Camden, the making and re-making of familiar places

WEA-RAHS Seminar Series

Understanding Places

History House, 135 Macquarie Street, Sydney

28 October 2009

Camden, the making and re-making of familiar places

Abstract

This presentation examines Sydney’s urban expansion into the local area (in Elderslie, Oran Park, South Camden), which threatens to destroy what is left of Camden’s notion of being a country town. Fact or fiction? Many in the local community desire to retain Camden’s image as a country town. Is this just a dream, or is there some reality to this idea? Many local people talk about retaining Camden’s ‘country town atmosphere’ or ‘keeping Camden country’. The town is described as ‘picturesque’ and having ‘charming cottages’. To others, Camden is a ‘working country town’ or ‘my country town’. These values and ideas are connected to the reality of trying to keep what is left of Camden as a country town. Tourist brochures use these ideas to picture idyllic rural scenes. Land developers have scenes of families frolicking in the meadows with their children. These values and ideas are based on nostalgia. They look back to the early days of Camden, when daily life in the town was uncomplicated, innocent, and genuine, with traditional rural values. When people talked to their neighbours and stopped for a chat in the street, they were based on nostalgia. Nostalgia and yearning for a lost past have been re-created in a ‘country town idyll’ in Camden, NSW today.

Slide Presentation

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Who were the Camden Chinese market gardeners, a new book reveals the story

Book Review

A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993, edited by Ian Willis & Julie Wrigley

A story from the shadows of history

The first Chinese market gardener arrived in the Camden district in 1899 when George Lee started the first attempt at intensive horticulture. He established a successful local market garden on the Nepean River floodplain at Elderslie, just north of the Camden township.  (pp. 18, 47-50)

The last Camden Chinese market garden closed in 1993, marking the end of an era. Biu Wong, the final torchbearer of this rich tradition, purchased the Hop Chong Company garden business in 1968. His decision to close the business marked the end of a chapter in Camden’s history. (pp. 79-82)

Ian and Julie Wrigley have edited a collection of these stories in A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993. The book is more of a story of resilience in the face of hardship for Camden’s Chinese diaspora than simply a narrative about local farming history.

Willis and Wrigley have brought the story of the Camden Chinese out of the shadows of history, where the act of forgetting has relegated the Chinese market gardeners to a note in history. This is not unique to Camden and has happened in country towns all over Australia.

Sophie Loy-Wilson, a renowned author of Chinese-Australian history, has stated that Julie Wrigley has ‘collated years of research’ to tell the story of the Camden Chinese and ‘takes the reader from the outskirts of Sydney to rural China, to Hong Kong and back again’.

Chinese market gardeners have been an integral part of Australia’s nation-building story since the late 19th century. Sophie Loy-Wilson recalls

Suburban Sydney, where I live, is pockmarked by old farms – we call them market gardens – but they were farms, vegetable farms, and they are old, they date back to the 1860s, and they bear the marks of many people, many cultures.

A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993. p 13

The Camden Chinese farmed on six principal sites along the Nepean River floodplain just outside the Camden town centre. They rented land from local European landowners because they could not purchase their own landholdings.

Land was as important to the Chinese’s identity as it was for Europeans. At the end of the 19th century, the Chinese fitted the settler colonial project without challenging its primary objectives and, like Europeans, had little interaction with the local Indigenous community.

Despite facing numerous challenges, including the White Australia Policy, regular floods on the Nepean River floodplain, and local ostracism by the Camden community, the Camden Chinese demonstrated their resilience and determination, proving the viability of intensive horticulture on the Nepean River floodplain for the first time.

Hard work, innovative entrepreneurship, and the profit motive drove these men-only farming co-operatives, which were organised into highly structured work teams. Their monk-like existence was made harder by rudimentary shelters without luxuries and their families at home in China.

The Camden Chinese used their agency as history-makers, innovators, and risk-takers, developing flexible coping strategies using their technological skills to ensure the success of their farming activities. In 1910, the Camden News stated:

It is very interesting to watch those enterprising and skilful agriculturalists who are working the vegetable gardens near the Camden Bridge. They seem to be thoroughly conversant with the composition of the soil and whatever deficiency there was, they spared no expense in making it good…

(Camden News, 1 December 1910)

The Chinese were always outsiders in the eyes of a closed European community in Camden.  They were excluded from community events and celebrations, yet during the First and Second World Wars, the Chinese were generous donors to wartime patriotic funds and charities. These outsiders attempted to be insiders. (pp. 42, 67)

The relationship between the Camden community and the Chinese was transactional and market-driven. It was based on selling vegetables to local families, hiring local Europeans to transport their produce to the Sydney markets (pp. 27, 67), occasionally hiring local Europeans as pickers and other business arrangements. (p. 40)

Recovery of stories

Local historian RE ‘Dick’ Nixon was the first to document the history of the Camden Chinese market gardeners. In his memoirs in 1976, he wrote about the Chinese and their farming practices. Dick’s lived experience of the Chinese market gardeners was through his father, Leslie Nixon, who was a local carrier who carted the Chinese produce to the Sydney markets.  (pp. 25, 39)

The resurrection of the Chinese market gardener’s stories continued with the small collection of objects at the Camden Museum after it opened in 1970. Relics of the Chinese presence were handed over to the museum as they were found in the forgotten corners of local farms once occupied by the Chinese. Recent work by Julie Wrigley has added a considerable amount of material to the Camden Chinese story and is incorporated in this book. (pp. 33-38, 83-87)

Camden Chinese Market Gardeners fits into a growing genre of books detailing the Chinese diaspora in Australia, including The China-Australia Migration Corridor (2023), a collection of articles from an ARC project on the transnational dimension of the migration between China and Australia. Launched at the Darling Square Library in February 2024 by Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson, who contributed the Introduction to Camden Chinese Market Gardeners and launched the book at Camden on April 6.

Sketch by Douglas Annand, ‘Chinaman’s Garden, Camden, NSW’ in Douglas Annand: Drawings and Paintings in Australia (Ure Smith, 1944)

A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993 is a groundbreaking publication by the Camden Historical Society, which manages the Camden Museum. It is the first time the history of the Chinese market gardeners has been published as a book.

Unfortunately, the descendants of the Camden Chinese market gardeners have not taken the opportunity to let the voices of their forebears speak to the world and tell their own stories in their own words.  It has been left up to the primary gatekeepers of the Camden story at the Camden Historical Society to open the door and let the voices from the past speak to the present generation. Hopefully, there are many more stories to follow.

This publication is recommended for anyone interested in local studies, the Chinese diaspora, the history of horticulture in Australia, the White Australia Policy, or the immigration story, and has made a valuable contribution to understanding the lesser-known aspects of Australian history. It is available for sale from the Camden Museum.

A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993 | Edited by Ian Willis & Julie Wrigley | Camden Historical Society | index | bibliography | 115 pp | ISBN 978-0-6485894-2-6 | $30

Community Partnerships: Are they all that they are cracked up to be?

2009 Museums Australia National Conference, Work in Progress. Newcastle, 17 – 20 May 2009.

Day 3 Wednesday 20 May 2009, Session 14.3 Community Partnerships – Help or Hindrance? Concert Hall, Newcastle Town Hall, 11.00am-12.15pm.

Conference Paper

In 2007, Peter Scrivener[1] wrote a report for Hawkesbury City Council on community partnerships, and in it, he presented a summary of a partnership between the Camden Historical Society and Camden Council.  In brief, it stated:

These two parties are proud of the amicable relationship they have nurtured over many years, during which time the museum has gained considerable support as an acknowledged ‘model’ local museum demonstrating exemplary practice. Currently [that is in 2007], the council-owned building is being renovated to share foyer space with the adjacent council library… They have never had a formal arrangement but recently have signed a one-page Memorandum of Understanding… [the memorandum] simply outlines the spirit and intended community outcomes that can flow from greater linkages and integration between the two parties. (Scrivener, 2007)

This partnership is the subject of this paper. 

At a local level, community partnerships are one form of collaboration between voluntary organisations and councils that can bring measurable benefits to participating stakeholders. They encourage a sustainable solution to the achievement of goals at a time when there are increasing demands on a limited set of resources while at the same time maintaining that despite their advantages, community partnerships are not a silver bullet. They can be compared to a living organism which needs constant attention and nurturing and, if neglected, will wither and die.    

 My interest in community partnerships was initiated by research on the three local historical societies in our area and the role of their local museums in their communities (Willis, 2007b). In that work, which is the subject of a forthcoming paper (Willis, 2009),  I maintain that these organisations occupy a privileged place in their community through storytelling and contribute to the development of community identity and place-making. They have received the official endorsement of their local councils and in some cases, have entered partnerships with them.   

Scholarly work on community partnerships between local councils and historical societies is virtually invisible, although there has been some useful work done by Peter Scrivener (Scrivener, 2007), and others (Sandell, 2004). These limited efforts have shown that these type of community partnerships have mixed results.[2]  This field of endeavour deserves the attention of researchers and hopefully this paper will shine some light on a dark corner.

The setting for this case study is the Camden Local Government Area (LGA), which is on the rural-urban interface on south-western fringe of Sydney. The LGA is the fastest growing in New South Wales with a population of  52,000 in 2008 and an annual growth rate that has been in excess of 15 per cent per year.  The Camden LGA has a strong community sector with over 250 voluntary organisations (Willis, 2007a: 18).

The two stakeholders in this community partnership are the Camden Historical Society which was founded in 1957 and has 160 members. Its main aim has been the promotion of local history through public education and memorialisation, which includes managing a local museum.   The second member of the partnership is Camden Council and its Library Service. The library has two branches, Camden and Narellan, a borrowing collection of 70,000 items and 17 full-time equivalent staff.  It should be noted that the Camden Family History Society is also part of this arrangement but is not the subject of this paper. The author also needs to declare his interest in this subject as an insider through his membership of the Camden Historical Society. 

This paper will examine the Camden partnership using Jupp’s four simple processes that he felt were essential for a successful partnership. They are: ‘developing clear objectives; ensuring that each partner benefits individually as well as helping to achieve a common goal; building in evaluation; and finally, developing understanding and trust between partners’ (Jupp, 2000, p. 8).  The last factor will be treated first.

Understanding and Trust

The basis of the current partnership agreement between the council and the historical society is to be found in the  trust and understanding that has developed over the last 52 years between these two organisations.

Since the foundation of the historical society (1957) the council has come to support and endorse the story of Camden as it has been told by the society. From the beginning the society has presented a conservative view of local history based around the pioneer legend and the town’s material progress.  This view of the world was strengthened in 1970 when the society opened a small pioneer museum with the assistance of the Camden Rotary Club. The council supported the venture by providing space for the museum for rent-free use. It did this without a formal agreement being put in place. This was followed in short order by society members erecting three public monuments to Camden pioneers located outside the council chambers in 1977, 1978 and 1979.  The council then supported the expansion of the museum in 1980, and again in 1999, again without any formal agreement with the historical society. 

By promoting an officially sanctioned view of Camden’s social history the historical society has achieved a privileged position in the community and become the custodian of the Camden story.  In recent years the representation of the Camden story in the museum has broadened, as Australian history has in the remainder of the country, to include  Aborigines, women, rural labourers and other aspects of country town life.  The museum has also become a site where, according to  Robyn Till (Till, 2004), the local community has derived a sense of belonging from storytelling and where a continuity of generations in the one locality, according to Sonya Salamon (Salamon, 2007:3), have contributed to the essence of a strong community identity and sense of place.

Clear Objectives

The next stage in the development of the partnership agreement occurred in  2002 when Camden Council issued a draft strategic plan for the future of Camden library service, called Vibrant Places, People Spaces. [3]  The aim of the plan was twofold: firstly, the creation of a new community space around the existing library and museum building; and secondly, the formalisation of the existing  arrangements between the council and the society to facilitate the building project.

The plan envisaged a new integrated complex as a multi-purpose centre which could function as  ‘a unified educational, recreational, cultural and tourist complex’.[4] The library was to be a public space that could strengthen community cohesiveness by becoming a ‘community hub’ and ‘communal meeting place’.  According to Sonya Salamon,  this type of space could act as an arena where the residents could develop a sense of community that bonded them to the place (Salamon, 2007: 13).  The library would, according to the council, provide an opportunity for local residents to ‘embrace Camden’s culture and sense of community’ and contribute to place-making (Camden Council, 2002: 3). 

The new complex was based on the re-adaptive use  of two historic buildings:  the Camden School of Arts building (1866), which was later the Camden Town Hall then council offices; and secondly the Camden Temperance Hall (1867), which functioned as the Camden Fire Station between 1916-1993.  By  the end of  2007 the $2.3 million re-development had resulted in a single building with a common street entry after the former laneway between the buildings had been covered with a glass roof to create a galleria. The view of the council’s general manager of the completed complex was that it provided ‘the community with a stronger sense of belonging and place’ and  ‘a place based and people focused facility’.[5]    

In the end the co-location has had a number of advantages for both stakeholders. For the library, according to Kathryn Baget the library services manager, it has meant that it has had one stop convenience, better building maintenance and security, and a sharing of infrastructure with the historical society; a type of convergence, a notion that has received attention in recent times including this conference (Stapleton, 2009).[6]  As far as the historical society was concerned it gained a street entrance on John Street, enhanced security, a new lift to the first floor and improved fire safety.

The second part of the strategic planning process was the development of a formal agreement, which was achieved through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). This would be the first time that there had been a formalised relationship between the historical society and the council, and according to the Australian Government is the recommended way to go for community partnerships (DEST, 2004). The purpose of the MoU,  according to the council, was to facilitate the building project and to ‘promote a stronger working partnership between the Library Service and the Historical Society’ (Camden Council, 2006:124).

The MoU was worked up through a number of stages from 2004 and was eventually passed by council in November 2006 (Camden Council, 2006:112).  The document is a single page, free of legalese and clearly sets out the objectives of the partnership.  The agreement is flexible and open-ended. The council maintains that the MoU is ‘underpinned by a spirit of co-operation’ (Camden Council, 2006: 124) and has reflected the relationship of trust and understanding that has developed over the years between the historical society and the council. The MoU specifically excludes property matters, such as insurance and maintenance, which are addressed through other agreements. 

Within the partnership arrangement the formal lines of communication between the library and the historical society are kept open through quarterly partnership meetings chaired by the library’s local studies librarian, who also circulates the agenda and minutes.  The partnership is reviewed each November with the aim of identifying ‘joint programs, projects and funding opportunities for the coming year’ (Camden Council, 2006: 112). The formal meeting setting provides the appropriate planning and ongoing communication that Kathryn Baget claims are needed in all partnerships.[7]

The formal linkages within the partnership are supported by leadership from ‘community champions’ like John Wrigley and Peter Hayward from the historical society, and Kathryn Baget from the library, who have been central to the success of the partnership. They have been involved in the partnership process from the release of the strategic plan in 2002. Their enthusiasm and perseverance has facilitated the progress of the partnership. They have acted as community organisers in a host of areas including meeting facilitation, negotiation and networking, and communicating the vision of the partnership to the wider community, as other people have done elsewhere in Australia (Johns, Kilpatrick and Whelan, 2007: 53-54).  John Wrigley maintains that the success of the partnership can only ‘work with the positive and willing participation of both partners’.  He has stated that he has been ‘willing to do anything to ensure the successful continuing operation and improvement of the partnership’.[8]  Such enthusiasm has been the basis of the current partnership, and has been fundamental to the development of trust and understanding between council and the historical society for over 50 years.

Just as important to the partnership has been the informal linkages between the organisations. For example, some Camden library staff are members of the society and volunteer their time at the museum on weekends. There is also casual interaction between society officers and library staff, both within and outside of the library setting. These informal linkages reflect the strong interpersonal and familial networks which still exist in Camden from earlier decades and help strengthen the formation of social capital.  

Common Goals and Benefits

The common goals of all stakeholders in the partnership were outlined by the Camden mayor in March 2007  at the opening of the completed building complex. He stated that the partnership was about ‘participation, association and joint interest’ and that it captured ‘the history, culture and relevance of the community’.[9] 

The implementation of these aspirations, as detailed in the MoU,  are best characterised by the various joint projects that are undertaken between the library service and the historical society.  According to Kathryn Baget, the joint projects have brought a ‘new perspective, new ideas and possibly additional resources’.[10]  They are part of the story telling process of the historical society and help build a sense of ownership amongst those who participate in this process. 

The most important of these projects is HistoryPix and  involves  the digitising of the historical society’s photographic collection.[11] Photographs are part of the story telling experience by providing the participants to the story with a window on the past. They are a visual aid and can act as a memory prompt when telling a story.  They also capture a moment in time, a glimpse of the past, and are a good resource for tracking changes in the local history landscape. 

The aim of HistoryPix has been to provide greater public access to the historical society’s image collection, which is one of the society’s most valuable assets. The project is facilitated by Peter Mylrea, the society’s archivist, who has processed over 2500 photographs so far.    The society provides the photographs and the photograph captions, the images are digitised by Searchtech (a private company which provides image library software, publishing and scanning services), the council provides the IT and online support, and the library staff handle the sale of photographs and set the charges. According to Doug Barrett, the secretary of the society, the partnership relieves the society of the need to provide a volunteer to deal with enquiries for and supply of copies of photographs to the community and other interested parties.[12] In essence, the council funds the project, and the society provides the photographs and voluntary labour. 

‘HistoryPix’ has proved to be a valuable public asset and is used by members of the public, local and Sydney media, local businesses and community organisations. Online access to the images is provided through both the websites of the historical society, the library and  PictureAustralia. In the last three months of 2008, there were 23,600 hits and 23,700 searches, while in the seven months from April 2008 and January 2009, there were 43,000 hits and 55,000 searches.

More recent joint projects which have been developed within the partnership include, firstly, the Dictionary of Sydney Project.  This is a local history project which involves writing short histories of different localities in the LGA for the Dictionary of Sydney project. These histories have also been placed on the historical society’s website. Secondly, there is the  Camden Area Families Project, which is an oral history project which encourages local people to tell their stories, provide their photographs and develop a family tree. It was launched in late 2007 by Camden’s deputy mayor. The society has supported the project through  its Research and Writing Group and recently hosted an oral history training workshop for the community  at the museum.  Other linkages include workshops and seminars (history week and heritage week) and  links between the library catalogue and the historical society library. 

Evaluation

The partnership is formally assessed at the end of each year as part of the MoU process as mentioned earlier. Even the preparation of this paper is part of the evaluation process, and  has provided an opportunity for some of the partnership stakeholders to reflect on the process associated with its development and success (they are mentioned in the notes at the end of the paper).

More generally, though,  the partnership has been an opportunity for the historical society to consolidate the position of the museum by formalising its occupation of  a council-owned building for the first time.  This will then provide a strong base for any further development that the society may want to pursue into the future.

The library has better met the guidelines for floor space in a modern library building in the LGA. It is better able to offer modern services in a heritage precinct. It has, according to Kathryn Baget, allowed the library to ‘attract a new audience, create unique programs and services for our community’.[13]

 There are also considerable benefits for Camden Council.   Firstly, it has relieved council of the considerable cost of providing a community museum managed by professional curatorial staff.  Secondly, the time and resources that volunteers bring to the museum represents a form of voluntary taxation that benefits the whole community.   Further, the presence of the society and its archives, according to Wrigley, ‘provide a ready source of historical information and advice to council as a virtual unpaid ‘heritage branch’ of council’. In addition, the museum acts as a ‘secure repository for anything important which council wishes to retain of an historical nature’.[14]

The partnership is not without its challenges. Firstly,  there is the non-alignment of opening hours between the museum and the library.  The library is shut Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, while the museum is closed between Monday and Wednesday. Secondly,  there is the inherent tension between two organisations, one using full-time paid staff, the other using unpaid volunteers. [15]   Thirdly,  there is the potential political tension if the council and the historical society differ over policy matters related to local history and heritage, and fourthly, the need to ensure a smooth generational change in the administration and implementation of the  MoU into the future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I will make some observations about the partnership.

The partnership has brought together the library service and the historical society, whose parallel aims of strengthening community identity and place-making have strengthened community development.  This has been achieved by creating a new community space in the Camden LGA where community identity and a sense of place are increasingly being challenged by higher levels of urbanisation.

The success of the partnership has rested on the willingness of all the participants to achieve a common goal and  for those involved to ensure that the partnership succeeds. Wrigley has observed that  ‘so far we have been very fortunate with the enthusiasm and commitment of the people involved from both partners’.[16] 

The community partnership has met all expectations made from it so far and given the continuation of the goodwill from all involved should continue to do so into the future.

Finally, the paper has shown that given the right conditions, community partnerships can be ‘what they are cracked up to be’.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the input of John Wrigley, Julie Wrigley, Kathryn Baget, Peter Mylrea, Jo Oliver, and Doug Barrett and their comments on this paper.

 References

 Camden Council, 2002, Draft Vibrant Places, People Spaces, A vision for Camden Council Library Service 2010. Camden: Camden Council. 

Camden Council, 2006, Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 13 November 2006, Camden: Camden Council, pp. 6, 112-113. Online at http://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/files/2006_minutes/ord_131106.pdf  accessed 4 February 2009.

 Department of Education, Science and Training, 2004, A Community Partnerships Resource: Supporting Young People Through Their Life, Learning and Work Transitions, Canberra: Australian Government. Online at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/career_development/publications_resources/ <http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/F5328E2A-3806-498D-ADE9-A740F404FCF4/2593/community_partnerships_resources.pdf&gt; . Accessed on 27 February 2009.

 Johns, Susan, Sue Kilpatrick and Jessica Whelan, 2007, ‘Our Health in Our Hands: Building Effective Community Partnerships for Rural Health Service Provision’, Rural Society, Vol. 17, No. 1, August, pp. 50-65.

 Jupp, Ben, Working Together, Creating a Better Environment for Cross-Sector Partnerships, London; Demos. Online at http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/workingtogether Accessed 2 March 2009.

 Salamon, Sonya, 2007, Newcomers to Old Towns, Suburbanization of the Heartland, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Sandell, Claire, ‘Local History Collections for the Future: Meaningful Partnerships Between Public Libraries and Community Heritage Groups’, Conference paper, Museum Australia Conference, Melbourne, 16-21 May 2004. Online at http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au/site/page313.php Accessed 4 March 2009.

Scrivener, Peter, 2007, Assessment Report on a Proposed Deed of Agreement between Hawkesbury City Council, Hawkesbury Historical Society and the Friends of Hawkesbury Art Collection and Regional Art Gallery, Windsor: Hawkesbury City Council.

Stapleton, Maisy, 2009,  M&G NSW Convergence Study, Sydney: Museum and Galleries NSW.

Till, Robyn, 2004,  ‘Propagate or perish: Partnerships, Community Value and Sustainability’, Conference paper, Museum Australia Conference, Melbourne, 16-21 May 2004. Online at http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au/site/page313.php Accessed 4 March 2009.

 Willis, Ian, 2007a, ‘Democracy in Action in Local Government: Camden, NSW’, Australian Quarterly, Vol. 79, Issue 2, March-April, pp.17-21.

Willis, Ian, 2007b,’ Fifty years of local history, the Camden Historical Society, 1957-2007, Address at the 50^th Anniversary Meeting of the Camden Historical Society, 12 July, Camden’. Camden History, September, Vol 2 No 1, pp. 96-117.

 Willis, Ian, 2009, ‘Stories and Things, The Role of the Local Historical Society, Campbelltown, Camden and The Oaks’, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. (forthcoming)

Endnotes

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[1] Peter Scrivener, 1999-2000 Parramatta Heritage Centre, 2002-2004 Museums and Galleries NSW, 2004 member of Australian National Committee of International Council of Museums (ICOM Australia),  2006-2008 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

[2] Scrivener gives details of (a) successful partnerships: Wagga Wagga Historical Society; Camden Historical Society; Combined Tweed River Historical Societies; Gilgandra Historical Society; (b) unsuccessful partnerships: Liverpool Regional Museum; Centennial Bakery Museum (Hurstville); Cowra Historical Museum; Peppin Heritage Centre (Denniliquin).

[3] Correspondence, K Baget, Camden Council Library Service to Camden Historical Society, December 2002.

[4] Correspondence, P. Hayward, Camden Historical Society, Camden. 15 February 2005.

[5] General Manager Notes, Schedule, Camden Library Re-opening, 2 March 2007.

[6] Kathryn Baget, Library Partnerships, Discussion Paper, 19 February 2009

[7] Kathryn Baget, Library Partnerships, Discussion Paper, 19 February 2009.

[8] John Wrigley, Camden Library Service – Camden Historical Society Partnership, Discussion Paper, January 2009.

[9] Mayoral Notes, Schedule, Camden Library Re-opening, 2 March 2007.

[10] Kathryn Baget, Library Partnerships, Discussion Paper, 19 February 2009.

[11] ‘A proposal to put photographs of Camden history on to a computerized system’, Draft document, Camden Historical Society, 24 June 2003. The name HistoryPix was a joint suggestion of the library staff and the society.

[12] Interview, Doug Barrett, Camden Historical Society, Camden, 18 February 2009.

[13] Kathryn Baget, Library Partnerships, Discussion Paper, 19 February 2009.

[14] John Wrigley, Camden Library Service – Camden Historical Society Partnership, Discussion Paper, January 2009.

[15] Interview, Doug Barrett, Camden Historical Society, Camden, 18 February 2009.

[16] John Wrigley, Camden Library Service – Camden Historical Society Partnership, Discussion Paper, January 2009.

Agave on Cawdor Road, a part of local folklore

Cawdor Road agave

On the verge of the Cawdor Road, just south of the Camden town centre, is a clump of agave that has been growing there for decades. The plants have created much conjecture and is a local mystery. It is a bit hard to tell tall tales from true.

Agave plants growing the Cawdor Road verge just south of the Camden Town centre (I Willis 2024)

The stories about the agave are a type of local folklore.

Folklore develops over decades, and stories are passed down through the generations of local families. These stories add colour and movement to our local history. One source states that folklore is a

 body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends,[a]proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore

It is a bit hard to separate fact from fiction around the Cawdor Road agave.

Agave plants

Agaves are a succulent and xerophytic species that form a large rosette of strong, fleshy leaves. They are native to Mexico and the southern part of the USA and have been distributed worldwide as an ornamental.

Agaves are slow-growing and are sometimes called the century plant. They reproduce from seeds or suckers that develop at the bottom of some species. The leaves have sharp spines and are fibrous. The root system is a series of rhizomes.

Agave plant growing on the verge of Cawdor Road (I Willis 2024)

One source states that agave has various uses in Central and South America, including handicrafts, food and drink preparations, ethnomedicine, and stock feed. 

The 1994 Camden Significant Trees and Vegetated  Landscape Study by Landarc Landscape Architects states that the Century Plant (Agave americana) was a common plant in early colonial gardens across the Cowpastures. Agave was used in the early gardens as a ‘dramatic accent plant at the entrance’ to colonial properties and gives the example of Cawdor Road agave. (Landarc Landscape Architects, Camden Significant Trees and Vegetated Landscape Study. Camden Municipal Council, Camden 1993)

The stories about the agave date back to early 1800s and the colonial frontier and the violence that took place across parts of the Cowpastures. The stories are intergenerational.

Murder and mayhem on the colonial frontier

Vic Boardman’s granddaughter Helen said, ‘Stories about the agave were verbally  passed down from Pa Vic to my mum to me as a child.’

 ‘From my understanding, it was the site of the murder of a shepherd early on in our local history’, said Helen.

This is confirmed by a story that appeared in the Australian Town and Country Journal in 1909.  A Camden resident, Thomas Herbert, recalled

Mr. Macarthur’s merino sheen arrived in I the colony about 1816, and were stationed at  my father’s place at Narellan, where he had the management of them before they were taken to Camden Park, where they were removed about 1818. . The shepherd and his wiife were murdered by the blacks at a  slaughter house, about 1½ mile from Camden Park, and buried there.

(Australian Town and Country Journal, 11 August 1909)

Article from the Camden-Wollondilly Times 8 July 1998 (Camden Museum archives)

The Camden-Wollondilly Times in 1998 published a similar story. The newspaper reported that the agave was the site of a shepherd’s hut, who worked on the Macarthur’s Camden Park. The newspaper article repeated the claim that the agave marked the site of the hut at which the shepherds were killed in a conflict with local indigenous people in 1816. (Vanessa Mace, ‘Prickly Story Indeed’. Camden-Wollondilly Times, 8 July 1998)

The newspaper report went on to state that the agave marked the site of a later farm cottage where the Norris family lived on Camden Park Estate. (Vanessa Mace, ‘Prickly Story Indeed’. Camden-Wollondilly Times, 8 July 1998)

There was speculation in the article that the agave could be some of the oldest plants introduced by Europeans to the Cowpastures in their colonial gardens. (Vanessa Mace, ‘Prickly Story Indeed’. Camden-Wollondilly Times, 8 July 1998)

Helen says that in Sue Williams book  Elizabeth & Elizabeth mentions the attack of a stockkeeper and his wife occurring in August 1815.

Fenced off

Apparently, the Cawdor Road agave clump was much larger in the past than it is currently.

Helen said, ‘They used to have a fence around them to protect them, but this was removed some time ago. ‘

Currently the agave plants are not fenced and have no heritage protection.

The truth

We may never know the real truth about the Cawdor Road agave.

The 1998 newspaper story was generated by the attempted removal of the agave by a local resident who was trying to remove a large brown snake which resided in the clump. Their actions prompted a swift community response to protect the Cawdor Road agave.

Whatever the truth of the matter it makes for lively reading. The truth may never be known. The Cawdor Road agave still produces controversy and the stories are still being passed on to the next generation.  

Agave plants growing on the Cawdor Road verge (I Willis 2024)

Public Art, Young Women Artists Have Something to Say

Something to Say art installations

Young people are often described as having nothing to say. Well, at Oran Park, outside the Camden Council administration building, there is a series of artworks that have Something to Say. The artworks are part of the Camden Council’s Camden Council’s Youth Participation Public Art Program, which began in 2016.

These works are described as temporary art installations. They were created by young women artists between the ages of 12 and 24. The artists were encouraged to tell their own stories within their own communities and enhance their skills as artists.

The aim of the public art program is as

a place making initiative that encourages local youth and artist collaboration to create vibrant spaces that foster a sense of belonging and identity.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Artworks often tell stories through a series of images or by selecting a moment in time. These are narrative works that illustrate aspects of an artist’s life or some historical event, cultural festival, religious theme, or perhaps a legendary figure or mythic character.

The J Paul Getty Museum states that teaching young people stories in art involves lessons that

will build students’ awareness of how stories can be told visually and how artists use color, line, gesture, composition, and symbolism to tell a story. Students will interpret and create narratives based upon a work of art and apply what they have learned to create works of art that tell a story.

https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/stories/

Something to Say art installation outside Camden Council administration building at Oran Park (CC 2023)

The young women who participated in the Something to Say program worked with local Menangle artist Michele Arentz.

On the Camden Council website, each of the artists in the program has issued a statement of intent or a statement that outlines the story that each of the artists tell in their works.

These young women are from different cultural backgrounds and have used their agency to tell intensely personal stories. The stories reflect a diversity of life experiences and provide an insight into the minds of Gen Z.

The artworks reflect different storytelling techniques across a range of art mediums and styles.

Women artists and their statements of intent

Team leader

Michele Arentz @marentzy

In my artwork, I have tried to create a symbolic representation of the elements that the young people in the Something to Say program have chosen to identify as having a positive influence in their lives to date or into their futures.

For example, the elements I have tried to convey in my artwork are featured around family support, promoting togetherness and strength of character, links to community via faith and sport, creativity, expression through artmaking, and achieving academically and spiritually.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Young women artists

Ayesha Khan @ajk_afflatus

My artwork depicts women of all different ages and ethnicities in a public bathroom looking at a mirror. It is a reflection of all the different walks of life that people come from, as well as women’s empowerment. These women all have different careers or roles they play in life, from mother to fast food worker, doctor to student. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Channie Chu

I decided to create this artwork as it incorporates some of my favourite things in life that I love, including art, the city and flowers. These express who I am and what I love. This artwork is made with acrylic paint and posca paint markers. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Eashtha Inavolu

My artwork is based upon a picture of me that was taken during a family trip. The painting reflects my love for nature and plants. The colourful flowers on the heart represent all the people who bring joy to my life. I chose to paint this because it embraces who I am in an indirect way.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Evie Hay

My Something to Say project is about the struggles and challenges in life that relates to all audiences. It’s about the importance of having positivity, community and creativity to push you towards your goals. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Jade Stein

With this painting, I wanted to visualise the warmth and community that can be found in churches all across the Camden LGA. To do this, I gave my impression of a familiar building, St John’s Anglican Church, surrounded by a diversity of people spending time with each other in the afternoon light. Although the historical structure is almost 200 years old, it is still a place of fellowship for the community. I also wanted to emphasise the role that any place of meeting or worship can have in bringing people together and developing a sense of belonging and connection.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Jessica Beck

In my artwork, I have painted a Barbie doll with the words “Life Is Short Make Every Hair Flip Count” to represent the role of a female. This is not just because Barbie has become a huge influence for children, in particular girls, but because as we grow, we long for the days when we knew who we were and weren’t aware of our passion being destroyed by the real world. This painting represents that we can still regain the confidence and innocence that we once had by simple things like flipping your hair. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Karrin Smith-Down

My artwork is called ‘The Fridge’. Members of the local community may have personal issues and concerns, but not many know how to reach out for help. For this artwork, I convey services and ways to reach out through post-it notes on a fridge, which is where people put most of their important things. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Lana Johnstone

In loving memory of Olive McAleer.

This artwork is inspired by my late great-grandmother Olive McAleer’s artworks. Family and heritage are an important part of my life. I wanted to display this through a clear connection between my artwork and my grandmother’s artworks, from the brushwork to the colours to the type of flower – white camellias. I wanted to add my own unique features to the artwork, with the Australian flowers seen. I am passionate about caring for and protecting Australian nature and wanted to include that to merge aspects of my life into my grandmother’s artwork.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Srihitha Nagella

I painted this on my board because it holds some of my favourite moments. The pink moon represents the blood moon that I have always wanted to see. So, the night of the eclipse I waited all night and then fell asleep when it rose. The African violets represent the ones on my windowsill.

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Rosa Quispe

My artwork is based on how sport brings everyone together. I show a little of each sport, whether it is a ball or a player. As a personal touch, I decided to highlight football, since football has helped me to understand Australia’s culture and blend with the people in the community. I added keywords, such as ‘communication’, which means that through sport we can know other people better. ‘Passion’ that motivates people to commit in sports and be able to achieve their goals. Lastly, ‘teamwork’ is in every sport, whether it is played 1vs1 or in groups. It always involves supporting and helping each other. My main message to get across is that sports leads to people being united and being a big family, without exception. 

https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/community/support/cultural-development-and-arts/camden-council-public-arts/something-to-say-eoi/

Something to Say art installation outside the front of the Camden Administration building at Oran Park. (I Willis 2024)

Concluding Remarks

These art installations demonstrate how art can contribute to community-building through the construction of placemaking.

Public art encourages cultural tourism by promoting community identity and a sense of place. These factors contribute to job creation and the enhancement of local business opportunities.

Something to Say art installation on a bus shelter in Harrington Street Elderslie in the early dawn light (I Willis 2024)

All photographs are by Ian Willis unless otherwise indicated.

Updated on 29 March 2024. Originally posted on 22 March 2024 as ‘Public art by young women artists on display at Oran Park’.

Despina’s story, fond memories of living in Campbelltown

Memories of Campbelltown

A former resident of Campbelltown, Despina Maddalena, has recalled her time living in Campbelltown in the early 2000s. She has fond memories and is quick to defend the city from stereotypes and misinformation.

Over the decades, Campbelltown has received some bad press from some quarters of the Sydney press.

On the other hand, others have come to its defence, like former editor Campbelltown-Macarthur News Jeff McGill in 2013 when he stridently defended his home town in the Sydney press in an article ‘Careful what you call south-western Sydney’.

In another story, former Airds resident Fiona Woods defended her home turf from detractors in an emotionally filled story in a suburb where residents have lived on the edge and faced many challenges.

In a blog post called Westies, Bogans and Yobbos. What’s in a name? I argue that 

Sydney’s west and south-west have also been stereotyped as regions that are dangerous foreign places, a form of Otherness.

I conclude in the blog post that

a name does matter and Macarthur regionalism is a touchy issue in the communities of Campbelltown, Camden and Picton where identity, place, stereotypes and perceptions are realities for some but not for all. 

Memories are important to people as they are tied up with their identity and sense of place. Memories help tell our story to the world, who we are and where we come from.

This Despina’s story.

An area to be proud of

Despina Maddalena

It was August 2002, and we were preparing for our wedding. At the time, we opted to buy our own home rather than rent.

After looking at what our 21-year-old selves could get with our savings, the options were a studio apartment located in a rather run-down part of Sydney’s CBD for approximately $150,000 or $210,000 for a home in Campbelltown not too far from my parents. We decided at the time, given our family also consisted of a staffy called Tessa, that a home with a yard would be more appropriate.

Colonial Street Cottage Campbelltown (D Maddelana)

Whilst looking at homes in and around Campbelltown, we settled for a little home on Colonial Street.
Colonial Street is a split-level street in the older part of Campbelltown. Many homes in that area look much the same, being mostly fibro or weatherboard. We found out that they were offered as part of an affordable housing scheme introduced to returning servicemen with families following WW2.

Having grown up in South Australia, my knowledge of Campbelltown was limited at the time despite living in the surrounding suburb of Bow Bowing for a few years. However, from what I had heard, Campbelltown had a reputation of being a rather rough area, so though I was proud my fiancée and I were able to buy our own home, I must admit I didn’t feel I could proclaim ‘we bought our first home in Campbelltown’ to all out friends and family. The area we were told had an issue with crime, and the demographics of the area were very much blue collar, with a good majority of residents living in government housing and living on government handouts. As such, although I was excited to move in, I was rather hesitant as to what our experience would be.

Colonial Street cottage Campbelltown (D Maddalena)

In August 2002, we purchased the home, and by February 2003, I moved in. Over the next 3 years, living in our little fibro 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom home, I came to appreciate the area, and my opinion of it had, for the most part, changed. Our neighbours on either side were working-class folk, much like us. On one side, there was a young family, very quiet with a newborn baby, and the father enjoyed his potted patch of greens. They were always quiet and friendly. Our neighbours on the other side were also lovely people with two grown-up children. They were a little rough around the edges but decent and hardworking.

Campbelltown itself had everything and anything we could ask for in amenities, hospitals, shopping centres and transportation. It was also a perfect pivotal location to visit regional areas surrounding Sydney and other cities such as Canberra.

Our quaint little home had wonderful views that overlooked the mountains of Razorback. We enjoyed living there and never had a problem with crime, and neither really did our neighbours or friends who lived in the area. Our support network was fantastic, we attended the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses that met at St Helen’s Park were we were able to meet a great deal of people from all walks of life as well as walk the areas of Campbelltown both old and new. It was then that I really came to appreciate that, despite its reputation, Campbelltown wasn’t such a bad place to live after all.

In August 2005, exactly 3 years from the date we bought it, we sold our little home on Colonial Street to travel the world. On returning to Australia, we moved to different areas of NSW and Sydney itself and got to experience varying demographics. Kempsey on the Mid North Coast, which also had its own unique reputation and history, was one area we lived in, somewhat similar to Campbeltown, as well as Kurraba Point on Sydney’s North Shore. Both are vastly different. In each area where we lived, we joined the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and, through our volunteer work, got to see aspects and places of suburbs that even people who live in an area for most of their lives sometimes don’t really experience.

In December 2013, we ended up back in Campbelltown, this time on Ruzac Street, purchasing a considerably older home. Most people would turn in the opposite direction, given how much work it needed. However, my husband and I have always had an appreciation for older homes with history and charm. We would often joke that we wanted a home with a soul.

The house was apparently built in the 1950s for Mr French, a schoolteacher. It was double-brick and almost triple-story, with interesting handrails and wonderful views.

Our neighbours were the best you could ask for, Judy Clarke, who grew up a street above ours in the 1940s. A year after we moved in, she moved next door to us, after having lived out of the area during her married life. Brian and Noreen across the road, Brian of which was born and bred in the area. Both are really lovely neighbours, neighbours you could only wish you had.

Our home was just below St Elmo, a wonderful grand home on Broughton Street with a rich history that sadly has been left to rack and ruin. As with most homes with history in Campbelltown and everywhere, my heart breaks to see them let go. However, for the most part, those glimpses of Campbelltown that remind us of yesteryear are still there, the Old Bank on Queen Street built in the 1880s, the Queen Street shopfronts, some still untouched from the 1940s, Mawson Park not even scratching the surface. Campbeltown has a rich and wonderful history we found with much to offer.

From the first time we moved back to Campbelltown, we had noticed a drastic change in people and the surrounding landscape from 2005, returning in 2013.

Many of the older fibro or weatherboard homes that really embodied Campbelltown’s construction were now being flattened in preparation for 2, 3 or even 4-story buildings, some townhouses, and some apartment buildings. It was sad to see these older homes go. However, this was the reality of life. The population was expanding, and Campbelltown was really becoming a satellite city. Along with this the culture of the area had drastically changed, there was a healthy mix of different nationalities moving in. From being predominantly Australian, an influx of immigrants from India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Samoa and China now flavour the area. The shopping centres and small shops on the main streets and back streets avail those who live in the area or visit a variety of cultural experiences that have the ability to tease one’s sensory system.

The Australian Botanical Gardens were also a favourite place to visit with friends and family.

If asked, I would be hard-pressed to find another area, such as Campbelltown, that has so much to offer. There is great truth in the saying time changes things, and it certainly has.

My once initially negative thoughts of the area had changed. Yes, there is crime, there are areas decidedly ugly and neglected, but most suburbs have that, so really, the area is what one makes it. Campbelltown, for the most part, is perhaps even better than ever for its cultural diversity and perhaps forced adaptation to the new.

I feel sorry for people who live locally but who haven’t had the opportunity or drive to embrace the area. When in discussion with people now about our growth as individuals and journey in life, I’m actually quite proud to mention Campbelltown.

Its history and demographics have certainly changed over the last century. It cannot be argued that the preservation of an area’s history can enrich both socially and culturally.

My only wish is that those delegated with the power to make a change take a little more pride, take a little more care, and show a little more interest in Campbelltown and its surrounding suburbs’ tangible history and invest in its future through infrastructure and building preservation. Campbeltown really does have a lot to offer.

Public art in Hobart tells the story of female convicts in Van Diemen’s Land

Hidden in the shadows

Public art has been used in Hobart to reveal stories of female convicts that have been hidden in the shadows for decades.

The silence of history has been broken, and the layers of history have been peeled back to reveal a story of resilience and agency in the face of misery and hardship.

The logo of the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site in South Hobart (CFFHS)

These stories have been commemorated in two sets of statues, one on the Hobart waterfront and one at the Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart, by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie.

Footsteps Towards Freedom (2017)

In 2017, the Footsteps Towards Freedom statues were installed on the Hobart waterfront and unveiled by the President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, and the Governor of Tasmania, Kate Warner.

The proposal was first mooted in 2015 when Hobart Lord Mayor Sue Hickey, the Speaker of the House of Assembly Elise Archer and the Governor of Tasmania met to discuss the project.

Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie was commissioned to undertake the art installations. Dublin-based Gillespie is from a global community of bronze-casting sculptors and works from a foundry in County Clare in Ireland. He is one of the few who works on site-specific art installations and uses the lost wax casting process to portray human emotions where a metal sculpture is cast from an original.

Footsteps Towards Freedom art installation at Macquarie Wharf No 1 on the Hobart waterfront (I Willis 2024)

The four statues that make up Footsteps Towards Freedom are located on Macquarie Wharf No. 1, where the convict women were taken off the ships.

The women were then walked up Macquarie Street to the Female Factory to await assignment or to be kept there if they were considered unassignable.

The Monuments Australia website states that Footsteps Towards Freedom is:

 From 1803 to 1853, almost 13,000 convict women together with 2,000 children arrived in Van Diemen’s Land.

https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/landscape/settlement/display/112076-footsteps-towards-freedom

<pic 4 statues on Macquarie wharf Hobart>

The President of Ireland Michael Higgins said at the opening of the art installation:

These sculptures, let us remind ourselves, also make common cause with the suffering of migrants in our times. They should remind us that the trauma of displacement and forced exile are not experiences confined to our past, but are the lived experience of millions around the world today, including many who now call Australia home.

https://fromtheshadows.org.au

From the Shadows (2021)

Following on from the success of the Footsteps of Freedom project, the Governor of Tasmania, Kate Warner, launched the From the Shadows project at a reception at Government House in 2019.

In 2021, the Governor of Tasmania, Kate Warner, unveiled the first of two statues, one of a pregnant convict outside the Cascades Female Factory and the other in the factory yard.

The statues were designed and constructed by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie.

From the Shadows art installation at the Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart. This statue of a pregnant female convict, completed by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie, is located outside the grounds of the factory. (I Willis 2024)

The Governor of Tasmania Kate Warner said at the opening of the first statue in 2021

The narrative of the pregnant convict woman highlights that there is much more to a convict life than a crime, a trial and sentence. The statue of the pregnant convict woman is evocative and challenging, and is designed to make those viewing her ask: who is she? why is she here? what became of her baby?

https://www.govhouse.tas.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022-03/from_the_shadows_2021_.pdf

Statue of a female convict in the yard of the Cascades Female Factory that is part of the art installation From the Shadows by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie. (I Willis 2024)

Cascades Female Factory

The Cascades Female Factory was one of a number of sites of reform and retribution of the British penal system in Van Diemen’s Land, where women could be hidden from their English masters.

Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart (CFFHS)

Women of Irish, Scottish and Welsh descent and working-class English women from the northern counties.

If the factory walls could speak, they would tell harrowing tales of depravity, immorality and corruption. Decadence, sinfulness, perversion, degenerate, evil and wickedness for the upright church-going middle-class of colonial Hobart.

The female factory was opened at the Cascades from 1828 to 1856 at a time when women had few legal rights. The story of the female factory is one of women’s agency, resilience and perseverance in the face of incredible adversity and hardship. Hundreds of descendants in Tasmania point to these stories.

Now rebuilt with a new interpretative information centre, the female factory allows these stories to be told. Women’s stories and experiences at the female factory have been re-interpreted. Stories of trauma, queerness, loss and dispossession of children, and loss of identity.

One of the yards at the Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart (I Willis 2024)

The very fact of the isolation and desolation of the female factory did, in its own way, lead to enough remnants of the factory remaining on its original site to be able to resurrect the stories and experiences of the women experiences and stories.

Careful interpretation of the old and its remnants have produced a hauntingly real experience for visitors at a site of hardship and trauma for many women inmates.  

 The Cascades Female Factory website states that the

Cascades Female Factory Historic Site bears witness to the displacement, oppression and control of women in Tasmania. We honour their pain and loss, their courage and perseverance. 

 https://femalefactory.org.au/audioguide/

Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart in the late 19th century (CFFHS)

The art of embroidery with Menangle artist Elaine Balla

2011 Camden Show Embroidery by Elaine Balla

Embroidery artist Elaine Balla created a decorative artwork about the Camden Show in 2011 for its 125th anniversary called ‘The Camden Show. ‘

Elaine entered her embroidery work in the competitive arts and crafts section of the show and won the Champion Exhibit Ribbon.

The art of embroidery has long been popular with local women and has a history that goes back to ancient times.

What is embroidery?

Embroidery is a decorative art or craft in which the artist uses fabric and other materials to apply thread or yarn using a variety of styles and stitches.

The art of embroidery is practised worldwide and can be traced to ancient China. In medieval England, high art was controlled by guilds and used in textiles in church rituals.

Embroidery was used to tell stories and as a form of biography at a time when women had few legal rights and were mostly illiterate. It was an expression of women’s agency.

Embroidery was passed down through generations of women who were the gatekeepers of community storytelling and secrets.

Embroidery artwork ‘The Camden Show’

Elaine spoke to Camden Historical Society president Ian Willis about her artwork, ‘The Camden Show’ and her other embroidery work.

Elaine said, ‘The Camden Show work took a couple of months to complete. ‘

She said, ‘I was under pressure to do the work due to the date of the 2011 Camden Show as the deadline’.

Elaine Balla’s embroidery artwork The Camden Show, which she has donated to the Camden Historical Society (I Willis 2024)

The Camden Show work is an example of crewel embroidery using thicker thread than silk-cotton embroidery threads, with some highlights in silk and gold, e.g., the balloons.

Elaine first drew the artwork on paper and then transferred the design to the linen cloth on which the embroidery was worked.

The artwork tells the story of the Camden Show. The centrepiece is a representation of the show ring with fireworks going off behind the show rotunda.

Cattle are found in the top right-hand corner of the work, proceeding around the ring. The story then moves through the poultry pavilion to the show hall displays, including flowers, jams, cakes, and photographs.

At the bottom of the work are the entry gates. The design then moves onto the ferris wheel and other sideshow stalls, including the Dodgem cars and clowns with moving heads.

The rural exhibitors, including the tractors, other farm equipment, and the show jumping, are in the top left corner of the embroidery work.

Beneath the title are fruit and vegetable displays along with the flowers.

The embroidery is a wonderful representation of a very popular community event.

Embroidery artwork, ‘Family Story’

Another work Elaine entered at the Camden Show in 2010 was ‘Family Story’.

The work tells the story of her family, the farm, the villages of Menangle, and the town of Camden, centred on St John’s Anglican Church and St James Anglican Church.

The centre of the work shows the family farm, the house with the family’s dogs, Tiger, Suzie and Rusty.

Elaine said, ‘The work is a panorama of her life story in Menangle.’

Embroidery artist Elaine Balla with her prize-winning artwork The Family (I Willis 2024)

She finished the work over several months.

‘I completed a couple of hours every night’, she said.

In 2010, Elaine was featured in an article in the Camden press after winning the Most Outstanding Exhibit at the 2010 Camden Show with the embroidery.

The work is 140 centimetres by 55 centimetres and ‘featured over 40 years of memories’. (Camden Advertiser, 2010, ud)

‘I just wanted to have memories of where we have been. Places change. It’s really just a memory of our times,’ she said. (Macarthur Chronicle 2010)

She was ‘delighted, pleased and happy to win the prize.’ (Macarthur Chronicle, 2010)

‘I don’t really go in shows to win’. (Macarthur Chronicle, 2010)

She said, ‘If people do not enter their craftwork into the show, there won’t be a show’. (Camden Advertiser, 2010, ud)

Elaine said that she started embroidery when she was 12 years old and asked her mother if she could do an embroidery. The first work she attempted was an apple, and then she moved on to bigger projects.

Husband Steve proudly admits that Elaine put ‘a lot of effort into her work’.

Elaine and her husband Steve recently moved into Menangle’s Durham Green, downsizing from the family farm. The framed embroidery has brought many happy memories from the farm with her.

Exhibition at the Campbelltown Arts Centre

Elaine Balla is a member of the Embroiderer’s Guild of NSW, Campbelltown Group, and she was featured in a retrospective was part of the “Ruby” Exhibition of The Embroiderers Guild NSW, Campbelltown Group, at the Campbelltown Arts Centre held between 10-12 February 2023.

The image gallery below is a selection of Elaine Balla’s embroidery work at the ‘Ruby’ Exhibition at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in 2023, with images provided by Joan Kolar.

Elaine exhibited around 50 works in a variety of embroidery styles, representing 60 years of embroidery artwork.

The embroidery artworks included varying styles and pieces, including tablecloths, pictures, cushion covers and more.

The embroidery was done on linen, silk, and Madeira linen in styles including crewel, drawn-thread, pulled-thread, cross-stitch, Goldsworthy, cut-work, and more.

Elaine has exhibited her embroidery elsewhere in Australia and overseas.

The Campbelltown Group of the Embroiler’s Guild in NSW features a triennial exhibition at the Campbelltown Arts Centre.

Macarthur Chronicle 2010 ud

Reference

Elaine Balla, Interview, 4 February 2024.

Joan Kolar, Group Convenor, Embroiderers’ Guild NSW Inc., Campbelltown Group, Email, 5 February 2023.

Joan Kolar, Images from ‘Ruby’ Exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre, 2023.

Updated 13 February 2024. Originally posted on 11 February 2024.

The Camden Library Museum, conservation through adaptative reuse

Many layers of history

The Camden Library Museum is an important building in the Camden Heritage Conservation Area, located at 40 John Street, with a complex story. This short post will attempt to peel back the layers of the history of the building complex.

The building is an amalgam of two historic buildings that have been added to, renovated, and altered by a host of occupants, including the Camden Council, the Camden Library, the Camden Fire Brigade, the Camden Museum, and the Camden Red Cross.

The Camden Library Museum Complex at 40 John Street which has integrated the Camden Museum, Camden Library and former Fire Station (CC, 2008)

If the walls could talk, they would tell many stories about events and people who have used the building for nearly 160 years.

In 2006, building renovations integrated the museum, library, and former fire station buildings into the current galleria with a glass roof, following the principles of conservation through adaptation or adaptative reuse.

The Galleria with glass roof in the Library Museum building with the former Fire Station on LHS and the former School of Arts on RHS (I Willis 2024)

Conservation through adaptative reuse

Conservation through adaptation is part of the Burra Charter, the most important document that guides the principles of conservation of heritage places in Australia. It was originally adopted in 1979 as the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance.

Under the Charter, a place’s cultural significance is measured by a set of values that include aesthetic, historic, scientific, social, and spiritual significance for past, present, or future generations.  The Library Museum building incorporates all these values in varying degrees of significance.

The conservation through adaptation for the Library Museum building means that the building has retained its use and been conserved in a way that retains its cultural significance as a place of importance in the Camden town centre.

The former School of Arts

The oldest part of the building complex is the former School of Arts on the southern side of the current building.

The School of Arts was constructed in 1866 on an allotment with a John Street frontage. The building had a two-storey frontage designed by HP Reeves, the Church of England schoolmaster and later Camden mayor, in an Italianate Pallandian style. The brick building was constructed by local firm McBeath and Furner. (Downing, et al., 3)

James Macarthur opened the School of Arts in 1866, and the town’s residents enjoyed a public holiday. The School of Arts consisted of a reading room for a library on the ground floor of the two-storey front and a meeting room upstairs. The single-storey hall at the rear of the building could accommodate around 250 people and held functions that had much larger crowds. The Camden Library and staff currently use this area.

Camden School of Arts, designed by HP Reeves, shows the two-storey Italianate Palladian frontage, with the brick hall at the rear c1880s (CIPP)

In 1900, Sydney architect JE Kemp designed a two-storey extension to the rear of the School of Arts building on the eastern side.

This image from the 1880s shows the Temperance Hall and the prominent two-story Italianate Palladian frontage of the School of Arts (CIPP)

In 1924, the council appointed a full-time town clerk, who moved into the upstairs part of the extension. The Camden Museum now occupies this space.

The eastern end of the Library Museum building faces Larkin Place with the 1900 two-storey extension on the LHS (in a slightly duller brick tone) and the 1998 two-storey extension on the RHS. (I Willis 2024)

Camden Council takes control

The council took control of the School of Arts in 1930 and held council meetings in the rear of the building. The two-storey extensions were used to accommodate the council clerk, who had occupied the rear of the School of Arts, where council meetings were held.

The Camden Town Hall, formerly the School of Arts hall, accommodated the Red Cross sewing circle during the Second World War.

This is the blue plaque on the front of the library museum building that was allocated by the NSW Heritage Office in 2022 to commemorate the activities of the Red Cross Sewing Circles in WW1 & WW2. (I Willis 2023)

Council amalgamations took place across NSW in 1948, and C Riding of Nepean Shire Council was absorbed into the enlarged Camden Municipal Council. The council needed more space, and renovations commenced on the Camden Town Hall, formerly the School of Arts hall. The stage and hall disappeared and became the new offices of the mayor and council staff.

The former School of Arts occupied by Camden Municipal Council in the 1940s (CIPP)

The 75^th anniversary of the Camden Municipal Council was celebrated in 1963 by removing the two-storey original School of Arts frontage.  This was replaced with a mid-century modernist single-storey front designed in a colonial Georgian style by Parramatta architects Leslie J Buckland and Druce. The newly renovated building, which accommodated council staff, was opened in 1964 by the NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Local Government PD Hills.

This is the mid-century modernist single-storey front designed in a colonial Georgian style by Parramatta architects Leslie J Buckland and Druce for the 1964 council office redevelopment of the former School of Arts. (I Willis 2024)

In 1973, the NSW Government released the New Cities Campbelltown, Camden, and Appin Structure Plan for the area. Camden Council felt the former School of Arts did not meet the council’s future needs with the area’s planned growth. Sydney architects Edwards Madigan Torzella, and Brigg designed a new large open-plan office administration building on the opposite side of John Street at the rear of the Macaria building. It was opened by the NSW Deputy Premier Sir Charles Cutler in 1974. Camden Council moved out of the 1974 office building to a new office complex at Oran Park in 2016.

Between 1974 and 1982, when the library re-occupied the space, it was let to commercial tenants, including doctors’ rooms.

The former Temperance Hall

On the northern side of the current building is the former Temperance Hall, built in 1867 for the meetings of the Camden Star of the South Division of the Sons of Temperance, later called the Total Abstinence Benefits Society.

This image shows a parade outside the Camden Total Abstinence Benefit Society Hall on John Street in 1903 (Camden Images)

Camden Fire Station

The NSW Fire Brigade purchased the former Temperance Hall in 1916, undertook renovations and added the current brick frontage to create the Camden Fire Station. (Camden News, 25 January 1917) The Camden Fire Brigade relocated to the John Street premises from Hill Street. (Mylrea)

The new fire station was opened on 24 January 1917 at 5 pm. when Mr. E.H. Farrer, President of the Fire Board, and three board members officially opened the new station. (Camden News, 25 January 1917)

Camden Fire Station in 1995 showing the 1917 brick frontage. While the date is shown as 1916, the fire station was opened in 1917. (John Kooyman/CIPP)

The Camden Fire Brigade occupied the site until 1993, when it moved to larger premises at Elderslie.

Camden Fire Station 1993 (CIPP)

Camden Museum

With the help of Camden Rotary, the Camden Historical Society opened a local museum in the former council offices in the old two-storey extension at the rear of the former School of Arts off Larkin Place in 1970.

In 1998, a new two-storey extension was added to the museum on the northern side of the building. Building renovations commenced in 2006, and the museum, library, and former fire station buildings were integrated around the current Galleria.

The front of the Camden Museum with the photographer standing in the galleria. (CIPP 2021)

Camden Library

Library services were part of the former School of Arts and were expanded in 1900 into the two-storey extensions. Miss Freestone was appointed part-time librarian in 1935 and made full-time in 1942.

The library moved out of the former School of Arts building in 1967 and moved into the Macaria building across John Street. In 1963, Camden Municipal Council adopted the Library Act 1939 (NSW), which provided free public library services in the area.

The library moved back into the former School of Arts building in 1982 and expanded into the former council offices that were part of the original School of Arts hall and reading room.

The new 1964 modernist brick frontage and front doors of the Camden Municipal Council offices, now the library. (I Willis 2022)

References

Pauline Downing, Peter Hayward, Peter Mylrea, Cathey Shepherd, and Robert Wheeler, Camden School of Arts 1850s to 1930s, Camden Historical Society, 2016.

Peter Mylrea, ‘Camden Fire Brigade’. Camden History, September 2009, vol 2, no 8, pp. 313-324.

The exposed mid-19th century ceiling of the former School of Arts in the current library space (I Willis 2024)

Updated on 1 February 2024. Originally posted on 30 January 2024 as ‘The Library Museum building, conservation through adaptation’.

Camden modern, the mid-century Camden cottage

Mid-century modernism

Across the Camden district, many houses were built between the Second World War and the early 1970s.

The period is usually called mid-century modern, mid-century modernist or just mid-century. 

A mid-century brick ranch-style cottage in River Road Elderslie (I Willis 2024)

In Australia, the postwar period was a period with a housing shortage. The Homes to Love website states

While the 1950s was a time of great productivity and a time that saw a boom in the building industry, the war years had taken their toll resulting in a shortage of building materials, skills and equipment. This resulted in many people building smaller, more basic homes, often taking on the work themselves. (Homes to Love)

https://www.homestolove.com.au/1950s-houses-australia-21734

Rachel Griffiths writes in the Architectural Digest that

Influenced by the optimism of the post-World War II boom and by the exploration of a range of materials, including steel, concrete, and newly available insulated glass.

Architectural Digest

Scholars attribute the design style to American architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and LeCorbusier.

The term was coined in 1983 by Cara Greenberg for the title of her book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s (Random House)

Mid-century housing styles

Until 1952, timber houses were restricted to 111.48 m² (12 squares) and brick houses to 116.13 m². Lending institutions were very conservative, only advancing about 50% of the property value. (Lumby, p32)

Mid-century modernism influenced houses in the post-war suburbs of Australia’s large cities. Architects of the mid-century period include Harry Seidler, Hugh Buhrich (Sydney), David Chancellor and William Patrick, Robin Boyd, Sevitt & Petitt (Melbourne), Roy Grounds (Canberra), Robin Spencer (Brisbane) and others. 

Mid-century brick cottage with low-pitch roof in Luker Street Elderslie (I Willis 2024)

Features of the mid-century modern houses

The Australian Homes to Love website states

 Open-plan living was really embraced during the 1950s to encourage easy flow of people and conversation. Homes were often well-oriented and featured expansive windows, low-pitched gable roofs with corrugated iron or steel decking, vertical weatherboards, light coloured brick or cement sheet exterior walls. Minimalist design was embraced for its clean sleek lines and pastel, Scandinavian, and modern colour schemes utilised.

https://www.homestolove.com.au/1950s-houses-australia-21734

Mid-century modern is a period in the mid-20^th century in which design that was characterised by

Sleek, cool, clean, sophisticated, functional, colourful, mod, and curvy—those are apt words to describe the mid-century modern design. This term encompasses the trends that influenced architecture and interior design in prosperous, post-war America.(Dengarden)

https://dengarden.com/interior-design/A-Pocket-Guide-to-Mid-Century-Modern-Style

Mid-century brick flats in Purcell Street Elderslie (I Willis 2024)

The mid-century Camden cottage

There are several recognisable residential housing styles in the Camden area across this period. These range from postwar fibro cottages of the 1940s (Edward Street) to the triple-fronted brick veneer cottages (Camden South) of the 1970s, and those in-between like 1950-1960s ranch style houses (Hennings House, Elderslie)

Many houses were a type of simple and low-cost housing to cope with material shortages and demand from buyers,especially in the post-war years. 

What does the mid-century Camden cottage represent?

The mid-century Camden cottage represents a number of changes in the Camden ocal area.

The most important influence in this period was the growth of the town and district from the economic boom generated by the Burragorang coalfields. Mining production increased progressively across this period and created many jobs.

Former Camden mayor Bruce Ferguson made the point at a conference in the Hunter Valley in 1977 that in 1949, a share farming family made around £1/15/- a week, while a miner was making £10 per week, a multiple of six times. (Ferguson)

In 1960, there were 150 mine workers in the Camden and Elderslie area. (Sankey, p29) By 1971, this had increased by 1800 people were employed in the mines, washeries, and the maintenance and administration of coal. (Sankey, p18) In contrast, dairy farmers fell from 109 in 1950 to 90 in 1974. (Sankey, p6A)

Camden’s population grew from 3934 in 1947 to 6377 in 1961, 8661 in 1966, and 11,155 in 1971. (Sankey, p10) A new high school opened in Camden in 1956.

Former Camden High School John Street Camden was established in 1956 (Peter Mylrea/Camden Images 2004)

The mining boom contributed to the end of the Camden the country town based on agricultural services. This challenged community identity and sense of place and contributed to the creation of Camden’s ‘country town idyll’ as Sydney’s urban fringe approached the town and heralded the end of modernism in the local area.

There was a shift from the designation of country town to the metropolitan urban fringe when the 1976-1977 NSW Local Government Grants Commission changed the classification of the Camden LGA from ‘non-metropolitan’ to ‘metropolitan’. (Sankey, p40)

The end of the mid-century period in the Camden area is is book-ended by the release of the 1973 New Cities of Campbelltown, Camden, Appin Structure Plan by the State Planning Authority of New South Wales.  

Examples of the mid-century Camden cottage

• Hennings House, 64-66 Macarthur Road, Elderslie.

The Hennings House, built in 1960 on Macarthur Road, was part of the subdivision of the Bruchhauser vineyards of the Elderslie area. It was an excellent example of a house chosen by a local businessman from a pattern book supplied by a local builder. The house was ranch-style, of which there are a number in the Elderslie area with open-plan rooms to the interior. The house was demolished in 2011.

The Hennings House, built in 1960, was located at 64-66 Macarthur Road Elderslie. It was demolished in 2011. (I Willis, 2011)

• 110 Lodges Road, Elderslie.

This house is a similar design to the Hennings House and has been approved for demolition.

A mid-century timber ranch-style cottage at 110 Lodges Road Elderslie has been approved for demolition. (CRE 2022)

• Triple and double-fronted cottage

There are many examples of these styles of homes in the local area, particularly south of the town centre, Elderslie and Narellan.

A mid-century triple-fronted brick cottage in Harrington Street Elderslie (I Willis, 2024)

Jacqui Thompson writes on Domain that triple-fronted houses were

are simple buildings that feature a double or triple staggered façade, with a bedroom at the front that steps back to a lounge room and/or the front door. Brick veneer replaced double brick construction, and mass-produced building materials such as glass and cement tiles were embraced. There are wrought iron railings and fencing painted white and wire mesh screens on doors. There can be interconnecting rooms, lower ceilings, and cheaper materials, e.g., melamine benchtops, linoleum and rubber floors and mass-produced sheet materials on walls.  

https://www.domain.com.au/advice/post-war-double-and-triple-fronted-homes-in-australia/

• Low-pitched roof style

There are a number of mid-century cottages in the Elderslie and Camden area with low-pitched roof styles. They are a mixture of brick and timber construction. In Elderslie, they were built for the coal mining company executives and were more expensive than other stripped-back designs. This design was influenced by West Coast USA styles of the mid-century period.

A mid-century cottage with a low-pitched roof on Sunset Ave. There are a number of cottages of this style in the Elderslie area. (I Willis 2024)

• Cottage with gable

There are cottages that have a gable design.

A mid-century gabled cottage in River Road Elderslie (I Willis 2024)

• Camden Fibro Cottage

The fibro cottage was seen as a modern and affordable housing style. There are many examples in the local area south of the Camden town centre, Elderslie and Narellan, that were built in the postwar years.

Mid-century fibro cottages in Purcell Street Elderslie (I Willis 2024)

References

Robyn Sankey, Camden and the Coal Industry. MA(Hons) Thesis, University of Sydney, 1984.

Bruce Ferguson, ‘The Coal Mining Industry in Camden’. Paper presented at Coal and A Country Town Seminar, Singleton, 1977 published in proceedings, JE Collins (ed), Singleton Shire Council.

Roy Lumby, ‘Modern Movement Architecture In NSW’, in The Modern Movement In New South Wales A Thematic Study And Survey Of Places. HeriCon Consulting (eds), NSW and the Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, 2013.

Jacqui Thompson, ‘Post-war double and triple fronted homes in Australia’. Domain, 15 June 2025. Online @ https://www.domain.com.au/advice/post-war-double-and-triple-fronted-homes-in-australia/