The Glebe Society, BULLETIN. . No. 4 of 1976. (Apr. & May}

IP.O. Box 100, Glebe, 2037 . .Phone 660-0026 I I

GLEBE :A CONSERVATION AREA Glebe is a history of early Australian There are many buildings of interest urban architecture; as a townscape it is in Glebe. The following is a list of some handsome, coherent and largely complete. of the more important:- The scale and character have been little disturbed by modern intrusion. Church of St. John the Evangelist (St. Johns Road) 1868-70 It has been built up over a century and Architects: and J. a half, but the architecture is predominately Horbury Hunt late nineteenth century with some excellent High Victorian (Romanesque) Gothic examples of early twentieth century Federa• (A significant element in the St. tion style. It was built for a wide range Johns Road streetscape; the of different classes of people. Consequent• tower is the highest point on ly there is a very large range of housing the Glebe skyline. types from the Regency mansion, suburban Former Presbyterian Church (Pyrmont Bridge villa, the large terrace, the small terrace Road) 1876-81 to the small cottage. Architect: Thomas Rowe. High Victorian Gothic Glebe contains the largest numbers of (An important skyline element) 1860-70s cottages and terraces forming one continuous townscape in . This Chinese Joss House (Edward Street) 1914 area of 47 acres was in the ownership of (not of great architectural impor• the Church of England from the late eigh• tance, but historically interesting) teenth century until 1974 when it was Lyndhurst, (59 Darghan Street) 1833-35 acquired by the Australian Government. The Architect: John Verge. Regency area is being renovated and restored with the intention of preserving the townscape. Toxteth Park (now St. Scholastica's College - Avenue Road) 1829-31; 1877-81 Although there are certain areas of (Architects: John Verge and George particularly high quality, Glebe is fairly Mansfield) (The tower is an important homogeneous in the standard and interest skyline element; the house which is of its townscape and is always visually kept in excellent condition has a and architecturally interesting. For the handsome garden) most part there is a strong grid pattern Calmar (128 Glebe Point Road) about 1863 with wide regulation width streets, lanes Architect: Edmund Blacket and tree planting which combine with the low and regular profile of the buildings The Lodge (9 Toxteth Road). Possibly built to form a distinctive unity and an agree• as The Lodge or Gatehouse when Toxteth able domestic environment. The formal Park was enlarged between 1877 and 1881. nature of the streets with their fixed Picturesque Gothic. building lines and iron railings is en• Margaretta Cottage (6 Leichhardt Street) livened by the occasional twisting street about 1861. (such as Ferry Road) but principally by Architect: poss i b l y Michael Golden. the topography of the ridges. _ Many streets Post Regency. terminate at the water or a cliff face so that the views outwards form a significant Briarbank (233 Pyrmont Bridge Road) about element in the environment. Also the views 1862. Post Regency of Glebe and its mostly original skyline Rothwell Lodge (24 Ferry Road). Possibly are especially significant from Annandale, before 1851. Post Regency. Rozelle and Ultimo. Glebe is also fortun• ate in its many mature trees particularly Tranby (13 Mansfield Street) 1850s? in its streets and parks but also in Post Regency. private property. Bidura (357 Glebe Point Road) about 1860. Post Regency. Reussdale (160 Pyrmont Bridge Road) about 1868. Architect: Ferdinand Reuss. The Committee did not meet until early Picturesque Gothic. l975, and the Government has not yet intro St. Barnabas Rectory (35 Arundel Street) duced any legislative measures. about 1875. Post Regency. Kirribee (now Camden college - 55 Hereford Meanwhile, the demolition of historic street) 1889. Italianate buildings continues; the shameful neglect of historic buildings continues. Montana (36 Boyce Street) 1892. Federation. The National Trust is campaigning for The Glebe Town Hall (St. Johns Road) 1879 the urgent introduction of legislation which provides for: -80. Architect: Ambrose Thornley Jnr. (a) Compilation of an official list of Italianate. historic buildings and sites in New The Courthouse (St. Johns Road) 1889. South Wales; Architect: James Barnet (b) Controls over the demolition of listed Italianate. buildings; (c) Adequate fines for breaches of demoli• The Police Station (St. Johns Road) 1883. tion regulations; Architect: James Barnet (d) Financial assistance for owners of Italianate. listed buildings. Record Reign Hall (St. Johns Road) 1897. Architect: Edward Halloran You can help the National Trust in this Federation. campaign by writing to your local Member of The Fire Station (75½ St. Johns Road) the Parliament, drawing his 1906. attention to the urgent need for legislation Architect: Walter L. Vernon and the provisions which the legislation Federation. should include. The Post Office (Glebe Point Road) 1888. Italianate. ENVIRONMENT St. Johns Village (St. Johns Road) 1964. Architects: Hely, Bell & Horne The United ,ations has declared June 5th World Extracts from the submission to the Environment Day and the slogan for 1976 is "The Environment where you Live". National Trust for the classification of Glebe, by Tony Strachan. The Editor feels Glebe is our most immediate environment, is she should point out that readers should the place about which we know the most, and is remember it is not just individual build• the place where we can take the most effective ings that should be preserved, as the action. demolition of surrounding buildings often detract from the overall picture. The Glebe Society's Environment Group can provide a vehicle for this. However, your NATIONAL TRUST CAMPAIGN FOR participation is essential, See 'For Your Diary' for details of the next meeting, LEGISLATION TO PROTECT halph Kaye HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND SITES

The National Trust of Australia (N.S.W.) seeks your help in its campaign for new laws to protect historic buildings and sites MISCELLANY in this State.

Such law has existed for many years in The Society has received a letter from c'Jestern Europe, North America and other Leichhardt Council informing us that "developed" nations. In Australia, the Harbour Lighterage are not proceeding Governments of Victoria and Western with their application for a Container Australia have already legislated to Terminal in Federal Road for the time protect our national heritage within being. their State boundaries. Glebe After School Activities Group needs As early as July 1973 The National volunteers to supervise the children. con• Trust of Australia (N.S.W.) forwarded tact 112 Glebe Point Road if you can supply thoroughly researched proposals for labour or materials (paint, wood, nails, legislation to the then Premier, Sir etc.) Robert Askin. In October 1973, one month before the last State elections, the Do you think twice about posting a letter Premier announced that his Government at 18 cents a time? All correspondence would establish a committee to advise the for the Society may be o.dckese..,J "to "'"-, Government on the preservation of historic ,Qo,e,\ofec\, anc\ \e~.- =T 295 Glebe Point buildings and sites. Road. TRANSPORT PLANNING HOW?

b___'Ihe e xpressway , tunnelling notwith• standing , effectivel y divides the suburb in two. Whi le thi s may not affect people much els ewhere, in a close knit community like Glebe this is a real attack upon us. ~or all }he years of "planning" and for the long periods of construction there has been and would be, respectively, very sev ere disruption to the life of the suburb. The Pl anne r's Blight in t he path of the North-Western is an object lesson to all. Perfectly good housing (in short supply) has been allowed to decay and the areas b ecome a hazard which have already taken l ives. ~~ stock of useful buildings, for hou sing a nd industry has been destroyed, a nd historic townscapes a llo~ed to lose t heir beau ty an

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE FREEWAY CASE

b___'Ihe Ce ntral Business District (CBD) is the focus of planning and growth. Wife of freewa y planne r (who has just pre s e nted husband with ninth child): "This house i s far too This is just not true; people have c ongest e d. I'm fed up with forever t ripping over voted with their feet, offices to the children . " nor th industry to the west south and Fre eway planne r (w ith air of infa llibility comm on north. Radial plans simply choke up the t o his profession): "Worry no more my de ar . The centre. If central is to be an problem is easily s olved . I shall have t he hall• asset to the greater city it must not - wa y s widened . " become a highway interchange. I t should have t he choking removed. Plan for it.

~he main highway s must pass through and be joined. Why not pass by? What a terrible waste o f high cost land? What f oll ows i s an attempt to faithfully r econstruct, a l beit in encapsulated f orm, ~he pattern of settlement at, say, an address by the author to the Australian Pennant Hills i s preferab l e to that at Institute of Traff ic Technology o n Mo nday, Gl ebe. 9th February. Two weeks later the URTAC This assumption exp l ains why t he homes report was released. The two facts though o f inner city dwellers need to be sacrifi• coincidept , have no obviou s connection. c e d for a shorter journey for those outside . We n aturall y challenge this right, and This address falls outside the "normal" would e v e n g o so far as to suggest t hat r un of traff ic techno logy . r t i s g i v en b y t hat lifesty l e is. wastefu l of the resources an economist , b u t the quali f icat ion which of the city. The economy depends on the "ju stifies" it is the title of Secretary capacity of land l abour and capital to of the Glebe Soci e ty. From t his standpoint operate tog ether. To make their communi• one becomes, after y ears o f strugg le to be cation l ong -distance is c l e arl y to reduce h e ard by the Soci ety and others , a pretty t h e effectiv e ope ration. we ll educat ed l ayman . The Glebe Society , "trendy bearded gourgeois", holds dear the ~ o ads have p r iorit y i n land u se. hist ory , the bui l dings , t he envi ronmen t and t he amenity o f Glebe. An e xpresswa y whe n tr,e priority exceeds the true need through our heart aff ects u s. a n d d i spl aces p urposes with higher economic and social value, as roads do, at least in 6 . When the cost of the freeways is assessed the minds of their planners, then a serious the social costs of the emphasis on the car mistake is being made. mode of transport are not counted. The burden on hospitals, the drain on police ~he car is the basis for future trans• resources, the dead and injured (3400 and port planning. 91,000 respectively in '71/ 72). Other This is very wrong. The car, as the forms of transport don't have such a cost. most mobile, personal and expensive mode, is best suited to operation at the peri• WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE NORTH-WESTERN phery. The centre should be occupied by EXPRESSWAY. the rail, mass movement modes. The modes should complement, not compete. 1. There was no consultation with the people affected. Protest against the North• ~If you build a better road the conges• Western Freeway in Glebe has been underway tion disappears." for nine years, and access to planning and discussion has been denied. To date there would that it were true. The evidence has been no official meeting between the suggests that new roads quickly fill to D.M.R. and residents, of whom we 9 re an capacity where no other alternative modes articulate sample. Public participation . are available. Even if it were true, why in planning works; one need look no further should., r,oads .contirn.1e. to., expan.d .. at .t:he ex• than the 1974 Leichhardt outline Plan to pense of all other land uses. Perhaps a see that "amateurs", with professional help, congested road and a park for children to can achieve good results, let alone have play in, is better than an engineered some affect upon the environment that they freeway and no park. live in - a desirable goal in anyone's language. WHAT IS WRONG WITH FREEWAYS 2. Despite all sense, the radial plan for 1. They enshrine an inefficient use of Sydney was persisted with. The assumption scarce energy resources. In terms of is that the CBD is a desirable place to effective movement, buses and trains are funnel traffic into, often whether it needs many times more efficient. Can we afford to or not, let alone whether it should. to be so profligate. As it gets more expensive, who suffers? 3. The cost is outrageous - the tunne l through Glebe alone would cost $50 million, 2. They are expensive. SATS and Premier alternative routes for the purpose would Lewis counted 180-320 miles of expressway have been cheaper, and alte rnative modes at a cost of $6000 million which adds up of transport could have been developed more to $20m/rnile at the least. Conservative cheaw. estimates put the cost of the Glebe section of the N-W Freeway at $100 million, the ~twas argued that a replacement must Glebe railway could be upgraded to commuter be found for Pyrmont Bridge. Indeed, as standard from the city to Leichhardt for it is falling down, but miles of expre ss• $35m. way are a very expensive replacement. The ,. Victoria Road Gadarene swine deserve a 3. The freeway means more cars, more cars better deal, and the only viable deal i s means more pollution, of the air, noise off the roads or in buses. The north• pollution and the ugliness of the freeway western corridor needs a transport solution sprawl. Who says aesthetic. mat.ters are not but there is not room for a car based one. important? ~he n the present route saved the dog 4. Though expensive the roads have received, track at Wentworth Park, but f urther and would receive with the freeways, the alienated this park dedicated l ast c entury lions share of the funding , and are subsidi• for pub lic recreation, one of the lungs sed at the expense of the community at of Sydney . This dedication has been large, while public transport has had very flouted by the Railways, t h e Ma ri time little support. This money is needed to Services Board, wha alienated the wate rfront preserve the existing public tLansport in• with coal and cement loaders , and now liy frastructure and rights of way,. which have the ·DM R. The few ho u rs of racemeeti:1

MESSAGE OF HOPE There are now seventy-one affiliated clubs and the organisation appears to be Despite the gloomy story outline d above , full of life. Several events should prove and the heretofore lack of any apparent of interest to us and I shall keep members moves in the right direction, there is some advised as details come to hand. hope. The present Minister (Max Ruddock) has made a statement suggesting that the Theo Ahlston car has ceased to be paramount in the Government's transport thinking. Good news indeed. In a letter to the Glebe Society he has agreed to our holding a train ride DONATION on the line that now hosts a little goods traffic through Glebe but which we have suggested could be relativ ely cheaply up• Ex-member of the Society, Penny Ferguson, graded to commuter standard to the city from has v ery kindly donated a Norman Lindsay Leichhardt. lithograph, Benevolence, for raffling in the cause of the defense of the Gl,ebe Lands. watch the Bulletin for further details. Jim Coombs HISTORY LETTERS TO THE MANAGEMENT SYDNEY The transformation of the greenfields 11th March, 1976 of Glebe into bricks and mortar was gathering momentum over a century ago: since then the neighbourhood has had its Dear Sir, ups and downs. Some think it is a most ordinary suburb. But like so many I am writing to you as the Minister ordinary things it holds a mystery - the responsible for the administration of the mystery of its origins and first makers legislation concerning public holidays in and denizens, for Glebe is the product of New South wales. the unconcerted labour of many people. It has been put to me that Anniversary who were the occupants of your house Day should be restored as the official since Victorian times? What do we know of name of the January 26 holiday in New them and their life styles? Do we have to South wales, in place of Australia Day. grope and burrow in a mountain of forgot~en print to unearth something of these earlier While I personally see merit in this generations? Many of the fascinating and. suggestion, since the name Anniversary perpetually haunting questions that suburbia Day is still in very wide use and was the poses can be answered if the local enthu• official name of the holiday in this com• siast is aware of the catholic array of munity for several generations, I could source materials that can be tapped. not consider taking any action along these lines unless I felt that such a move had For those interested in discovering the the support of public opinion and of con• sort of things that will be useful to the cerned organisations such as yours. researcher at a local level a forum will be held on local history in the perfumed It would be a help to me therefore if garden of Margaretta Cottage, 6 Leichhardt you would be good enough to raise the matter street, the home of Dr. Vincent Sheppard, with your Society and let me have your view on Sunday 27th June, weather permitting. on this matter.

The Agenda will be in two parts. The I should stress that the proposal is morning session from 10.00 a.m. to 11.30 simply that the holiday have a New South a.m. will be devoted to discussion and wales variation in its name based on the afternoon session, starting at 1.00 local traditions, and that in all other p.m., will be concerned with practical respects, including its name in the other participation. A comprehensive paper on States, it would be observed in the usual local source materials, their accessibility way. and value will be distributed. Discussion will begin with specific illustrations of I look forward to your reply. how to date a house and ascertain who lived there at a given time, how to research Yours sincerely, individuals and prepare family histories. The scope will then be broadened to discuss Peter Coleman sources useful in research on such things as local churches, pubs, schools, sporting Note from the Editor: The Management organisations, businesses and so on. committee are replying that no change should be made to the name Australia In the afternoon field research will Day. involve the study of the tombstones of a collection of Glebe citizenry from about 1860 to 1930 and their importance from a FOR YOUR DIARY local historical point of view. As Rookwood Cemetery has by far the best selection of Monday, 31st May. Gardening Club coach headstones in Sydney, it will be visited. trip to Dapto. For further details Each stone is a piece of dated folk craft, ring Theo Ahlston (660.1083) bearing unique historical information about changing family life, occupations, religious Monday 31st Vay 8.00 p.m. Environment Group meeting at the home of Ralph Kaye, 62, Toxteth beliefs, hopes and fears and decorated with Road. All welcome. various ornamental devices which all also change with the passing years. Saturday, 5th June A combined coffee morning and gardening group meeting at Marion Harris's Late in the year it is intended to ar• 280, Glebe Point Road. Coffee, tea and biscuits range an afternoon for those interested in will be served from 10.3oa.m. to 12.30 p.m. Price 20 cents. recording and documen4ing various local historical sites and buildings in some Sunday, 27th June. Delving into history, detail. see elsewhere in the Bulletin for Max Salling details.