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the balmainassociat ionIncorporatednews sheet

Vol 27 No 4 Issue 213 F o u n d e d 1 9 6 5 M A Y 1 9 9 2

Balmain Village PlanIan Scandrett, President oft h e B a l m a i n & R o z e l i eC h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e h a s

announced a plant o e n h a n c e

w o o l W O R T H S

Balmain's Loyalty Square. The proposedwidening of the northern footpath wouldprovide outdoor eating and seating aswell as space for exhibitions and festivalperformances.

Pedestrian safety around the squarewould be improved by narrowing the roadway to calm trafnc dmmatically. Paving ofthe roadway could be a further traffic calming measure and improve the Moit Streetcomer. Some extra parking spaces may beach ieved .

Modifications will be necessary as thesketch is not accurately scaled. To reduce itsvulnerability the Cenotaph should bemoved closer to Woolworths and entry intoBeatt ie and Palmer Streets would also beeased. As the plan effectively increasespublic open space it could be financed fromthe Open Space Fund.

P r e c i n c t C o o r d i n a t o r

Leichhardt Council has employedStacey IV^ers as their PrecinctCommittee Coordinator to establish theprecinct system for the municipality. Theexact role of these committees has not asyet been determined but it is envisagedthat they will be developed on areas ofres iden t mutua l i n te res t and w i l l belinked for Information exchange from theCouncil. This means that they will beconsulted well in advance of anydetermination of issues and policiesenabling them to make recommendationsaffecting their precinct

Stacey is currently acquainting herselfwith various local interest groups andtalking to interested parties on how theyperceive the establishment of the system.She is scheduled to attend the June meetingof the Association.

Nearly three years ago we advocated theformaticxi of the precinct ccnnmittees andfully apiTOve the procedure. If you are interested in joining one of these committees,why not attend the June meeting.

Save BirchgrovePark From Cars

Iekhhardt CouncU, in the next issue^of the Leader, proposes a poll ofBalmain residents on improvements toB i rchgrove Park . Th is i s one o fBalmain's more important heritageareas and is classified by the NationalT V u s t

There is a proposal to remove some treeson the small section of the Park at the comerof Rose and Ferdinand Streets to provide afew spaces of car paridng. The area wasacquired by the Crown for the park inNovembCT 1881. A car park will not alleviate local resident's concern over visitorsusing their street parking. It will attractmore cars. Parking is (xily an issue on perhaps fifteen Sundays in the football season.As there is adequate space on Grove Street,surely it is not too much to expect healthyfootballoa and their suppcxters to walk ashcxt distance frmn their cars.

We urge members to vote for enhancements to the Park and to keep cars out

G lebe I s landBridge UpdateSydney's Lord Mayor, Aid Sartor, hascalled for a reappraisal of the highlevel bridge that the RTA plans to buildon Glebe Island at extra cost of $90million. He threatened court action. AnEnvironmental Impact Study should beheld to ascertain the elTect of traffic noiseon proposed residential development inPyrmont.

The RTA seems determined to continuewith the high level bridge if for no otherreason than that the design work has beencompleted. Perhaps we should lobby theFederal Govt to refuse the extra funds.

Many residents have ridiculed the pleaby the President of the Sydney MaritimeMuseum for a high level bridge forcommercial shipping and the Museum'sshipyard activities in Rozelie Bay. Similararguments were advanced for the height ofthe Gladesville Bridge to accommodateShell Co tankers which have long sincedisappeared.

William G A Fitzhardinge& S o n s

In London in 1810, William GeorgeAugustus Fitzhardinge was born, thethird son of William, created EarlFitzhardinge in 1841. He was a King'sScholar in 1825/6 and in the followingyear was articled to Thomas C Londonfor five years. In 1833 he married MaryAnne Gahen. A daughter and a son wereborn in England. In August 1838 theFitzhardinge family left Englandcabin passengers aboard theJames Patt ison. Theyarrived in Sydney inD e c e m b e r 1 8 3 8 .

On 1 April 1840he passed ane x a m i n a t i o nto practice asa so l ic i to r in

Sydney. Hes t a r t e d a

ixacticeat4King St ande s t a b l i s h e dt h e fi r m o f

Fitzhardinge& M a c K e h r i e ,later FitzhardingeSons & Yeomans ainow incorporatedMcCoy Grove & Atldnstxi.He also acted as Sydney agent foia Bathurst solicitor. Lker, as his sogrew up, he systematically developed thepotentialities of country practice linked to acity firm.

His first marriage fvoduced three sonsand two daughters. The eldest son, William,ran away to sea at 14 years of age andbecame a mercantile marine captain by theage of 25. Sons of this marriage, HenryBerekley and James Frederick, also becamesolicitors. Soon after wife, Mary Anne, diedin 1844, William G Fitzhardinge marriedAnna Amelia Hyde by whom he had sixsons and two daughters. All the sons of thismarriage had their mother's surnameincluded in their names. Two sons, GrantlyHyde and Craven Hyde, were bom inSydney.

By 1849 the Fitzhardinges had movedto Peel Cottage (now Alma Villa),Wa ie rv iew S t ree t , Ba lma in , whe reMaurice Arthur Hyde was born inDecember 1849. The cottage is stillstanding. The family moved to Sleigl^ordcottage on the shcae of Waterview Bay(Mort Bay) at 23 Thames Street Thishouse has been demol ished. F ive morechildren were bran here; Annie Amelia,Morton Hyde, Mary, Clifton Hyde,Harding Hyde (died 8 days old). All the

children bom in Balmain were baptised atSt Marys Church. Two of the sons laterestablished homes in Balmain. In 1865Annie Amelia died at Sleighford cottage.Harriet Ellen Elyard was the third wife,married in August 1866. She bore two sonsand one daughter. It is not known if any ofthese children became solicitors.

Six sons were articled in their father'sfirm and practised in Sydney, WaggaWagga, Dubbo and Glen Tnnes. One son.

Sons of W G Filzhardinge cl 863

Grantley Hyde, graduated from SydneyUniversity, practised as a barrister and wasa District Court Judge for 28 years. MortonHyde was a solicitor and StipendiaryMagistrate of NSW. Maurice Arthur Hyde,solicitor, a Trustee and secretary ofBirchgrove Park Trust, built Keba, 12Louisa Road aft^ his marriage to RebeccaDev l i n i n 1874 and l i ved th^ un t i l 1925 .This house has recently been renovated.Grantley Hyde built his home, Nuda(demolished), in 1881 and lived there until1891 while he was a District Court Judge.

J S W . i t o r v i e u S t r e e t, " V . J '

The Fitzhardinge family were all involved in rowing which started as early asthe 1860s. The father required his elder sonsto row him each day from Waterview Bayto Darling Harbour and retum. Punctualitywas his fetish and if one or other of the sonswas not waiting when he arrived at the footof Erskine Street that son could find his ownway home. Whether Fitzhardinge Seniortook a turn at the oars in such a situation isnot known. One of his sons developed ataste for sailing and wrote weekly articles

(Ml yachting for the Sydney Mail andreported rowing and sailing races

for the SMH.T h r e e s o n s w e r e

members of the crewt h a t d e f e a t e d

V i c t o r i a i n t h efi r s t i n t e rc o l o n i a l b o a tr a c e o n t h e. P a r r a m a t t a

River on 4

F e b r u a r y1 8 6 3 a n dt w o w e r e

m e m b e r so f t h e w i n

ning crew in thefi r s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Gig Race in Hobart,January 1872. Five of

t h e b r o t h e r s w e r e f o u n dation members of the Sydney_ Club in 1870.

W G A Fitzhardinge brought to thecolony a family tradition of responsibility tothe community and passed it onto his sons,several of whom were active in municipalaffairs and in the raising of volunteerregiments. Apparently of reserved nature hewas devoted to his family and had pride inhis family traditions and descent. His highstandard of professional conduct and industry won him a st^ding in the community which was passed on to his sons. He diedin September 1884 and was buried in theChurch of England section of RandwickCemetery.

Research by Bonny Davidson.Sources:P C Fitzhardinge - Seaton ADB Vol 4,

( b y T o n y M c L a t n l

■ ■iPf ijy®' Leichhardt Historical Journ̂ No 15,Y v;., Fitzhardinge Family Bible.' V Key to Group Photograph

Seated left to right; William b. 20/6/1838,James Frederick 14/10/1841, HarryBericeley 1/5/1843 (sonsoflstmarriage),on cushion Clifton George Hyde5/5/1861, seated far right, Moreton Hyde7/2/1854. Standing; Grantley Hyde6/11/1845, Craven Hyde 28/5/1847,Maurice Arthur Hyde 29/12/1847.

f

While Biy by Klin Sullivtn

P O U C E

P o l i c e B l o t t e r

G A Z E T H

Monday 12 September 1859Stolen between the 7th and 9th instant, fromthe enclosed lands of Mr Thomas Perkins,Snails Bay, Balmain, 13 or 14 nativecypress trees, about 2 feet high.

Editor's note: Thomas P^dns acquiredthe S acre extremity of Ballast Point fromGeorge Cooper , Sydney Controller ofCustoms, who had bought it from theGilchrist Estate in 1840. I t became knownas Perkins Point afrer he built his resid^ce,Minerva, in 1846. The building was alodging house when Texas Oil Copurchased the site in 1930.

If your Observer wasenclosed In a wrapper

with a renewal formyou are one of tilesmell group yet tosend your annualsubscription. We

would be pleased toaccept your cheque

n o w .

H a r r l e S H a n n a f o r d S e n i o rCitizen Art Group

The best-selling status of "Called tothe Bar" led the Observer's intrepidcorrespondent to contact Klin SuUivanwhose paintings on the cover of the bookcontr ibuted so much to i ts success.

Observer's readers may also be familiarwith Klin's other paintings which appearedin the recent history of the ChristianBrothers and have been exhibited locally atthe Balmain Watch House, Fort Street Ifrghand Birchgrove Primary School. Since thenKlin has been woiking on a series recordingthe industrial past of Balmain. An exampleis pictured on this page.

Anotho* facet of Klin's professional lifeis the art class she teaches every Mondayfrom l-4pm at the Harrie S HannafordSenia- Gtizens' Centre in Darling Street,Rozelle. As your correspondent found on arecrat visit, this is not a standanl art class.There is no curriculum nor does Klin decideon activities. Each of the 12 members of theclass decides what to draw or paint; Klin'stask is to help them achieve their aims byadvising, demonstrating and "fixing up"mistakes. In this way she can teach composition, perspective, colour theory andmixing, and painting and drawing techniques which are all specific to the works inprogress. The paintings are done usingphotogr^hs as reference while drawingsare mainly from life. Copying the wcxk ofother painters is strictly forbidden. TheGroup has an on-going exhibiticxi at theBalmain Hospital providing welcome

d e c o r a t i o n f o r t h e M o r t s D o c k G e r i a t r i c

Day-Care Ward.The class began in 1979 as an Outreach

(Hoject from Petersham TAPE. Klin taughtfor one term but other teaching duties atGuild Teachers College and Sydney CAESt George Institute prevented her fromtaking further classes until 1988. Three ofthe members of the original class - MargeCarlsen, Margaret Brummell and GregChurven - are still participating. Marge andMargaret have a long connection with theHannaford Centre: Marge was an earlyco-OTdinator of the program while Margaretis in her fourth year as Treasurer. Bothwcxnen won recent Premier's CitizenshipA w a r d s .

When the funding from Outreach was nolonger available, other sources had to beexplored. Adult Education now providess(xne funds but the balance has to be raisedby members of the class, mostly through thesale of studrats' work at an annual art ex

hibition, where not only original paintingsand drawings are available but also greetingcards made with photographs of the originalw o r k s .

There is no doubt that the students are a

happy group who are improving their skillsand enjoying themselves in the process.Commented Nancy Newell, who is in her5th year with the class, "Klin is an excellentartist and an efficient teacher who remainss^ne in a l l c i rcumstances . "

Further information about the classes isavailable from the Hannaford Centre on810-0134 .

Debb ie N i cho l l s

Council ReportWyomingLeichhaidt Council has set iq) a number ofwoiking parties to discuss ccmtentious issueenabling residents and landowners toresolve differences in a relaxed atmosphere^ d t o m a k e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o c o u n c i lfor future acti txi.

The Wyoming winking party has accepted that Wyoming's outstanding historicalvalue and its grand presence requires thebuilding and its curtilage to be preservedand economic restoration be investigated.Adjacent buildings, Normanton andMaybank should be renovated to the original streetscape presentation with referenceto the Snails Bay Residents Group studies.

Any infill development should besymprnhetic to the appearance of existingbuil̂ ngs along the bay and views betweenthem should be maintained. To protect theexisting tugboat activity on the site andprev^t it becoming a private marina the

existing maritime area should be rezoned towater f ront indust r ia l .

IVansportOne of my duties is to chair the Traffic andTransport Policy Committee. Councilresolved to give residents the opportunity toreduce their car dependency by improvingwalking, cycling and public transport facilities. Traffic Engineer, Trevor Jennings, andmyself attended the ausbike92 conferencein t he Me lbou rne Town Ha l l l as t Ma rch .A f t e r w a r d s w e a s k e d t h e L e i c h h a r d t

Bicycle Users Group to present their ideasfor the development of walking and cycleways in the municipality.

The next meeting of the Traffic &Transport Committee on Monday 18 May^ 7pm in Leichhardt Town Hall will discussmeasures to enhance pedestrian mobility,convenience and access and to incorporatepedestrian and bicycle friendly designfeatures in future tr̂ ic management andr o a d w o r k s .

A i d N i c k M a s t e r m a n

viburnum tonus looks fine when it is not inflower and it is evergreen. You could stillplant some fireesia bulbs so that you canenjoy their fragrance later in the year.

is really no end to p^fumed whiteflowers in spring and summer. Th^ arejasmines, frangipani, honeysuckle, mockorange, lily-of-the-valley (in cool climates)and the glorious gardenias.

Bonny Davidsonparicuiate are loading the air withtheir firagrance.

Murraya, flowering now, is a goodbet for scent in spring and late summer.The p^ume is like orange blossom andits ccxnmon name is (xange jessamine. Itis a plant for just about every temperategarden. It has sev^ benefits ^lart fromflushes of perfumed flowers. It is idealas a hedge <x screen plant as it grows toaround 3m and is evergreen, usuallydense and leafy from tip to ground.

Autumn is here and paper whitenarcissus will start to appear. I think

Fragrant flowers; gardenia, frangipani and murraya

Planning For PerfumeMost gardeners could rely on ah a n d f u l o f w h i t e fl o w e r s t o s c e n ttheir garden year-round. Snil^ aroundy o u r n e i g h b o u r h o o d , g a r d e n i a s ,frrangipani and the beautiful murraya

Traffic Calming

Leichhardt CouncU has replied to ourrequest for traffic managementdev ices a t a number o f loca t i tms on theP e n i n s u l a .

You will be pleased to know that fivecalming thresholds (not bumps) are proposed for Darling Street between CurtisRoad and Duke Street Landscaped kerbextensions are suggested at the Duke Stcomer to overcome the illegal parking. Toalleviate parking difficulties, the TrafficCommittee is planning angle parking for thenorthem side of Cove St as well as on the

park side of Grove Street.It is pleasing to leam that there is some

movement towards improving safety andameni t ies in Ba lma in .

Residents should also be encouraged bythe Council's action on recycling.

Hopetoun Quay ProjectOver one hundred residents responded to

the Birchgrove ResidentOroup's meeting inthe Birchgrove Public School Hall onSunday 3 l̂ y. They agreed with a numberof resolutions voicing their concern on theproposed density on the old Howard Smithsite. They object to becoming the victims ofMacMahon Holding's poor businessdecisions. It is believed that the developershave invested $46 million in the 2 ha site.

Heritage Pub CrawlThe Heritage Pub Crawl on 2 May

attracted over fifty walkCTs frx>m as far afreldas Heathcote and Manly.

C l o n t a r fA c t i v i t i e s

;_fi4KUrfScrabble every Monday at 7.3()pm.

Contact 818 4896.

Toastmasters 1st & 2nd Wednesday.Contact 810 8428.

Coming. Wine Tasting. Fund raising byClon ta r f Commi t tee .

C l o n t a r f Q u i t t e r s

Are you interested in needlework?Our group meets each Tuesdayevening at 730pm in historic ClontarfCottage Wallace Street Bahnain.

Enquiries: Sheila CartCT 818 2674 orLeonie Bul l ions 818 467S

W h a t ' s O nat the WOch House- Group Art Exhibition

Eva Molnar-- Paintings,Sculplura, Craft. May 2 -17

« Mhjseum Week Exh ib i t ion :Historic Sutxllvlslons &Development Applications ofBalmain A Roxel leMay 23 A 24 from 10am to 4pmMusic by Recorder Group 2041on Saturday May 23 at 2̂Design Exhibition 'Studients of UTSMay 30-31.12-3pm

B a k n e i n '

Compet i t ion Pr izeW i n n e r s

Winning entries in the Photographand Poster Competition wereexhibited in the Watch House on April 11& 12. The competitions were jointlysptHisored by Michael's Place and theA s s o c i a t i o n .

niotograph Prize WinnersPrimary School1st Arlo Robins, 2nd Mark Stevenson,

3rd Aaron Mar t in .We had insufficient High School entries

to award prizes.P o s t e r P r i z e W i n n e r s

Primary School1st Fiona Cock, 2nd Michael Filitonga,

3rd Heather Cave.C o m m e n d e d

Ryan Hughes and Ali Lowe.High School1st Nicole Mockitt-Jcnes, 2nd Cliristina

Croft, 3rd Jade Sims.C o m m e n d e dAlexis Dull and Brendan Cody

T h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n i n crepresenting Balmain, Birchgrove,

R o z e l l e .The Watch House Is open everySaturday from 12 to 3pm • Call In

f o r c o f f e eT h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n m e e t s o n

the first Wednesday of each month at7.30pm in the Watch House179 Darling Street. Balmain.

Maiic/o PO Box 57. BALMAIN. 2041.Our editorial phone is 816 4954

Interested artists, potters, sculptorsetc. who would like to organise anexhibition in the Watch House are urgedto contact Steve South on 8101411.

O u r A l m s A r e To :• Improve the living, working and

r e c r e a t i o n a l a m e n i t i e s o f o u r a r e a• maintain all features having

n a t u r a l a r c h i t e c t u r a l a n d / o rh i s t o r i c a l v a l u e

• compile and record history of thearea & keep a permanentcol lect ion of I tems of h istor icalI n t e r e s t

• seek the cooperation of everyoneconcerned In the real isat ion oft h e a t > o v e

Annual Subscriptions:Household $16.00, Pensioners &Students $7.00, Organisations $21.00.

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