The Hoskins Family and Their Contribution to the

Early Involvement in Steel Charles Hoskins migrated to from England in 1853 as a toddler with his parents and brother. His father had sought his fortunes in the Victorian gold rush but had not experienced much success. The family became involved in manufacturing pipes in Sydney and Brisbane, and Charles eventually took over the failing Eskbank Steelworks at Lithgow in 1907. Charles had three sons, Cecil, Guildford and Sidney, who also entered the family business. The family recognised it was difficult for a Lithgow-based steelworks to be competitive with those located on the coast (which had advantages of ports and railways for moving goods, more availability of skilled labour and nearby deposits of coal) and planned to move their business eastward. In 1916, the family acquired the right to mine coal deposits at Wongawilli and built coke ovens on the site. In 1920, Cecil and Sidney (their elder brother Guildford having died in an accident in 1916) formed the Hoskins Iron and Steel Company Limited and in 1921 they purchased 162 hectares of land at Port Kembla from the family of William Charles Wentworth (famous for his crossing of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney). Cecil and Sidney married two sisters, Dorothy and Helen (known as Madge), who were the daughters of the stonemason Thomas Loveridge. The sisters’ brother, Geoffrey Loveridge, an architect, designed both family homes, including Gleniffer Brae. The Move to In 1928, they established Australian Iron and Steel (AIS) at Port Kembla. Cecil settled at Invergowrie, a property at Exeter in the Southern Highlands and Sidney purchased 75 acres of the Fitzgerald’s dairy farm in Keiraville. Sidney and family initially moved to Dapto and then into Wollongong and the family began constructing Gleniffer Brae on the Keiraville site in 1937. Sidney and Madge had seven children – Eric, Charles, Helen, Mary, Alison, Anne and Phillip – but sadly Eric and Charles died in infancy. The five remaining children spent most of their childhood in Wollongong and its surrounds. From the time of moving to the Illawarra the family also contributed to the region’s social fabric. Sidney was heavily involved in the Boy Scouts and was the primary patron for the establishment of the Mount Keira Scout Camp, for which he received the Silver Acorn for exceptional contribution to scouting. Likewise Madge became Divisional Commissioner of the Girl Guides in 1932 and eventually received an Oak Leaf Award for her services to guiding. Their close involvement in the movements saw Lady Baden-Powell, founder of the Girl Guides movement and wife of Lord Baden- Powell, the founder of the Scouts, visit Wollongong and stay with the family. Sidney was also involved in the Wollongong Surf Life Saving Association and Madge worked with the Country Women’s Association and the Red Cross. In 1935 BHP bought AIS from the Hoskins, although the official name of the Port Kembla plant remained “Hoskins Kembla Works”. Sidney remained involved with the steelworks until he retired in 1949.

The Family’s Legacy In 1951, before leaving the district, Sidney donated 46 acres of the Keiraville estate to Wollongong City Council to establish a Botanic Garden. Their legacy remains not only in their contribution to the establishment of industry in the Illawarra but also through the public enjoyment of the Botanic Garden and the Scout Camp, both of which are considerable cultural and natural assets of the region.

Resources used to prepare the above information: Historical images on this page are from the collections of the Wollongong City Library and the Illawarra Historical Society. For more infor-mation and to search the Library’s Illawarra Images database visit: http://mylibrary.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/PIC/BSEARCH Bluescope Steel Website History Page: http://www.bluescopesteel.com/index.cfm?objectid=9C27136B-D547-4F2D-8C18CBB3075E074F Wollongong City Council Botanic Garden History Page: http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/botanicgarden/about/Pages/history.aspx Heritage NSW Gleniffer Brae Listing: http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_04_2.cfm?itemid=5045680 Buck, Glenda “The Changing Face of Gleniffer Brae 1938 – 2011” Glenda Buck Caringbah (2001) Radcliffe, Richard “Australia’s Master Gardener Paul Sorensen and His Gardens” Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd Kenthurst (1990) Interested in Local History of Wollongong? Please find out more by contacting Wollongong City Library Local Studies Library: http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/collections/Pages/localstudies.aspx