Biographies of Mayors of Strathfield

Albert Allen [d.1919]
Alderman [1885-1913] & Mayor [1889, 1891, 1893-94]

Albert Allen was one of the longest serving Alderman on Strathfield Council and Mayor on a number of occasions. Sydney Sands Directory of 1886 describes Allen as ‘storekeeper, Druitt Town Post Office’. Allen was also the postmaster of Druitt-Town, later known as Strathfield South. Allen’s store and post office was located on the corner of Homebush and Liverpool Roads. This site is currently occupied by the Spanish Motor Inn. Allen died in 1919 and is buried at St Thomas’ Anglican Church and Cemetery at Enfield at age of 83.

Reference
Strathfield Council meeting minutes and letters book
Jackson, S., 'A matter of grave importance', 1999, St Thomas' Enfield
 

William Boyce
Alderman [1954 – 1978] & Mayor [1969-1970, 1973-76]

William Hamlyn Boyce, generally known as Bill, served on Strathfield Council from 1954 to 1978. He was elected to Council at an extraordinary election following the death of Alderman William. Edwards. Boyce recorded an oral history with Strathfield Council in 1993, where he speaks about the purchase of land for the Rochester St Library in early 1970’s and its’ construction. While he was Mayor a long day care centre and Southend Tennis Complex were established. Boyce also served as Deputy Mayor [1972, 1977-1978] & Local Government representative on the Sydney Farm Produce Market Authority from 1969-1978. Bill Boyce Reserve and Boyce Avenue in Strathfield are named for him.
 

Reference
'William Hamlyn Boyce' oral history, interviewed and transcribed by Yvonne Gibbons 1993.
 

Charles Capper
Mayor of Strathfield [1911-12] & Alderman [1907-1914]

Charles Cadell Capper served on Strathfield Council as an Alderman from February 1907 to January 1914 and was elected Mayor in 1911 and 1912. He served as Mayor in 1911 and 1912. Capper was a stock agent and represented the Homebush Ward [Wards were abolished in 1916 in Strathfield Municipality]. He lived at ‘Lillawah’ in Burlington Rd and later at ‘Glen Mavis’ in Abbotsford Rd before moving to Chatswood.
 

Reference
Strathfield Council meeting minutes
 

John Curnow
Mayor of Strathfield 1925 & Alderman 1920-1925  

John Curnow served as an Alderman on Strathfield Council from 1920 to 1925 and was elected Mayor for the year 1925.  Curnow lived in a house in Meredith St called ‘'Chylasson' and later moved to 147 Albert Rd Strathfield naming this house ‘Chylasson' also. 

Curnow Street and Curnow Reserve were named for John Curnow. However, both the street and reserve have been renamed as Pemberton Rd and Mount Royal Reserve respectively.

Reference
NSW Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Strathfield Council meeting minutes
Sands Sydney Directory
 

George Davey [1874-1954]
Mayor 1926-1927 and Alderman 1922-1948
 

George Davey [1874-1954] served on Strathfield Council for 26 years and was Mayor in 1926-27. Photo of George Davey was taken in 1938.

Davey’s long period of involvement on Strathfield Council was marked by many achievements. His period in office coincided with a rapid expansion in residential development in Strathfield and Davey advocated extensions of street planting schemes, acquisition of land for public parks and planting of trees and shrubs in parks, gardens and reserves. When the Strathfield Railway Station was extended in the 1920’s, Davey insisted on acquiring additional land on the southern side of the Station and instead of the proposed road width of 40 feet, he demanded 100 feet. Strathfield Council contributed £3000 to the road acquisition. This land today is the Strathfield Town Centre. Davey Square and Davey Square Memorial are named for him.

Davey was the managing director of flour millers Edwin Davey & Co. His daughter Phyllis, married aviator and flour miller Nigel Love. Love founded N B Love Industries at Enfield [now part of Weston Milling]. In 1940, Edwin Davey & Co merged with N B Love Industries. The former warehouse of Edwin Davey & Co is still visible at Pyrmont and its’ façade is heritage listed by City of Sydney Council.

George Davey was active in many community activities including the Strathfield Methodist Church and he was Treasurer of Methodist Ladies College [MLC] in Burwood for 25 years. He lived at ‘Koorianda’ 5-7 Broughton Rd, which is now heritage listed.

References
Fielding J, ‘The Golden Grain: A history of Edwin Davey & Sons 1865-1985’
Matthews J ‘Strathfield Town Clerk memo for 75th Anniversary of Strathfield Municipal Council’, 1960
 

Thomas Dickson [1849-1919]
Mayor of Strathfield [1902-03] and Alderman [1898-1910]

Thomas James Dickson was born 28 October 1849 and died 21 July 1919. He was the son of Joseph Dickson [1803-1891], manufacturer of 'Dicksons Soap and Candles'. Dickson was an Alderman on the first Waverly Council, in 1859 and first raised the matter of establishing a cemetery at Waverley. Dickson Park at Bondi is named for this family. Two of Joseph's sons, Stephen and Thomas, also served as Alderman and Mayor on Waverley Council in the 1880's.

Thomas Dickson was a solicitor with offices in the City. He married Grace Corben and built ‘Ethelstone’ c.1893, a large Victorian Italianate home, on the corner of Broughton and Meredith St Homebush. ‘Ethelstone’ was later the home of Catholic Archbishop Michael Sheehan, who called the house ‘Jurvena’, and then by St Lucy’s School for the Blind. The Society of St Paul currently occupies the property, which is heritage listed on Strathfield Council’s local environment plan. 

Dickson St, which was once known as Merley Rd, was named after Thomas Dickson. Dickson died at his home 'Ethelstone' in 1919. He is buried in the Presbyterian section of Rookwood Cemetery.
 

References
Biographical Information on Thomas Dickson provided by Bruce Dickson [descendent] December 2003.
Jones, C. 'Ethelstone', SDHS Vol.26 No.2, February 2003
Waverley Cemetery - a walk through history no. 2, Waverley Council Library at www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/library
 

Clarrie Edwards
Mayor of Strathfield 1977-1983

Clarence (Clarrie) Griffiths Edwards served on Strathfield Council from March 1973 to September 1983.  He was elected at an extraordinary election following the death of Alderman Cartwright.   

He was elected Mayor of Strathfield for seven consecutive years in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.

Ernest Laurence [1876-1963]
Mayor of Strathfield 1917-1918 & Alderman 1915-1918

Ernest Laurence [1876-1963] served as an Alderman on Strathfield Council from 1915-1920 and was elected Mayor of Strathfield in the years 1917-18. Ernest Laurence at age of ten, wrote to NSW Premier W B Dalley in 1885 offering contents of his moneybox to patriotic funds for Sudan Contingent and referring to himself as a ‘little boy from Manly’. This gesture was duly reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7th March 1885 and attracted the attention of Livington Hopkins; a cartoonist recently arrived from America, working for The Bulletin magazine. Inspired by the reporting of Laurence’s gesture, Hopkins created an Australian symbol ‘The Little Boy from Manly’ in April 1885, which came to stand for a people who had not yet grown up and was ignorant of the ways of the world. The reproduction of this style of political cartooning was possible by the Hopkins himself, who brought to Australia the first photo-engraving equipment.  

The ‘Little Boy from Manly’ appeared in cartoons for many years and seems to have disappeared during World War I, when Australia was judged to have come of age as a nation at Gallipolli [Bongionro: 2001]. As Vane Lindesay writes in The Inked-in Image [1979]:

"The Little Boy from Manly was probably a justifiable image before Federation, for, from its inception The Bulletin, it did most to make Australia believe she was growing up. But The Little Boy from Manly, like Peter Pan, never grew up. For some reason this symbol of Australia was perpetuated in The Bulletin’s political cartoons by other artists long after Federation and Nationhood”.

The Little Boy from Manly is also cited as an influence in the development of the comic Ginger Meggs by Jim Bancks.

Aside and perhaps despite his ‘fame’ as the ‘Boy from Manly’, Ernest Laurence followed his father’s profession and was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1901. He married Isabelle Spiers Brown in 1902 and lived at ‘Dagworth’, 39 Homebush Rd from 1907-14. Laurence acquired land in Victoria St Strathfield and built in 1914 a large Arts & Crafts style mansion named ‘Bellevue’ [8-10 Victoria St]. Also known as ‘Win Bin’. Laurence served as Alderman on Strathfield Council from 1915-20 and as Mayor in 1917-18. Laurence died on 25th October 1963.

Laurence was the son of solicitor Charles Albert Laurence [1845-1925], who arrived in Sydney with his family in 1853 and was admitted to practice law in December 1867. Laurence went into partnership with [MC] Stephen & [SA] Stephen and later formed partnership with sons in Laurence & Laurence in early 1890’s. His specialist area of law was company law and retired in 1920. He was a member of the Law Institute [1855-1925], councillor [1886-1909], volunteer soldier and Alderman on Manly and Ashfield Councils. Laurence resided at ‘Birralee’ in Albert Rd in his later years and died on 21st August 1925. ‘Birralee’ has since been demolished.

Reference
Bongionro, Frank, ‘Conditions Precedent’ in Worker’s Online Issue No.115, 12 October 2001. Worker’s Online is published by the NSW Labor Council on www.workers.labor.net.au
Gibbney & Smith, A Biographical register 1788-1939: notes from name index of the Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol II L-Z, National Library of Australia, 1987.
 ‘Australian Political Cartooning’, Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts, 2003.
Sydney Morning Herald, 7 March 1895, page 14
Vane, Lindesay, The Inked-In Image, Hutchinson, Victoria, 1979.
 

Harvey Ford [d.2001]
Mayor [1965-66] & Alderman [1960-68]

Harvey Ford was elected to Council at an extraordinary election following the death of Alderman Stanley Hedges. Harvey Ford was born at Summer Hill but lived in Strathfield all his life until March 2000 when he and his wife, Shirley moved to Drummoyne. Educated at Trinity Grammar Preparatory School in Strathfield and Trinity Grammar in Summer Hill, where he graduated in 1939.

World War II started before Harvey left school but he completed two years of law at Sydney University during which he rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Sydney University Regiment. At the end of 1941 his studies were put on hold when he joined the 39th Anti-Aircraft Battery and served in Northern Queensland. Harvey left the Army to join the RAAF and completed further training in Edmonton Canada before serving as a navigator with Bomber Command, flying Halifax aircraft over Germany. He was discharged from the Air Force in 1946.

Harvey Ford was admitted as a solicitor in May 1948 and in September 1948, married Shirley at St Anne’s Anglican Church in Strathfield. Harvey Ford died in December 2000 and his funeral was held at St Anne’s Church.

Harvey Ford was the grandson of Ebenezer Ford, Mayor of Enfield and son of solicitor Emil Ford. He recorded an oral history with Strathfield Council in 1993 and the transcripts are available at Strathfield Library. Ford Street and Ford Park were formerly located in Enfield Council and are named for Ebenezer Ford.

Reference
Harvey Ford Obituary, Strathfield Scene, Vol 7 No. 9 January/February 2001, p 3 with details provided by the Ford family.
 

George Hardie [1845-1916]
Alderman and Mayor of Strathfield 1885-1886
 

George Hardie served on Strathfield Council from 1885 to 1886. He was elected in 1885 as the first Mayor of Strathfield. George Hardie is described as ‘mining agent, Torrington Rd’ in Government Gazette of 1885, however he was a partner in Hardie & Gorman, a prominent Sydney real estate agency. George Hardie lived at ‘Torrington’ in Torrington Rd [formerly Woodgreen Rd], Strathfield.
 

George Hardie, one of six children, was born on 17th. September 1845 to the Rev. Charles Hardie and his wife Jane nee Hitchcock, His father was at the time serving as a missionary for the London Missionary Society at Upolu, on Samoa, one of the islands then known as the Navigators. George was sent to England to be educated, at a very early age. He attended a school for the sons of missionaries, called ‘Silcoates’ at Wakeford in Yorkshire. After completing twenty years as missionaries in Samoa from 1835 to 1855, his parents returned to England. George migrated to Australia in 1866 and was later joined by his brother Robert and other members of the family.
 

George and his wife Amy were married on 5th. July 1873, starting married life in Rose Bay. Here Ida, the first of seven children, was born in 1874, Later they moved to Strathfield where they built ‘Torrington’. George’s parents were married in the Parish Church in the district of Greater Torrington, Devon. Six years after arriving in Australia, George together with his brother Robert and Henry Gorman, founded the firm Hardie & Gorman, Real Estate Agents and Auctioneers. They also acted as mining brokers. The firm Hardie & Gorman was largely responsible for opening the Strathfield area as a residential neighbourhood.
 

George and his family resided for approximately ten years in Strathfield. He took an active part in local government, being first Mayor of Strathfield in 1885. He was also a co-founder of the Mercantile Mutual Insurance Go,, founded in 1877 and a keen follower of cricket, being a founder member of the Sydney Cricket Ground. Being a successful business man, he retired at the age of 41 years and returned to England with his family, where he took up residence in Barnet and died there aged 71 years on May 4 1916.  [Nancy Hardie, Strathfield’s First Mayor – George Hardie, SDHS Newsletter, Vol.21 No.5 May 1998]
 

Hardie’s term on Council was terminated in his first year of service as the relevant Act required two alderman to retire at the end of the first year and he was one of the two after lots were drawn [SDHS vol. 4 no. 7 June 1982]. Hardie was the returning officer for the 1886 Council election. About this time, Hardie decided to return to England and his property ‘Torrington’ was transferred to his brother Robert W. Hardie and Henry Gorman of the firm Hardie & Gorman, Estate Agents & Auctioneers.
 

Robert William Hardie was Mayor of Burwood [1887] and lived at ‘Ilfracombe’ in Park Rd Burwood.  Henry Gorman was also a resident of Strathfield and lived at ‘Merley’ in Albert Rd Strathfield.
 

References
SDHS vol.4 no. 7 June 1982,
Hardie, N., 'Strathfield's First Mayor - George Hardie', SDHS Newsletter, vol. 21 no. 5 May 1998

 

Headstone of Wilheim von der Heyde at Rookwood Cemetery

Willheim von der Heyde [d.1896]
Alderman [1885-1891] & Mayor of Strathfield [1886-7 & 1889]

Wilheim Von der Heyde [1829-1896] was elected as an Alderman to the first Strathfield Council in 1885 and served until 1891. He served as Mayor in 1886-1887 and 1889. Heyde was born in Germany and was an importer and tobacco merchant trading as ‘Heyde, Todman & Co’ at 51 York Street Sydney with his business partner George Todman. This business was established in 1875 and was described in the Adeline Centennial History of 1888 as ‘a wholesale place of great importance. Further, they were described as ‘agents for the most prominent manufacturers of cigars in Havana, Island of Cuba, from which places the choicest brands of tobacco and cigars are constantly imported by them’.

After Heyde’s death in 1896, Todman became the sole proprietor of the business, which was sold to Messrs W D & H O Wills. Todman’s obituary [SMH 9/6/1924] notes that Heyde’s son was manager of W D & H O Wills.  

Von Der Heyde built ‘Elwood House’ [see picture] in Albert Rd in 1884, which was located next to George Todman’s mansion ‘Milroy’. Both homes were demolished in the 1930’s and are now the site of Strathfield Girls High. Heyde Street is named for him.

References
Morrison, W F, Aldine Centennial History of NSW, 1888
Obituary of George Todman, Sydney Morning Herald, page 6, 9 June 1924.

 

John Hinchcliff [d.1895]
Mayor of Strathfield [1890, 1892] & Alderman 1889-1895

John Hinchcliff served as an Alderman from 1889 to 1895 and Mayor in 1890 and 1892. He was a woolbroker of the City business A. Hinchcliff & Sons, which was started by his father Andrew. The Hinchcliff woolstore survives today and is located at 5-7 Young St Sydney, now the Marist Chapel and International School near Circular Quay. This building is heritage listed and classified by the National Trust.

In 1887, Hinchcliff built ‘Mount Royal’, one of the grandest mansions in Strathfield, which is now part of the campus of the Australian Catholic University [‘Mount Royal’ is featured in picture]. ‘Mount Royal’ is built on high ground and apparently; the tower was designed to allow Hinchcliff to view ships as they arrived in Sydney Cove. 

Unfortunately, the long economic boom between 1860 and 1890 came to an abrupt end plunging Australia into economic depression. One of the industries hardest hit was the wool industry. In 1895 John Hinchcliff died at Mount Royal, heavily in debt. In the process of settling Hinchcliff’s affairs, the ownership of ‘Mount Royal’ passed into the hands of his son and his father-in-law Henry Griffits. The family moved from ‘Mount Royal’ and made attempts to sell or lease the property with varying success including a period of occupancy by Sir George Reid, Prime Minister of Australia, until the sale of the property in 1907 to the Christian Brothers.

References
Balint E., Howells T. & Smyth V., Warehouses and Woolstores of Victorian Sydney, Oxford University Press.
Howells, T. & O’Donnell, M., Survey of Warehouses and Woolstores within the City of Sydney, City of Sydney Council, 1997.
Jahn, Graeme, Sydney Architecture, 1997
Keenan, A. I., ‘Mount Royal’, Strathfield District Historical Society [SDHS] vol.3 no.2, September 1980
National Trust of NSW Classifications ‘Mount Royal’ [1980]
Sands Sydney Suburban Directory 
Strathfield Council Rates, Meeting and Valuation Books
 

Colin Hudson [d.1974]
Alderman [1941-1952] & Mayor [1944-1949]

Colin Hudson served as Mayor of Strathfield for seven consecutive years. He was the Managing Director of Loveridge and Hudson, stone merchants and chairman of the Equitable Building Society, which was founded by his grandfather. Hudson was very involved in community life and in addition to his involvement with Strathfield Council, he was Commissioner of Scouts in the Burwood District, Secretary of the Sydney Rotary Club and Chairman of Meriden School [1960-65]. Hudson Park [including the Golf Course and Oval, are named for Colin Hudson.

References
Cooke, A., Visions of Parnassus, Meriden School, 1997
 

Thomas Mackenzie [1854-1911]
Alderman [1892 –1911], Mayor [1898-1902, 1908-1911] & NSW Parliament – Member for Canterbury [1901-1907]

Thomas Mackenzie [1854-1934] was a farmer, accountant and politician. Mackenzie served on Strathfield Council as an Alderman [1892-1911], Mayor of Strathfield [1898-1901, 1908-10] and Executive member of Municipal Association of NSW [1899-1911]. He was elected to NSW Parliament as Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for Canterbury [1901-07] representing the Free Trade Party, later the Liberal Party. He also served as treasurer of Western Suburbs Cottage Hospital [1904] and Australian Protestant Defence Association. Mackenzie was auditor for AMP Society for many years and lived at ‘Albermarle’ 9 Shortland Rd, Strathfield. Mackenzie Street is named for him. 

Mackenzie was a descendent of Alexander Kenneth Mackenzie, a merchant and pioneer of the NSW Colony who arrived on the Admiral Cockburn in 1822.

Thomas Mackenzie married Marian Priddle, the daughter of the Rev. Charles Frederick Priddle of St Luke, Liverpool. His two children, Keith and Joan, were born at ‘Albemarle’ at Strathfield.

Reference
Mouwle L M, ‘Pioneer Families of Australia’, 5th Edition, Rigby Ltd, 1978.
Radi, Spearitt & Hinton, Biographical Register of the New South Wales Parliament 1901-1970, ANU Press 1979
Strathfield Council meeting minutes.
 

Frederick Parsons
Mayor of Strathfield [1895-97, 1904-05]

Frederick William Parsons [1852-1933] served as an Alderman on Strathfield Council from 1890 to 1914 and elected Mayor in 1895-7. Parsons was a real estate agent and auctioneer and was one of the organisers of the petition to NSW Government in September 1884 to incorporate Strathfield Municipality. Parsons lived at ‘Wooroonook’ in Elwin St Strathfield, where his wife, Alice Mary Parsons, operated a girl’s day school also called ‘Wooroonook’. Parsons Avenue was named for Frederick Parsons. 
 

John Price
Alderman [1902-1920] & Mayor [1906-7]

John Price served on Strathfield Council from 1902 to 1920 and was elected Mayor in 1906 and 1907.
Price was a timber merchant and appears to have been in business on Parramatta Rd with Harry Kite, trading as Kite and Price – Timber Merchants. Harry Kite was Mayor of Homebush [1906-1909]. John Price lived at ‘Llantarnan’ The Crescent Homebush.

Reference
Sands Sydney Directory for Strathfield and Homebush   
 

Percy Shortland [1895-1954]
Mayor of Strathfield 1933-38

Percy Douglas Shortland [1895-1954] was an Alderman and Mayor of Strathfield [1933-38]. Shortland’s period on Council coincided with the Depression and according to Holt’s biography A Court Rises [1976: 227-229] he did much to help Strathfield residents in difficult circumstances and introduced a roster system for Council workers so staff wouldn’t be retrenched.  Shortland originally trained as a teacher and while headmaster of Mudgee High School, he completed examinations to qualify for admission to the bar. Shortland was admitted as a barrister in 1922 and in June 1939 appointed as a Judge to the District Court. Shortland resigned from Strathfield Council upon his appointment as a Judge.

Shortland also held a long interest in politics. He was President of the Sydney Debating Club at age 21. He contested the State seat of Wammerawa [now Mudgee] as a National Party candidate and came close to victory. In 1925, Shortland contested the Federal electorate of Reid as a candidate for the Nationalist Party.  The electorate of Reid included Homebush from 1922 to 1934, when the boundaries were changed and shifted west to Auburn and Granville.  The electorate of Reid has been held by the Australian Labor Party since 1922, but Shortland through strenuous campaigning achieved a 5.2% swing at the 1925 election. Shortland was defeated by Labor’s Percy Coleman, who was also a resident of Strathfield, living on the corner of Homebush Rd and Burlington Rd.  

Shortland’s wife, Edith Shortland was also politically active. Edith became the first woman Vice-President of the Liberal Party and contested the federal Electorate of Lowe in 1949 as a Liberal Independent. The seat was won by the Liberal Party’s William McMahon but Edith Shortland achieved 6.4% of the primary vote. McMahon held the seat for the Liberal Party until 1982, when he retired.

Elsie St was renamed Shortland Avenue after Percy Shortland.

References
Adam Carr's Electoral Archive at http//:psephos.adam-carr.net
Holt, T E, A Court Rises: the lives and times of the Judges of the District Court of New South Wales [1859-1959], Law Foundation of NSW, 1976
Jones, C 'Ellesmere: 59 Mackenzie St Strathfield', SDHS Newsletter March 2004 Vol.27 No.3
 

James Smith
Mayor of Strathfield [1968] and Alderman [1965-1974]

James Ernest Smith was elected as an Alderman and served from 1965 to 1974. H was elected as Mayor in 1968 and was Vice Chairman of the Council’s Works Committee in 1967, 1973 and 1974.

He died on 17 September 1975 and was survived by his widow Charlotte and daughter Lynda. A Mayoral Minute of 19 September 1975 stated that during his service ‘it can be said that the condition of roads, footpaths and parklands in the South Strathfield area was greatly improved. He was always a strong supporter of junior sport within the Municipality particularly in regard to football and he was a Foundation Member of the Strathen Youth Club’. 

Reference
Strathfield Council meeting and Mayoral minutes
 

Reference
Cooke, A., Visions of Parnassus, Meriden School, 1997