Barnclueth - Potts Point -

 

Barnclueth 

Rose Hall - Darlinghurst Villa - Demolished -

 

Rose Hall 

Petty’s Hotel - York St Sydney

Petty’s Hotel -  1 York street  - Sydney 

SYDNEY’s first beer garden was established facing York Street outside Petty’s Hotel at the corner of  Jamieson and Clarence Streets late in 1938.

While beer gardens are now common in the yards of Sydney pubs, they were difficult to find prior to the 1950s.

Beer gardens were much welcomed by women, who up until that time had been either confined to cramped, musty parlours, or in the 1940s and 50s forced to sit in cars and have their husbands or boyfriends bring them out their drinks.

Although it would be another 20 years before women were accepted in public bars, the beer gardens provided a refuge when they slowly began to appear in the yards of Sydney’s pubs from the late 1930s. They allowed a civilised area where woman could gather at a pub for a drink. More importantly though, beer gardens allowed mixed drinking, and arguably provided the gateway for women to eventually enter the men only public bars.

A women’s column in the Sydney Sun on November 20 1938 reported; “At last we have a beer garden… opened yesterday at Petty’s. Bright umbrellas and lacquered chairs alongside the street… later there’s to be a special section for women only

NOT even drinks “on the house” could disperse the gloom in Petty’s last night, when the 118-year-old hotel closed its doors for the last time. It has been bought by the Red Cross, which will turn it into a blood-bank headquarters.

The atmosphere was thick with nostalgia in the lounge and on the terrace, where a polite burst of clapping followed an announcement by the manager, Mr. T. T. Archer, that the drinks were “on the house.”

The same announcement in the public bar was the signal for a roar of approval, which brought in two policemen at the double. (They retired to a corner, looking relieved, and accepted the hospitality pressed on them by two old dockers.)

As 6 o’clock approached, Grace, up in the saloon bar, administered her last reproofs and advice to the city managers and clerks. “I’ve got the most exclusive clientele in Australia,” said Grace. “I don’t mean for money or anything like that, but they’re all nice and never any trouble.

“I like to see men behave themselves properly, especially if they’re drinking a beer. And that’s one thing you can say about Petty’s: there is never any of this ungentlemanly conduct here.”

“First time in a century they’ve closed the doors, they tell me,” said a truck driver in the public bar.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day when free beer made me feel sad. I suppose the pub’s being sold in a good cause. But where am I going to go? That’s what I want to know. Why, I’ve been coming here since 1908.”

The saddest touch of the evening came just after closing time, when a taxi drew up and decanted a very old gentleman. He came up to the reception desk and said, “I am just passing through Sydney, but I shall be back on the fifteenth. Could you please let me have a room then for one week?”

He appeared stunned to learn that Petty’s was sold to the Red Cross.

“But I always stay here,” he cried. “I had no idea of this: it’s four years since I came to the city, and I had no idea. Why, I’ve always stayed here, and so did my father. It’s the only place I could stay. Where on earth can I go, then?”

And so, to the bewilderment of a past generation and the sorrow of its present users, passed Petty’s Hotel: a place of countless pleasant memories and one of the few Sydney hotels where the tradition of civilised drinking still lingered on.

 

The building, fronting York, Clarence and Jamison Streets, was previously the residence of Presbyterian minister, John Dunmore Lang, who supervised the construction of the first Scot’s Church on Church Hill. Lang sold his home to another hotelkeeper before it was bought by Thomas Petty in 1836. Following two and a half decades of use by the Red Cross, the elegant colonial structure was sadly demolished in 1976.

TRESILLIION - 2 - 4 Shaw Stret Petersham

 

TRESILLIAN  - 2-4 Shaw St Petersham 

1921 - 2026 

Tresillian was built in 1900 for timber merchant & three times Mayor of Petersham, Frederick Langdon.   The original house is substantially intact, although much modified. It is a two storey Edwardian building, with elaborate timber detailing. The joinery in the  cedar doors, partitions and staircase is exceptionally fine. Langdon & Langdon joinery was located corner Wardell Road & New Canterbury Road, Petersham.  Langdon named his house Tresillian after a hamlet  near the town of Truro, Cornwall, near his birthplace.  

 Infant mortality was high during the years of World War One and and the flu pandemic. 100 in 1,000 babies and infants died before 2 years of age. This led to the formation of The Royal Society For The Welfare Of Mothers and Babies, whose aims were to save lives, improve the  conditions for children up to school age, and help ensure proper nursing and health conditions for mothers and babies. 

The property at 2-4 Shaw St Petersham was bought by the Society in 1920. An Infant Welfare Training School was established to help train Nurses and mothers in baby health. The Society adopted the name Tresillian, which became synonymous with mothercraft nursing in NSW. 

The programs at Tresilian helped drive improved health services for children. Together with Immunisation programs (diptheria and whooping cough), infant mortality was reduced to 30 in a thousand by 1935.  

Similar Tresillian homes were established at Willoughby, Vaucluse, and Wollstonecraft, and later Penrith. 

During the 76 years that Tresillian operated as a hospital there have been many modifications to the building, including the addition of  new wing in  1975. Fortunately the original fabric has not been destroyed, and much original timberwork remains. 

Tresillian Petersham closed in 1997, relocating to Canterbury Hospital.  

Subsequent owner(s) operated the property as a boarding house. It became run down and fell into disrepair.  

The  property (size 2,500 m2)  was acquired by Caper Co-living in 2017. Over $3M was spent in restoration and renovation, and conversion to co living accommodation. The property now comprises 40 modern fully furnished studio apartments. It also includes four themed communal living and dining areas, a library with dedicated co-working space, and a courtyard. The property is well managed and maintained.    

Images: 

1921:  Archives NSW 

2026: Stephen Thomas 

Sources:

(1) Tresillian web site

(2) Marrickville, Rural Outpost to Inner City, Richard Cashman & Chrys Meader 

(3) Marrickville Heritage Society , and Historian Rod Aanenson. and my local knowledge.

 

“Rosebank” - Darlinghurst 

Rosebank - Woolloomooloo - home of James Laidley by Conrad Martin 1840 

 

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Rosebank - residence of dc laidley 1831-1836

Craigend - Darlinghurst - Darlinghurst Villas - Demolished 1922

 

"Craigend" - Darlinghurst - Demolished 1922

This Picture shows the members of the extended Pechey Family on the steps of Craigend Mansion on the Darlinghurst Ridge, about 2km from the city. 

This Beautiful Georgian Mansion at this time was owned by Alfred Pechey, who was a Solicitor & a Member of Parliament. It is the history of the home which is most interesting, being built in 1831 by the Surveryor & Explorer Thomas Mitchell, known As Major Mitchell. 

The Darlinghurst Ridge is a high ridgeline within the suburb of Dalirnghurst. It overlooks the surrounding area. It was chosen by Governor Ralph Darling as a prime location for the homes of the Colonial Elites. 

Craigend Was the first home to be built there in the whole Potts Point Area, on an allotment of over 9 Acres that was granted to Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell.

Major Mitchell arrived in Australia from Scotland in 1827, as he'd been appointed Assistant Surveyor General. He named "Craigend" after his family's home in central Scotland. 

The home was designed with Parthenon style Portico, which lead to it becoming known as the Acropolis of Sydney. Mitchell lived there for less than 10 years and sold the mansion in the late 1830's. 

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Plan Of Allotments at Craigend - Darlinghurst - 

the property of Sir T.L. Mitchell, S.G. &C. for sale by Mr. Stubbs

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"Craigend" then had a succession of owners & then converted into a Hospital, then a boarding house in the early 1900's. It was Demolished in 1922 to make way for A Block of Flat (How Sad Is That?)

Overlooking Woolloolmooloo from The top Of the Darlinghurst Ridge - Craigend Mansion - Painted in 1845 by George Edwards Peacock

 

"Prestonville" Later Named "Cairo" - 81 Macleay Street -  Potts Point 

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Australian Town & country Journal  - Sydney - Saturday 27th May 1876 - Page 20 

Evening News - Sydney - Thursday 9th August 1911 - Pg 5

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The "Cairo"

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Building Layout

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Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 13 November 1929, page 16

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"Orwell House" - Orwell Street - Potts Point - New South Wales

 

"Orwell House" Orwell Street - Potts Point - New South Wales 

Built October 19  1831 

Demolished - Around November 1937

106 Year Old Home at the Time

Riverine Herald - , Friday 17 April 1942, page 3

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 16 November 1937, page 5