Early Residents - William Martyn Publican

 William acquired the license of The Springwood Hotel c1870, whereby he acted as both publican and postmaster until the postal service was moved to the railway station c1880.

Springwood Hotel

In March 1882 he applied for an extension of the hotel license to enable him to hold a sports day and dancing on Easter Monday. He assured the bench that ‘only married people would be present’. The extension was granted without objection enabling him to open the hotel between 6am until 8pm.

William was involved in July and August 1882, with several other Springwood residents (including Thomas Boland) in a proposed coal exploration scheme, and subscribed five pounds. However the scheme remained just that!  In 1883 a John Marsh applied for the license to the Springwood Hotel but the license was refused because of bad behaviour at previous hotels.  The license remained in the hands of William.

Mrs Martyn died in May 1884, casting a gloom over Springwood. A news article at the time said that she was beloved by all who knew her for her kindness of heart. It is uncertain when William died or if they had children.

Pamela Smith

From: The Making Of A Mountain Community, A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District

Military Stockade Springwood - Graves

The Sydney Morning Herald dated 20 June 1877 carried an article headed New South Wales Parliament.  It would appear that a recent sitting of the Legislative Assembly Mr. Macintosh asked the Secretary of Lands:
1. If he was aware that the 'old stockade at Springwood had been used as a burial ground and that there are graves still to be seen there. 
2 If he was aware that the land had been improved at the date of 'Boland's conditional purchase, in 1862 and 1876, by clearing, fencing and waterholes to the value of one hundred pounds.
3. Will he cause an investigation of the foregoing to be made, and take the necessary action should the statement prove correct.
A Mr. Driver answered:
1. The selection is known to have included the old stockade; but attention has not been called to the fact of there being any graves upon it.  The selection would not have been invalidated thereby,
2. The improvements formerly upon the land are understood to have fallen to decay or been removed.
3. Reference will again be made to the papers in the case, which are not at this moment accesible, and should any ground appear for further action or inquiry, it shall be taken.

There is no indication if any further action was taken, however, Springwood Cemetery does have a headstone that is thought to have been taken from that area.

Mr. Driver is thought to have been Hon. Richard Driver jnr. who was Secretary for Lands in Sir Henry Parkes ministry (1877) while the other gentleman is thought to have been John Macintosh who was at one time the Minister for Lands.

Other ministers in Parkes 1877 ministry (which lasted from 22 March 1877 until August 16 1877 a period of 147 days) were:
Hon. William Piddington MLA - Colonial Treasurer
Hon. Francis Suttor MLA - Minister for Justice and Public Instruction
Hon. James Hoskins MLA Secretary for Public Works
Hon. William Windeyer - Attorney General
Hon. George Lloyd MLA - Secretary for Mines & Representative of the Gov. in Legislative Council
Hon. Saul Samuel MLC - Postmaster General

Pamela Smith

The Beginning - Springwood

From Our Correspondent

Thursday, 21^st June 1832 – It is said that the military barracks recently erected on the mountain road at Springwood and the  Weather-boarded Hut (or more properly speaking, “Jamison Vale”) from which the detachments have lately been withdrawn, will shortly be put up for public sale. The buildings, their position and appurtenances render them peculiarly well-adapted for road-side inns or public-houses, and being regular and old-established halting places will no doubt be sought after with avidity.  Another great consideration in favour  of their eligibility is the certainty that the line of road between Springwood and Mount Victoria can never be changed from its present course. From the latter, where the new road commences, the work proceeds rapidly, and it will be well worth the while of two or three enterprising persons to bear in mind the extraordinary advantages which naturally accrue from the establishment of the first houses of accommodation.  The old line has always been deficient thereof; between Collet’s and Bathurst, a distance of 50 miles, there is not one licensed house.  The traffic between the Capital and Bathurst is daily increasing; and when the route of travellers is made uniform by the completion  of one good road, no doubt can exist of the success of such speculation.

This appeared in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Tuesday 26 June 1832 on page 3. The article is interesting because there was acceptance even then that the course of the road could not be altered.  In fact, the present alignment of the Great Western Highway - over the Blue Mountains - varies little from those early roads and even the railway follows the same course.  Also, it would seem that Wentworth Falls had been known as Jamison Vale perhaps in honour of Sir John Jamison who accompanied Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his party on a tour of inspection of the new road in April 1815. 

Springwood encampment 1815 - Painting J.W. Lewin

Others in the party were:

Jno. Thos. Campbell, Esqr. Secry.
Captain H.C. Antill, Major of Brigade
Lieut. Jno. Watts, Aide de Camp
William Redfern Esquire., Assistant Surgeon
William Cox Esquire., JP
Jno. Oxley Esquire, Surveyor General
Mr. Jas. Meehan, Deputy Surveyor General
Mr. Geo. W. Evans, Deputy Surveyor
Mr. J.W. Lewin, Painter & Naturalist

Early Residents - Thomas William Garrett

Braemar c1892

 Thomas Garrett, his wife Helen and their family of three girls and four boys probably arrived in Springwood during the first half of 1898. In August of that year his name appeared for the first time in the columns of the Nepean Times, when he was elected a Vice President of the Springwood Cricket Club. He was born in Wollongong on 26 July 1858, the second son of politician and newspaper proprietor the Hon. Thomas Garrett and his first wife Mary Ann Elizabeth (nee Creagan). Educated at Newington College, he later studied law and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court, eventually becoming registrar of probates in 1890, curator of intestate estates in 1896 and public trustee in 1914. It was, however, his talent as a cricketer that brought him to a wider public notice. After showing early ability at school, he went on to play with distinction for both New South Wales and Australia.

      

In 1877 the 18-year-old Garrett was chosen to play for Australia in Melbourne against James Lillywhite’s team of professionals, a match that has come to be considered the first Test against England. He went on to tour England three times—in 1878, 1882 and 1886—and represented Australia in seven Test series at home, scoring 339 runs and taking 36 wickets. On the 1882 tour of England he played in the famous match at The Oval when Australia defeated England for the first time on English soil, provoking the Sporting Times to report the death of English cricket in its next issue. ‘The body’, it declared, ‘will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia’.

      

Bearded, tall and lean, Garrett was primarily recognised as a right-arm, slightly more than medium pace bowler with an ability to swing the ball either way. But he was no slouch with the bat and also proved a shrewd and successful captain of New South Wales. At the age of 38 in 1897 he scored 131 runs against a South Australian team that included the champion fast bowler Ernest Jones.

      

In 1879, Thomas married Helen Alice Maude, the daughter of sea captain John Applewhaite. Between overseas visits he fathered several children: Mary Emily was born in 1880, Lucy Alice in 1882, Maude in 1884, John H. in 1888, Eric R. in 1890 and Frederick C. in 1892.

      

The Garrett family seems to have resided in Springwood for a period of about ten years. When they first arrived in 1898 they moved into Braemar on the Western Road (now Macquarie Road). By 1908, however, the family had moved to the western end of the town, to Stanway in Railway Parade (now also part of Macquarie Road).

      

During their time in Springwood, judging by reports of their activities in the Springwood news columns of the Nepean Times, the Garretts were actively involved in the life of the community. Father and sons were members of both the cricket and rugby football clubs. Thomas served as a Vice President of both and also helped to establish a golf club in the town in 1905. In 1909–10, when Springwood Cricket Club won the Nepean District premiership, three of Thomas’s sons were in the team, one of them as captain. Records of the Springwood Progress Association list Thomas as a member in 1893–4 and again in 1905–6.

      

Mother and daughters, too, were reported in various capacities at fetes organised by both the Christ Church of England and Springwood Ladies College, where the girls attended school. Thomas Garrett also acted as honorary auditor for a number of local organisations including the Anglican Church, the Progress Association and the School of Arts.

      

Their residency came to a temporary end in 1902. On 3 May 1902 the Nepean Times announced the departure of the family, who had been residents for four years. On the day of their departure a large number of friends gathered on the railway platform to see them off and wish them well for the future. However their absence was short lived and it was announced again, via the Nepean Times (April 1903), that Tom Garrett the veteran cricketer was coming to reside again in the mountains somewhere between Valley Heights and Springwood. Helen, Lucy and Mary Elsie are listed on the 1903 electoral roll. In May 1903 the Garretts settled into Braemar once again, entering quickly into the social and sporting life of the town.

      

At some point in time after 1903 they appear to have moved back into the Crane’s residence Stanway, as a 1908 Nepean Times advertisement for Springwood Heights Estate indicates that the property subdivision was located between Hoare’s (Homedale) and Garrett’s (Stanway).

      

Over the next few years Thomas acted as the registrar for the area. Together with Mr J.D. Ewens he was auditor for the books of the Progress Association, and in 1909 he audited the books of the Springwood School of Arts Institute. During that same year the Blue Mountains Echo was full of praise for the sons of Thomas and Helen Garrett when they reported that a cricket match played between Emu Plains and Springwood resulted in a win for the later. The paper stated that the ‘Garrett brothers’ had played most successfully for Springwood.

      

While it is unclear exactly when the family left Springwood it was possibly some time in 1912, for the Garrett name does not appear in the local electorate on the 1913 Commonwealth Electoral Roll.

      

Thomas William Garrett died at Warrawee in Sydney at the age of 85 years on 6 August 1943. He was cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium after a service at St James Church, Turramurra.

John Low

From: The Making Of A Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District

Early Residents - Madeline Boland

 Madeline Boland, second daughter of Thomas and Mary Boland, was born in the Bathurst district in 1840. The church registration showed her as having been named Johanna. In various records after that her name is variously spelt Madaline, Madoline and Madeline. We favour the Madeline spelling as it has been used most frequently She was probably originally named for her father’s mother, and the name Johanna was used on her mother’s death certificate where the informant was her father Thomas.

      

She was an early land owner in Springwood, taking up portion 60 in 1875 and also portion 66. As neighbours she had John Davies, who we believe to have been the husband of her older sister Mary, and the Hon. Charles Moore, with whom she was never on good terms. A copy of a hand-written letter by Madeline regarding land boundaries is in existence. Just before she made her selection, some of the land had been zoned as a reserve. She finally agreed to relinquish this section and was allocated 41 acres outside the reserve. She understood this had been satisfactorily settled and went ahead with building a cottage, outhouses and fences, and planting an orchard and flower gardens to the value of about £750. She was also planning to build butcher and bakery shops. She was then told that a gentleman had reported her as building on a government road. She asked if it was Mr Charles Moore, and was told that it was. At one stage in the letter she wrote bitterly of him as a ‘person who has long opposed me’. She tried very hard to avoid any encroachment on what she believed to be her land, visiting Sydney, speaking to men in authority, and writing in great detail and length in this letter, but we do not think she was successful. The letter is incomplete, undated and there is no indication to whom it was addressed. One can guess from various references in it that it was written in the late 1870s and that the reserved land was meant for the school.

      

Madeline never married and appears to have supported herself by building and letting cottages. She was a devout Roman Catholic, perhaps one of the reasons for the antagonism between her and the Hon. Charles Moore. Prior to the Catholic Church being built, services were held at her home for the small Catholic community. In 1892 she was reported to be building a store and, before it was open for business, two concerts were held in it. The first, in October, was to raise funds for the Church (which was opened in 1892) and the other, in November, was a benefit for Fettler Benmore who was stricken by rheumatism. In December it was reported that the store was stocked with groceries and that there were now two stores in town, the other one being Rayner’s. In August 1899 she started to build another 4-room cottage and was rumoured to be building another store. Madeline also worked at bazaars to raise funds for St Thomas Aquinas.

      

Fergusons Store foreground, Homeleigh in background c1908
Scene is crowd watching start of bicycle race

She died in November 1909. Her estate was valued at just over £2,209, most of this being the value of her real estate. She owned 3 houses: Homeleigh, Glenview and Innisfail. Each of these was rented at approximately £5 per month. Her nephews Frank, Paul and Rodger Tanner were her executors. Madeline Glen, at the end of Boland Ave was named for her.


Shirley Evans
From The Making Of A Mountain Community; A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District

Early Residents - More on Thomas Boland

There has been some speculation about Thomas Boland and his role as stationmaster of Springwood Railway Station.  There are some locals that discount the fact while others are conviced he did even if it was in a non official role.  A recent article located while trolling through TROVE online newspaper archives seems to suggest the latter.  A report from a 'special correspondent' in The Sydney Morning Herald dated 24th August 1874 stated that "...Springwood, where there is a neat little station kept by Mr. Boland who was for years the Boniface of Springwood in the good old times, when, as he himself told me, no better house for business could be found between Sydney and Bathurst."  

It is difficult to determine in what context the correspondent meant that Boland was the Boniface of Springwood but given his occupation (innkeeper) it was probably the latter.

It would seem that Boland may have in fact acted in an unofficial role at a time when the railway station comprised of a weatherboard shed and a single track that accomodated trains going in both directions.  A more permanent structure was built some years later and revamped again when the line was duplicated.  

Boniface \b(o)-nifa-ce, bon(i)-face\ as a boy's name is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Boniface is "fortunate, auspicious". Boniface was the name of an innkeeper in a 1707 play "The Beaux' Stratagem" by Fahrquarm. Since then, it has been used as a name for a host. Name of a number of early popes.  

Pamela Smith

Early Residents - Alexander Borthwick

Borthwick family

Mr Borthwick, a well-known paint and varnish manufacturer, purchased ten acres of land in Springwood prior to 1922. The land included the cottages Orotava and Carleen.  The former cottage was apparently named for the ship which brought the original Borthwick family to Australia. Borthwick was not the original owner, and it is thought that the Rev. Britten built the cottage named Carleen c1905 while Robina Smith built the cottage that became Orotova, c1908.

 Carleen still stands as part of the Springwood Garden Centre and has been returned to its former glory after extensive restoration. Orotava, however, was demolished to make way for Yandina Avenue when that area was subdivided. Both cottages were built of weatherboards and designed with large living areas containing the necessary fireplace. A covered walkway sloped down to a big outside kitchen where a whitewashed dairy was also situated. Open sheds were located further on, and these were used to accommodate carts and sulkies. This was located in what is commonly referred to as a ‘working yard’.

The property flourished during the time of Mr Borthwick. He employed three gardeners to attend the three hundred rose bushes and fields of beans and peas planted out in the garden.  Four water tanks supplied water to the house, gardens and poultry runs before the advent of reticulated water.

The Sands Directories of 1879 and 1884 list Alexander Borthwick who had an oil and colour warehouse at 229 George Street, Sydney. This could very well relate to this Alexander Borthwick, or his father.  Mr Borthwick was listed in the 1916 telephone directory and 1917 electoral roll for Springwood. He married Annie Elizabeth L., and the couple had at least two children, Archibald Leslie Edward who died in 1939, and Elma J. who married Alexander J. Clubb in 1909. Mr Borthwick died in 1922 and his wife Elizabeth died in 1942.

Elma was left a cash legacy on the death of her father but decided to take one of the properties in part settlement. She chose Orotava which, as mentioned, was named after the ship on which her grandfather, Alexander Borthwick, sailed to Australia from Scotland in 1853. Elma and family lived in Orotava during 1923–4.  Her son, Alexander Borthwick Clubb repeated sixth class at Springwood Public School and then commenced at Penrith High School in 1924. Elma later realised that she could not easily educate six children in Springwood and so returned to the city where the children attended Sydney High. A Mrs Eleanor E. Noble was renting the cottage Carleen in 1923.

From The Making Of A Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District

 More on the Borthwick family:

Alexander Borthwick (Springwood) married Annie Elizabeth Louisa Cornwall at Stanmore in 1878.  Their children were: Alexander (died infant), Jessie, Alexander, Florence Vera, Elma Jean, Archibald Leslie Edward and Marion Isabelle.

 Elma Jean Borthwick married Alexander James Clubb at Marrickville 1909 and their children were: Alexander Borthwick Clubb, Neil Cornwall Clubb, Jean Clubb, William Murray Clubb and two others.  Elma died  at Katoomba in 1963.

Ref: Ellery, R. L. J. et al: Victoria and its Metropolis. Vol II. 1868 had this to say about the senior Alexander Borthwick of South Melbourne.  “He was born at Biggar Scotland, in 1827, and arrived in Victoria in 1853. He commenced business as a painter and decorator in Collins-st east and at Emerald Hill. The Victoria Varnish Company, of which Mr Borthwick is manager, was started in 1865, for the manufacture of paints, varnishes and decorative materials for shops and houses, and has obtained several prizes at various exhibitions. Mr Borthwick is the inventor and manufacturer of the anti-fouling composition for ships' bottoms, known by his name. This has been used for the past thirty years with great advantage to the shipping community, and is now made in large quantities in both Melbourne and Sydney, under the personal superintendence of Mr Borthwick - to whom this branch of the business especially belongs. The factory in Victoria is situated in Moray-street north, South Melbourne, and occupies a large area of ground near the Falls Bridge."

Similarly, Leavitt, T. W. H. (ed.): The jubilee history of Victoria and Melbourne. 2 vols. 1888. “Alexander Borthwick: Manufacturer of paints and varnishes, Moray-street, South Melbourne. The business was established in Collins-street in 1853, whence it was removed in 1855. Mr Borthwick employs 25 men in the above factory, and has a branch in Sydney where 30 hands find plenty to do. He has also the  ... (line missing from copy on fiche) paints and varnishes in Victoria. While visiting in the United States he received orders from the Government there to decorate some of the Public buildings.  He also took occasion to hold classes, in which Fine Art and Painting were taught.  Mr Borthwick received awards of medals at the following Exhibitions: Philadelphia 1876, Sydney 1879; Melbourne 1879, 1881; London 1886(?)."

See also The Argus 14.2.1867 which mentions Alexander Borthwick among prize winners for the Intercolonial Exhibition

The Sydney Morning Herald 7.11.1922 page 7 mentioned the death of Alexander Borthwick, head of Borthwick Proprietery Company and the Victorian Varnish Company, who died at his residence Cowper Street, Longueville.  The paper stated that he worked for his father who pioneered the paint and varnish industry in Australia.  Alexander Borthwick senior founded the Victorian Varnish Company while Borthwick junior founded the proprietery company of the same name.

Pamela Smith