THE MILLSTONEKURRAJONG - COMLEROY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC

PO Box 174 Kurmond, NSW, 2757

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11; JULY-AUGUST 2005

The Kurrajong-Comleroy Historical Society is dedicated to researching, recording, preserving and championing the history of“the Kurrajong”, the district bounded by the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond, the Grose River, “Cut Rock” at KurrajongHeights, along Comleroy and Blaxlands Ridge Roads to East Kurrajong, and to the Colo River. “The Millstone” refers to the LittleWheeney Creek millstones on display at Kurrajong Memorial Park. Logo designed for the Society by artist Tony Dixon.

IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURE STORY

Our historic schoolsThe Kurrajong area has a wealth ofhistory in its schools with severallocal primary schools celebratingmajor milestones - Page 4

ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

The road to ComleroiLes Dollin reports on the links be-tween Kurrajong and the HunterValley discovered on the road toComleroi - Story begins on this page

Richmond’s fascinating pastrevealedMary Avern led members on anintriguing stroll through some littleknown historic gems in Richmond -Here she shares some stories andphotos - Page 3

BRIEFINGS

News and Information- Page 2

Dates for your Diary - Page 12

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KCHS REDISCOVERS THE ORIGINAL COMLEROY

Continued on page 6

Comleroy Road, Australia’s firstroad north, was officially openedin 1823. Some 182 years later,a group of Kurrajong-ComleroyHistorical Society membersretraced the historic route underthe guidance of expeditionleader Les Dollin. In this articleLes and Anne Dollin report onthe adventure.

On Monday 2 May, 2005 an enthusiasticgroup of 33 members of the KurrajongComleroy Historical Society gathered toretrace the historic Comleroy road to itsoriginal destination – Comleroy in theHunter (see Comleroy Fact File).

The group left Kurrajong Brush near thesite of Ben Singleton’s water mill in MillRoad, Kurrajong. The original road fordedWheeny Creek at Wheeny Creek Reserve,and Colo River at Upper Colo Reserve. Dueto time limitations, though, we detoured viaBlaxlands Ridge and picked up the originalroad at Colo Heights (Parrs Brush).

We were privileged to have with our groupAndy Macqueen, author of ‘SomewhatPerilous’. Andy’s book tells the fascinating

story of five Northern Blue Mountainsexplorers with transcripts from theirjournals and letters. We stopped at ColoHeights while Andy and Les provided acommentary on this section of the originalComleroy Road. It had taken Singleton andParr five days to reach this point on foot inNovember 1817.

We continued along the original ComleroyRoad, passing places with wonderful nameslike New Yard, Grassy Hill, Mellong Rock,The Gibba, Six Brothers Water Hole,King’s Waterhole, Bullring Hill, HighWollemi, then down Staircase Hill to Putty.The middle section of this long road wasonce also called the Bulga Road, but nowis called the Putty or Singleton Road.

Putty and hot scones and sticky datepudding

Nestled in the picturesque Putty Valley isthe Clairvaux Tea Room operated by Steveand Therese Donnelly and their childrenAngela, Rachael, Jerome and Luke. The tearoom is on the first land grant at Putty thathad been given to Hannah Laycock as a

Kurrajong Comleroy Historical Society members at Ben Singleton’s farm in the originalComleroy district (with its many different spellings) in the Hunter. [Photo courtesy IanO’Toole]

FAMILY INFORMATION

Hill and Lindsay familiesThe extraordinary story of EvelynHill, our first female universitygraduate, has prompted moreinformation about the Hill andLindsay families - Page 10

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NewsNewsNewsNewsNews

By Jennifer Stackhouse

Settlement to Federationrecorded at Blacktown

The Blacktown & District Historical Societyis compiling a Pioneer Register for allpeople who lived or worked in theBlacktown area from First Settlement toFederation (1788-1901). The society isanxious to collect family names, dates ofbirth, death and marriage and where peoplelived and worked in the area.

If you have any link with Blacktown in the1788-1901 period, contact Jan French on(02) 9674 9745 or Maureen King on (02)9836 0159.

Fee rise

Membership renewals are included with thisnewsletter. Our over 75 members will noticea slight increase in fees to cover increasedpostal costs. This fee rise was recommendedand passed at our AGM last year. Ordinaryand household membership fees remainunchanged.

Digital archiving update

Joy Shepherd reports that the DigitalArchiving Project has been workingovertime in 2005. Much of the impetus isdue to Joy’s hard work and also that ofseveral society members including Val Birchand Valerie Holland. We have been reallygrateful for the help of our two hardworkingassistants Faith and Jody, who have been

working on the project as part of the Workfor the Dole scheme. Faith left to pursue anursing course, while Jody has takenmaternity leave. We wish them well in theirfuture careers as nurse and mum.

During this year the society has sourced,scanned and saved on disk more than 500images, including all of the descriptions.Thank you to all of the generouscontributors.

Thanks to the generosity of Bob McCallumand the Bendigo Bank we will have acomputer, our entire scanned photocollection and a printer available during the‘The Kids of the Kurrajong’ exhibition.

Funding boost

Thanks to the hard work of our secretaryValerie Holland, the society is pleased toannounce hat we have been successful inour application for funding through theVolunteer Small Equipment Grant. Thesociety has received $2735 towards thepurchase of a laptop computer and digitalcamera to enable us to continue to recordlocal history. Making your mark with history

Please make it a priority to write on the backof your photos, while you can remember thedetails, and most importantly, the date. Butdo it with pencil, not pen, so that the photowill not be damaged. There are specialpencils available that are recommended forthis task. They are high wax pencils calledStaedtler Chinagraph Pencils numbered808. Joy Shepherd has procured some inbulk at a good price, and is happy to provide

you with one for just $1.50. If you want apencil, call Joy on 4573 1524, or speak toher at a future function.

Railway celebrations steamingalong

Member Carolynne Cooper is keen to seethis society involved in the NSW Railways150th celebrations. The event will becelebrated on the weekend of 15-16October. We will be loaning suitablephotographs from our collection and willupdate members of details of the event inthe next newsletter so watch this space!

Read all about it in colour

Although this newsletter is printed in blackand white, it is prepared in colour. If youwould like to see a colour version we canarrange to email the newsletter to you as apdf file. If you have an email address andwould like to receive a colour copy contactJennifer Stackhouse on her emailjstackho@bigpond.net.au. If you registeryour email address with the society you willautomatically be included in email updates,notes and reminders.

Constitution reviewed

When the society became an incorporatedbody it adopted an off-the-shelf constitutioncalled the Model Rules, provided by theDepartment of Fair Trading. While usefulto get the society established the committeefelt the constitution needed to be adaptedto better suit the needs of the society.A subcommittee headed by our publicofficer, Frank Holland, has now reviewedand revised our constitution. A draftconstitution has been prepared forconsideration.

The draft constitution will be circulated tomembers with the September newsletter,prior to the Annual General Meeting on 25September. It must be adopted (or not) at aSpecial Meeting of the society. This will beheld immediately after the AGM. If youhave any queries about the draft constitutioncontact Frank Holland on 4573 2226.

Max and Gwen Doyle honoured

Society members Max and Gwen Doylewere recognised in the recent Queen’sBirthday honours list with the award of anOrder of Australia Medal. The Doyles werehonoured for their long and outstandingcontribution to the local community.Congratulations Max Doyle OAM andGwen Doyle OAM.

Left: Ian Henry pipes HawkesburyCity Councillors and the ChiefLibrarian into the new library atits official opening at Windsor on6th June 2005. [Photo by JoyShepherd]

Right: Val Birch as part of thehuman chain of 360 peoplepassing the final books from theold to the new library. [Photo byJoy Shepherd]

Society members participate atthe opening of the new library

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RICHMOND - KURRAJONG CONNECTION WALK

Mary Avern (right) makes a point, withKathie McMahon assisting with theloudspeaker. [Photo by Ian O’Toole]

Continued on page 9

The ‘Richmond-KurrajongConnection’ was the title of theKurrajong Comleroy HistoricalSociety’s Lunch Club outing held on14 June, 2005. Mary Avern, a well-known identity who has lived in thisdistrict all of her life, led a group ofinterested people around many ofthe outstanding and historical sitesof Richmond. Here she reports onthe walk, which began at Bowman’sCottage in Windsor Street.

St Peter’s Church

First stop was St Peter’s Church. The churchwas opened so that the lovely windows andthe very old pipe organ could beviewed. Many old time residents of theKurrajong district rest in the nearbycemetery. Names of particular note includeJohn Essy, Richard Skuthorp, JamesDouglass, George Mayo, Ed. Erwin, JohnSylvester (1840), Henry Lamb (1839), JaneHawkins, George Sunderland, MaryLeonard, Hanna Pittman (1846), HenryLamb (1791 – 1839), William Fuller, MaryJohn (1835), Susan Wright (1852), ElizaBridge (1840).

The grave of Richard Rouse was alsoseen. After arriving on the Nile in December1801, Rouse was given a grant of land in1802 just over the bridge at NorthRichmond, then called Enfield. By 1842,he had acquired 300 acres and the help oftwo convicts. Margaret Catchpole was atone time his overseer.

John Town is another interesting Richmondman with Kurrajong connections. Arrivingon the Royal Admiral in 1800 the 1825muster shows him living on land leased fromRichard Rouse. His relationship with Rousewas not always smooth. There are recordsof Rouse objecting to Town’s plan to put aroad through the land and threats of courtaction which did not eventuate. In 1827Town lived in a house on the corner ofWindsor and Paget Streets. Later hisgrandson, Andrew, built a home on this site.Town built a large home that became theGeorge 4th Inn. At one time races were heldwhich started from the inn and covered 5000yards to the finishing line at the Black HorseInn further down Windsor Street. Thefaçade of the Black Horse can still be seentoday behind the row of shops on the cornerof Windsor and Bosworth Streets.

In 1836 Town built the Woolpack Inn atNorth Richmond on land also leased fromRouse. Prior to 1830 Town purchased apiece of land from Bell, part of which hegave to build St Phillip’s Church ofEngland, where the foundation stone waslaid in 1859. He also bought BenSingleton’s Mills at Kurrajong.

John Sherwood was a convict who togetherwith two others stole sheep. Consequentlyhe arrived here aboard the Glatton in March1803. He worked for John Dight in 1806and co-habited with one Anne Lane andtook her son John as his own. They hadseven children, and in 1841 he took hisfamily to Kurrajong Heights to ‘GardenWoodhill’, which he had purchased andlater re-named ‘Woodside’ (later to becomethe residence of the late Arthur Poole).When Sherwood died in 1850 his propertypassed to his youngest son James. John andAnne’s grave is unmarked in St Peter’s.

Up Windsor Road

As the group left the cemetery Mary gavesome interesting snippets of past identitiesof the area, mentioning that a Blyk Sly wasthe first paying passenger on the Pansy andthat Breaker Morant lived in Richmond fora time. As the group moved up WindsorStreet, Mary pointed out Cornwell’s houseand butchery on the corner of BosworthStreet.

Outside the Magnolia Mall attention wasdrawn to the very large magnolia (Magnoliagrandiflora) that was planted there about1840 and which is still flourishing today.

The bakery, grocery store, the ArmyMedical Corp. Headquarters, bank, garage,saddlery and chemist were all on the site ofthe present Coles supermarket. The saw millwas behind the current book store andThomas Sullivan’s school and shop werenext door, where Bennett’s Real Estateoffice is now.

West Market Street

Mary then took the group into West MarketStreet, to St Andrew’s Uniting Church builtby George Bowman and where the Rev.James Cameron was the minister for 50years. He also owned Lochiel at KurrajongHeights, and was the minister of St David’sUniting Church at Kurrajong Heights.

A highlight of the tour was the visit to‘Eulabah’ 1, a home next to St Andrew’sChurch. Once the home of Rev. Cameron itis now the beautifully restored home of MrsMaggie Kable, who allowed the group toview the downstairs area of the house. Anoutstanding feature of the house is the cedarstaircase with its large stained glass window.Previously this house was the RichmondCommunity Hospital, then a maternityhospital, and finally an aged care nursinghome.

On the opposite side of West Market StreetMary pointed out the site of the PresbyterianSchool built in 1860, which was sold to thegovernment and became the firstgovernment school in the area about 1879.Lunch was the next stop at Walton Cottage(now Al’s Steak and Pasta House). The frontpart of the restaurant is a modern addition.Behind can be seen the original cottagewhich was owned by the Mayor ofRichmond, Ben Sullivan (1922).

Next to Walton Cottage in Windsor Streetwas the Royal Hotel and around the cornerin East Market Street was the horse troughwhere lots of Kurrajong folk would watertheir horses when they came to town.

‘Toxana’ was the next historical point. It wasbuilt in 1841 as the home of WilliamBowman, the area’s first Member ofParliament and brother of George Bowman.It was later the first home of the HawkesburyAgricultural College.

Beside ‘Toxana’ is the Regent Theatre,restored for media identity Mike Walsh whenhe was the owner. The movie theatre washeavily involved in the production of livetheatre as well as popular concerts.

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Early days

The earliest schools in Kurrajong werechurch schools. One of the first mentionsof a school for Kurrajong is an applicationfor government funding by BishopBroughton in 1831.

The first official school in the district wason the site of St Gregory’s Catholic Churchin Kurrajong. The school building, erectedin 1834, functioned as both a non-denominational school and church.Although initially non-demoninational, itwas regularly referred to as ‘the CatholicSchool’. Schools were also built atHermitage Road in1836 (known as the‘Anglican School’), and on the site of StStephens Church in 1873.

Barker College was founded at KurrajongHeights in 1890 by the Rev. H. Plume. Thisschool relocated to its present site inHornsby in 1896.

Schools were initially funded by the localcommunity with additional fundingprovided by the government through the

Council of Education. Schools weremanaged by local communities or throughthe churches. School teachers pay rates werelow and school buildings on the whole werepoor with few facilities and little in the wayof books and equipment. Most students didnot attend school regularly.

Public school education was promoted bythe introduction in 1880 of the PublicInstruction Act and the making of schoolingcompulsory. After this date new schoolswere built and existing schools improvedand pupil enrolments rose dramatically.

Comleroy Road Public School chalks up125 years

In February 1879 the residents of ComleroyRoad applied to the Council of Educationfor a school building for the area. Afterseveral false starts, land was earmarked onthe corner of Comleroy Road and WiltshireLane. Building did not begin immediately,but teaching was soon underway at thenearby Wesleyan Chapel. The first teacher,Mr Armine Arabin Lees, was appointed in

July 1880 and this date is taken as theestablishment date for the school.

The timber school buildings (pictured),which included a classroom, teacher’sresidence and toilets, were tendered in May1885. The school occupied this site for 110years.

Comleroy Road Public School will becelebrating its 125th Anniversary at in itsnew buildings in McMahons Road,Kurrajong on Saturday 30 July 2005 at theschool in McMahon’s Road, Kurrajongbetween 10am and 4pm.

Kurmond School marks 85 years

Kurmond Public School is celebrating its85th anniversary this year. Originally knownas Longleat, the school enrolled its firstpupils on 19 July 1920, and by the end ofthe month the numbers reached 26 (14 girlsand 12 boys).

The school attendance grew in leaps andbounds, mainly because of the allotment of

SCHOOLS OF THE KURRAJONG DISTRICT

This region has a wealth of public primary schools, some withlengthy histories and many at or approaching major milestones.All are a vibrant part of the history of the district. It seems timelyto begin to put together the history of our public primary schools.

Comleroy Road original school house and residence (1885-1966) just beforedemolition. [Source: http://www.comleroyrd-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/history.htm

Kurmond Public School principal MrClancy with pupils L to R: Robyn Armstrong(Pratt), Joan Armstrong, Jeanette Douglass(Pearce), Philip Shepherd and Alan Tombs,circa 1948 [Photo courtesy Joy Shepherd]

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SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE

Here are the primary schools of the district with their establishment date, number of years in operation and number of pupils thatcurrently attend.

School Year established Age (years) Current students

East Kurrajong 1878 127 141Kurrajong North* 1878 (at Hermitage Rd) 127 94Comleroy Road 1880 125 203Kurmond 1920 (as Longleat) 85 175Kurrajong 1929 75 165Grose View 1974 31 334

* Kurrajong North is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2006 at its Stone Terrace, North Kurrajong location

SCHOOLS NO MORE

School Year established (first name) Status

Blaxlands Ridge 1892 (although records also suggest 1906) Building leased to KCHS in 2005Grose Vale 1871 (as Kurrajong South) Building sold 2005

the 45 Soldier Settlement properties in thearea at that time. By 1921 the smallclassroom was bulging at the seams with 61pupils. Accommodation for anotherclassroom was organised in the part of theSoldiers Settlement house next door.

The school has grown slowly over the years,and currently has an enrolment of 175 pupils.

To celebrate their 85th birthday, the pupilswill cut an anniversary cake in July. Twolarger celebrations are planned for a later inthe year. On Saturday 3 September there willbe an afternoon tea at the school. This willbe a chance for the ‘Oldies’ to get togetherand swap some stories and memories. On 5November a Country-style Fete, withextensive photograph displays, stalls, rides,and the opportunity to purchase aCommemorative Paver, will be held. Therewill also be an 85th anniversary bookavailable.

Jill Renaud is proud to be on the OrganisingCommittee, as her son David is a fourthgeneration pupil of the school. Her paternalgrandfather, Ralph Shepherd was fourth onthe boy’s roll in July 1920, and her maternalgrandmother, Gladys Vincent (one of ourSociety’s Foundation members, now aged91) enrolled the following year. Her father,Philip Shepherd spent all of his primaryschool days there, as did Jill.If you have any photos or memories of theschool to share, or would like to know moredetails about the two special days comingup, contact Jill or Joy on (02) 4571 1524.

Kurrajong North celebrates in 2006

Kurrajong North evolved from the Anglicanschool, one of the three original schools inKurrajong. The school was on the cornerof Hermitage and Bells Line of Road whenit was converted from a denominationalschool to a government school in 1878 withAlexander Anderson as first teacher and 49enrolments (and some 29 in attendance).After complaints about the state of thebuilding and many arguments a new site wasselected further up the hill, which wascentral for most of the families whose

children would attend the school. The land,some two acres, belonged to a MadamCutolo.

A school building, teacher’s residence andtoilets were built and ready for occupationin 1882. The school numbers grew quicklyfrom the estimated 60 enrolments to 73 in1890. The building was extended toaccommodate 90 pupils and has continuedto be used until the present day.

The committee organising next year’scelebrations would like to hear from any pastpupils (or descendants of past pupils). If youhave photographs, anecdotes ormemorabilia or would like to join theorganising committee please contact KathieMcMahon on 4567 7105.

Request for information

The Kurrajong-Comleroy Historical Societyis keen to document the history of all theschools in the region and welcomes anyadditional information, documents orphotographs. If you have anything tocontribute, contact Joy Shepherd on 45711524. If you would like to undertake thetask of researching and documenting theschools as a project for the society contactFrank Holland, Project Leader, on 45732226.

Acknowledgements

This article has been compiled by JenniferStackhouse, Jan Livingstone, Joy Shepherdand Kathie McMahon based on existingpublished information and school records.

Left: Four generations at KurmondPublic School: Gladys Vincent, son-in-law Philip Shepherd (whose father Ralphwas enrolled on the first day), granddaughter Jill, and great grandson DavidRenaud. Taken in March 2002, the yearthat David enrolled. [Photo courtesy JoyShepherd]

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Promise of Grant of 100 acres by GovernorMacquarie.

Here Andy Macqueen, quoting from theoriginal journals transcribed in his book,described how the explorers found a routethrough the maze of mountains. He said thatBen Singleton and several aboriginal guidesin the earlier expeditions were not given duecredit for their discoveries that led to findinga way across these ranges.

Les Dollin explained the land grant systemthat used to operate in the early 1800s. Tobring this history to life, Les issued eachperson in the group with a replica Promiseof Grant from Governor Macquarie so thatthey could select 1000 acres of land atComleroy on the Hunter for a rent of 1/- peryear. In addition each person received areplica Permit to Pass so that they could send40 head of cattle from ‘Currajong Brush’ toBenjamin Singleton’s farm at Comleroy.

To sustain us on our journey, the ClairvauxTea Room supplied great home cooking justas early travellers would have enjoyed. Wetucked into hot scones with jam and creamfor morning tea followed by home madequiche with garden salad for lunch followedby sticky date pudding!

After our delicious pudding we slowly,slowly got back in our vehicles andreluctantly left this lovely valley. Wecontinued our journey along the originalComleroy Road towards Bulga, passingintriguing places like Clear Farm,Wickettywees, MacDonald River (First

KCHS REDISCOVERS THE ORIGINAL COMLEROY

Branch), Howes Valley and Milbrodale.

Bulga

Family historian, Stuart Mitchell, met us atthe Bulga Recreation Grounds to tell usabout early days at Bulga. Stuart is adescendant of Mrs Thomas Eather who rodeon a bullock carrying her infant son as shetravelled 100 miles with her husband alongthis rough track in about 1826. No horseswere available at the time. Stuart told manya great story of the pioneer families at Bulgaand is presently writing a book.

From Bulga, the present day road goes northeast to Singleton. Les explained how theoriginal Comleroy Road, after fordingCockfighters Creek (now called WollembiBrook), used to continue north throughWallaby Scrub to Comleroi (originally speltComleroy).

Comleroi Road signpost located on theGolden Highway between Warkworth andJerrys Plains, west of Singleton. [Photocourtesy Les Dollin]

Comleroi

After a small deviation, we picked up theorginal road again at a big signpost reading‘Comleroi Road’. We had finally reachedComleroi in the Hunter!

Travelling down Comleroi Road pastkangaroos grazing on the rich grass of theairstrip, we stopped outside the gates of theoriginal farm where Benjamin Singletonhad settled in 1821 (see Comleroy FactFile). We viewed the lush grazing land atthe junction of the Hunter River and theWollembi Brook. In 1825 this property wasgranted to John Blaxland junior (nephewof the explorer, Gregory Blaxland).Subsequently it was owned by the Spencerfamily then bought for dairying by theNichols family. Finally in 1980 theComleroi property was taken over by theadjacent coal mines.

Les Dollin explained how, in the 1880s,2000 acres of land adjacent to this site was

designated by the Government as a massiveset of yards with interlocking roads forholding cattle. These holding yards actedas a major stock interchange for theQueensland cattle being driven over theranges to Riverstone meatworks.

So the mobs of cattle driven by BenjaminSingleton in 1821 to this Comleroi area inthe Hunter were the start of a huge cattlestock interchange system that carried on forover 100 years. The historic Comleroy Roadbetween the Hawkesbury and the Hunterbecame the primary stock route north forthe colony of Sydney (see Comleroy FactFile).

Warkworth

To cater for all these thirsty cattle drovers,settlement began in the 1830s. Just 4 kmfrom Benjamin Singleton’s farm on the otherside of Wollembi Brook, the settlement ofWarkworth sprang up with five inns. As thecattle industry expanded, there wereexpectations that Warkworth would becomethe major town in the area, overshadowingSingleton. Unfortunately for Warkworth, therailway line was built into Singletonbypassing Warkworth.

We drove across Wollembi Brook to visitWarkworth. Carol Burley served a tastyafternoon tea for us in the village hall. Localhistorian Pauline McLoughlin told us aboutthe five inns of the settlement in the earlydays. The village had been surveyed out intomany small house blocks ready for therailway. Pauline received a great hand ofapplause for her wonderful talk. She lateropened up the pretty little village church ofSt Philips for us to inspect. WilliamSingleton had donated the land for thischurch.

Singleton Family History Society

Travelling on into Singleton we booked intothe Francis Phillip Motor Inn. In the eveningwe visited the Singleton Family HistorySociety in the grand old Mechanics Institutebuilding.

We were greeted by Peggy Richards,

Continued from page 1

Map showing the expedition’s route [byLes Dollin]

Putty here we come: Expedition leader LesDollin. [Photo by Ian O’Toole]

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Secretary of the Singleton Family HistorySociety and by Carol Carbie. Peggy haddriven in from out of town especially to seeus. Peggy presented us with a complete setof their Family History Society magazinesand we presented them with a set ofMillstone magazines and Kurrajong books.They were quite amazed by the size of ourgroup and that we have so many activemembers.

We were treated to a tour of the researchroom and Mechanics Institute. We all starteddelving into the fascinating archives of theSociety and the photocopier was runninghot. But all too soon the dinner bell soundedand we had to get back for our night out inthe motel’s famous Lara’s Restaurant. Weenjoyed a great meal together with livelydiscussions of the day’s events. OurPresident, Jennifer Stackhouse, gave aninformative preview of the Hunter ValleyGardens which we would be visiting thenext day.

Singleton Historical Society Museum

The next morning the President of theSingleton Historical Society, Ian Webb,opened up the Singleton Museum especiallyfor us. We were greeted by Vice PresidentKaye Stacy, Secretary Diane Heuston andother key members of the society. We wereallowed to go into the museum researchroom and see their wonderful collection ofrecords, books and the historical Argusnewspapers. We then had a tour of themuseum which was once the Singletoncourthouse and lock up. The collection inthis museum is outstanding. The Presidentpresented us with some books from theirSociety and we presented them with someof our books and thanked them for their kindhospitality.

Hunter Valley Gardens

Finally we rounded off the trip with a visitto the Hunter Valley Gardens at Pokolbin.These gardens are a visionary dream createdby the Roche family who have spent manymillions of dollars bringing the dream tolife. Spread over 25 hectares are 12 featuregardens including a rose garden, orientalgarden and storybook garden, with lakes, a10 m high waterfall and dozens of beautifulsculptures. Valerie Holland booked us onexcellent trolley car garden tours. We allenjoyed our sunny afternoon in thesespectacular gardens.

This two day journey was the biggest tripever undertaken by the Kurrajong ComleroyHistorical Society. We traced the historicComleroy Road from Kurrajong rightthrough to the Hunter Valley. We enjoyedfascinating commentaries from AndyMacqueen and many other local historians.We got to know one another better as wesavoured delicious meals and beautifulscenery along the way. But most of all itwas an historic event - the first visit of ourKurrajong Comleroy Historical Society tothe original Comleroy.

Where is Comleroy?Comleroy is a region 15 km west of Singleton in the Hunter Valley. Comleroywas the name originally given to this area by the early settlers in the 1820s.

In ‘The Australian’ newspaper on 21 September, 1827, an article reportedthat Comleroy extends “along the main river for twenty-five to thirty milesfrom the mouth of the Wollombi to the mouth of the Goulburn and containsabout fifty or sixty thousand acres of excellent land on both sides of theHunter, including what is vulgarly called Jerry’s Plains, and Big and LittleFlat”.

The book, ‘Dawn in the Valley: The Story of Settlement in the Hunter Valley to1833’, devotes an entire chapter to the first coming of white men to the‘Coomery Roy’ area of the Hunter in 1819-1820. For example it notes thatWilliam Simms Bell, eldest son of Lieutenant Archibald Bell, “had left hisfather’s farm at Richmond Hill to come by Howes route to ‘Boottee’ (Putty).He then proceeded to ‘Comori’...”. ‘Dawn in the Valley’ lists many differentspellings of the name associated with this area: Coomilary Roy, Comnaroy,Comilaroi, Comleroy, Kumleroy, Coomery.(1)

What is the History of Comleroy Road?Comleroy Road originally led all the way from the Hawkesbury through Puttyto Comleroy in the Hunter Valley. This was Australia’s first road north, openedin 1823. The Comleroy area in the Hunter, with all its various spellings, “gaveour first road north one of its original titles,” notes HA MacLeod Morgan.(2)

“Over the years the road has taken several names,” explains Andy Macqueenin ‘Somewhat Perilous’. “Another name stemmed from the conception thatthe Singleton area was known to the Aboriginal people as Coomery Roy,probably a corruption of ‘Kamilaroi’. Because the route led to Coomery Roy,it was dubbed ‘Comleroy Road’.”(3)

So Comleroy Road was given its name because it led to Comleroy in theHunter. At the Hunter end of the road the spelling was later changed to‘Comleroi Road’. However, at the Kurrajong end of the road the spelling isstill ‘Comleroy Road’, as it was originally spelt in the 1820s by the HunterValley settlers and the Colonial Secretary.

Where Does the Name Comleroy Come From?Comleroy, with its various spellings, comes from the Aboriginal word Kamilaroi,the name of the Kamilaroi Nation or Kamilaroi people. The KamilaroiConfederation was a mighty nation consisting of four tribes. Some of theKamilaroi tribal lands were believed to have extended down the Hunter Riverto Jerrys Plains and to Wollembi Brook.

Aboriginal Tribes of Australia lists many alternative spellings that have beenused in the literature for Kamilaroi: Kamilarai, Kamilari, Kamilroi, Kamilarai,Kamularoi, Kaamee’larrai, Kamileroi, Koomilroi, Komleroy, Gamilaroi,Gamilroi, Kahmilaharoy, Kamilary, Gumilroi, Gummilroi, Gummilray, Kimilari,Karmil, Kamil, Ghummilarai, Cammealroy, Kahmilari, Cumilri, Cam-ell-eri,Cummilroy, Cummeroy, Gunnilaroi and Comleroy. (4)

Cattle to ComleroyIn the early 1820s Benjamin Singleton was a squatter on a farm of 640 acresat Comleroy in the Hunter Valley. He regularly drove cattle along ComleroyRoad from Mill Paddock at Little Wheeny Creek near Kurrajong to agist themat Comleroy in the Hunter.

Hawkesbury residents could send their cattle with Benjamin Singleton to theComleroy on agistment at 8/- per head.(5)

Comleroy Stock RouteBy the late 1800s, Comleroy Road became a designated stock route north.The government created many travelling stock reserves along the road, nomore than ten miles apart so that the cattle could rest and the drovers couldcamp at night.

By the 1880s a huge stock reserve of over 2000 acres had been declared atComleroy near Ben Singleton’s original farm. This stock reserve wassubdivided into multiple paddocks with many incoming roads and I believe itacted as a major interchange for cattle coming down from as far asQueensland, destined for the meatworks in Riverstone.

Continued on page 8

COMLEROY FACT FILE

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Kamilaroi House at RichmondThere is one final intriguing twist to thisstory of Comleroy. Many of the stockpassing through the cattle yards atComleroy from as far as Queenslandwere destined for the meatworks atRiverstone. Riverstone meatworks wasfounded by Benjamin Richards in 1878.

In 1893 Benjamin Richards built animposing two storey Victorian house inWindsor Street, Richmond. Although thehouse was unfortunately demolished in1956, its imposing gates are still a well-known Richmond landmark. Thesegates in Richmond have ‘Kamilaroi 1893- B R’ inscribed on them, but the name‘Kamilaroi’ did not originally come fromthe Hawkesbury area. Richards actuallynamed this grand house, ‘Kamilaroi’,after his favourite racehorse.(6)

The name would have also hadassociations for Richards because heowned extensive land near Comleroy inthe Hunter Valley.

References1. WA Wood: ‘Dawn in the Valley: TheStory of Settlement in the Hunter Valleyto 1833’, Wentworth Books, 1972.2. HA MacLeod Morgan: ‘RoyalAustralian Historical Society Journal andProceedings’, 44: 196, 1958.3. Andy Macqueen: ‘SomewhatPerilous: the Journeys of Singleton,Parr, Howe, Myles and Blaxland in theNorthern Blue Mountains’, WentworthFalls, 2004, p129.4. NB Tindale: University of CaliforniaPress, 1974, pp 194-195.5. HA MacLeod Morgan: ‘RoyalAustralian Historical Society Journal andProceedings’, 44: 196, 1958.6. J Barkley & M Nichols: ‘Hawkesbury1974-1994’, Hawkesbury City Council,1994, p124.

Continued from page 7

COMLEROY FACT FILE

Comleroy expedition at Putty. [Photo by Ian O’Toole]

The expedition’s first stop [Photo by Ian O’Toole]

Lots of eating andtalking at Putty[Photo by IanO’Toole]

“Then you put your leftleg in” - Les had themall dancing down theroad! [Photo by IanO’Toole]

Kurrajong folk would travel to the theatre onSaturday nights on the back tray of a truck, whichhad two rows of seats strapped to the truck with acanvas cover for wet weather.

Across Windsor Street is Richmond Park whichcontains the memorial for Kurrajong identity SamBoughton. Looking from the park across WindsorStreet was the site of Woodhill’s No.1 store. Thenewsagency in Windsor Street was once ownedby Mary’s family. At that time it was the agent forAnthony Hordern and a depot where people wholived across the river could collect their parcels.Next door to the present McGees Hotel andlooking from the park the façade of the oldWesleyan Methodist Church can be seen abovethe present buildings.

On the March Street side of the park were thesaleyards, the Pansy railway line and Mr Hills’home from where he ran a double decker horse-drawn coach to Kurrajong and back each day. Atwhat is now 102 March Street was the BlueDanube, a hall used for dancing, boxing andwrestling matches of World War II.

The Richmond School of Arts on the corner ofWest Market Street and March Street was built in1866. It was the home of the town library and agreat entertainment centre.

There has always been a Kurrajong tree(Brachychiton spp.) in Richmond Park. Althoughseveral have perished over the years through windstorms one is still remaining today.

Finally Mary pointed out the site of the last tworemaining rein holders where horses were tetheredin the street.

Footnote:

1 Maggie Kable believes ‘Eulabah’ was the originalspelling but is unsure who named the house orwhat the name means. It was also spelt ‘Yulebah’at other times.

RICHMOND - KURRAJONGCONNECTION WALK

Continued from page 3

Top: Gathering around the Magnolia tree

Centre: What a divine lot: KCHS visiting St Peter’s Richmond

Above: Show and Tell in Richmond Park

Left: “Eulabah”, in West Market Street

[All photos by Ian O’Toole]

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In the March issue of The Millstonean article by Steve Rawling waspublished about Kurrajong’sprobable first female Universityscholar, Evelyn Hill. There is moreto discover about the Hill family asthis request for any known contactsof the Hill family from WendyPlunkett from Victoria reveals.Wendy’s ancestor was John Hill,who was Evelyn Hill’s uncle.

Ancestors of the Hill Family

John’s father, James Hill was born in(County) Mayo in 1793 and arrived as aconvict in 1816. He married ElizabethPearson in 1822 at the Church of Englandin Castlereagh, NSW. Elizabeth was bornat Richmond in 1805 and christened at StMatthews in Windsor in 18101. Her parentswere Thos (or Thomas) and Sarah Pearson(nee Eglinton) who arrived on the Gangesin 1797. (James and Elizabeth Hill were thegreat, great, great grandparents of WendyPlunkett.)

Initially James and Elizabeth Hill lived atAgnes Banks, during which time twochildren were born, William on 19th May1823 and Elizabeth on the 18th July 1825. Itis thought that their third child Mary, whowas born on the 8th December 1827 and thefourth child James, who was born on the30th March 1830 may have been born onSmith Farm. This property was situatedadjacent to Lynchs Creek and the NepeanRiver at present day Yarramundi and is nowbisected by Springwood Road. James andElizabeth were listed as living at the farm,during the 1828 Census. Wendy thought thatthe family was most probably leasing thisproperty at that time.

John Smith appears to have sold 30 acres toWilliam, the eldest son of James andElizabeth Hill on the 9th August 1831, forthe sum of 4 pounds and 12 shillings.William would only have been 8 years oldat that time. Three weeks later, James Hillleased the property to Sarah Pearson,Elizabeth’s mother and partner ThosSummers. The leased property, whichappears to have had an interesting historyregarding ownership, was supposed toeventually pass back to James Hill and hisfamily.

Kurrajong Property

James and Elizabeth bought 60 acres landat the end of Willow Glen Road inKurrajong in 1831. It had formerly beenowned by the original grantee Thos (orThomas) Brown. (Portion No.130 on themap on page 14 in the ‘Historical Walk ofKurrajong with Ken Bennett’ booklet). AtKurrajong, five more children were born,John on 3rd September 1832, Sarah on the11th December 1834, Anne on the 20th

November 1836, Thomas on the 2nd May1839 and Rebecca on the 17th August 1841.

LINKS TO KURRAJONG - THE HILL FAMILY

As the result of the tragic drowning ofRebecca’s husband Francis Hill (a cousin)in 1970, James Hill senior drew up his willon 30th January 1871. His wife Elizabethinherited the property and upon her death itwas to pass to Rebecca, on condition thather son James Rowland Hill had not reachedthe age of 21, in which case it was to pass tohim.

James Hill senior died on 24th November1871 and was buried at St Stephen’s Churchof England Cemetery at Kurrajong.Elizabeth then aged 66, assumed themanagement of the farm, along with herdaughter Rebecca and three children underthe age of four. Elizabeth died aged nearly90 on the 16th August 1895 and was buriedin St Stephen’s Church of England Cemeteryat Kurrajong with her husband.

Family leaves Kurrajong

At the time of Elizabeth’s death, JamesRowland Hill was 27 so the Hill propertypassed to him. His brother Francis hadpreviously moved to Perth when he was 16and had become a dentist. After graduatingin 1895, his sister Evelyn also decided tomove to Perth where she established a schooland was joined by her mother Rebecca.James Rowland no doubt missed his family,so decided to move to Perth as well. TheHill’s property, then known as‘Hillsborough’ was sold to Harry Arnoldfrom Rookwood, on 17th September 1902.Thus ending 71 years of ownership by theHills.

Wendy Plunkett believes her ancestors’property was later re-named ‘Samarai’ bythe Arnold family who appear to have latersold it to Mr and Mrs Marshall Brown. Thesame property was later owned by theLindsay family (see story this issue, page11). In 1988 the property was owned byBernie McInerney and called ‘Shiburn Stud’.However, more recently it has beensubdivided into smaller acreages.

Marriages of the children of James andElizabeth Hill

Most of James and Elizabeth’s childrenmoved on to the Mudgee and Cobbora areasand then scattered further north. Wendy hasbeen able to trace all of the children’smarriages except the eldest daughterElizabeth, whom she hopes someone mayrecognise as part of their family tree. Shewas born in 1825 and was shown, as living,on her Mother’s death certificate in 1895.There is no record of her marriage, howeverit is thought that she may have married intoa local family.

The nine children of James and ElizabethHill were:

1. William, who married Mary Jane Griffithson 27th August 1858. (Mary was the daughterof William Griffiths and Elizabeth -neeSlemmens?)2. Elizabeth unknown?

3. Mary, who married John Valentine Masonin 1851, (John was the son of Patrick Masonand Mary nee Burk-e? or Goldie?)4. James, who married Sarah Giles on the1st May 1856. (Sarah was the daughter ofThomas Giles and Sarah?)5. John, who married Honorah Jane Wardon 9th August 1853. Honorah was alsoknown as Norah, Hannah and Annie,daughter of ?. (Any information would beappreciated by Wendy Plunkett as this is herdirect line.)6. Sarah, who married William Stanford onthe 23rd April 1858. (William was the sonof Luke Stanford and Maria Summers.)7. Anne, who Married Charles RobertMartin on 17th May 1859. (Charles was theson of Charles Homer Martin and AnnForrester.)8. Thomas was burned to death in a bushfire when aged 6 in 1845 and was buried inSt Peter’s burial ground at Richmond.9. Rebecca, who married Francis Hill (hercousin) Francis Hill on 6th June 1867.(Francis’ was the nephew of James seniorand his parents were John and Margaret-nee Martin- Hill who remained in Ireland.)

Other families that are of interest

Elizabeth Hill senior’s sister Rosetta marriedEdward Devine. Their son Edward boughtthe property next door to the Hill family,which had been originally granted toLaurence Harvey. (Portion 127 on map ofKurrajong 1850 p14 from ‘Historical Walkof Kurrajong with Ken Bennett’) LittleWheeney Creek divided the two properties.

William Hill (eldest son of James andElizabeth) and a John Lamrock marriedGriffiths sisters and both families sharedinterests in Mudgee.

Other family names of interest to Wendy areBarwick, Elliot, Giddins, Griffiths andMahon. Each of these families is linked toher husband’s ancestry. Of particular interestis Andrew Mahon, the great, great, greatgrandfather of Wendy’s husband JohnPlunkett. Wendy states, “according to AlbertSmith’s book ‘Ups and Downs of an oldRichmondite’, he lived up near the WheeneyCreek racecourse. I have a little interest inThomas Mahon, who married MassieKennedy in 1850, because he probablybrought up John James Mason (born 1848),the child that John Valentine Mason fatheredto Massie Kennedy”. The Mason familylived in Kurrajong well into the 1900s.

If anyone is able to assist Wendy, pleasecontact her by writing to:4 Grand Boulevard, Doncaster, Victoria,3108

Footnote

1 The original St Matthews was destroyed.The church that stands today is a laterbuilding.

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By Margaret Fenn (nee Lindsay)

Lionel Lindsay attended HurlstoneAgriculture College and later studied for adegree in agriculture at HawkesburyAgriculture College.

Lionel’s mother, Louise (nee Derrick) grewup on her parents’ sheep station in TemoraNSW. Lionel inherited his mother’s love ofplants and agriculture and always wantedto become a farmer. Graduating fromcollege during the Depression Lionel foundit difficult to do so and his father helpedhim establish a business (grocery andgeneral store) in Fitzwilliam Road,Vaucluse. Lionel married Phyllis Lowerywho grew up in ‘Minnamurra’, a house inFitzwilliam Road and was the daughter of aPort Jackson pilot. In 1952 they moved thefamily to ‘Samarai’ in Willow Glen Road atKurrajong, where Lionel farmed untilretirement.

Lionel built their retirement house on a smallproperty (‘The Crest’) in Bells Road, GroseVale, where he had stone fruit trees and anextensive vegetable garden. This kept all ofthe family supplied with fresh vegetableswhen they visited him.

Fruit Grown at ‘Samarai’

Oranges (Valencias and Navels) Mandarins Plums – various varieties Pears – Williams Apricots (10 varieties) Nectarines Peaches (various varieties) Necto-peaches – a new cross variety

Crops

Winter peas Beans Potatoes Corn

Lionel also kept a vegetable garden for thehouse.

Water tanks were kept filled with water fromWheeny Creek. In those days Lionel wastold by the Agriculture Department thatWheeny Creek was one of the clearestsources of drinking water in theHawkesbury. Water from Wheeny Creekwas also used for irrigation. Parts of thecreek were wonderfully cool in summermaking it a great place for summer picnicsand swimming. In one area there is a largecave-like overhang of rock where the creekwas crossed by large old tree trunks thatwere covered with emerald green mossesand also tangles of vines from overheadtrees. One summer in this area my cousinRodger and I found a large freshwatercrayfish. On two other occasions my motherand I saw the head and bill of a platypus ina small water hole. This was part of a smallstream that flowed into Wheeny Creek,under the little bridge on Willow Glen Roadin Joe Dunston’s property (‘Plynlimmon’).This little stream in later years when I sawit had completely dried up.

Bowen Mountain (when there was only onehouse on the mountain) was a popular riding

THE LINDSAYS OF ‘SAMARAI ORCHARDS’destination, especially when the waratahswere in flower. ‘Navua’ on the Grose Riverwas also popular for picnics and swimming.Many school day weekends were spenthome riding with Rosemary Dunston (wholater spent some time as Matron ofKurrajong Community Hospital).

What happened to the Lindsay children?

Anne trained as a teacher and then studiedat the Anglican Deaconess House (oppositeMoore Theological College in King Street,Newtown). She married Rev Arthur Horrex,son of well-known gladioli and pig farmerof Branders Lane North Richmond.

Geoffrey trained as a teacher, never married,and lives on part of his parents’ property inBells Road, Grose Vale.

Margaret trained as a nurse at RPAH. Shemarried Kevin Fenn, a Technical Officer ofElectrical Engineering at Aust NuclearScience and Technology Organisation.(AUSTO).

Dorothy trained as a nurse at RPAH andmarried Dr William Sorby, now of RoyalNorth Shore Hospital. Bill’s mother wasSylvia Dunston, and the family were broughtup in ‘Westbury’ at Grose Vale.

Phyllis Lindsay drives the tractor, while her children Geoff, Anne, Dorothy and Margaretsit amongst the chaff, winter feed for the horses. Circa early 1950s. [Collection ofMargaret Fenn]

Lionel Lindsay (on left) sets out with some of his family and the Sorby boys to pick fruitat “Samarai Orchards” at Kurrajong. The trailer is laden with wooden boxes for thefruit. Circa early 1950s. [Collection of Bill and Dorothy Sorby (nee Lindsay)]

The Lindsay family pictured outside their home in Willow Glen Road in 1955. Front, L toR: Anne, Geoffrey, Dorothy and Margaret. Back, L to R: Parents Phyllis and Lionel.[Photo courtesy Joan Peak]

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2004/2005 COMMITTEE

President: Jennifer StackhouseVice President: Kathie McMahonSecretary: Valerie HollandTreasurer: Joy ShepherdPublicity Officer: Robyn FullerResearch Project Officer: FrankHollandAcquisitions: Val BirchMinute Secretary: Pat O’TooleMillstone Editor: Greg UptonCommittee Members: AirdrieMartin, Marguerite Wyborn

Dates for your diaryDates for your diaryDates for your diaryDates for your diaryDates for your diary* Monday 25 July 2005 – Dinnermeeting and guest speakerCome along to our regular bimonthlymeeting and enjoy a delicious meal at alocal Kurrajong restaurant. We will bejoined by guest speaker Cathy McHardywho will talk about this district in a talktitled ‘The Bull Ridge: The development,people, buildings and places of EastKurrajong’.Where: Kurmond Wine Bar and Grill,Bells Line of Road, KurmondTime: From 7.00pmCost: $33

* Monday 9 August 2005 – Expeditionto State Records, KingswoodLearn how to find out more about ourhistory when we join archivists at theState Records at Kingswood for a tourand introduction to this valuablehistorical repository. There will also betime available to search the records.Where: Meet in Kurrajong Village at theBennett’s carpark to car pool at 9.15amor at State Records, 143 O’ConnellStreet, Kingswood (there is ampleparking)Time: From 9.15am at Kurrajong (10amat Kingswood)Cost: $10 (for morning tea) bring yourown lunch (tea and coffee available)More information: Val Birch on (02)4573 2346 (numbers are limited so bequick)

* Monday 26 September 2005 –Annual General Meeting and SpecialGeneral MeetingJoin us to celebrate the continued growthand success of the society as we hold our

Annual General Meeting includingelection of office bearers. The AGM willbe followed by a Special GeneralMeeting at which we consideramendments to the constitution.Where: Comleroy Road Public School,McMahons Road, KurrajongTime: 7.30pmCost: Gold coin donationMore information: Jennifer Stackhouse(02) 4573 0836

* Friday 21 October 2005 – Back tothe Kurrajong celebration – launch ofpictorial exhibition ‘Kids ofKurrajong’As part of the annual Scarecrow Festivalin Kurrajong Village, the society isstaging a fascinating photographicexhibition about growing up inKurrajong. ‘Kids of Kurrajong’ will beheld in the CWA Hall with a supper atValley View Café. As part of the event,listen to a panel of Kurrajong Kidsreminisce about growing up in thevillage.Where: CWA Hall, Kurrajong and afterat Valley View Café.Time: 6pm-9pmCost: $15 (supper)More information: Joy Shepherd (02)4571 1524 or Jennifer Stackhouse (02)4573 0836 for bookings.

Coming events• Scarecrow Festival,

Kurrajong Village 22-23October

• November meeting with guestspeaker Max Doyle 28November from 7.30pm

• Christmas party and ‘PigOut’ barbecue at the home ofBryan and MargueriteWyborn, Kurrajong 11December, 2005 from 5pm

• Australia Day breakfast 26January, 2006 from 9am

BookingsTo book for any of these events, call JoyShepherd on (02) 4571 1524. All chequesshould be made out to the Kurrajong-Comleroy Historical Society and postedto KCHS, PO Box 174, Kurmond, 2757.Include your name, address and phonenumber along with the event you arebooking for and the names of thoseattending.

VenuesActivities will be scheduled at differentvenues to make use of halls, meetingrooms and restaurants throughout thedistrict. Check venues carefully beforesetting off. Any problems en route contactJennifer on 0417 692 133.

Next newsletterThe next issue of ‘The Millstone’ will bepublished on 5 September. If you have anitem to include in the newsletter pleasecontact Jennifer Stackhouse on 45730836. Copy deadline 26 August.

Oldest known class photo fromComleroy Road Public School,1908. [Source: http://w w w . c o m l e r o y r d -p . s c h o o l s . n s w. e d u . a u /history.htm]

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