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Early
descriptions of Strathfield
Aldine Centennial History of New South Wales by W.
Frederick Morrison, 1888
STRATHFIELD, which includes Homebush, Redmyre, and part of Druitt
Town, was incorporated in the year 1885. It lies in the western part of
Canterbury electorate, and is bounded on the east by the Redmyre
Boulevards, on the south by the Liverpool Road to Cook’s river; thence
in a northerly line to the Great Southern Railway; thence along the said
railway line to Strathfield Station. Its area is 1,280 acres, or two
square miles. The Council is composed of six aldermen, one of whom is
chosen mayor.
This suburb is purely residential. The location is
beautiful. The houses are of the better class of merchants and retired
people. It is worthy of note, and what its citizens desire to have
mentioned is, that there are no public-houses in the borough, although
there are already within the municipality 1,129 electors.
They have a
good Town Hall, erected at a cost, including its site, of £2,380. It is
situated on high rolling land, and is therefore healthy and beautiful.
Those having occupied the Mayor’s chair are the following :— Mr. George
Hardie, 1885; Mr. William Von der Heyde, 1880 and 1887. Mr. Owen S. Wild
is Council clerk. Altogether it is a desirable residential suburb, most
suitable for those who love quiet retirement.
An extract from ‘The Echo’ Newspaper, Sydney, of 18th
September 1890.
Adjoining the Burwood Estate and Faithfull’s Farm on the west was the
grant made to Mr James Wilshire by Governor Macquarie in January, 1810.
It consisted of 570 acres, and, from the nature of the soil [a stiff
reddish clay] was called the Redmire Estate. North of this was a grant
of 120 acres made to Mr Thomas Rose by Lieutenant Governor Grose in May
1793. North of this and running across the Parramatta Road was a small
corner of Captain Rowley’s Burwood Estate. Next came a grant of 60 acres
to Frederick Meredith, and some smaller lots which were purchased by Mr
Simeon Lord, and afterwards passed to Mr. James Underwood. Further west
was a grant to Mr Joseph Hyde Potts [Secretary to the old Bank of NSW)
of 256 acres, dating from 1817. Southward and adjoining the Redmire
Estate, was a grant [one of the last made] to Mr Joseph Newton by
Governor Gipps, and dated September 1st, 1841. North of Parramatta Road
and running along that Road from Powell ‘s Creek to Haslem’s Creek and
by those Creeks to the Parramatta River was the Homebush Estate, of 920
acres, the property of Mr D’arcy Wentworth …………… The Estate gave the
name to a considerable portion of land on each side of the Parramatta
Road.
The Liverpool Road was opened through the Redmire Estate shortly after
it was granted to Wilshire. This estate passed to Mrs Terry Hughes, and
from her to Mr Billyard. A portion of this estate is said to have been
the first subdivision sold by Messrs. Hardie & Gorman. The adjoining
estate of 283 acres, running from the Redmire state along the Liverpool
Road to where that road crosses Cook’s River, and thence along the river
for some distance, passed from Mr Joseph Newton to Judge Josephson in
1858. The Judge sold a few allotments along the Liverpool Road, and
called the place Druitt Town in honour of his friend, Major George
Druitt of the 48th Regiment. But the old name of Bark Huts was retained
by the residents for many years. Just beyond the boundary of this state,
and close to the Cook’s River, was a boiling-down establishment, opened
by Messrs John & Hugh Hamilton in 1844, and closed about the year 1855.
Opposite this was the Bark Huts, built by Mr. William Taverner, and
opened as a Hotel.
Mr Taverner had previously occupied the Bay Horse Inn, on Taverner’ s
Hill, Leichhardt. The Bark Huts was a long low slab building, with a
bark roof. Several Bark-roofed stables and sheds stood at the rear, as
this was the half-way house and the changing station for the coaches
between Sydney and Liverpool for many years. In 1844 the house was
occupied by Mr. George Davis, and was greatly improved in outward
appearance.
Mr. Reardon altered the name of the newly-built brick place to the
Liverpool Road Hotel. It has recently been rebuilt, and is now a
two-storied place called the Royal Hotel ... ... These places are just
outside the present Municipality of Strathfield.
Mr. Morris occupied the Bark Huts and had the mail contract from Sydney
to Campbelltown. Afterwards Mr Titterton joined Mr. Ireland, and these
two ran the coaches for many years. Mr. Armfield and Mr. J.H. Jones were
the successful tenderers for the mail from Sydney to Melbourne in 1851
but in that year the Colony of Victoria was separated from New South
Wales, and Messrs. Armfield and Jones were paid compensation for the
loss of their contract. About 1860 Mr Richard Ridge ran a coach from
Parramatta to Windsor, and Messrs Perry & Hogan one to Penrith.
Previously to this Messrs John Booth and George Seymour ran the coach
from Sydney to Windsor, changing at Neich’s Hotel and Parramatta
. . In a series the various parishes of New South Wales drawn by Mr W
Meadows Brownrigg, from about 1830-1936, and now in the
possession of the Hon. James Norton, MLC, a proposed new route is shown
for the Parramatta Road. The proposed road is indicated by a straight
line from the end of George Street, near Christ Church, to where the
Newtown Railway Station now stands, and thence by a straight line to a
little south of where the Homebush Station is. ….At this stage, the
proposed road forks, one line going straight to Parramatta, and the
other straight to Liverpool. This road, known as Sir Thomas Mitchell’s
line, was never surveyed, and therefore only appears on paper.
In 1855 the railway was opened, and one of the oldest stations is that:
of Homebush . . .
The first church the district was the Druitt Town Congregational Church,
nearly opposite Bark Huts, erected in 1873.
In September, 1844, a petition, signed by 78 persons prayed that the
district night be incorporated under the name of the Municipal District
of Strathfield. This is the first time that this name appears officially
in connection with this district, which had previously been known as
Redmire (altered to ‘Redmyre’ about 1865) . Homebush, [which, although
properly the name of Mr. Wentworth’s Estate] was applied to the little
settlement on both sides of the road, and came in time to include a
considerable portion of what is now included in the Municipality of
Strathfield and Druitt Town and Bark Huts. Bark Huts, strictly speaking,
only applied to a portion of land west of Cook’s River and south of the
Liverpool Road, and was therefore outside the Municipality. But like
Homebush, it had, in the course of years, acquired a much wider
significance, and had come to include a good deal of Strathfield and
Enfield, although outside both municipalities.
The population of the proposed municipal district was estimated at 600,
and the area at 1,200 acres. On 11th February, 1855, a counter petition
signed by 86 persons was gazetted. In this, it was urged that the former
petition was solely in the interests of the residents of Redniire, and
did not represent 100 souls. The district comprised a large portion of
land only sparsely populated, and the residents of Homebush and Enfield
proposed to incorporate their districts separately. The boundaries of
the Municipalities were fixed at the Redmyre Road, from the Liverpool
Road to the Parramatta Road; thence along the railway line to the
boundary of J.H. Pott’s 256 acres, thence to the Liverpool Road, taking
in J H Potts’ grant and Judge Josephson’s 283 acres; and thence to the
Redmyre Road. This left out a portion of Messrs Pott’s and Underwood’s
land lying between the railway and the Parramatta Road, which is now
known as Homebush, and is still unincorporated. The land to the west and
southwest is also incorporated as far as the crossing of the Liverpool
Road, over Cook’s River, so that Strathfield is the furthest westward
out of the incorporated districts round Sydney.
The name of ‘Strathfield’ was chosen from Strathfield House, the
residence of Mr. John Hardie, Redmyre.
The Municipality was proclaimed on 2nd June, 1885 ... The first election
took place on 10th August, 1885, when Alderman George Hardie, [Mayor] &
AIderman William von der Heyde, George Arthur Thompson, Albert Allen,
Henry Australia Perkins and James Thompson, were declared duly elected.
The area of the Municipality is estimated at 1,280 acres with 19 miles
of streets. The population at the date of the incorporation was
estimated at 550 living in 130 houses, and the net revenue was
£1,210.7.10 from the General Rate.
The capital value of rateable property was about £222,600 while for the
current year it is £303,000, the increase representing new buildings and
improvements, as the value of land has not increased during the past
five years. The present population is estimated at 1,200 living in 275
houses. The revenue for the current year is £1,980. 7. 9., from the
General Rate and £660. 2. 7. from the Lighting Rate; total £2,640.10. 4.
The number of business places is not ever 30, the Municipality being a
residential area principally ...
A very handsome Town Rail has been erected on the Homebush Road at a
cost of about £2,000.
There s neither a park nor a Public Rouse in the Municipality ...
The first Council Clerk was Mr. F. G. Bennett ...
The Strathfield Council has done more to beautify the streets by
planting trees, etc., than any other Council in the Metropolitan
District….. The old road which divided the Municipality from Burwood has
been named The Boulevarde and it was on this road that treeplanting was
begun.
On the Liverpool Road side there is a line of omnibuses running from the
Burwood Station to Druitt Town and Bankstown, 3 miles past the boundary
of Strathfield.
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