ÒNurungiÓRemembered OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CONCORD HERITAGE SOCIETY email: [email protected] www.concordheritage.asn.au

EDITOR No.129 February 2007 LOIS MICHEL 9744-8528 PRESIDENT Brush Farm ALAN WRIGHT 9743-4869 built his home, Brush with an interest in horse racing, who Farm House, in 1819-1821 and today it is founded and developed the Rosehill Race- PUBLIC RELATIONS one of Australia’s oldest houses. It is course. TRISH SKEHAN situated adjacent to Brush Farm Park, a 4369-4172 In 1894 it became the Carpentarian Boys’ part of the former estate, overlooking the Reformatory, then a home for single SECRETARY/TREASURER River. mothers and delinquent girls, and later still LOIS MICHEL The original house was a four room, two- a home for handicapped children. 3 Flavelle Street storey dwelling, built on sandstone foun- In 1988 the Brush Farm House and property (P.O. Box 152) dations with brick walls. Concord 2137 was purchased by the Department of Phone: 9744-8528 It was sold by Blaxland in 1831 and was Corrective Services. Fax: 9744-7591 then owned by the Forster family, which Finally, in 1990, Ryde Municipal Council included Blaxland’s grandson and one- purchased it and they began restoration of ASSISTANT SECRETARY time Premier of NSW (1856-1860), VINCE SCERRI the building in 2006. 9736-1003 William Forster. ------(Information from Australian Heritage, Summer From 1881 the house was the residence 2006 edition) MEETINGS of John Bennett, a theatrical entrepreneur General Meetings 2nd Wednesday of month at 7:30 pm in the Concord Citizens’ Centre Saving Amiens - April 1918 9 Wellbank Street, Concord The centenary of World War I is fast ap- well as the 11th Bn., W.A., to which my fa- Phone: 8765-9155 proaching and with it will come a great ther belonged. An important aspect in the Executive Meetings surge of interest in this period. conduct of this action was that Australian 4th Wednesday of A few months ago I found an old litho- troops were commanded by General August, October, January, graph, “Saving Amiens”, subtitled “A Monash, who planned his actions in a me- March, May and July Brilliant Bayonet Charge by the Ninth ticulous manner and his troops trusted him. at 7:30 pm in the Concord Citizens’ Centre Australian Brigade”. It shows the flam- boyance of a military charge, with an Walker Estates Committee interesting background of place and 4th Wednesday of action, in this case a small river running September, November, under a small stone bridge. Our soldiers February, April and June are grappling with an enemy machine gun at 7:30 pm in the crew and back-up troops advance from Concord Citizens’ Centre behind their Australian officer. Bob Jones, 8765-9347 When I studied my reference*, “The Aus- Other Committees tralian Battlefields of the Western Front” I As arranged found that the 9th Brigade were raised in Watch the newsletter N.S.W. and comprised the 33rd, 34th, 35th Museum and 36th Battalions. This puzzled me as Saving Amiens, by F. Matania. Lorraine Holmes, 9743-2682 my father came from Western Australia Archives/Local History and served with the 11th Battalion. How- Lola Sharp, 8753-0659 ever, I found further details which ex- plained why my father acquired this picture Heritage and brought it home with him on a hospi- Bob Jones, 8765-9347 tal ship in 1919. February Wed 14: Greg Blaxel, “The Life of Oral/Family History Laffin explains that the “Battle of Amiens” Gregory Blaxland” and “Brush Farm”; Lola Sharp,* 8753-0659 took place a long way from Amiens, actu- CONCORD ally south east of Villers-Bretonneux. March Wed 14: Gareth Debney, “Yaralla’s Wild HERITAGE MUSEUM Furthermore, from 31st May, 1918, all five Side”. Gareth will be focusing mainly on the 5 Wellbank Street A.I.F. Divisions came under the direct conservation value and significance of the Open 2:00 - 4:00 pm command of General John Monash. This remnant natural bushland on Yaralla and on 1st and 3rd would have included N.S.W. battalions as Rivendell. Wednesdays & Saturdays John Laffin goes on to detail a number have restored. She gave us the Cabarita Park - of engagements in this important bat- above article and I was waiting to see tle, where many of the incidents were whether she managed to do anything Draft Management Plan breathtaking in their daring ”. . . and with her print before publishing. A draft Plan of Management has been prepared for many gallant actions took place along However, In our museum cleanup of Cabarita Park to guide Council as the owner of the advancing front line . . . “ community land and trust manager of two parcels our collection of paintings, drawings, of Crown Land in the future management of One of these “gallant actions” involved etc., we came across a framed litho- Cabarita Park. Lt. Lawrence McCarthy, who “led a graph of the same print. Due to its historical connections, Cabarita Park has platoon and bombed his way . . . Printed on the back is the following: substantial regional significance. The park occu- awarded the V.C.” The first rush of the great German pies a prominent location on the My father had many friends and cous- and accommodates wide range of significant ac- offensive in March of last year carried tivities. ins in the 16th Bn. And also had fam- the enemy to a position in front of ily connections with York, W.A., where Villers Bretonneux nine miles east of The Draft Plan of Management will be on public Lt. McCarthy lived. The connection exhibition from Wednesday 10 January Amiens, where he (the enemy) until Wednesday 12 March 2007, and written with McCarthy probably explains why paused for a few days reorganising my father was interested in this par- submissions to the General Manager will be and accumulating material to allow accepted during this period. It may be viewed at ticular picture, as I do not believe he him to continue the advance. brought much home on the hospital the Canada Bay Civic Centre in Drummoyne, The position was extremely critical for Five Dock Library, Concord Library and Concord ship. West Library, or on Council’s website the allies, as the loss of Villers www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au. This war picture is probably a com- Bretonneux would have left open the posite of several typical actions of this road to Amiens, there being at that Written submissions should be sent to the General phase of confrontation, which sus- time no other defensive positions east Manager, City of Canada Bay Council, Locked Bag tained considerable losses despite of the city. 1470, Drummoyne, 1470 or can be sent by email Monash’s meticulous planning. to [email protected] On April 4 at 6:00 a.m. following a tre- Public Hearing As Laffin writes: “The triumph had left mendous bombardment of the town, streaks of Australian blood across the the enemy attacked in great force. The Local Government Act requires Council, when southern Somme”. Having seen the preparing Plans of Management, to categorise German military cemeteries of the Australian troops were holding the line Community Land as either:- area, with mass graves, their loss of immediately in front of the town and Sportsgrounds, blood was obviously immense. as the Germans succeeded in pen- Areas of Cultural Significance, etrating the line between their left Parks, and/or This old picture is already eighty flank and the Somme the position was General Community Use Areas. seven years old and nearing its cen- extremely serous, but a readjustment Natural Areas, tury. It captures the action and sav- of the line was made, and British cav- agery of the first World War in which The Act prescribes core objectives for each cat- alry arriving at the critical moment, egory. The Act also requires that a Public Hear- we lost a huge proportion of our fit dismounted, dug in and filled the ing be held in regard to the proposed young men, gloriously, bravely, but breach and, with the Australians, frus- categorisations. often needlessly. The least we can trated the enemy’s further attempts to do is to understand and remember A Public Hearing will be held into the categorisa- advance. tions proposed in the draft plan of management their sacrifice. In the afternoon the Germans on Thursday, 15 February 2007 at the Concord It is possible that the Ninth Australian renewed the attack, making violent Community Centre in Gipps Street. Brigade, whose deeds helped end the efforts to envelope the town from the Comments from the public hearing will be consid- war in the “Battle of Amiens” may have south and by sheer weight of numbers ered in conjunction with submissions received also included WW I A.I.F. soldiers gaining some temporary success but during the public exhibition period. from Concord. a brilliant bayonet charge by the 9th For further information, please contact Council’s Margaret Hughes Australian Brigade completely saved Parks Planner, Mr Vincent Conroy, on 9911 6422 Ref: Australian Battlefields of the West- the situation, London troops digging in or email [email protected] ern Front, 1916-18, by John Laffin. in support. Gary Sawyer (General Manager) City of Canada Bay Council Ed Note: You may remember Mar- The German losses in this battle were garet coming along to one of our very heavy, a large number of dead meetings to tell us about this very being left on the field. or not. This is a large project and we need badly damaged print she was trying to all the help we can get. * I don’t have a date for working bees as we Yaralla Dairy Project Update gaps, and helping to paint at a later date. are waiting on our Council Heritage Officer to * All major heavier work is carried out by Vince inspect the Dairy before we can start. As * There is much to be done to refurbish the Scerri with the occasional assistance from soon as we have the go-ahead we’ll begin. Dairy complex so that it could be used for our members. * A huge five-week clean up of the Dairy Devonshire teas. There is almost a job for grounds and inside the building has been car- every member. * We now have some people who have offered to help whenever they can. They are Bob ried out. Hundreds of nails and brackets have *We are looking for volunteers to help clean Jones, who has cleaned up the water gutters also been removed from the walls, many steel up debris left by other workers, make teas or along the drive and cleaned up part of the brackets sticking out of the ground have all coffees, hold ladders, pass things to other grounds, Lorraine Holmes, Ron Schmid, John been cut off, huge gaps in the building have workers, etc . Any small effort is very appre- Clarke, John Walmsley, Frances Simon, Trish been closed off with timber, the toilet is now ciated. Skehan (with a distance problem), and Mary working. We have a kitchen with a working * We are also looking for people who are will- Scerri, who to date has also put in long hours. hot water urn and cold running water. Most noticeably, we have much more work ahead. ing to help with slightly heavier duties, such as * Whilst every offer is very much appreciated, light sanding, light sawing, filling in mortar we need to find still more volunteers, members Please contact Vince Scerri on 9736 1003 Seven Wonders of the Ancient World monumental tomb of King Mausolus of Caria that formed part of a palace, as if it were part- in Anatolia. It was built by his widow and was mountain, part-castle. They were most likely adorned with sculptures by the four greatest destroyed by an earthquake. Greek artists of the time. Most of it was de- Note: The idea of the list dates to the fifth cen- stroyed in an earthquake some time after the th tury B.C. when Greek historian Herodotus 11 century AD, but the marble and stone was marvelled about some of the Wonders. Al- taken by local people to be used for other though it has been argued that other ancient buildings. Mausolus’ tomb became a model wonders of comparable regard—such as the for many tombs thereafter and the Melbourne Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, Shrine of Remembrance was based on it. Why Seven? and the Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan in Colossus of Rhodes, an island in the Mexico—should have been included, these The fact that there are seven wonders and not Aegean Sea. It was may not have been known about by the five, six or 10 is hardly ever questioned. built between 294BC Greeks who first proposed Wonders for the Seven was considered a special number and 282BC. The Colos- list. And now . . . within many ancient cultures, possibly be- sus was a huge bronze cause of the number of times it appears in statue of the sun god The New Seven Wonders of nature. Helios, built at the har- the Modern World For instance the moon moves through seven bour of Rhodes. It was For the past six years, a movement has been built to honour the phases in a cycle lasting about 28 days – a afoot to create a new seven wonders list. The multiple of seven. Rhodians’ chief god to “New 7 Wonders Project” was created in 2001 by When people looked for some way to group thank him for raising the Swiss filmmaker and adventurer, Bernard Weber, days they grouped them in weeks of seven Macedonian siege of Rhodes (from 305BC- who wanted to create a list of seven wonders that days, four of which would make a lunar month. 304BC). Helios was believed to be the god would update the ancient one. There are also seven colours in a rainbow. who revealed Rhodes, bringing it up from the bottom of the sea. It was destroyed by an The Egyptian pyramids are the only surviving Naturally enough when people went looking structures from the original list of seven architec- earthquake in about 225BC. The statue was tural marvels. Those seven were deemed won- for the best manmade structures they grouped left where it fell until the Arabs invaded in them into seven. ders in ancient times by observers of the AD654, when the bronze and iron was scav- Mediterranean and Middle East The best known list of the seven man-made enged and sold for scrap. The Statue of Lib- erty was inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes. By 2005, the New 7 Wonders Project had com- wonders of the ancient world was compiled by piled a list of 200 buildings and monuments. An rd A plaque at the base of the statue features a Antipater round the 3 century BC. internet vote that included 20 million participants poem by Emma Lazarus called “The New Co- whittled the list down to 77. The list was then Pharos Lighthouse on Pharos Island, lossus”. off Alexandria in Egypt. further reduced to a short list of 21 by a panel of Completed about 280 Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Built be- eminent architects. And for the final list, the BC. Standing about tween 2575BC and 2465BC. These are the online world is currently casting its votes. The 110m tall, the Pharos oldest of the final list will be announced on 7/7/07 in Lisbon, Portugal. lighthouse was built to seven ancient aid ships navigating the difficult Egyptian wonders, con- One problem with the old ancient wonders list is coast. It eventually fell into ruin and the Qa’it sisting of three that most of us don’t have even a vague sense Bay fortress was constructed from the ruins stone structures built during the 4th dynasty of of what these ancient glorious monuments look on the same site during the 15th century AD ancient Egypt. They are the only ancient won- like since they perished so long ago. But the der from the list of seven to survive, mostly new list of 21 potential wonders is truly full of Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece. intact, today. However, in Philo’s time they wonders both awe-inspiring and familiar to most Built about 430BC. The shrine of Olympia is were covered with an outer layer of fine white people - Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel best known as the limestone. Tower, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China. site of the original There isn’t one structure on the list that doesn’t Olympic games, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (in mod- deserve to be there, and it’s going to be a tough but the games ern day Turkey). Built about 550BC. Artemis job making the final cut. were dedicated to was the Greek goddess of – among other The project, which has received massive public- Zeus, chief god of things – the hunt, wild animals, crops, chas- ity, has inspired discussion about the world’s the Green pan- tity and (paradoxically) childbirth. She was greatest structures. As an added bonus, 50% of theon. In the temple of Zeus at Olympia was also known as all net revenue raised by the New 7 Wonders a 12m-high statue of the god, made mostly of Diana in Roman Project will be used to fund restoration efforts ivory and gold over a wooden interior scaffold. mythology. It was worldwide. By the 5th century AD the statue had been burned down in The 21 Candidates for the New Seven Won- stripped of the gold and its ivory was either 356BC by a dis- ders: turbed young man looted or destroyed in a fire in 475. Nothing Acropolis, Greece: A million people come here remains of the statue but its image influenced named Herostratus, who hoped the act would make him famous. each year to see the marble temples—including Christian depictions of God and Jesus (even the ruins of the columned Parthenon—and stat- American memorials of presidents Lincoln Hanging Gardens of Babylon (modern day ues of Greek gods and goddesses dating from and Washington. Iraq). Built between the 9th and 6th centuries the fifth century B.C. The Mausoleum BC. The Hang- Alhambra, Spain: The palace and citadel, of Halicarnassus ing Gardens perched above Granada, was the residence of (modern day Bodrum in did not actually the Moorish caliphs who governed southern Turkey). It was built be- hang, they were Spain in splendor until 1492, when the city was tween 353BC and 351 a series of conquered by the Christian forces of King BC. This was the tiered, land- Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, ending 800 years scaped terraces of Muslim rule. Stunning features include mosa- ics, arabesques and mocarabe, or honeycomb Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany: The inspi- work. ration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disney- From the Angkor, Cambodia: The archaeological site in land, Neuschwanstein is a creation of “Mad King” Secretary’s Desk Siem Reap was the capital of the Khmer (Cam- Ludwig II of Bavaria, who had it built in the 19th century to indulge his romantic fancies. Perched bodian) empire from the ninth to 15th centuries. Museum Clean up: Thanks to those who turned It served as administrative center and place of on a peak in the Bavarian Alps, the gray granite castle rises to towers, turrets and pinnacles and up to help with the museum cleanup. We did worship for a prosperous kingdom that stretched manage to copy all the painting and photo- from Vietnam to China and the Bay of Bengal. contains many paintings with scenes from Rich- ard Wagner operas admired by Ludwig. graphs that were stored, and to catalogue them The 12th century ruins include Angkor Wat and if we need to located any at a later date. Un- Angkor Thom. Petra, Jordan: This ancient city in southwestern fortunately this was all we managed so we’ll Christ Redeemer Statue, Brazil: The 125-foot Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa probably be organising another day later. statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans, a center of caravan Yaralla Open Day: Our next Open Day at Yar- arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Mount alla will be on Sunday, 29th April. Please mark trade, and continued to flourish under Roman Corcovado. The statue was built in pieces in it in your diary now!. If you are going to be France starting in 1926, and shipped to Brazil. A rule after the Nabateans’ defeat in A.D. 106. The able to help on the day please contact the railway carried it up the 2,343-foot mountain for city is famous for water tunnels and stone struc- secretary as soon as possible so we can the 1931 inauguration. tures carved in the rock, including Ad-Dayr, “the organise. Monastery,” an uncompleted tomb facade that Colosseum, Italy: The 50,000-seat served as a church during Byzantine times. Seven New Wonders of the World: To cast your amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. vote (with the Opera House as No.1, naturally) 80. The arena has influenced the design of mod- Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: This step go to http://www.new7wonders.com/ ern stadiums. pyramid surmounted by a temple was part of a index.php?id=352 Easter Island, Chile: Hundreds of massive sacred site in an important Mayan center on Congratulation to our member Virginia Walker stone busts, or Moais, are all that remains from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. It is built according who has recently won a Human Rights Award. the prehistoric Rapanui culture that crafted them to the solar calendar. Shadows at the fall and Virginia is the founder and chairperson of between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake Bridge for Asylum Seekers, an organisation that deceased ancestors. Some statues are over 70 crawling down the steps, similar to the carved provides financial support for refugees on feet tall. serpent at the top. An older pyramid inside fea- Bridging Visas, who are not allowed to work tures a jade-studded, red jaguar throne. and do not receive health benefits or welfare Eiffel Tower, France: The 985-foot tower, built payments to survive in . They can only in 1889 for the International Exposition, symbol- Pyramid of Giza, Egypt: The only surviving help people who have been tortured, perse- izes Paris. Made almost entirely of open-lattice structures of the original seven wonders, the cuted, or seen their families die in front of them. wrought iron and erected in only two years with three pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs a small labor force, the tower—Paris’ tallest struc- 4,500 years ago. Nearby is the Great Sphinx Calling Garden Lovers: The Concord Garden ture—demonstrated advances in construction statue, with a man’s face and a lion’s body. Club, in conjunction with the Council, will be holding their Concord Autumn Flower and techniques, but some initially criticized it as Statue of Liberty, New York: The 305-foot unaesthetic. Floral Art Show on Saturday, 24th March statue in New York Harbor has welcomed immi- (10:30 am to 4:00 pm) and Sunday, 24th March Great Wall of China: The 4,160-mile barricade grants and symbolized freedom since 1886, (11:00 am to 3:00 pm) in the Concord Commu- running from east to west is the world’s longest when it was dedicated as a gift of the French nity Centre in Gipps Street Show entries close man-made structure. The fortification was built to government. at 5:00 pm on Thursday, 22nd March, 2007 protect various dynasties from invasion by Huns, Stonehenge, Britain: How and why this circu- with Show Secretary, Mrs. Pat Allport, phone Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes. Con- lar monument of massive rocks was created 9558-1209. struction took place over hundreds of years, be- between 3,000 and 1,600 B.C. is unknown, but Rally - Coalition Against Private Overdevelop- ginning in the seventh century B.C. some experts say the stones were aligned as ment: This group is organising a combined Hagia Sophia, Turkey: The soaring cathedral, part of a sun-worshipping culture or astronomi- protest rally on Sunday, 11th February, 2007. It also called the Church of Holy Wisdom, was com- cal calendar. Today it is a major tourist attraction. will start in Hyde Park (Archibald Fountain) and pleted in 537 AD at Constantinople, today’s Is- Druids and New Age followers gather here every march to Parliament House. They are contact- tanbul. In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the June 21 to celebrate summer solstice. ing other groups - Friends of Gladesville Hos- pital and Hunters Hill community, who are Ottomans, it became a mosque with minarets. Sydney Opera House, Australia: Situated on When Turkish President Kemal Ataturk turned it opposing the sale of The Priory; Friends of Bennelong Point reaching into Sydney’s harbor, Graythwaite, who are facing sell of of at least into a museum in 1935, Christian mosaics cov- the opera house was designed by Danish archi- ered up by the Muslims were revealed. part of the estate; and Friends of Callum Park, tect Jorn Utzon and opened in 1973 by Queen as well as our Society. In fact, all community Kiyomizu Temple, Japan: Kyoto’s Kiyomizu- Elizabeth II. Its roof resembles a ship in full sail groups across NSW who are opposing NSW dera, which means Clear Water Temple, was and is covered by over 1 million white tiles. The government planning approvals/disasters and founded by a Buddhist sect in 798 and rebuilt in building has 1,000 rooms. other related issues are invited to participate. 1633 after a fire. Drinking from its three-stream Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mau- The purpose of the rally is for each community waterfall is believed to confer health, longevity soleum in Agra was built by a 17th century Mo- and success. group to hold their own protest, but with the gul emperor for his favorite wife, who died in combined support of other groups facing simi- Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia: childbirth. The architecture combines Indian, lar issues. There will be key note speakers. Onion domes with golden cupolas surrounded by Persian, and Islamic styles. The complex houses red brick walls are at the heart of Moscow’s the graves of the emperor, his wife, and other There will be plenty of media attending - one representative from each group will have Kremlin, a Medieval fortress converted into the royalty access to the media. This would be an oppor- center of Russian government. The Kremlin once Timbuktu, Mali: Two of West Africa’s oldest tunity to get the Walker story out to the wider symbolized Soviet communism. The Cathedral of mosques, the Djingareyber, or Great Mosque, community. St. Basil the Blessed on adjacent Red Square and the Sankore mosque built during the 14th features nine towers of different colors. It was and early 15th centuries can still be seen here built by Czar Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th in the northern Sahara Desert. Founded about For Your Diary century. A.D. 1,100, Timbuktu was a flourishing caravan Wed. 14th February - General Meeting Machu Picchu, Peru: Built by the Incan Empire center in the Arabic world and a leading spiritual Wed. 28th February - Walker Estates .in the 15th century, Machu Picchu’s walls, pal- and intellectual center in the 15th and 16th cen- aces, temples and dwellings are perched in the turies, with one of the world’s first universities. Committee Meeting clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level in the An- Wed. 14th March - General Meeting des overlooking a lush valley 310 miles from Wed. 28th March - Executive Meeting Lima.