Cottages - Banool

The stone cottage currently named Banool that still stands in Martin Place Linden was built by E.W. Cansdell - a storekeeper - of Nimmitabel.  It was built on the foundations of the intended, but never finished, ‘mansion’ started by Sir James Martin.  Part of the foundations is thought to have gone into the erection of the later building.  It is located on part of the 28 acres on land that Cansdell and Austin Chapman jointly owned and sub-divided to become the Blue Mountains Estate.

On sub-division plans the house, thought to have been built c1908, was referred to as the Bungalow.  In 1914, the home is thought to have been purchased by J.J. Anderson.  Subsequent owners were: R. Southouse 1920s, Frederick Marks 1922-1943, and Mr. McIlwraith 1943-1983.  It was one these subsequent owners who altered the name to Banool.

In 1983, the 41 square residence located on 0.6 hectares of land sold at auction for $213,000.
Pamela Smith

Early Residents - Thomas Boland

Early Residents: Thomas Boland

Thomas is commonly known as “the father of Springwood.’ He was born in Tipperary Ireland about 1810 according to the age recorded on the passenger list for the Strathfieldsay on which he immigrated to Australia with wife Mary Ann and daughter Mary in 1838.  The following year Henry Parkes (later Sir) travelled to Australia on the same ship.  This is said to have created a link between the two men leading to friendship in later life.

Thomas and Mary were Catholic and literate, and he brought excellent references from Sir P.P. Carrol and others. Joseph Jackson wrote that the Boland family went to Bathurst where Thomas was said to have been overseer manager for the Ranken family as well as overseer in a cheese factory.[1]  However, his obituary in the Nepean Times 30^th March 1889 stated that he worked in Bathurst for Perrier Brothers.[2]  The Perriers and Rankens were early pioneers in the Bathurst district.

He is recorded as holding the license for the Bathurst Traveller 1841-4 also known as the Weatherboard Inn at Weatherboard (now Wentworth Falls).  In 1843 he is shown as holding the publican’s license for the Trafalgar Inn, Honeysuckle Flat, a district of Bathurst. He was appointed superintendent of road gangs at Springwood following his move from Bathurst.  In 1847, the land on which the second military barracks had been built was sold to Robert Martin, who sold it to Thomas Boland the same year.

The 20 acre site contained a slab hut with three bedrooms, a sitting room, pantry, detached kitchen, storerooms and stables.  There was a garden well supplied with water from a dam.  Thomas, with inn-keeping experience and time spent working on the western road, could see the need for an inn to serve travellers. 

Springwood or Boland's Inn

He consequently built the Springwood Inn, often known as Boland’s Inn and held the license in 1857.  Daughter Alice recounted visits made to the inn by Sir Henry Parkes, Sir James Martin and the Hon. W.B. Dalley.  Caroline Chisholm, with bands of young women immigrants also stayed at the inn.  Large numbers of Chinese camped in the ground adjacent on their way to the goldfields.

Shirley Evans

This is an abbreviated version of a larger article found in The Making of a Mountain Community: a Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District, 2002.

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[1] Joseph Jackson Papers, Blue Mountains City Council local studies collection, vertical files.

[2] Nepean Times, 30^th March, 1889.

Early Residents - Geoffrey Eagar & A. Stewart

Geoffrey Eagar

We have no information about A. Stewart but Geoffrey Eagar is quite famous.  He was one of several parliamentarians that resided – mainly part time – in the Blue Mountains in the nineteenth century.  Eagar was son of convict Edward Eagar who received a conditional pardon in 1813 from Governor Lachlan Macquarie.  Eagar senior became one of the richest businessmen in the colony and was a shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales.  Geoffrey was born in 1818 and received his education by attending the schools of J.D. Lang and W.T. Cape.  In 1843 he married Mary Ann Bucknell. 

Geoffrey worked for various mercantile firms until he joined the staff of the Bank of New South Wales and his resignation in 1859 signalled a move into politics and the New South Wales Legislative Council where he joined with former school friends William Forster, James Martin and John Robertson.  His career was somewhat turbulent and after resigning from the Forster ministry in 1860, returned to the political stage in 1863 when James Martin replaced Cowper as Premier.  Under Martin he attained the position of Colonial Treasurer where his previous bank experience stood him in good stead.  He met with resistance however when he tried to bring the Customs Department under the control of Treasury.  He experienced resistance from W.A. Duncan who had powerful supporters like Henry Parkes.  Eagar resigned from the ministry again in 1868.  As the Premier, James Martin found a place for Eagar in Treasury in 1871 when he was facing financial difficulties.  Eagar, a well-known poet and essayist, was Chair of the Civil Service and History Boards and in the latter position recommended the publication of the Historical Records of NSW.  He died in 1891.

This is part of a longer article found in The Making of a Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District, 2002.