HOBBY’S OUTREACH ISSN 1835-3010 Vol 32 No 3 June-July 2020

Figure 1: Calamondah in snow — note the snowman in the foreground. Above: Original photo and Right: building enlarged. Lynn Collins IMG_1777. Serendipity and “Calamondah” Guest House, Blackheath Peter C. Rickwood From time to time Historical Societies get baffled by questions posed by non-members. In 2014 the President of the Blue Mountains Historical Society was asked by Lynn Collins (the Museums & Galleries of NSW Consultant for the Blue Mountains City Council) to identify the location of the building shown in Figure 1 (above). That query was passed to me and in turn I circu- the photo shown in Figure 2 and had a ‘Eureka’ lated it to a number of our more experienced mem- moment as the building was immediately recognisa- bers. Because of the apparent steepness of the slope ble. The name on the garage enabled the location the general opinion was that the building was not in to be identified as 5 Hat Hill Road, Blackheath and Blackheath, but no one could prove a specific loca- the track is now sealed and has been named Strick- tion. After that the matter lay as an unsolved mys- land Lane. tery for five years. So why had none of us recognised that terrain? Following the death of one of our members a The answer lies in a recent image (Figure 3) which photograph was needed for an obituary, so I tackled shows the view of the rear of Calamondah from the task by systematically looking through the Strickland Lane at an angle similar to that used in photographic collection of the Blue Mountains Figure 1. The view to the NE of the building is es- Historical Society. Serendipitously I encountered sentially blocked mostly by the SE corner of a large BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Figure 2: Calamondah. Figure 3: View of Calamondah from Strickland Lane 2015. Blue Mountains Historical Society Google Maps Street View, image capture May 2015, ©2020 Google. Inc., collection P3566. Public Housing apartment block (141-151 Went- Mr. Sam Phillips, junr., who won a draw worth Street) and in part by the Calamondah garag- of £500 in the Blue Mountains Starr Bowkett es. Also, from the current version of Google Maps is building a residence with the money so Street View it can be seen that in 2015 the front and acquired.6 western sides of Calamondah were mostly con- cealed by vegetation and only recently has much of it been removed. Most of the people asked about Figure 1 would never have had cause to go along that lane at the back of Hat Hill Road, nor even Figure 5: The earliest known advertisement for Bligh Lane, which is on the western side of Calamondah.7 Calamondah, and grassed, and even less used. By mid 1930 Mrs Phillips was advertising it as a With his parents Samuel and Ellen (or Nellie) “Guest Home” (Figure 5)7. May Phillips, Samuel William Phillips came to But was the proprietress (named as Mrs S. Blackheath from Kalgoorlie in November 19211. It Phillips) his wife or, as family lore would have it, his seems likely that while he was single he lived with mother8 both of whom were known as Mrs Samuel his parents in their rented house in Carysfort Street2 Phillips in those days? His wife is the more likely as but he did not register as an elector so his residency there is proof that she was in charge in 1937 and is not confirmed. 19389. When he was aged 28, he married 27 year old Blackheath Rates Records for the 1920s are Margaret Sophia Miller3 at St Hilda’s Anglican missing so the earliest available for that building was Church, Katoomba4 on 28 July 1923. Where they issued in 1934 by which time it had [for that time] a lived at first has yet to be established and even in big ICV (Improved Capital Value) of £2,175, appro- 1928 they were not registered as electors anywhere priate for the presence of a large building. in the Macquarie Division. And then in 1935 an additional 10 bedrooms, After a year of marriage, on 22 November 1924 with bathrooms were added11 making it a very large he bought the land designated Section 6, Lot 3 dwelling. (Figure 4) — now 5 Hat Hill Road, DP 758115. But after the opening of Calamondah the Phillips Building seems to have commenced some time apparently did not live there as from 1930 to 1939 in 1929 as it was announced in July 1929 that: (inclusive) the couple are recorded in electoral rolls as residents (actually just tenants) of a house called Bydand12, (now 1 Gordon Street, Blackheath) and Samuel Phillips alone occupied it in 194113 after the death of his wife. [Originally Bydand was deemed to be in the Glen Ayr Estate, specifically in lot 43 which with lots 44-46 were four adjacent lots belonged to Mrs Lily Smith. But around 1937 that land was subdivided into three lots, one facing each of Gordon Avenue, Bundarra Street and Eveleigh Avenue.] Indeed, checks of the 1932 and 1939 Electoral Figure 4: Extract from the Certificate of Title.5 Rolls did not reveal any registered elector residing at Hobby’s Outreach 2 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Calamondah or 5 Hat Hill Road so one has to won- CONTENTS der if anyone actually resided in that Guest House during those years apart from customers. Serendipity and “Calamondah” In Electoral Rolls from 1930 to 1941 (inclusive)14 Guest House, Blackheath ...... 1-4 Samuel Phillips’ occupation is given as Sawyer Museums of the Blue Mountains ~ which seemed odd for a guest house owner but in Part 2: Katoomba ...... 5,6 1934 he was also manager of the Jenolan Timber A Century on Track ...... 6 Co. mills.15 which operated the Peg Factory in The Katoomba Sewerage Filter Beds ...... 7-9 16 Blackheath . The Society at Work ...... 10 Dating the photographs Calendar of Events ...... 11 By the time the photo in Figure 2 was taken Society Directory...... 11 garages had been constructed which at that time carried the name of the property. Calamondah Blackheath in summer25. However, there were opened for business in August 193019 but it seems heavy snowfalls there on 26 July 192826, 24 June unlikely that the garages had been built by then and 192927 and 25 August 192928 so that vacation is were not advertised until December 193017 (and likely to have been at one of those times. The exteri- Lock Garages in 193118) for surely the proprietors or of the building appears to have been completed would not have refrained from advertising those en- before Figure 1 was taken yet it is known that work ticements to potential customers. So those garages on the building was still in progress in July 192929. seem to have been constructed in November or In Figure 1 there is no sign of the garages that were December 1930 so as to be ready for the Christmas advertised in December 1930, so the photograph trade. Hence Figure 2 most probably would have pre-dates that yet it is unlikely to have been taken been taken after 1930; however, both the back of very long before the premises were opened in photograph P3566 and the catalogue entry are August 1930; however there were no significant un-informative. snowfalls in 1930 so it is improbable that the photo- In March 1934 the Blackheath Municipal Coun- graph was taken in that year. Hence it is more likely cil discussed the suggestion that: that Mrs Collins’ winter vacation was in 1929 than the works staff give this lane attention in due in the previous year. course, and that several loads of stone and The second image supplied by Lynn Collins has blinding [sic] be placed on that section from the in the foreground a bay window on the corner of rear of “Calamondah” to the side entrance to Mrs Collins’ holiday accommodation, it matches the Mrs. Steel’s property [6 Inconstant Street].20 window on Wai-iti, (133 Wentworth Street). But that [“In construction, blinding is a base layer of weak concrete holiday would have been by private arrangement or sand that is laid above a layer of hardcore to provide a clean, 21 as no commercial hospitality business is known to level and dry working surface.” ] have operated at that address30. Unfortunately, the Council Minute Books for 1929-1943 are missing22 so what action eventuated Uses cannot be established. But it was normal for most When it opened in August 1930 Calamondah works, which had been discussed at a Council was described as a “Guest Home” (Figure 5) and in Meeting without significant opposition, to be under- 1937 it was referred to as a boarding establish- taken within about a year, so it can be conjectured ment31. Silvey32 claimed that the proprietors were that the requested work on the lane would have Mrs S. Phillips, Miss Simmons from 1931 (but that been done in or about 1935. In Figure 2 that lane is has to be 1930) to 1949 (but it was a guest house clearly visible but at the time of the photography it until at least 1964). Miss O. Simmons operated the appears to still have been just a basic track that had business while Samuel Phillips was unwell in the not been made level, so indicating that the likely 194633 to 194834 period. Some subsequent adver- date of the photography was pre-1935. But by tisements indicate that it was under Sam Phillip’s 1943 the lane was no longer a bush track and what (sic) personal supervision35. became named as Bligh Lane had also been In the early days, elaborate events were organ- formed23. ised by Mr and Mrs Phillips such as the holiday It was Lynn Collins who in 2014 sent electronic dance for 80 guests on 27 December 193536. How- copies of two photographs (the one with a snow- ever, in 1954 it was the site of a House Party held to man is Figure 1) of which: raise funds for the Catholic Church37, while other- His mother had told him they were taken in wise being advertised as a Select Guest House 38. the backyard of a house she was staying Mrs Margaret Sophia Phillips had a severe opera- in at Blackheath when on holiday in the tion in October 1937.39 A year later she had treat- 1920s.24 ment in Sydney for an illness ... occasioning con- That holiday would normally be supposed to cern40 but she must have recovered sufficiently to have been taken in a summer month but in the have been able to travel to visit her mother in Too- 1928-1930 period there were no snowfalls at woomba, Qld, where she died on 1 February 193941. Hobby’s Outreach 3 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

At the age of 47, Samuel William Phillips married 7 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 for a second time in 1942, taking 29 year-old42 Aug 1930, p.24, col.1. 8 Kathleen Mary White as his bride43. The Electoral Pers. comm. Dr Wayne Hanley, 31/01/2020. 9 Katoomba Daily, 18 Mar 1937, p.2, col.5; 1 Sep 1938, Rolls do not record any member of the Phillips p.2, col.5. family residing at Calamondah until 1943 and 10 Blue Mountains Rates Records, CD, Blue Mountains His- then it was Samuel William and Kathleen Mary torical Society. Phillips44. 11 Katoomba Daily, 4 Jul 1935, p.2, col.7. 12 [There was no electoral roll in 1942 the year of their 1930 NSW Electoral Roll, Division of Macquarie, Sub- division of Blackheath, entries 699 & 702; 1939, entries marriage.] 45 862 & 865, [State Reference Library REF10 NQ929.3944/ After the death of her husband in 1953 Mrs 8, microfiche.] Kathleen Phillips continued the guest house busi- 13 1941 NSW Electoral Roll, Division of Macquarie, Sub- ness46 for a while, then she advertised Rooms to division of Blackheath, entry 706. Let47 and when illness struck in 1957 she offered 14 1930 NSW Electoral Roll, Division of Macquarie, Sub- Calamondah for Sale or let furn.48 But eventually division of Blackheath, entry 702; 1941, entry 706. 15 Katoomba Daily, 8 Aug 1934, p.2, col.3. Calamondah went out of the hands of the Phillips 16 Lithgow Mercury, 14 Jul 1932, p.6, col.3. family in November 1960 when Mrs Lily Roberts 17 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 became responsible for the rate payments.49 In Dec 1930, p.14, col.2. August 1962 it was again being run as a Guest 18 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 50 Oct 1931, p.4, col.6. House and was still being so called when adver- 19 7 51 Reference . tised for sale in November 1964. 20 Katoomba Daily, 9 Mar 1934, p.1, col.1. For about two decades Calamondah was rented 21 https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Blinding. by the Ageing and Disability Department for use as 22 NSW State Records NRS 18366. a hostel for 28 people with intellectual, psychologi- 23 1943 AUSIMAGE © Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty. Ltd. via cal and physical disabilities (~1980-2001)52. In Jan- SixMaps © Spatial Services (2018). 24 Email Lynn Collins to Dr Wayne Hanley 2014. uary 2001 the owner granted an extension to the 25 http://www.blackheathweather.com/bmsnowhistory1.html. lease until 14 February to allow for relocation of the 26 Sydney Morning Herald, 27 Jul 1928, p.14, cols.2-4. residents53 but then the building was advertised as 27 Sydney Morning Herald, 25 Jun 1929, p.12, col.3. being put to auction on 17 March 2001.54 I always 28 Sydney Morning Herald, 26 Aug 1929, p.12, col.6. wondered where all those folk were accommodated 29 Reference 6. 30 Silvey, G., Happy days: Blue Mountains Guesthouses not ever having seen the lower level, nor even the Remembered, Kingsclear Books, Crows Nest, 1996. extent of the upper level, of the building. 31 Katoomba Daily, 8 Jul 1937, p.2, col.3. At present the reason for the Phillips’ choosing 32 p.100 in Reference 30. the name Calamondah is not known. 33 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 Lately the name has been appropriated for a Jul 1946, p.17, col.7. rental business at 19 Hat Hill Road but with the 34 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 56 Apr 1948, p.20, col.4. slightly different spelling Calamandah House. 35 e.g. Reference 34. Conclusions 36 Katoomba Daily, 4 Jan 1936, p.2, col.5. 37 Public Notices, Blue Mountains Advertiser, 15 Jul 1954, Figure 1 seems to have been taken in July or p.6, col.3. August 1929, a year before Calamondah was 38 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Blackheath, Sydney Morn- opened for business. ing Herald, 5 Nov 1947, p.20, col.5. Figure 2 was taken subsequently and the lane 39 Katoomba Daily, 28 Oct 1937, p.2, col.5. 40 Reference 9. that is visible seems to have been relatively undevel- 41 Reference 3 and Deaths, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 Feb oped at that time, so the photograph may pre-date 1939, p.10, col.2. 1935 and certainly it pre-dates 1943. 42 NSW Birth Registration 16834/1913; registered at Figure 3 was taken in 2015; now five years later Burwood. the back of Calamondah is looking even more shab- 43 NSW Marriage Registration 13877/1942; registered at Katoomba. by and run down — but in fairness the building is 44 1943 NSW Electoral Roll, Division of Macquarie, Sub- over 90 years old! division of Blackheath, entries 969 & 971. Acknowledgements: I am most grateful to Bruce 45 Deaths, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 Oct 1953, p.16, col.2. Dunstan, Wayne Hanley and Joan Steele for providing 46 Hotels and Holiday Resorts, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 helpful information. — Peter C. Rickwood. Apr 1954, p.35, col.2; 30 Oct 1954, p.30, col.1. 47 Sydney Morning Herald, 18 May 1957, p.33, col.2. References 48 Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Jul 1957, p.45, col.1. 1 Phillips, C. C. (1976) The Phillips, p.350 in Yeaman, J. 49 BMCC Blackheath Rates 1957, Valuation No.2453 & (editor), Historic Blackheath, Rotary Club of Blackheath, Reference 5. 1975-1976. 50 Sydney Morning Herald, 11 Aug 1962, p.25, col.9. 2 1926 NSW Electoral Roll, Division of Macquarie, Sub- 51 Sydney Morning Herald, 4 Nov 1964, p.34, col.5. division of Blackheath; entries 700 & 701. 52 Blue Mountains Gazette, 17 Jan 2001, p.1, cols.1-3. 3 Her maiden surname was actually Muller; Queensland 53 Reference 52 Death registration 1939/C/1023. 54 Blue Mountains Gazette, 14 Feb 2001, p.24, cols.1-2; 28 4 NSW Marriage Registration 11542/1923. Feb 2001, p.30, cols.3-4; 14 Mar 2001, p.20, cols.3-4. 5 Certificate of Title Vol. 3666 Fol. 215. 55 https://geoyp.com/AU/7/Calamondah-135834/ 6 Blue Mountain Star, 13 Jul 1929, p.8, col.5. 56 https://www.booking.com/hotel/au/calamandah-house.html Hobby’s Outreach 4 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Museums of the Blue Mountains Jim Smith Part two: Museums in Katoomba (a) “Sid’s museum”: The Katoomba Shooting, high chairs, babies’ feeding bottles, old christening Excursion and Fishing Club was formed in 1888. gowns, early irons and an “ornamental shoe One of its objectives was “to form a Museum of collection”. Natural History”. The club’s Ranger, Sidney Rex Gilroy started a Natural History museum at Bellingham, stuffed animals shot by club members the Scenic Railway. An advertisement for this stat- and displayed them in a room in the Carrington ed: “Rex Gilroy’s museum is as famous and well hotel. This museum closed in 1890. Seventy years known as Madam Tussard’s [sic] of London. Here, were to pass before another museum appeared in credulity will be challenged as you learn of ancient Katoomba. peoples who lived, and worshipped in this land long (b) Blue Mountains Historical Exhibition: Real before the Australian aborigine.” Another attraction estate agent Phil Gilbey and John Gatward set up a was “the bird-eating spider from South America”. “Historical Gallery” relating to Blue Mountains his- While the Museum of Childhood was still operat- tory in the basement of Phegan’s Pharmacy on the ing, Rex Gilroy moved part of his collection into the corner of Katoomba and Waratah Streets. It was Kedumba Emporium. His exhibition included opened in August 1959 by descendants of Blax- “thousands of rare Butterflies — Moths, Aboriginal land, Wentworth and Lawson. The exhibition’s cu- Artefacts and Fossils”. rator was Vere Chumley. In its first year this attrac- (e) “The Doll’s House”: In addition to Rex Gil- tion was visited by almost 7000 people. It was roy’s Natural History Museum, the Scenic Railway intended to open it seven days per week in its sec- complex also hosted a branch of the Museum of ond year but it apparently closed soon after. Childhood, called “The Doll’s House”. In addition to “over 600 dolls representing over 50 countries” there were displays of coins and medallions and electric model trains. Admission was only 10 cents. (f) Tranter Museum: By the early 1980s Edgar Penzig (Figure 2) had opened ‘The Tranter Museum of Australiana’ in Rupert Street, Katoomba. (Tranter was a colonial era gunsmith.) It boasted “one of the country’s finest collections of bushranging, gold fields, police and colonial ladies’ weapons, artefacts and portraits”. It was claimed that “it is the only museum in the country to concentrate on the bush- ranging period of Australian history”. In 1986 a majority group of Blue Mountains City Council aldermen passed a motion to acquire part of Penzig’s collection for $38,000. One idea was Figure 1. “Mel Ward’s new museum at Echo Point”. that it could be displayed in the Woodford Western Herald (Bourke), 15 Apr 1960, p2 c3, Trove#103979619.

(c) Pyala Museum: A second museum opened in Katoomba in late 1959. Mel Ward, still based at the Hydro Majestic hotel, opened a branch museum in December in the La Plaza building near Echo Point lookout. (See Figure 1.) Mel’s wife Halley kept Pyala open after his death in 1966, before storm damage led to its closure in 1972. (d) Museum of Childhood and Gilroy’s branch museums: When the La Plaza building was en- larged and renovated in the early 1970s it was re- named the Kedumba Emporium. Included among its attractions was a Museum of Childhood which displayed the private collection of over 1500 dolls Figure 2. Edgar Penzig (right) with Alan McRae of the amassed by Judy Perry. In addition, there was a Bathurst Historical Society, whose museum houses a “magnificent collection of Australian and world Penzig collection. coins and bank notes,” early cots, bassinets and Courtesy Alan McRae. Hobby’s Outreach 5 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

all along my A Century on Track mother took pho- tos and kept dia- Andy Macqueen ries. I still have In 1987 I moved to the Blue Mountains from the those photos and Northern Territory, with my wife Liz and our three diaries. children. Since then I’ve done a lot of bushwalking, Countless oth- been active in conservation and outdoor education, er families have and written several books and papers to do with the long attachments cultural history of the local natural areas. to the Blue Moun- My love of the Mountains, and natural areas in tains. Gundungur- general, didn’t just come out of the blue. As a teen- ra and Darug peo- ager and young man — before I left for adventures ple have deep in the Territory — I was engrossed with bushwalking associations going and canyoning, and participated in conservation back thousands of campaigns. years. I thought The seeds were planted before that, however. however that my My parents were fond of camping and walking. own family’s sto- When I was a youngster we went on numerous ry, common-or-garden as it is, might be worth tell- camping trips, often up and down the coast, but ing because of the photographic record. also in the Mountains. I have therefore produced an illustrated account My parents’ own attachment to the Mountains of my family’s doings, starting from 1921. It is a emerged well before they were married in 1937. 60-page ebook (in pdf form) with 100 images and Starting in 1921, when she was eight, my mother supporting text, spanning from 1921 to 2019. Most used to holiday annually with her mother at Yabba readers will not care much about my family history Yabba in Blackheath. From 1932, she stayed in per se, but the book may be of interest from the Wentworth Falls and Leura with her husband-to-be local history viewpoint, particularly as it applies to and his siblings. And so it went on. Every year there our amazing walking track network. were walks on the tracks and visits to lookouts. And The book is currently viewable and download-able free at https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/860e2695-626e-4443-4947-6c127f1ec090 Museums of the Blue Mountains — continued from previous page Academy. No permanent home could be found for Fox”. There were also humorous items including a the collection and Council auctioned it off at a tank of water with “Siamese invisible fighting fish, significant loss in 1993. Penzig announced his “re- the larger being the female”, and a glass-topped box tirement” in the mid-1990s and in 2006 moved to of sand with a footprint labelled “Captain Cook’s Tasmania, where he died in 2010. footprint found at Kurnell”. I don’t recall them being on display at the Tranter Ray Butcher had a short-lived shop and Museum, but Penzig also had a collection of Nazi “meseum” in Waratah Street. None of the items medals and weapons which he displayed at gun within the premises were priced and there was a fairs. notice on the window explaining that “This shop is (g) Clock Museum: In the 1970s there was a also a meseum”. If you were interested in anything Clock Museum with “over 120 interesting fascinat- you had to ask whether it was for sale or part of the ing time pieces” operated by F. and W. Griffiths at “meseum”. 210 Great Western Highway, Katoomba. (k) World Heritage display: When the old Ked- (h) Museum of Stringed Instruments: By the mid- umba Emporium was demolished it was replaced 1980s this “unique collection of stringed instru- with the current building on the site. Upstairs there ments used by musicians through the ages” was at was a display, entered through a turnstile in which 38 Waratah Street, Katoomba. you inserted a two-dollar coin, which included (i) RSL display: Katoomba RSL used to have stuffed birds and other artefacts and information re- a large display of medals and military related lated to the Blue Mountains World Heritage area artefacts. Most of these were destroyed in a fire a proclaimed in 2000. few years ago, but I understand some items were (l) Camera Museum: Upstairs in Steve Archer’s salvaged. Antique Centre in Main Street, Katoomba, is a col- (j) Gus Skeen and Ray Butcher displays: These lection of historic cameras and other curiosities two lovable eccentrics had artefacts on display dur- which was set up a few years ago. I noticed there a ing the 1980s. Gus Skeen’s antique shop, on the cabinet of stuffed birds which had been at Yester corner of Main and Parke Streets, had a window Grange. display with minerals and fossils and “the Balmain Hobby’s Outreach 6 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Katoomba Sewerage Filter Beds Philip Hammon about him, except that he won the odd golfing trophy but, fortunately for us, he utilised his photography hobby to document the progress of the various schemes. So, hoping for some pictures of Katoomba Dam under construction I requested a viewing. These turned out to be 5"x4" glass negatives, and a visit to the State Library was organised to check them out. Accompanied by Patrick Leonard, I took my trusty Canon EOS60D, because it could photo- graph in RAW. Having never photographed nega- tives before I thought that this format would give me the greatest flexibility for post-processing. A very helpful Michael Adams “Librarian Grade 2” showed us the negatives and supervised the photographing of the negatives using a light box. I Figure 1: The Katoomba filter beds. must admit to being quite excited as I saw images of State Library via Jeff Brown/Facebook/Do you remember the Scenic Railway incline area emerging, as well as Katoomba when? images of the filter beds, but no photos of Katoom- ba Dam. Little did I know how much work these In July of 2019 I was made President of Katoom- photographs would produce. ba Rotary Club, and one of my projects was to raise I had also requested to see an album of photo- the profile of the club in the town. graphs by Charles Bayliss hoping for some new One idea was to have painted on the disused material, but they were only copies of Kerry’s and Katoomba Water tank, something along the lines of King’s photos. “Welcome to Katoomba from Katoomba Rotary”. Thirty-eight of the Fitzgerald negatives were pho- Despite support from Trish Doyle, the idea did tographed, and the results were as follows: — not get up, as Sydney Water did not want to be seen 9 of the construction of the Katoomba Filter bed. as supporting one community group over another. 16 of the construction of the Leura Filter Bed. However, during this period it became obvious 3 of the construction of the Wallacia Weir. that very little was known about the building in 8 unknowns. 1907 of the tank and the Cascade Creek Dam that Now I had the task of converting RAW negative supplied it. So, research was started, using Trove. files into usable positives. In 1905 a water supply scheme was proposed to supply the increasingly tourism-centred town of Katoomba with a dependable water supply. The scheme was opened on Wednesday 13th March 1907, by the Governor, Sir Harry Rawson. Supply pipes were gradually extended through the town and on to Leura. In a Facebook site called “Do you remember Katoomba when” a photograph was put up show- ing the Katoomba filter beds operating. See Figure 1. Among the comments was a mention of the State Library of NSW (SLNSW) as a source of photo- graphs. On researching this option, I discovered that Figure 2. there were no catalogued photos of the water tank, So, I had to learn how to use Photoshop’s Light- but in the listings, there were a number of photo- room, a process that took a few days, and then a graphs by one R. D. Fitzgerald, with the notation few more. “Katoomba Sewerage” and “Katoomba and Walla- This (Figure 2) is what my original photographs 1 cia Dam under construction”. looked like. There is a problem in photographing a The photographs were taken by R. D. Fitzger- glass negative like this, because it is quite difficult to ald, who was the District Engineer for the Public determine the front of the negative when it is on a Works Department. Trove doesn’t reveal much glass slide. So, it is possible to have a mirror image. Hobby’s Outreach 7 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY That is OK where the scene is fa- miliar, but if not, it can be quite dif- ficult. They can even be upside down! The Katoomba sewerage scheme In August of 1891 Katoomba Municipal Council offered a £25 prize for “the best report on how to deal with and dispose of the household drainage of Katoom- ba”. However, the solution had to wait until 1911. Sewerage during this time was taken care of by “nightsoil” collec- tions, i.e. the dunny man, and a crematory was built to dispose of it in Lot 9 Section D of J. B. North’s Estate. It was built there because the road from the coal mine turned right just there to continue up Gracie’s Hill, and coal was the fuel needed. There were also a series of “sewerage paddocks”, in which the nightsoil was buried. There were a small number of septic tanks attached to houses about the town, but because of the rocky nature of the terrain, they were expensive to install. In 1903, a scheme was pro- posed to pipe the “drainage” un- der the railway line and thence to a septic tank in Whitton Street, but that was voted down in a referendum. Tenders were called on 22nd July 1909 and by August, had been let to O’Meara Brothers of Kogarah, to install the piping, sep- tic tanks and filter beds for the Figure 3. Flying Fox Gap. Blue Mountains Historical Society, P683. scheme, expected to be completed by March 1910. Solving the A bureaucratic obstacle arose when it was dis- Flying Fox Gap photo mystery covered that the site chosen for the Leura filter bed was not in the Katoomba Municipality but in the Many years ago, I came across a photo in the Blue Mountains Shire, so a boundary adjustment Blue Mountains Historical Society collection titled had to take place. “Flying Fox Gap”. Figure 3. The site chosen for the Katoomba Filter Bed was It showed a man leaning on a derrick with a within the landholdings of J. B. North, as part of the cloth-capped man in the background, and two men Katoomba Coal Mine, which had lain unused since operating a windlass in the right background. Half- 1903. So the area had to be purchased from the way down the cliff, on the rope leading down from North Estate, and an easement created for the pipe- the tip of the derrick was a long length of “some- line through his property. thing”, and on the ground next to the windlass was The septic tank below Selby St that was included more unidentifiable equipment. In amongst the in this scheme is still there. It measures 9m x 2m x trees in the valley can be seen the remains of build- 0.7m and held 12,000 litres. There were complaints ings. Harry Phillips used this photo, with a few em- of it overflowing during busy periods in Katoomba bellishments, for the cover of a tourist guidebook. I and polluting the waterfalls. had no idea what the photo might have been of, the only clue being the regrowth of the trees in the Hobby’s Outreach 8 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY valley, around the miner’s huts, sug- gesting early 20th century. Mr Fitzgerald took an almost iden- tical photo. See Figure 4. The same derrick, the same length of what we now know is pipe hanging from the derrick. So now we can date the photo in Figure 3 to 1909 or 1910 while the Katoomba Filter beds were being built.

LEFT — Figure 4: The Fitzgerald photo of the right-side of Flying Fox Gap. SLNSW, Fitzgerald Collection, ON 147.

RIGHT — Figure 5: The derrick at the cliff edge. SLNSW, Fitzgerald Collection, ON 147.

There are two more photos of the derrick and windlass. In Figure 5 a Tee for the filter bed, a vital piece of equipment, is being lowered.

BELOW — Figure 6: The windlass was operated by two men. SLNSW, Fitzgerald Collection, ON 147.

Figure 6 shows the unmistakable background of the Three Sisters, with lengths of pipe on the ground and a gate valve on the right. The derrick lowered the equip- ment to the top of the flying fox which then carried it all the way to the filter bed site in one span.

References are available from Phil: [email protected] Look for Part Two in the next issue of Hobby’s Outreach. 1 State Library of NSW, Fitzgerald Collec- tion of photographs of New South Wales and Fitzgerald family photographs. Part 1: Glass negatives. Call No. ON 147 Ref- erence 52067. Hobby’s Outreach 9 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Society at Work President’s Report newsletter is due although that thought is probably May 2020 just a tad optimistic at present. Stay safe! As I write this in mid — Jeanette Robertson, Membership Secretary May the status of the Society’s reopening is still Library News — Along the Bridle Track uncertain. Our monthly by Victoria V. Emmett (135.07PT) meetings, open days, ex- Presenting history and reminiscences of horse cursions and Tuesday and riding in the Blue Mountains, this delightful read Friday activities are still was pieced together by the author from the memo- not possible due to COV- ries of others, her own memories and her research ID-19 restrictions. We have not yet been able to over nearly 20 years. hold our Annual General Meeting, with the current At the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, Management Committee soldiering on beyond the the Mountains became renowned as Australia’s pre- date when it would normally have been welcoming mier tourist and health resort area. The number of new members. Dare I hope that this will be out of livery stables servicing the growing crowd of visitors date by the time you read it? increased and competition was apparently fierce. With Tarella Cottage in need of much mainte- While the travelling community embraced motor nance, Wayne has taken advantage of the uninhab- vehicles quickly, from the 1930s the horseriding ited building to spend a couple of days each week craze took off. carrying out painting and other repair work. Once This book is filled with press reports, photo- we are able to reopen to the public it should be in graphs, correspondence and anecdotes about the much better condition. various establishments — and the people who ran This issue is the first prepared by our new Hob- them — from Leura to Blackheath and down into by’s Outreach editor Keith Painter who takes over the Megalong and Kanimbla valleys. Cope’s Riding from Patsy Moppet. Patsy has very successfully car- School at Leura, Katoomba’s Donohoe’s Riding ried out this task for the past seven issues and I School and Barnes’ Riding School, Reg Byron’s would like to thank her for her hard work and the Stables, the Pony Park at Echo Point, “The Hydro” high quality of her issues. I warmly welcome Keith stables and Walker-Butler’s all vied for customers. to this essential role within the Society. High times, scandal and tragedy are all featured. I wish all members the best of health in these You may find your own memories stirred and per- strange times and hope you are all coping well with haps wonder just where you put that riding crop. the current restrictions. I also look forward to the Ms Emmett kindly acknowledges the assistance Society being able to resume normal activities at she received from BMHS, specifically Robyne some stage in the not too distant future. Ridge, Lorraine (presumably Stacey) and John (un- — Alan Foster fortunately she did not record the surname of that M & Ms (Membership and Meetings) particular helpful John — as you know, we have many). Not surprisingly, there have been no new mem- Once we are COVID-19 cleared, please come to bers since the April/May newsletter. your Library to browse and borrow. It is hoped that the April to July speakers whose — Sherida Currie, Librarian talks have been cancelled can be rescheduled for 2021: • Madeline Rosen ‘Coming to Australia’; • Cathy Perkins ‘The Shelf Life of Zora Cross’; A BEQUEST – PLEASE REMEMBER • Keith Painter ‘Opening the Blue Mountains’; BMHS IN YOUR WILL • Barbara Cameron-Smith ‘The Leaning Rock of Katoomba’. You may like to consider leaving a bequest to The events calendar is subject to change, de- the Society. If so, the Law Society of NSW pending on the easing — or not — of restrictions. recommends the following wording: Despite the Society currently being closed, the I bequeath the sum of $..... to the Blue time is fast approaching for membership renewal. Mountains Historical Society Inc for its general Information is contained in an email attachment for purposes and declare that the receipt issued those who receive the newsletter electronically and by the treasurer for the time being of the Blue in the insert for those receiving it in hard copy. Mountains Historical Society shall be complete Fingers and toes crossed that life will be back to discharge to my executors in respect of any sum normal by the time the August/September paid to the Society.

Hobby’s Outreach 10 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY From the Editor 2020 CALENDAR OF EVENTS I am looking forward to editing Hobby’s Outreach. I hope you like June the new format. This issue has Saturday 6 Cancelled been filled with contributions that I am sure you will be stimulated July by. Three of the stories started Saturday 4 Cancelled with one or more photos. Last year while researching at August the State Library of NSW I came Saturday 1 Wayne Hanley: ‘Masters of the House’ across a photo of a memorial plaque to Lieutenant Francis Friday 21 Management committee meeting Charles Moberly who drowned in Saturday 29 Garden working bee tbc the Ganges River in India in 1904. But there was nothing to say Sunday 30 Tarella open day where the plaque was. So I started September searching. A few days ago I got confirmation that it is in St Lukes Saturday 5 Jim Low: ‘Walking into History’ Church, Dinapur, India. A photo Friday 18 Management committee meeting can reveal quite a story! What have you got tucked Saturday 26 Garden working bee tbc away in your desk drawer that Sunday 27 Tarella open day could tell a great story? — Keith Painter October Saturday 3 TBA PLEASE NOTE: Friday 16 Management committee meeting THE CLOSING DATE FOR ARTICLES FOR THE Saturday 24 Garden working bee tbc AUGUST-SEPTEMBER Sunday 25 Tarella open day ISSUE OF HOBBY’S November OUTREACH IS 17th JULY Saturday 7 TBA If you are thinking about Friday 20 Management committee meeting contributing an article please advise the Editor Saturday 28 Garden working bee tbc as soon as possible. This Sunday 29 Tarella open day – final for 2020 will help with planning December each issue. Ask for a Saturday 5 Christmas/end of year function copy of the Guidelines for Contributors.

2019-20 EXECUTIVE OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES President: Alan Foster (0418 769 419) Membership: Jeanette Robertson (0414 956 060) Vice President 1: Robyne Ridge (0419 985 546) Hobby’s Outreach Editor: Keith Painter Vice President 2: John Pike (0417 025 414) (0447 186 390) [email protected] Secretary: Jeanette Robertson (0414 956 060) Building Maintenance: Wayne Hanley Treasurer: Ross Ingram (0400 365 824) (0400 316 689) Tarella Curator: Linsi Braith (0404 061 820) COMMITTEE Publicity/Catering: Robyne Ridge (0419 985 546) Fiona Burn (0418 620 264) Welfare: Ruth Eslake (02 4782 6534) Joanne Burgess (0409 791 982) Librarian: Sherida Currie (0418 820 906) John Hill (0474 463 854) IT Manager: Alan Foster (0418 769 419) Erik Halbert (0405 828 556) Grounds: David Bradley (0401 254 755)

Hobby’s Outreach 11 June–July 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC. Hobby’s Reach Research Centre Monthly Meetings 99 Blaxland Road, Wentworth Falls NSW with Guest speakers Phone 02 4757 3824 are held at Hobby’s Reach PO Box 17, Wentworth Falls 2782 on the first Saturday of each month Open Tuesday and Friday 10am-2pm for members (unless otherwise noted) and public Morning tea 10am — Meetings start 10.30am Visitors welcome Website: www.bluemountainshistory.com Email: [email protected]

Blue Mountains Historical Society Inc. PO Box 17, Wentworth Falls NSW 2782