VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 APRIL Newsletter of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033

Transcription

1 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 APRIL 2013 WEST BEACH EVOLVES. West Beach, before, during, and after the Second World War, was a lonely area with a few beach shacks at the southern end and often wild unruly parties on the beach were reported. Behind the sand hills the low swampy area was overgrown with boxthorns and dense stumpy growth - home to many rabbits, hares, lizards, and snakes - especially death adders. This all changed in 1953 when work started on the levelling of the West Beach sand hills, to fill the low areas in the nearby Adelaide Airport. Shacks on the beach at West Beach. carried out their enormous road and footpath reconstruction program. Hundreds of thousands of tons of spoil were dumped in the low area bordered by West Beach Road to Burbridge Road and Tapleys Hill Road to Military Road. The Patawalonga Creek from the West Beach Road Bridge, north to the The sand hills. The Blueline drive-in theatre, off West Beach Road, operated in this period. From 1958 to 1968 the West Torrens Council Opening up the sand hills for housing. Breakout Creek was completely filled in, with housing and roads constructed above it. By 1968 the complete area had been raised several feet and all the roads and footpaths had been completed by the West Torrens Council gangs except for the empty The Blueline Drive-in theatre in operation. over-run section of the south-east, north-west runway on the west side of Tapleys Hill Road. Many homes were being constructed by firms such as Mayfair Homes and West Beach Development. The stormwater from an extensive area of northern West Torrens runs into the Airport Drain near the IKEA warehouse, then skirts the airport and flows into the Patawalonga River at its very mouth under the West Beach Road Bridge - finally draining out to sea. Ken Sutter. Mayfair Homes development. Newsletter of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033

2 A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT. It never ceases to amaze me how diverse and unexpected are the enquiries and items of information which weekly arrive at my desk. In the past three months there have been offers of photographs, family stories, requests for background details on historic properties and even an attempt to establish aboriginal connections with our district. Requests come from far and wide and regularly our comprehensive files are able to supply information which in turn may lead to a wider knowledge of the subject under discussion. Some examples include I was born in Matron Paterson s Mile End Emergency Maternity Hospital. Can you tell me where it was? We were able to explain that it was in Lurline Street from 1924 and later became the South West Annexe of the Ashford Community Hospital. Another request was for a record of the tragic accident at the Richmond Railway Station in which a lady was killed by the oncoming train. The person making the enquiry had a family connection to the event. A photo of the station on Richmond Road showing the cattle grid where the tragedy occurred is shown below. And the lead up to Christmas prompted the question I used to hear the Salvation Army band playing carols in the streets of Underdale when I was growing up. Can you tell me if there was a local corps in our district? From this request a great photograph of the Thebarton Salvation Army Citadel in Light Tce was forthcoming. All this goes to prove how vital our records are, and how useful they become for researching and recording our fabulous past. Please remember we are seeking photos and information on local corner stores, businesses and industries for our display in May If you can help please forward them via to the Society or hand them in for copying at the Hamra Centre Library. The Salvation Army Citadel, Light Tce Thebarton. John Andrewartha. Page 2

3 MELBOURNE CUP WINNER Gold and Black trained by Bart Cummings, won the Melbourne Cup in 1977, ridden by jockey John Duggan. The gelding was bred in New Zealand and raced in partnership by H Gage from Sydney and Adelaide s Jack Harris. Gold And Black was by In the Purple from the New Zealand mare Gem and was foaled in Just prior to winning the Melbourne Cup, it had been unplaced in the Caulfield Cup. In 1976 it won the Mackinnon Stakes but had run second to Van Der Hum in the muddy conditions of the Melbourne Cup of that year. He had also run second to Reckless in the 1977 Sydney Cup and was later found to be suffering from pneumonia at that time, which further enhanced the value of that run. Coupled with travel fatigue his life was briefly in danger at this time but Cummings restored the horse to health for the spring campaign. In the 1977 Melbourne Cup he started 7/2 favourite and drew barrier 14. He beat the Australian horse Reckless in to second place and Hyperno in to third. The race was never really in doubt as he surged forward from the 800 metre mark and won by a couple of lengths with plenty in hand. Gold and Black picked up $156,700 in prize money for that effort and ran the distance in carrying 57kgs. This victory gave Cummings a record sixth win in the race. After retiring from racing Gold And Black became a Clerk of the Course horse on South Australian tracks and was buried at the Gawler race course when he died in the mid 1980s. The Melbourne Cup presentation ceremony to Gold and Black after the race went down in political folk lore as a rather intoxicated Governor General, Sir John Kerr, made what was to be his farewell appearance. During the presentation of the cup he was booed by many in the crowd. John George (Jack) Harris, the owner of Gold and Black was a plasterer by trade and had a business premises on the western side of Marion Rd adjacent to the Brownhill Creek (building now demolished). Jack was responsible for some beautiful plaster ceilings around the Plympton area including the fine work in Scaffell (later known as Carlisle House ) at 328 Marion Rd. Acknowledgement: Web-site RaceRate.com with notes from Yvonne Jackson. Page 3

4 THE HORWOOD BAGSHAW STORY. John Stokes Bagshaw ( ) arrived in South Australia with his family aboard the Eden in June In 1839, after a brief period assisting in the building of flour-mills south of Adelaide, Bagshaw set up an agricultural implement workshop in Elizabeth Street, Adelaide. At first Bagshaw concentrated on the manufacture of windmills, though his skills as a pattern-maker meant that he was soon much in demand by foundries. In 1843 John Ridley commissioned Bagshaw to make the original patterns of an innovative mobile grain-harvesting machine that could reap ten acres (about 4 hectares) of grain per day: Ridley s stripper soon became known throughout Australia. Bagshaw then designed and built Australia s first winnowing machine, the Champion, which became a huge commercial success. J.S. Bagshaw and Sons was created in 1852 when Bagshaw s eldest son, John Augustus ( ), joined him in the business; his second son, Thomas Henry ( ), followed a short time later. By this time the Bagshaws had expanded their business to encompass the manufacture of a wide range of agricultural machinery including horse-ploughs, chaffcutters, winnowers, corn-crushers, seed cleaners, feed-grinders, baggers, threshers and graders. The company was by now one of the largest producers of agricultural machinery in Australia. Its registered trademark was if worth doing, do it well. Into the early 1900s, spurred on particularly by innovative chairman of directors J.A. Bagshaw, Bagshaw and Sons continued to expand its production lines. These now included the manufacture of petrol engines for driving wheat grading equipment as well as currant and raisin grading equipment and wire-making machinery. In the company moved to a five hectare (12½ acre) site at the southern end of Victoria Street, Mile End. The site was large enough the floor of the new factory covered just over 1.22 hectares (3 acres) and relatively cheap and close to transport links. Joseph Henry Horwood ( ) arrived in South Australia with his family aboard the Baboo in December In the early 1880s, after extensive experience in various branches of the engineering industry, Horwood took over the engineering workshop of Samuel Strapps in Currie Street, Adelaide, to form J.H. Horwood and Company. The company very successfully produced an array of products including hydraulic hoists, windmills and pumps, wool-scouring machinery, well-boring tools and also sold a wide range of second hand agricultural machinery. In 1920 Horwood and Company, now under the control of managing director William Johnston Barker ( ) after Horwood s death, acquired Illman and Sons, an agricultural implement firm based in Balaklava. Four years later Horwood and Company took over Bagshaw and Sons to form Horwood Bagshaw Limited. The new company was based at Bagshaw and Sons Mile End site; W.J. Barker became Horwood Bagshaw s first managing director. The company thrived and by the late 1920s had a capital value of 210,000 employing 650 men. The company produced or sold a vast range of agricultural machinery including combines, ploughs, scarifiers, harrows, hay balers, chaff-cutters, winnowers and shearing machines. The company also manufactured boring and pumping equipment and built motor bodies and railway rolling stock. In the mid-1920s Horwood Bagshaw opened a city showroom in Currie Street, Adelaide. Horwood Bagshaw building in Mile End. Page 4

5 Although company growth slowed during the depression, the second World War brought new challenges and opportunities. During the war the company diverted its production to a range of military hardware including engines, aircraft parts, anti-tank gun parts, fuel and bilge pumps and field cookers. At one point in the early 1940s Horwood Bagshaw employed a staff of eight hundred working around the clock. After the war the company successfully undertook the huge task of returning to the production of agricultural and general engineering equipment. Barker retired from Horwood Bagshaw in 1946 and was replaced as managing director by Bruce Hope Farrow (b.1898), who held the position until his death in By the early 1960s, under the directorship of A.J.S. Howe, the still-expanding Horwood Bagshaw produced and sold probably the largest range of agricultural equipment in Australia. The company s new Mile End plant, opened in 1954, was considered by industry observers to be one of the most modern foundries in the southern hemisphere. In 1972 Horwood Bagshaw sold the Mile End site to the state government for use in the later defunct M.A.T.S. (Metropolitan Adelaide Transport System) plan. The company thereafter divided its operations between sites at Edwardstown and Mile End. In the late 1970s Horwood Bagshaw opened a new site at Adelaide Road, Mannum; by the late 1980s all the company s operations were centralized at Mannum. The company remains at the site to this time. In 1998 Horwood Bagshaw was bought by Adelaidebased Sweeney Investments, thereby maintaining its status as a South Australian owned and located company. The former Horwood Bagshaw site at Mile End was utilised for industrial purposes until It was for example used in as a storage site for equipment used in the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. In a joint initiative between the South Australian Urban Land Trust and a private developer, Kinsmen Pty. Ltd., saw the area developed into a high quality medium density residential and commercial estate. The residential Development on the former Horwood Bagshaw site. portion of the estate consisted of 88 new, mainly one and two-storey dwellings on small, individual title allotments. The public housing component of the estate was capped at twenty per cent. The development featured an underground electricity supply, oriental plane trees planted as street trees, and a neighbourhood park of 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres). The development s streets were named for individuals who had assisted in the evolution of the Horwood Bagshaw company. Geoff Grainger. Page 5

6 Preparing the site for the athletics stadium at Mile End. Mock wedding at Brooklyn Park Methodist Church. Page 6

7 A Christian Endeavour group at Torrensville Methodist Church. 567 Tapleys Hill Rd Fulham - a remnant of earlier days - now demolished. Page 7

8 Extracts from the files of the West Torrens Historical Society Osborn s Plant Nursery. Frederick Robert Osborn (c ) began a plant nursery at Kent Town in January 1884 and later that year set up a plant stall in the North Adelaide Market. In Osborn began leasing a workingmen s block of just over two acres (0.81 hectares) on Richmond Road, Marleston (block no. 182, on the western corner of today s Bruce Avenue). Here Osborn lived and established a plant nursery, planting his first seedlings in January Seedlings, fruit trees, roses and other shrubs were Osborn s staple sale lines with cut flowers and floral tributes as a sideline. After several difficult years when the bore water on the site damaged the plants, Osborn worked temporarily as a share flower grower at Mitcham, though still living at the Richmond block a few days a week. Osborn restarted the Richmond Road nursery in about After struggling early days which saw him selling seedlings around the district from a handcart, Osborne s business eventually began to flourish. Osborn bought the site from the government for 92 in April After F.R. Osborn s death his son Frederick Bertie Osborn ( ) took over the nursery, which was then more than double its original size. The family lived in Bruce Avenue, adjoining the business. Osborn s Nursery (during the 1920s and 1930s the business was known as the Richmond Nursery) became a local landmark. The business grew steadily, a new Garden Shop being added in 1960 and a modernised Garden Centre in In 1980 the business diversified to include a gift centre. Latterly Glass houses at Osborn s nursery. A Pioneer artist: Eliza White ( ) was the only daughter of John White, pioneer settler in Fulham. She married John F Mellor and lived at Holmfirth on Henley Beach Rd at Fulham. A generous benefactor and ardent nature lover, she also became a talented artist and in her later years painted the French saucers photographed below. Along with similar German china cups these saucers are now in the hands of family members. They illustrate the very fine work of this lady who marked each item with her initials EM. Hand painted saucers by Eliza Mellor. the business was run for many years by John Osborn ( ), son of F.B. Osborn. Osborn s Garden Centre eventually closed in In May of that year the site was sold to private developers and is now available for lease. Page 8

9 The Nelson family and the Marleston Post Office/General Store: In March 1880 William Nelson ( ), engineer of Adelaide, bought two allotments on what is now Richmond Road at Marleston (eastern corner of Sarah Street) for 72. The Nelson family retained ownership of the land, totalling about 0.25 acres, until January 2004 (almost 124 years). Nelson s son William Henry Nelson ( ) assumed ownership of one of the allotments in October 1882 and he and his wife Elizabeth ( ) began living in a three-room stone cottage on this site from the time of their marriage in April During these years W.H. Nelson was working as an agricultural machinist and carpenter. In the mid-1890s W.H. and Elizabeth Nelson established a general store and post office on the allotment adjoining their home. The Marleston Post Office, officially run by Elizabeth, opened in June W.H. Nelson owned the site from January The Marleston Post Office and W.H. Nelson and Sons general store The Marleston Post Office photographed in remained fixtures on Richmond Road until the late 1960s. From the 1930s the businesses were run by W.H. Nelson s son William Alfred Nelson ( ) assisted by his wife Lillian (b. 1900) and sister Olive ( ). (William Alfred had run an adjoining grocery store on Sarah Street from the mid-1920s). In 1967 the Nelsons retired from both businesses. The general store was shut down, though the post office operated, under different postmasters, until June Members of the Nelson family continued to live on the site throughout these years, however, the last being Mrs Lillian Nelson, who lived there until about a year before her death, aged 104 years, in October In January 2004 Mrs Nelson had sold the property to Jamp Pty Ltd for $435,000; the Nelson residence and the remains of the Marleston Post Office were demolished later that year. In November 2006 Jamp sold the site to Essem Nominees Pty Ltd for $510,000. Today Essem Nominees continues to own and lease the site, which includes a small private office building and car park. Geoffrey Grainger & Alan Paterson. The Flying Scotsman visits West Torrens. Probably the world s best known steam locomotive was the LNER Class A3 Pacific No Flying Scotsman. It was built in 1923 to haul long distance express trains (notably the London to Edinburgh service after which it was named). It was brought to Australia in 1988 for the bi-centenary celebrations and travelled over many routes in this country clocking up an amazing 45,000 kilometres to the delight of crowds of on-lookers. It visited Adelaide and the Keswick rail terminal (and therefore West Torrens) in August 1989 where masses of people had gathered to see this remarkable engine which could travel at 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). A truly remarkable engine and a memorable event in our history. The Flying Scotsman at Keswick. Page 9

10 NOTABLE HOMES OF WEST TORRENS THE PINES North Plympton..final. The Sisters of the Good Shepherd found that the age range of the girls admitted became lower, necessitating full time education and by the 1970s it was no longer possible to continue this work at The Pines resulting in the closure of the facility. The sisters took up residence at 55 Mooringe Ave, Plympton where they concentrated on pastoral work within the parish. The Knights of the Southern Cross, a group of Catholic laymen, acquired the Pines property and on 17 th October 1973 a commemoration plaque was unveiled by Sir Mark Oliphant, Governor of South Australia, to mark the opening of an appeal to raise funds for the establishment of the Southern Cross Centre for the aged. In 1977 part of the former hostel was sold to the Minister of Works and used as a hostel in conjunction with Hillcrest Hospital, but eventually was bought back by Southern Cross Homes. Initially 52 home units were built and named O Grady Court and were opened on 4 th March There was a day The former John Martin home later part of the hostel. care centre opened on 28 th November 1976 by Senator Donald Jessop. This provided services for the community as well as for residents of the complex including a dentist, optician, podiatrist, a social worker and other volunteers. Handcrafts and other activities were also provided. The foundation stone for the first stage of the hostel for the aged was laid by Senator the Hon. Margaret Guilfoyle, Minister of Social Security, on Sunday 14 th March The building was completed and officially opened by Senator the Hon. Condor Laucke, Southern Cross Homes. President of the Senate, on 29 th October A second stage was added in 1980 and was quickly followed by a 146 bed nursing home next to the hostel. In 1977 the name was changed to Southern Cross Care and much expansion ensued. Today this facility is one of the most modern in the State and has won several awards of excellence providing a better quality of life for the elderly in its care. The Pines Lodge Adapted from notes by the late Eileen McNamara. Page 10

11 COMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY WEST TORRENS HISTORICAL SOCIETY MONTHLY MEETINGS at Kandahar Commencing at 7:45pm Month of May: About Time history month - watch for details. WTHS will be mounting an exhibition on Small Businesses and Industries in West Torrens. Monday May 27th: Monday June 24th: Monday July 22nd: General meeting. Bring reports etc. Discussion on The corner stores and small businesses in West Torrens. Special meeting. Mike Ladd - poet, radio presenter and author of the book Karrawirra Parri - a journey down the River Torrens. Please bring supper. General meeting. Bring items and articles relating to Fifty Years Ago Monday August 26th: Special meeting. Brett Charlesworth from Charlesworth Nuts will speak on the family business and Central Market. Please bring supper. Website access to Local History through the West Torrens Library. The West Torrens Historical Society web-site is users.chariot.net.au/~wths/ THE West Torrens Historical Society is currently digitalising all its files in partnership with the West Torrens Hamra Centre Library. This is an ongoing project. Hundreds of WTHS files photographs, images, documents, transcribed interviews and newspaper articles are already accessible via the Hamra Centre Library s website. To help you access these files, follow these instructions: Go to the City of West Torrens website At the top of the Home Page click on Library and then in the drop-down box Library Web Catalogue. This will open the Home Page of the West Torrens Library Service. At the top of this page click on Collections. This will take you to a search page; click on Local History. This will open the search page for Local History; follow the search instructions. DISCLAIMER - COPYRIGHT Views and opinions expressed in articles in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of the articles printed, responsibility is not accepted for any errors they may contain that are out of our control. If a work of copyright has been inadvertently included and the copyright holder prefers that the work not be made available, please contact the West Torrens Historical Society and the record will be removed from general access. PRIVACY ACT A Member s or Friend s personal information collected by the Society, e.g. name, address and telephone number, will only be used for the forwarding of the newsletter and relevant information concerning the Society. The information will not be shared, sold or given to a third party without the Member s or Friend s consent. Any s received will be treated as above, however any information sent by will be at the sender s risk and the Society will not be held responsible for any unintended use or disclosure of this information. SUBMISSIONS TO NEWSLETTER Submissions to the newsletter are welcome but their publication is at the discretion of the Newsletter Committee and can be given to Members or sent to PO Box 43 Marleston SA Page 11

12 Friends of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. Application for Membership Please post to: The Secretary West Torrens Historical Society Inc. PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033 MEMBERSHIP FEE: $15 I/we wish to become a (member/renew membership) of the Friends of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. I enclose my membership for Name(s):.. Address:... Postcode:. Contact Details: My own interests are:.. Phone: Signature(s): Mobile: . Please make cheques payable to West Torrens Historical Society Inc. Membership is renewable in March each year. West Torrens Historical Society Contacts: Website users.chariot.net.au/~wths/ Secretary: (08) President: (08) s: grays67@bigpond.com aja@aka.net.au Correct as at April BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE: Gateway City $5; West Torrens Suburb Names $5; A Pictorial History of West Torrens $10. (postage extra) While limited stocks last! Page 12