1973. His family’s

“dunny man” would often leave a trail all the way from the dunny to his truck and once he even

dropped the lot right near the back door of the house.33

The lack of any modern conveniences was illustrated in a ‘For Sale’ advertisement for a mixed farm beside Eastern Creek in August 1913. The property had a good cottage with four large rooms,

hall, kitchen, buggy shed, stables and fowl runs, fowls, vines, fruit trees, two cows, three calves, and

household furniture. It also had good soil, 1½ acres sowed with oats and four paddocks. The asking price ― ₤175, walk in walk out.

34 This amount equates to $20,973.32 in today’s value, taking into

account C.P.I. and other inflationary factors.35

The cottage had no W.C. (water closet) or bathroom!

Newly built houses had running water connected.

SHOPS

There were no shops in Doonside in 1913. People may have visited the butcher, barber and

drapers at Blacktown or the Woodstock Cannery’s General Store at Plumpton for canned fruit and jams.

36 There was even a ‘sly grog shop’ at Rooty Hill.

37 Generally, they grew their own vegetables

and fruit, their hens provided eggs or meat and their cattle and sheep were butchered for food.

Otherwise horse drawn carts delivered bread and meat to the door.38

33 Baldwin, Jim, Doonside Days, Facebook post, viewed 22/7/2018. . 34 The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 1913, page 3 35 Reserve Bank of Australia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 36 Daily Telegraph, 2 July 1889, page 8 37 Nepean Times, 5 October 1889, page 6 38 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. .

THE DOONSIDE DUNNY MAN, c. 1960s

11

Itinerant hawkers came to the door with essential household goods. Tinsmiths sold domestic

wares such as saucepans, teapots and the like and the Peg Man sold wooden pegs (without springs). These were used for pegging out wet clothes on ropes or wires stretched between trees or poles.

Children also liked the pegs for making peg dolls.

The Rag and Bone Man was the recycler of his day. He collected unwanted household goods

such as rags, bones and metal goods or any saleable item that he could lay his hands on to sell to other merchants.

W. GLENDENNING, THE BUTCHER

THE TINSMITH, SYDNEY, 1897

It was not until 1926 that William Francis opened a shop and an unofficial post office in

Doonside.39

POST OFFICE

The post office was originally situated in the old Crawford homestead but it was not known as the Doonside Post Office. In 1921, when Blacktown Shire Councillors were advised that telephone

communication had been established to the Wolkara Post Office, they were confused. Where was

Wolkara? The confusion had been caused by letters being sent to a town with a similar name called Downside near Wagga. Consequently, the post office name was changed from Doonside to

Wolkara.40

Confusion still reigned some eight years later. In 1929, Mr C. Hopkins complained about the non-receipt of mail and telegrams addressed to him at Doonside Post Office. The Postal Department

responded with “There is no post office at Doonside.” One telegram, tendered at the G.P.O. in

Sydney, was refused because “Doonside does not appear in the Post Office Directory”. Letters took

anywhere from seven days to more than fifteen months to reach their recipients ― if they reached them at all!

41

39 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 40 Nepean Times, 26 February 1921, page 5 41 Nepean Times, 19 January 1929, page 5

WILLIAM FRANCIS’ GENERAL STORE, DOONSIDE, 1926

Opposite Doonside Station, corner of Cross Street and Hill End Road.

12

William H. Smith of Prospect had the annual contract from at least 1910 to deliver the mail from

Prospect to Eastern Creek, Rooty Hill and Blacktown, via Rooty Hill Public School. To fulfil his contract, he rode on horseback one and a half miles, six times per week ― all for ₤25 per annum.

42

POSTAGE STAMPS

Back in the olden days, stamps were not required as the addressee paid for the letter and not the sender. The British Treasury fixed the date of 6 February 1840 for postage stamps to come into use

throughout the whole of the kingdom ― and that kingdom included Australia. Penny stamps were

printed in black ink and the twopenny (or tuppeny) was printed in blue.43

However in 1838, two years before the British stamps were issued, stamped letter sheets were sold in Sydney for one shilling and

threepence per dozen.44

These were similar to the aerogrammes sold at Australia Post shops today.

The first adhesive stamp used in NSW was the “Red Sydney View” on 1 January 1850.45

After the Federation of Australian states in 1901, the individual colonial mail systems were

combined into the Postmaster-General's Department known as the PMG. It was responsible for the

telegraph, domestic telephone operations and postal mail. It was not until 23 June 1913, twelve years

after Federation, that the first Commonwealth of Australia postage stamps went into circulation. The stamps depicted an image of a kangaroo inside a map of Australia.

46 An airmail service was

introduced in 1914.47

RAILWAYS AND STEAM TRAINS

The railway came to the Shire of Blacktown with the opening of Blacktown Road Station on 2

July 1860. The station was renamed Blacktown Station on 1 August 1862.48

Train drivers looked ahead for fallen trees, animals or the occasional human, while the engineers shovelled coal from the

tender into the hot furnace to keep the engine working.

42 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 11 June 1910, page 2 43 Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, 23 December 1840, page 4 44 Smith’s Weekly, 2 January 1926, page 21 45 Sydney Mail, 24 April 1912, page 46 Remembering the Past Australia, Facebook post, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 47 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 48 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. .

LOCOMOTIVE, BLACKTOWN STATION, c. 1880s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmaster-General%27s_Departmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone

13

A single line opened to Rooty Hill on 23 December 1861.49

Robert Crawford asked the railway

authorities to name the platform adjoining his property ‘Doonside’ after the estate owned by his father in Scotland.

50 Doonside Railway Station was officially opened on 27 September 1880.

51 The station

was referred to by Blacktown Council as Crawford’s Siding as late as 1924.52

In 1913, Doonside's dark platforms were illuminated only by the train guard’s lamp.53

Intending

passengers had to signal the driver if they wanted the train to stop so they could board. Toilets were erected on the platform in 1922.

54 Thankfully, these have since been replaced!

Mrs David MacFadyen (nee Edith Crawford) gave birth to her daughter Jean (aka Jessie) at their

home ‘Valhalla’ at Doonside on 25 May 1913.55

The house can be seen in the back right hand corner of the photograph below.

ELECTRIC TRAINS

In 1955, the first electric train arrived at Doonside Station. The brightly decorated train started its journey from Central Station, stopping at several stations on the way before reaching Blacktown,

which up to that time, had been the terminus for the Railway’s western electric line system.

49 NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage, viewed 22/7/2018. . 50 Nepean Times, 8 October 1910, page 4 51 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 52 Nepean Times, 31 May 1924, page 8 53 Nepean Times, 15 March 1913, page 5 54 NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage, viewed 22/7/2018. . 55 Sydney Morning Herald, 7 June 1913, page 14

DOONSIDE RAILWAY STATION AND TOILET, 1926

Hill End Road in foreground with the MacFadyen home ‘Valhalla’ in the distance.

14

On its arrival at the Doonside platform, the train was greeted by a crowd of local residents,

schoolchildren and a group of new Australians in their national costumes. The Premier of NSW, the

Honourable J. J. Cahill, cut a ribbon to permit the train to pass on its journey through Rooty Hill, Mt Druitt, St Marys and on to Penrith, its final destination.

56 The original station buildings were replaced

for this special event.57

Who actually cut the ribbon that day? There seems to be a conflict in this fact because some web

sites (including Wikipedia,58

Historical Encounters59

and Towns of Australia60

) claim that Edith MacFadyen (nee Crawford) “from the founding family and the oldest inhabitant at that time” was

given the privilege of cutting the ribbon61

but newspapers of the time do not seem to support this.

Perhaps she may have assisted the Premier in this very important task.

HOUSE NAMES AND NUMBERS

In the early days, houses in Doonside (as well as most other places in Australia) had house names and not numbers. The homesteads of ‘Hill End’, ‘Bungarribee’ and ‘Wallgrove’ are very well

known but among the other house names were:

Ellalong Owned by Lindsay Crawford Valhalla Owned by David MacFadyen

Hillside Owned by the Russom Family

Bonnie Doon Owned by Robert Spooner La Stella Owned by Jean Pierre Auguste Berruex

House names in Eastern Creek were ‘Burnside’ (Doris Coleman), ‘Blanchia’ (Beggs family),

‘Mount Lincoln’ (Morgan family) and ‘Mountain View’ (Bridget Durass). From the mid to late 1930s, local councils started looking at house numbering as a general rule

because people walked or drove a long distance to find the exact location of a shop or house.

56 Nepean Times, 13 October 1955, page 1 57 NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage, viewed 22/7/2018. . 58 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 59 Historical Encounters, viewed 22/7/2018. . 60 Towns of Australia, viewed 23/7/2018. . 61 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. .

FIRST ELECTRIC TRAIN INTO DOONSIDE RAILWAY STATION, 1955

15

In 1938, the Road Safety Council urged councils to affix street nameplates and house numbers

because drivers looking for specific streets or houses were causing accidents.62

There was still some debate in our area as regards house numbering even in 1942. At a Blacktown Council meeting,

Councillor Knight was recorded as saying: “Up our way, there's a house numbered 1040. And it's the

only house in the street!”63

EDUCATION

Not all the children went to school. Some parents taught their children at home and it was

probable that the Bible was the textbook from which they learnt their ABC, world history and geography.

A provisional or temporary school commenced at Doonside in 1903 but closed soon after due to

lack of support. The school reopened in 1911 but closed two years later.64

Pupils had to travel to the Blacktown Provisional School (established August 1871)

65 for their education. Doonside Public School as we know it was eventually founded on 22 January 1937.

66

Many older students from Blacktown Shire attended Parramatta High School and this is where

Geoffrey Coleman of Eastern Creek gained his Leaving Certificate in 1919.67

Doonside High School was not in existence until 1964.

68 It is now called Doonside Technology High School.

Other schools have opened since then including Crawford Public School in Asche Street on 11

February 197769

and this is where the names of Robert Crawford's four children are used today as sporting house teams.

70 Mountain View Adventist College in Doonside Road was established in

196871

and St John Vianney’s Parish School on Cameron Street was established in 1985.72

HOSPITALS AND DOCTORS

Hospitals in Doonside were (and are) non-existent. Sick or injured villagers and workers had to

rely on each other for first aid because the nearest doctor had to be called from Parramatta.

In medical emergencies, patients were taken to Parramatta District Hospital. This hospital had once

been a Colonial Hospital that had closed its wards in

March 1848 but re-opened as Parramatta District Hospital in June 1848.

73

In 1908, Bruce Crawford was riding his horse when

it reared at a passing train. Thrown onto the railway

tracks he lay injured and unconscious but someone took him home. Doctor Brown was sent for from Parramatta

who found that Bruce had suffered from concussion of

the brain.74

Bruce survived. To summon professional medical assistance, a

friend or relative had firstly to catch a train to

Parramatta, find the doctor and return with him on a westward bound train. The patient and the doctor then

had to be transported by train to Parramatta Hospital.

62 Illawarra Mercury, 11 March 1938, page 14 63 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 27 May 1942, page 1 64 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 65 NSW State Archives, viewed 22/7/2018. . 66 Doonside Public School, Facebook post, viewed 22/7/2018. . 67 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate,1 October 1919, page 4 68 Western Sydney Libraries, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 69 Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales, 11 February 1977 (No.15), page 531 70 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 71 Mountain View Adventist College, viewed 22/7/2018. . 72 St John Vianneys, Doonside, viewed 22/7/2018. . 73 Dictionary of Sydney, viewed 22/7/2018. . 74 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 12 February 1908, page 2

PARRAMATTA HOSPITAL, c. 1896

16

The return journey often took several hours causing the loss of valuable time. In some cases, the

doctor drove a horse and sulky to Doonside to attend or transport his patient. Either way, train or sulky, it meant an uncomfortable and painful ride for the patient. Delays occasionally resulted in

serious complications such as blood poisoning, the loss of a limb or eyesight and sometimes in the

death of the patient.

Patients from Blacktown Shire were also admitted to Nepean Cottage Hospital which had opened on 9 April 1890.

75

By the 1930s, there was at least one small privately-

owned maternity hospital in the Blacktown area.76

Doonside and the Shire in general desperately needed their own doctor, ambulance and hospital.

Blacktown Shire Council made annual donations to the Parramatta-Auburn District Ambulance for

many years prior to 1947.77

However, there apparently was an ambulance of some sort in Blacktown at that time because it transported an injured man to Parramatta Hospital as well as a dead body to

Parramatta Morgue in April 1947 after an accident.78

Blacktown Ambulance Station did not formally

open until 1958.79

Jim Baldwin’s grandfather was a post-war Ambulance Driver who was originally stationed at Parramatta and later moved to Blacktown. He went door to door collecting contributions

from subscribers, as they were known then.80

Ambulance Drivers are affectionately known as

“Ambos” these days. It was not until 1949 that a site for Blacktown’s own hospital was identified. In 1956, the 28-

acre site fronting Blacktown Road was acquired and the Hospital Board appointed.81

Blacktown

Hospital opened in 1965 with only 160 beds.82

Since then, the original hospital has been extensively

changed and even now, it is still evolving.

75 Penrith City Local History, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 76 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 3 February 1938, page 1 77 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 9 April 1947 page 5 78 Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 26 April 1947, page 3 79 Blacktown Australia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 80 Baldwin, Jim, Doonside Days, on Facebook, personal text message, 9 July 2018. 81 Sutori, viewed 8/7/2018. . 82 NSW Government Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, viewed 22/7/2018.

.

NEPEAN COTTAGE HOSPITAL, 1905

VIEW FROM BLACKTOWN HOSPITAL, mid-1960s

17

NEWSPAPERS

Without radio and television to draw on for news and information, newspapers were read avidly from cover to cover. Doonside inhabitants were featured predominantly in the Births, Deaths,

Marriage and Obituary columns. Some families could not afford those costly notices due to low-

paying jobs or unemployment. Others did not join in newsworthy activities, live a lavish social life or

compete in sporting events. Their lives went publicly unremarked. The most common newspaper for personal notices was the Sydney Morning Herald. The local

newspapers ― the Cumberland Argus and Fruit Growers Advocate, the Nepean Times and the

Windsor Gazette ― reported generally on residents’ activities, sporting events, social functions, and of course, on the trivial, and some say more significant, minor details of weddings! The “locals” also

published sombre obituaries in which details of the deceased were revealed.

The newspaper’s use did not end there. It became wrapping, toilet paper, stuffing for wet shoes and wallpaper. For those less fortunate, the newspapers became their blankets.

CHURCHES

Christians have lived in Doonside since the early days of the colony of New South Wales but in the early days of Doonside, they did not have an actual church building in which to worship. From

the mid-1840s when “proper” churches were erected in the Shire, folks would don their “Sunday

Best” and walk, ride or drive to the church of their choice. There were several churches in their neighbouring communities.

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND Parishioners of the Church of England (now called

the Anglican Church) more often than not, were baptised,

married or buried at St Bartholomew’s Church of England

on the hill at Prospect. The church, surrounded by graves of many prominent pioneers of the area, was completed in

1841. Notable founders were the Crawfords of

‘Doonside’, the Lawsons (famous for Crossing the Blue Mountains in 1813) and Major and Mrs. Weston, a

daughter of Colonel Johnstone who deposed Governor

Bligh.83

The Church served the community until it closed

on New Year’s Eve in 1967.84

Now de-consecrated, the church was renovated by Blacktown City Council and is

only used for social functions or ghost tours these days.

From at least 1883, during the construction of Prospect Reservoir, there was a Mission Church at the Reservoir camp

85 where in 1887, a village fair was held to raise funds for St Bartholomew’s

Church.86

The Prospect Reservoir Mission Church (also called the Prospect Waterworks Mission

Church87

or the Prospect Camp Mission Church88

) was closed by the end of 1899 due to the resignation of Mr Roberts, the Catechist.

89 In 1907, tenders were called for the renovation of St.

Bartholomew’s Church and the removal of the mission church.90

ST. JOHN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH It has only been forty years since St. John’s Anglican Church, on the corner of Hill End Road

and Cameron Street, was “planted” by the Blacktown Anglican Church.91

Today this church provides

a ministry to all.

83 World's News, 16 July 1921, page 13 84 Friends of St. Bartholomew’s, viewed 1/5/2018. . 85 The Cumberland Mercury, 25 February 1888, page 6 86 The Daily Telegraph, 3 December 1887, page 5 87 The Cumberland Mercury, 12 February 1890, page 3 88 The Cumberland Mercury, 1 May 1886, page 4 89 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 10 December 1898, page 12 90 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 5 October 1907 91 Purnomo, A. 2018, Email, 15 June, .

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S, PROSPECT

18

ST. ALBAN’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND

St. Alban’s Church of England, Rooty Hill was built of weatherboard in 1885 on land between

Westminster and Sherbrooke Streets, facing Windsor

Road (now called Rooty Hill Road North) donated by

Walter Lamb of Woodstock.92

In 1913, the Rector was L. R. Connell.

93 A fundraising tea and concert were held

in the Rooty Hill School of Arts in 1921 to raise funds to

build a hall in the Church grounds.94

In 1942, a severe wind destroyed the church.

After many years of fund raising, a brick church

building was built in 1961 to replace it.95

ST. BRIGID’S CATHOLIC CHURCH The Roman Catholic residents of Prospect built St.

Brigid’s in 1854. The date is emblazoned on its front. After St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Blacktown

had been built in 1892, Monsignor Rigney became the

Parish Priest for both Blacktown and Prospect.96

St. Brigid’s closed down in 1975 and was demolished two

years later in 1977.97

There was another Roman Catholic Church at Prospect in the late 19th Century. A small iron

Roman Catholic Mission Church was built at the Prospect Reservoir camp under the charge of Father

Holland.98

ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Patrick Street,

Blacktown opened on 18 June 1892. Thomas Patrick Fitzsimmons had donated land, bricks and money to

build the Church close to the railway station at a cost

of nearly ₤500.99

Monsignor Rigney became the Parish Priest for both Blacktown and St. Brigid’s

Catholic Church at Prospect.100

The land opposite Westpoint Shopping Centre on which St. Patrick’s stood was sold in the 1980s for a

shopping mall. The church building and its school

were demolished. The headstones of the graves in the

churchyard, including that of Thomas Patrick Fitzsimmons, were moved to the Church’s replacement

property in Allawah Street.101

92 Cooke, Robert, St. Alban’s Church, 2018, email, 22 June, . 93 Gorrick, Harold, St Albans Centenary, 1985 94 Nepean Times, 24 September 1921, page 5 95 Cooke, Robert, St. Alban’s Church, 2018, email, 22 June, . 96 Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, viewed 22/7/2018. . 97 Matulis, Mary Anne, Facebook post, Prospect Heritage Trust, viewed 23/4/2018.

98 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 22 April 1905, page 5 99 The Cumberland Mercury, 25 June 1892, page 4 100 Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, viewed 8/7/2018. . 101 Flickr.com, viewed 22/7/2018. .

ST. BRIGID’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, PROSPECT

ST. ALBAN’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND,

ROOTY HILL, 1889

GRAVES, ST PATRICKS CHURCH,

BLACKTOWN, c. 1976

19

BAPTIST CHURCH, ROOTY HILL

Not far away from Doonside was the village of Rooty Hill, named after the hill on which the Government Farm

was located in the early years of the colony. The hill itself

was in private hands for many of years until a parcel of land

was given to the Baptist Church by Dr. McKay. The opening of the Church in 1887 was celebrated by a tea and

public meeting.102

The church was later known as the Rupertswood Presbyterian Church or the Pioneer Memorial Church. It is

still in use today.

CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN, BLACKTOWN

The Church of England’s Christ Church in Flushcombe

Road, Blacktown opened for worship in 1876. 103

A new

brick church building was erected in the 1950s104

but was

de-consecrated and became the Blacktown Arts Centre in 2002. More recently, a modern church has been built on

Richmond Road on the northern side of Blacktown Station.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BLACKTOWN

The “large”105

Presbyterian Church in Campbell Street,

Blacktown was erected by voluntary labour.106

It was

dedicated on 9 September 1916.107

In appreciation of his efforts, members of the congregation presented Reverend R.

G. Cruikshank with a Pulpit Gown.108

CHURCH OF CHRIST, DOONSIDE

Opened on 14 December 1938, the original

“modern” wooden building of Doonside Church of Christ opposite the public school in Kildare Road was

constructed of weatherboard and iron.109

It now forms

part of their current complex next to the “modern” church building with its winged roof.

This photograph of the Church shows plenty of

open farmland in Doonside in the 1950s.

102 Nepean Times,1 January 1887, page 6 103 Blacktown Australia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 104 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 105 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 16 January 1915 106 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 23 August 1916, page 3 107 White, C. A., Challenge of the Years, 1951, Presbyterian Church of Australia via Lightfoot, Daryl, 2018, Email, 11 July,

. 108 Nepean Times, 7 October 1916, page 4 109 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 7 December 1938, page 3

BAPTIST CHURCH, ROOTY HILL

CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN, BLACKTOWN, c. 1955

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BLACKTOWN

CHURCH OF CHRIST, DOONSIDE, 1951

20

The Mission Hall in Schofields was known as the Slab Church and was erected between 1903

and 1904.110

It is a wonderful example of a local wooden church of the early 20th Century. The

church was probably only attended by a few from Doonside because of the travelling distance.

Services at the Church were still held in May 1932 with Reverend R. C. Lawton as the Preacher.111

POLICE

On the secular side of life in the early 20th Century, Government services were not located at Doonside. For example, as far as the writer is aware, there has never been a permanent Police

presence. From the early days, a Police Constable travelled to Doonside by horse from the larger

village of Prospect. The Officer-in-Charge would send his constable or sergeant to solve crimes or to

deal with any disturbance of the peace. If extra assistance was needed, for instance in the case of a missing child or in the search for a wanted criminal, a policeman was sent from Blacktown or

Parramatta. Women were permitted to join the NSW Police Department in 1915.112

Prospect Police Station, built in 1883 on the Old Western Road west of Watch House Road, became a private residence. It is now untenanted and deteriorating rapidly due to the lack of care by

Village Roadshow, the owners of Wet’n’Wild. The building can still be seen today.

PROSPECT POLICE STATION

PROSPECT POLICE STATION, 1995 PROSPECT POLICE STATION, 2016

110 Riverstone Historical Society, viewed 22/7/2018. . 111 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, May 1932, Page 3 112 NSW Police Force, viewed 22/7/2018.

.

THE SLAB CHURCH, SCHOFIELDS, n.d.

21

Very flattering to Blacktown was the response of the Inspector-General of Police in 1919 when

he wrote to Blacktown Shire Council on the question of the erection of a police station and lock-up at Blacktown. He wrote that “the present premises, which were rented for police purposes, were

considered to be sufficient for present requirements, and the amount of crime reported from the centre

would not warrant the expense of provision of a portable cell”.113

Blacktown did get its own Police

Station in 1923 but it was without telephone, lock up or lamp.114

A grisly find reported in the Nepean Times in 1887 illustrates how a policeman’s job back then

was not a pleasant one.115

It is no different for the Police Officers today.

The uniform of the Police Constable was

made of heavyweight pure wool. He wore a military style cap called a kepi that was flat on

the crown with a peaked sun visor or

alternatively he could wear a white pith helmet.

From 1916, he was given a summer

uniform of long sleeved shirt and tie.116

As the 20th Century progressed, the horses of the mounted police became redundant. They were

replaced by motor cars which had, by that time, become common. This new mode of transport made

the police constable’s job easier and faster and helped in his continuing fight against crime. On the other hand, horses were still necessary in places where motor cars could not venture for example on

bush tracks or in steep and rocky country.

Today both male and female Police Officers from the Police Area Command (PAC) at Blacktown respond to calls from Doonside, Huntingwood, Prospect, Seven Hills, Arndell Park and

Woodcroft.117

113 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 1 March 1919, page 11 114 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 31 March 1923, page 11 115 Nepean Times, 4 June 1887, page 4 116 Australian Police, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 117 Australian Government, NSW Police Force, viewed 22/7/2018.

.

HORRIBLE DISCOVERY ― A sickening discovery was made near Blacktown on Monday. At 5.30 in the evening, Mounted Constable Craven, from information received from a man named Frank Lock,

woodcutter, proceeded to Crawford’s Bush, a mile and a half from Doonside, near Blacktown. There he

found the body of a man, hanging by a strap from a tree. The body was cut down and taken to

Blacktown Station. There it was put on a truck and taken down to Parramatta. At the inquest held upon

it on Tuesday, at Rawlinson’s Hotel, Dr. Phillips stated that he had examined the body and found it to

be that of an elderly man, but too de-composed to be identified. On searching it, he found one shilling

in the pockets. The stench from the body was so great that it could not be moved off the truck. The

verdict was that death resulted from strangulation, supposed to be self-inflicted.

MOUNTED POLICEMAN

WEARING KEPI CAP

22

FIRE BRIGADE

Doonside also lacked a Fire Brigade and Fire Station. Fires were fought by anyone who was available at the time ― both male and female. During the hot summer of March 1902, fires in

Sydney’s western suburbs caused a great deal damage. The Crawford property at Doonside suffered

the loss of all its outhouses, including its dairy, fowl yards and other structures. At the same time in a

neighbouring district, fire broke out at Retallick’s property near Mt Druitt railway station. Residents and railway fettlers worked hard together to save a large portion of his property.

118

Blacktown Fire Brigade did not have a fire engine until 1927 and this they housed in Mrs

Simpson’s yard. A local motor lorry was commandeered to work the engine for which they paid ₤12 per annum plus 10/- for every fire the lorry attended.

119 The NSW Fire Brigade, now named Fire and

Rescue NSW, has two fire stations close to Doonside ready to respond to emergencies. One is the

Area Command Metropolitan West Fire Station in Huntingwood120

and the other is Blacktown Fire Station on Richmond Road near Breakfast Road.

RURAL FIRE SERVICE In 1906, a Local Government Act authorised local councils to form bushfire brigades throughout

the state.121

Doonside Bush Fire Brigade started up in the late 1950s but it was not until 1969 that it

was officially declared open. It then received one of the first R series Bedford fire tankers.122

The Brigade’s shed was next to “Alby” Francis’ Doonside Hardware shop. Although the brigade had an all-male policy, women often went out on the tanker and were allowed to get as dirty and

smelly as the men. Doonside Bush Fire Brigade closed between 2001/02. Today the old Doonside

Bushfire Brigade shed is still in use and gives members of the community a place to learn.123

BLITZ TRUCK

BUSH FIRE BRIGADE, DOONSIDE

In service from the late 1950s to 1969

BUSH FIRE BRIGADE SHED,

DOONSIDE, 2018

RELAXATION

Families in the early 20th century, no different to the families of Doonside nowadays, took time

out from their busy lives to relax. Back then, evenings meant a well-deserved rest. By wood or coal-fuelled fireplaces, they talked, read or sewed by candle or lamplight because there was no electricity

or gas for lighting. Girls at an early age learnt sewing, embroidery, knitting and crochet, as clothes

had to be made or repaired to last another day. If the household was fortunate, a sewing machine

speeded up the sewing process. People often played one or more musical instruments or sang and these accomplishments added

enjoyment to many evenings. Sitting around “the box” back then was not an option. In Australia, the

first radio broadcast was not aired until 1923124

and the first television programme was not shown until 1956.

125

118 Nepean Times, 29 March 1902, page 3 119 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 4 February 1927, page 3 120 Fire and Rescue NSW, viewed 22/7/2018. . 121 Plumpton Rural Fire Brigade, viewed 22/7/2018. . 122 Plumpton Rural Fire Brigade, viewed 22/7/2018. . 123 Ibid 124 Commonwealth of Australia (National Archives of Australia) 2017, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 125 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. .

23

CHILDREN AND THEIR TOYS

In the evenings, children did their homework sitting round the kitchen table, sometimes the only suitable place in

the home. Others played indoor board games, some of

which may be unfamiliar to children of today.

The timeless game of Snakes and Ladders (played in India as early as the 2nd Century),

126 Ludo (also from

India)127

and Noughts and Crosses (played by the ancient

Egyptians around 1300 BC and later by the Romans)128

were enjoyed by people of all ages. Other quiet pastimes were

cat’s cradle played with string and writing to pen friends.129

Children played with marbles, rocking horses, dolls and prams, toy soldiers, wooden guns, bows and arrows and

swung on rope swings hung from tree branches. They played

with wooden or metal trains and boats. They rode bicycles,

tricycles and scooters. They played Ring a Ring of Roses, Hopscotch with a taw or stone, flew kites, played cricket, kicked balls in dusty paddocks or just played a friendly game of tag or leapfrog. Most

of these games cost absolutely nothing. Some of their toys are now considered politically incorrect or

safety hazards. For some children, parents made their toys like wooden cars and boats or peg and rag dolls. For

families who were a better off, fancy gifts awaited their children on Christmas morning. Lassiter’s

shop in George Street, Sydney was the place to go to make their purchases.130

Some parents could not afford toys but instead made a new piece or set of clothes which were only used for Sunday best or for very special occasions. For many, these clothes had to last until the

following Christmas or birthday when a new outfit was given.

The children, referred to as juveniles in some newspapers, actively participated in a variety of fund raising concerts. In 1901, a “grand juvenile entertainment” raised funds for the Organ Fund of

the Roman Catholic Church.131

In 1903, a fairy drama called “The Sleeping Beauty” was held in aid

of the Church of England.132

In 1905, a children’s concert swelled the funds of the recently formed Blacktown Mutual Improvement Institute.

133

126 Times of India, viewed 22/7/2018. . 127 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 128 Uber Games, viewed 22/7/2018. . 129 Sydney Mail, 21 September 1921, page 26 130 Co-operator, 1 December 1910, page 5 131 Nepean Times, 2 November 1901, page 3 132 Nepean Times, 21 February 1903, page 3 133 Nepean Times, 16 September 1905, page 3

Miniature Sewing

Machine, 3/9d

Doll’s Go-cart, 4/9d

Teddy Bear

1/- to 40/-

Spinning Top

6d to 2/-

CHILDREN’S TOYS AND CLOTHES

Late 19th Century/early 20th Century

24

THE WOMEN

Rest and relaxation for the ladies was different to that of their menfolk. A majority of a woman’s time was spent in and around her home. They still had to cook and clothe their families so

evenings were spent making bread and jams, pickling vegetables and fruit, sewing, knitting, tatting or

crocheting and at the same time supervising the children. If they had a spare moment, they read

books or wrote letters. Women had a social life but food preparation and sewing fancy garments for special community

events required their efforts inside the home. Invitations for functions such as weddings and birthday

celebrations, dances and concerts were handmade. The women also made decorations for the venues. The simple addition of flowers, flags, bunting and lots of greenery could transform a boring hall into a

magical wonderland.

Women played sport although competitions in the early days of the 20th Century were normally limited to the men. Separation by gender on the sporting field was the norm. Women and girls were

encouraged to participate in activities considered to be more ladylike. There were some sports for

women. In 1912, the results of women’s basketball, rowing and lawn tennis were reported in The

Saturday Referee and the Arrow but these sports were not common in Doonside.134

On Eight Hour Day in 1913, Kildare Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester

Unity held a picnic and sports day on a piece of elevated ground kindly lent for the occasion by Mrs.

Fitzsimmons near Blacktown Station (where Francis Park is today). Sports included the 100 yards Race, the Sack Race and Wheelbarrow Race but the contestants were the men only!

135

The Carinya Tennis Club in Doonside commenced in the early 1930s with male and female

members. The club also held socials and dances.136

Raising funds for the needy was a key activity for the women of Blacktown Shire. They did this

in many different ways and their schemes included (and certainly were not limited to) concerts, sales

of work, flower shows and bazaars. Over the years, numerous community groups benefitted from

their good work. Numerous local functions were held to raise funds for new church buildings, manse or hall or

alternatively for their extension or repair. In 1903, the manse fund of Rupertswood Presbyterian

Church benefitted by £46 after a concert in the Rooty Hill School of Arts.137

This equates to $6,638.00 in today’s value.

138 In 1911, the big attraction at the Blacktown School of Arts was the

two-day Coronation Fair, opened by the wife of the Primate of Australia,139

to raise funds for the

erection of a new Church of England in Blacktown.140

As time went by, particularly after the advent

of the motor car, women became more independent and travelled further afield. In 1936, Bruce Crawford’s wife Emily and her daughter Margaret spent a holiday together at Austinmer, motoring

and hiking through the surrounding district to many beauty spots including Bulli Pass.141

Women were in paid employment but mainly in domestic work as maid or servant. Elsewhere positions were available for seamstresses, governesses, nurses or salespeople. Women were more in

demand on the labour market after 1914 when the men went off to war. Huge gaps were left in the

workforce that women had to fill so they took positions in offices and factories and on the land although these jobs were not readily available in the village of Doonside.

It was not only the fighting men who were taken out of the local community. One woman living

in the Shire had to run the family poultry farm singlehandedly after her German husband was taken

and interned.142

134 The Saturday Referee and the Arrow, 16 November 1912, page 4 135 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 11 October 1913, page 3 136 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 23 April 1936, page 6 137 Nepean Times, 21 March 1903, page 6 138 Reserve Bank of Australia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 139 Times (Penrith), 11 November 1911, page 3 140 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate,11 November 1911, page 5 141 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate,13 August 1936, page 18 142 Horne, J., Horne, C., and Bostock, J. 2015, Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-1918. Blacktown &

District Historical Society Inc.

25

THE MEN

In those days, men were the breadwinners of the family. If they had an investment income from their assets or property ―“independent means”― or worked on their own farm to support their

family, they did not need paid employment as such. Other men had to find work which was

extremely difficult particularly in the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In their times of relaxation, men enjoyed their hobbies and played sports to which they travelled on foot, by bicycle, horse, train or car. They played tennis, cricket and football. In 1913, Blacktown

Cricket Club defeated a team from ‘Yaralla’ (now the Dame Eadith Walker Hospital at Concord143

) by

165 runs in the 1st Innings.144

Early in the 1915 season, Blacktown Wanderers Rugby League Club, a new team only learning the code at the time, lost their games to Riverstone and Emu Plains.

145

The men went shooting ― foxes, rabbits, wallabies, kangaroos and troublesome crows. In 1920,

Bruce Crawford advertised his Bentley and Playfair 12 bore gun for sale for £25 in the Sydney Morning Herald.

146

The men went fishing. In 1936 Bruce Crawford, the local authority on fishing excursions,

placed an advertisement in the Cumberland Argus because he hoped to form an Anglers’ Club in

Doonside with the aim of game fishing on the south coast. It is interesting to note that the final sentence of his advertisement read: “Mixed club, certainly.”

147

The men played quoits and horseshoes, an outdoor game using old horseshoes thrown at a stick

in the ground at each end played similarly to lawn bowls today. The men attended social functions, dances and concerts. They sang, performed and entertained. No doubt, they told bad “Dad Jokes” at

that time too! This is one example of a 1913 joke ― “Did your watch stop when it dropped on the

floor?” asked the inquisitive man. “Sure” was the answer, “Did you think it would go through?”148

Some men enjoyed breeding and exhibiting their animals. Lindsay Crawford showed Collies at a

Dog Show in the Masonic Hall in Parramatta in 1904.149

Years later, his Pointer pup won a Merit

Award in 1935.150

In 1924, Bruce Crawford’s pony “Dot” came second at the Blacktown Show.151

In

1936, Gordon Crawford’s English Setter won a Silver cup and trophy for being the best in the show while his English Setter pup won First prize.

152 Over the years, others exhibited their prize chickens,

sheep, cows and horses.

Punters went to the horse racing at Smith’s Hotel at Prospect153

or at the Royal Hotel in Blacktown

154 or took the train, horse or cart to the Greyhound races at Plumpton. This is where

Walter Lamb had formed the first enclosed coursing ground in NSW.155

Started prior to 1882,156

the

course eventually closed in 1953.157

Women attended the greyhound races too and often enjoyed a

picnic on their day out.158

143 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 144 Evening News, 21 February 1913, page 10 145 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 12 June 1915, page 3 146 Sydney Morning Herald,1 September 1920, page 5 147 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 12 March 1936, page 6 148 The Sun, 26 January 1913, page 17 149 Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 5 October 1904, page 839 150 Sydney Morning Herald, 2 March 1935, page 27 151 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 9 April 1924, page 2 152 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 27 February 1936, page 8 153 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 12 January 1895, page 13 154 Nepean Times, 15 March 1913, page 5 155 Revolvy, viewed 22/7/2018. . 156 Australian Town and Country Journal, 22 April 1882, page 17 157 NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 158 Referee, 7 May 1913, page 1

PICNIC AT THE

WOODSTOCK GREYHOUND

RACING COURSE,

ROOTY HILL, 1913

26

Fund raising was not limited to the women. Men were equally supportive of charitable work for

needy organisations and did their share of fund raising. Particularly before, during and after the First World War, numerous functions were held around the Shire of Blacktown in support a range of

organisations. Two events held in 1915 included a sports meeting for the Belgian Relief Fund159

and

collecting cash for the Gilgandra Coo-ees.160

A four-night Grand Continental in aid of the Blacktown

and Quaker’s Hill Returned Soldiers’ Fund in 1916 raised £162 8s 8d161

which equates to $16,177.00

162 in today’s value after factoring in inflation. This was a huge effort by the people of

Blacktown Shire as the population was less than one percent of what it is today.

In October 1917, in the Rooty Hill School of Arts under the auspices of the Rooty Hill Patriotic League, a musical programme and a sock competition were held. On this occasion, people donated

household provisions including a small crate of poultry, which was sold in aid of the War Chest and

Soldiers' Funds.163

After the war, fund raising continued for the Blacktown Shire Memorial Fund.164

INNS, HOSTELRIES AND HOTELS

The men enjoyed a drink at the local watering hole ― an inn, hostelry or hotel. The small

community at Doonside did not have its own hotel until 1962 when Doonside Hotel was built.165

There were a number of inns and hotels in the area to choose from ― as long as a means of

transport was available. The establishment was where the patrons “quaffed malt liquor from the native

pewter, or the Jamaica rum, or gin warm”.166

Roadside inns were amongst the earliest commercial enterprises in the area due to the discovery

of gold over the Blue Mountains in the 1850s. Seeking their fortune, many thousands rode or drove

their loaded wagons from Sydney along the Western Road, passing by countless lodging houses and inns on the way. When the train line came through Blacktown in the 1860s, business for the inns fell

off and consequently many closed down, fell into disrepair and disappeared altogether. One of the

earliest inns was relatively easy to get to from Doonside in 1835. On the Western Road near Eastern

Creek was the Corporation Inn kept by William (Lumpy) Dean.167

By the early 1850s, Sykes Pub was also serving the passing trade at Eastern Creek. One can

easily imagine this old-time saloon, graphically described in the Sydney Morning Herald ― “an

unpretentious building of slabs, with bark roof; wooden shutters took the place of glass windows; and the travellers’ dining room and bedroom had no better illumination than evil-smelling, smoking tallow

candles or still more primitive "fat lamp". Still, the gold seekers could not afford to be fastidious,

and such bagatelles168

were not to be considered with an El Dorado at the end of the journey, and,

after all, it was only the more fortunate class of traveller who could afford hotel accommodation or coach fare, the greater percentage tramping in company. And a motley crowd it was which lighted up

the long roadway with their campfires during the end of 1853, when the rush was at its height. All

classes of society were represented; the travellers on foot grouping themselves into companies for mutual protection not only from fellow travellers of unknown or doubtful reputation, but from

bushrangers, whose raids from time to time furnished exciting episodes.”169

Men from Doonside visited many of these inns or public houses, built at different times, some of which were in their locality and others scattered around the Shire of Blacktown.

As standards relaxed over the years, it became common for the publicans to allow women to

enter their establishments. In some older hotels, even today and particularly in the country, you can

still see a room with a sign “Women Only”.

159 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 3 July 1915, page 11 160 Nepean Times, 4 December 1915, page 6 161 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 22 January 1916, page 5 162 Reserve Bank of Australia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 163 Sun (Sydney), 21 October 1917, page 16 164 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 22 November 1919, page 13 165 Doonside Hotel, viewed 22/7/2018. . 166 The New South Wales Examiner, 5 September 1842, page 2 167 The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December 1904, page 11 168 A bagatelle is something of little value or significance. Dictionary.com, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 169 Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 1912, page 5

27

IMPERIAL HOTEL, ROOTY HILL

Not far away from Doonside and just across the road from Rooty Hill station was the Imperial Hotel, built in

1890.170

The hotel’s licence was revoked in 1936 because

the patrons were "too rowdy".171

It was renamed the

Wallacia Hotel the following year.172

It is still trading today under the name “Imperial

Hotel”.

PROSPECT INN, PROSPECT

The Prospect Inn was built some years before 1854 when its licence was transferred from Lawrence Hyland to

William Carman. The two-storey hotel was demolished in

the mid 1960’s to make way for changes to the Great

Western Highway.173

The present-day Prospect Hotel is close to the same site.

FOX UNDER THE HILL, PROSPECT The Fox under the Hill was a public house operating

before 1829174

on the Western Road at Prospect. It was

where Cobb and Co. coaches changed horses175

and St. Patrick’s Day Races were held.

176 It closed as an inn in

around 1875 and became a residence.177

ROYAL CRICKETER’S ARMS, PROSPECT

The Royal Cricketer’s Arms, built in 1881, is one of the

last roadside inns still operating on the Old Western Road

between Sydney and the goldfields of Bathurst.178

It is still in use today.

170 NSW Government Office of Environment & Heritage, viewed 22/7/2018.

. 171 Roots ‘n Boots, viewed 22/7/2018. . 172 Australian National University, viewed 22/7/2018. . 173 Prospect Heritage Trust, viewed 22/7/2018. . 174 The Australian, 10 March 1829, page 3 175 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 30 May 1929, page 11 176 Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer, 13 March 1847 177 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 22 Nov ember 1890, page 6 178 Prospect Heritage Trust, viewed 22/7/2018. .

IMPERIAL HOTEL, ROOTY HILL, 1939

PROSPECT INN, PROSPECT

FOX UNDER THE HILL, PROSPECT

ROYAL CRICKETER’S ARMS, PROSPECT, 1970

28

BUSH INN, EASTERN CREEK

The Bush Inn at Eastern Creek was on the Western Road, almost directly opposite

William (Lumpy) Dean’s family home

"Hollinsworth".179

The Inn was demolished in

1938.180

The photograph shows members of the Dean family seated outside.

181

BLACKTOWN HOTEL, BLACKTOWN A licence was granted to the Blacktown Hotel in 1861

182 but it may have changed its name to the

Royal Hotel.183

The first Royal Hotel, built on the northern side of the railway line (near where the

bus interchange is today) was demolished in May 1914.184

A second Royal Hotel was built opposite the railway station on the southern side of Blacktown

Road (now called Main Street). It was rebuilt between 1936 and 1937 and renamed the Robin Hood

Inn.185

The Robin Hood Inn was demolished covertly during the night of 12 August 1984.186

THE FIRST ROYAL HOTEL, c. 1890 THE SECOND ROYAL HOTEL, 1914

FITZSIMMONS’ HOTEL, BLACKTOWN

Prior to 1863, Thomas Patrick Fitzsimmons and his wife Mary Teresa

owned an inn187

near where Francis Park is today. It was simply called the “Fitzsimmon’s Hotel”.

188 In 1875, an advertisement appeared in the Sydney

Morning Herald in which Thomas Fitzsimmons gave his address as the Royal

Hotel, Blacktown.189

However, thirteen years later, in 1886, a hotel in

Blacktown was referred to as the “Fitzsimmon’s hotel”. 190

Was this the Royal Hotel or the original Fitzsimmons’ Hotel? Did the Fitzsimmons have two

hotels? Thomas Fitzsimmons died in 1893 and his centenarian wife Mary

Fitzsimmons died in 1917.191

Future research may discover the new facts.

179 Callaghan, Bruce, 2018, email, 17 June, . 180 Genealogy of the Callaghan Family in Sydney Australia, viewed 24/7/2018.

/ 181 Ibid 182 Empire (Sydney) 20 April 1861, page 8 183 Tod, Les, Blacktown CBD: An Historical Perspective 1860–2014, Blacktown City Council, 2013. 184 Ibid 185 Ibid 186 Blacktown Memories, Facebook post, viewed 20/7/2018.

. 187 The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 1863, page 1 and Sunday Times, 17 June 1917, page 13 188 The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 January 1868, page 12 189 The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 1875, page 2 190 The Cumberland Mercury, 13 June 1886, page 2 191 Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative, 21 June 1917, page 9

THE BUSH INN

a.k.a. THE OLD HOUSE AT HOME

EASTERN CREEK, c. 1890

MARY TERESA FITZSIMMONS, BLACKTOWN’S FIRST PUBLICAN

http://www.libraries.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/blacktownmemories

29

RESERVOIR HOTEL, PROSPECT Another hotel in the Shire of Blacktown was John Buckett’s Reservoir Hotel that operated

during the construction of Prospect Reservoir from at least 1887.192

It was also known as Buckett’s

Hotel.193

A few miles further to the west of Doonside were five public houses in the area around Colyton.

They were the Red Cow Inn, the Wheat Sheaf, the Farmers Home, the Horseshoe Inn and the Rising Sun.

194

FAMILY ACTIVITIES Men, women and children went out together as families ― school prize giving, visiting

neighbours and going on picnics to local scenic spots. Regular entertainment included social

evenings, musical concerts, parties, swimming and other sports like tennis, cricket, football and shooting. In 1900, one young lad met with a painful accident when he shot himself in the foot when

he was out shooting with the Crawfords at Doonside.195

There was some doubt at the time whether

his foot could be saved.

MAGIC LANTERN SHOWS

From the 1880s, a special treat for the family was going to a magic

lantern show, similar perhaps to our modern-day slide show or PowerPoint presentation. One Saturday evening in February 1909, the Reverend H. F.

Palmer gave a temperance lecture and “magic lantern entertainment” at Mrs

Blyton's home on the Western Road at Eastern Creek. The show was “largely attended”.

196

PICTURE THEATRES

Before actual theatre buildings were built, Magic Lantern slide shows and moving pictures (later

called the movies, the pictures or the flicks) were shown in homes or local halls (e.g. Blacktown

School of Arts and Prospect School of Arts).197

The topic of the film was of an historical or educational nature

198 with the evangelical movies mostly produced by the Salvation Army.

199

It was not until 13 July 1935 that the community of Doonside officially obtained its own hall that

Mrs E. P. Sheridan generously had built for the Doonside Progress Association. The hall was opened by Mr G. C. Gollan, the State Member of Parliament. After the formalities, all those present enjoyed

old-time dancing-and games.200

Interestingly, three years later, on 28 April 1938, G. C. Gollan signed

the Proclamation gazetting the Doonside Progress Hall for use as a theatre.201

One can only imagine the jubilation of the Doonside villagers at that time. Perhaps Gollan Park in Doonside Road was

named after that same gentleman.

In 1955, a group of interested citizens proposed the building of an actual movie theatre in

Doonside. The plans for its construction in Earle Street, Doonside were prepared by Francis Richard Harty (Old Guildford), Frederick George Rhodes (The Avenue, Mount Druitt) and Edward Vere

Beecroft (Wehlow Street, Mount Druitt). Permission to build was granted on 28 January 1955 by the

Theatres and Films Commission.202

Was it ever built?

192 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 193 The Daily Telegraph, 2 February 1887, page 10 194 Horne, J., 2018, The Roadside Inns from the Days of Coaching Tour, Blacktown and District Historical Society Journal,

The Turret, Volume 38, No. 1, pages 5-22 195 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 22 August 1900, page 2 196 Nepean Times, 27 February 1909, page 6, Horne, J., Horne, C., and Bostock, J. 2015, Diggers from the Shire of

Blacktown 1914-1918. Blacktown and District Historical Society Inc., Nepean Times, 27 February 1909, page 6 197 Tod, Les, 2018, email, 16 June, . 198 The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 1 June 1912 199 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 200 Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 25 July 1935, page 7 201 Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales, 6 May, 1938 [Issue No. 71], page 1767 202 Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales, 28 January 1955, [Issue No. 8], page 215

MODERN MAGIC LANTERN, 1909

30

Doonside residents had the choice of visiting a number of picture shows held at various venues

in their local area in the Shire of Blacktown.

SCHOOL OF ARTS, BLACKTOWN

Moving pictures in the early days were shown in the Blacktown School of Arts until the Rivoli Theatre was built

in 1922.203

RIVOLI THEATRE, BLACKTOWN

The Rivoli Theatre in Blacktown

was built in 1922.204

It measured 140 feet

by 50 feet (42.672m x 15.24m) and amazingly was capable of' seating 1000

people. The theatre burnt down in

1946.205

203 Tod, Les, 2018, email, 16 June, . 204 Ibid 205 Sun (Sydney), 10 October 1946, page 9

BLACKTOWN SCHOOL OF ARTS, INTERIOR, n.d.

RIVOLI THEATRE, BLACKTOWN

PROCLAMATION OF

DOONSIDE PROGRESS HALL

AS A THEATRE AND PUBLIC HALL, 1938

31

SCHOOL OF ARTS, PROSPECT

Moving pictures were shown in the Prospect School of Arts206

and later in the adjoining larger building constructed in 1923.

207 The first School of Arts can be seen just to the left of the second

School of Arts. They were in use until the mid-1950s when both structures burnt down.208

FIRST PROSPECT SCHOOL OF ARTS,

early 1920s SECOND PROSPECT SCHOOL OF ARTS,

c. 1925

SCHOOL OF ARTS, ROOTY HILL

The local community erected the Rooty Hill School of

Arts between 1902 and 1903209

but on movie nights, it became the Regal Theatre.

210 It is still in use today as a

community hall.

BOOMERANG THEATRE, PLUMPTON The Boomerang Theatre in Rooty Hill Road

North, Plumpton was in use during the mid

1920s.211

WARWICK THEATRE, BLACKTOWN

The Warwick Theatre in Main Street,

Blacktown was constructed in 1948. As well as

showing movies, it was also the venue for the final speech in the 1954 election tour of the Prime

Minister Robert Menzies.212

The Olympia Theatre in Riverstone was in operation from early in the 1920s. The Empire

Theatre in Quakers Hill showed moving pictures in the public hall from the 1930s.213

206 Tod, Les, 2018, email, 16 June, . 207 Tod, Les. 2003. A Humble Little Hall: The Prospect School of Arts, viewed 25/7/2018.

. 208 Prospect Heritage Trust, viewed 25/7/2018. . 209 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 210 Ibid 211 Tod, Les, 2018, Email, 16 June, . 212 The Daily Telegraph, 28 May 1954, page 9 213 Tod, Les, 2018, Email, 16 June, .

ROOTY HILL SCHOOL OF ARTS

or THE REGAL THEATRE

BOOMERANG PICTURE THEATRE,

PLUMPTON, c. 1923

WARWICK THEATRE, BLACKTOWN, 1948

32

FIRST WORLD WAR

Millions of books have been published over the years on different aspects of the First World War which started on 4 August 1914 and ended with the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918.

Writers from both the Allies (Belgium, France, Russia, Italy, USA and Great Britain and its empire

(Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa)214

and the Axis or Central

Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria)215

have given their versions of the events leading up to, during and after the “war to end all wars”.

It is impossible to condense into a few paragraphs the horrible and life changing effects that the

war had on the families of Doonside. Nearly nine hundred men and women from the Shire of Blacktown enlisted and served all around the world in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) which

included the Australian Flying Corp at the time and the Royal Australian Navy (R.A.N.). Others

served in the merchant navy, hospitals (both abroad and at home) or as munitions workers. The book Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-1918 gives many details of those nine

hundred souls. Among them were four soldiers who were born or lived in Doonside, eight soldiers

and a Nursing Sister (Edith Pike) from Eastern Creek and sixty two Diggers and two Nursing Sisters,

Florrie Manson Perkins and Jessie Grace Perkins (sisters) from Rooty Hill. In addition, fifty eight Diggers from Colyton, Mount Druitt and Plumpton, who were friends and family or well known in the

local area, are remembered on the Rooty Hill & District Roll of Honor alongside their comrades.216

Every family from Doonside was affected in some way by the war. Many would have farewelled a father, son, brother, sister, uncle or neighbour. Others sent off more than one family

member. Sadly, too many families did not see their loved ones again because they had died on the

battlefields or in foreign hospitals. At home, wives lived without their husbands, facing loneliness, uncertainty and fear. Waiting

for their husbands to return, they took on the unfamiliar tasks associated with house or farm

management. Children grew up without their fathers, their love and their discipline.

DOONSIDE’S SOLDIER-SETTLERS Many Diggers came back disabled by injuries caused by rifle bullet, machine gun, bomb or

shrapnel. Others came home with shell shock or the consequences of poison gas. Every one of them came back with varying degrees of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Their families bore the burden of

caring for physical and emotional wrecks.

The returning soldiers slowly adjusted to civilian life, working on their farms or in private

employment. They married and raised families and this resulted in an increase in the local population. From 1919, men who had been injured or lost limbs worked in Soldier Settlements. One such

Settlement was at Doonside. It consisted of 20 poultry farms established between the railway line and

Bungarribee Road.217

One of the Soldier-Settlers was Percy Hooker, an accountant, who served in France from 1915.

He received shrapnel wounds to his left foot in 1916 but served in the Army for another three years

before returning to Australia. Percy was discharged in 1919 on medical grounds.218

He found work at the Doonside Soldiers’ Settlement where The Daily Telegraph photographed him in 1929.

219 His

name does not appear on the following list with the other Soldier-Settlers at Doonside, but it is likely

that he arrived later than 1924 when the list was compiled. Percival John Hooker died on 10 March

1975 and was still living at Doonside at the time.220

An old Soldier-Settler’s home built in the 1920s is located opposite Doonside Public School on Kildare Road, between Doonside Church of Christ and

the service station on the corner. Descendents of those original Soldier-Settlers may still be living in

the area today.

214 Horne, J., Horne, C., and Bostock, J. 2015, Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-1918. Blacktown and District

Historical Society Inc. 215 Ibid 216 Ibid 217 Wikipedia, viewed 22/7/2018. . 218 Commonwealth of Australia (National Archives of Australia) 2017, Viewed 24/7/2018.

. Barcode 5833604. 219 The Daily Telegraph, 19 September 1929, page 9 220 The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 March 1975

33

DOONSIDE’S SOLDIER-SETTLERS, 1919 to 1924221

SAWMILLS AND THE TIMBER WORKERS

Apart from the Electors and their families, many others worked in Doonside during the latter part

of the 19th Century and the first few decades of the 20th Century. They were not entitled to vote in the Shire of Blacktown because they lived outside the area.

Frederick William Beggs and Messrs Summons and Bibbo were leading sawmill owners in

Doonside from the 1890s until at least the 1930s.222

Thomas Wharton also operated a timber mill at Doonside from 1893 until his retirement in 1922.

223 Another mill was located on Richmond Road

during the 1930s.

The sawmills used the railway platform near the Crawford’s home to load their timber onto

trains for transportation to Sydney. Their businesses were quite large and over time employed numerous men.

Timber mills existed in the Doonside area until at least the late 1940s224

when the last of the tall

timber had been felled.

221 Horne, J., Horne, C., and Bostock, J., 2015, Diggers from the Shire of Blacktown 1914-1918. Blacktown and District

Historical Society Inc. 222 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 4 May 1895, page 8 223 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 14 January 1893, page 10 224 Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 16 January 1946, page 4

SOLDIER SETTLER S/NUMBER ADDRESS FROM TO TERM

BAIRD, Robert Doonside Soldier Settlement 1921 1925 4 yrs

BATTERSBY, Harry 18216 Block 275 Doonside SS 1921 1928 7 yrs

BLACK, Charles William 43 Block 261 Doonside SS 1921 1928 7 yrs

EVANS, Thomas Henry Doonside 1919 1933 14 yrs

FINCH, Robert Arthur 3085 Block 256 Doonside SS 1924 1927 3 yrs

GREENTREE, George

Francis Augustus 4359 Block 251 Doonside SS 1924 1928 4 yrs

HAYLEN, Leslie Clement 66713/85918 Doonside SS 1921 1926 5 yrs

HETHERINGTON,

William Block 274, Doonside SS 1921 1923 7 yrs

JONES, Joseph Richard 16887/18207 Doonside SS 1921 1926 5 yrs

KEATING, Ernest Henry 2265 Block 273 Doonside SS 1921 1928 7 yrs

KELLY, Brian James 29302 CSP Doonside SS 1924 1927 3 yrs

RUSSELL, Clarence 2846 Doonside 1919 1933 14