Dowell O'Reilly - teacher, politician, poet and author

What can we give in return

For her beauty and mystery

Of flowering forest, infinite plain

Deep sky and distant mountain chain,

And her triumphant sea,

Thundering songs of liberty.

Dowell O’Reilly, better known perhaps as the father of author Eleanor Dark, was a schoolmaster turned parliamentarian and an author and poet in his own right. Dowell, born in Sydney on 18 July 1865, was the second of four children born to Anglican clergyman, Rev. Thomas O’Reilly and second wife Rosa (nee Smith).[2] He was educated at Sydney Grammar School and took up a teaching post at ‘Hayfield’ to assist his mother after his father died in 1881.[3]  It was there that he met Eleanor McCulloch – the music teacher - who he married in a quiet, almost secretive, ceremony on 28 December 1895.[4]  The bride’s parents and close friends were absent which, according to Barbara Brooks and Judith Clark caused ‘quite a stir’ when the union became common knowledge.[5]  Albert Bathurst Piddington, who a year later married Dowell’s sister Marion Louisa, was his best man. Piddington, like Dowell, had been educated at Sydney Grammar.

Marriage to Eleanor Grace McCulloch meant that he became the son-in-law of the controversial politician, Andrew Hardie McCulloch.  McCulloch is perhaps better known in the Blue Mountains as the owner of the - now derelict - cottage ‘Eurama’ located at Linden.  The ruins of the cottage are a familiar sight to road and rail traffic as they pass by today.

O’Reilly was also related to Dr Charles Badham, Professor of Classics at Sydney University, through Badham’s first marriage to Julia, sister to O’Reilly’s mother.[6] There is some speculation that Badham may have assisted O’Reilly’s mother when she opened ‘Hayfield’ as a preparatory school for boys at Parramatta.[7] An article in the Illustrated Sydney News in 1889, suggested that ‘Hayfield,’ presided over by Mrs. O’Reilly, was an efficient and comfortable school.[8]

Dowell and Eleanor had their first child, named for his father, in 1899.  Eleanor, named for her mother, was born in 1901, while Brian arrived in 1905.[9]  Dowell junior died in 1926, Brian married Norah Wilson and died at Wentworth Falls in 1985 in the same year as sister Eleanor (then Eleanor Dark), who died in Katoomba. 

In 1886/87, Dowell played cricket for Central Cumberland against the visiting English side, and in 1888, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Parramatta Volunteer Rifles.[10] He transferred to the reserves in 1898. Dowell was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Parramatta in 1894, on a free trade ticket.  Shortly after, he moved a motion in parliament in favour of female suffrage.[11]  Dowell’s sympathies for female suffrage endeared him to Rose Scott; they became firm friends.[12]  In 1898 he returned to Sydney Grammar where he remained a master until 1909.[13]

Although his literary career began in the 1880s, it was somewhat less than spectacular.  He is known to have destroyed volumes of A Pedlar’s Pack, because sales of the book of verse had been inadequate.[14]  By the 1890s his literary career seemed to have picked up because he regularly contributed poems and short stories to the Bulletin and other publications.[15]  Night classes at the University of Sydney in 1889 brought him into contact with scholar and writer, John Le Gay Brereton, and the equally talented poet, author and scholar, Christopher Brennan.  One-time Professor of Economics, Robert Francis Irvine, was also a mutual friend.  The men were involved in publication of the short-lived Australian Magazine and were members of the Casual Club.[16]  

In 1910 Dowell contested the seat of Parramatta as a Labour Candidate and counted W.M. Hughes among his circle of friends.[17]  His friendship with Hughes was to have long term effects and was thought to have caused a rift with his brother-in-law, A.B. Piddington.[18]  A column in the Sydney Morning Herald called ‘Sydney Day by Day’ carried a very tongue in cheek view of Dowell. The article implied that he was somewhat of the ‘Bohemian order,’ and well thought of in ‘local literary’ circles.[19] The article went on to suggest that Dowell found favour among the ‘womenfolk of the State’ although ‘not an enormous number,’ who, by that time, had won the right to vote. 

The Herald correspondent suggested that Dowell had written some ‘acceptable poetry’ and his ‘crisp and appetising’ style was reflected in a letter sent to the paper regarding his feud with Piddington.[20]   Michael Roe suggested that while Piddington was intellectually gifted, he was of a turbulent disposition and prone to recurrent ‘displays of wayward emotion.’[21]  Thus, O’Reilly’s claim (see below) may have been correct. However, over recent years a darker side to this feud has been revealed by Helen O’Reilly and Marivic Wyndham, which had little to do with politics but more to do with personal issues within the family.[22]

Years of illness preceded the death of Eleanor Grace O’Reilly, who eventually died in 1914.[23] Dowell’s second wife, Marie Rose Beatrice (Mollie) Miles, who he married in 1917, was a cousin he met in England in 1879.[24] He continued contributing to periodicals and in 1913 published Tears and Triumph, that, while fiction, sketched an ‘outline of his suffragette philosophy.’[25]  The local studies collection in Springwood library hold several of Dowell O’Reilly’s works including Tears and Triumph, Fivecorners, The prose and verse of Dowell O’Reilly and Dowell O’Reilly from his letters.

Dowell died of pneumonia and vascular disease at Leura in 1923 and was buried in the cemetery at Blackheath. 

Pamela Smith 

  

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[1] Ist verse of Australia by Dowell O’Reilly.

[2] Michael Sharkey, 'O'Reilly, Dowell Philip (1865–1923)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre

  of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oreilly-dowell-philip-

  7917/text13773, accessed 21 September 2011.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Barbara Brooks & Judith Clark, Eleanor Dark, A Writers Life, Macmillan, 1998, p. 9.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Michael Sharkey.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Illustrated Sydney News, 3.10.1889, p. 19.

[9] NSW Births, Deaths and Marriage Indexes,

[10] Michael Sharkey.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Judith A. Allen, Rose Scott, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994, p. 254.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Michael Sharkey.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Sydney Morning Herald, The High Court, Identity of Mr X, Attack on Mr Piddington, 15.12.1922, p. 11; The Argus, Appearance of “X” Remarkable Statement, “Mud Nine Years Old,” 15.12.1922, p. 11.  The incident referred to questions asked by Piddington about the part O’Reilly & Hughes played in his appointment to the High Court and his subsequent resignation because he felt compromised.  O’Reilly argued back that it was Piddington’s hysterical nature that caused him to resign. 

[19] Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Day by Day, 16.12.1922, p. 30.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Michael Roe, ‘Piddington, Albert Bathurst (1862-1945),’ Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oreilly-dowell-philip-

  7917/text13773, accessed 21 September 2011

[22] Abuse as a muse, The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs, Entertainment, http://blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment, accessed 20.6.2011.

[23] Marivic Wyndham, ‘A world-proof life’: Eleanor Dark, a writer in her times, 1901-1985, UTSePress, Sydney, 2007, p. 26.

[24] Michael Sharkey.

[25] Ibid.

Early Residents - Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal

Charles Rosenthal was born in Berrima, NSW, on 12 February 1875. His father, Carl Johann Christian Rosenthal, was a school teacher, his mother was Emilie Clov. He received his education from his father until he was articled to an architect in Geelong at the age of fifteen. Charles finished his training in Melbourne in 1895 then moved to Perth to work with the Department of Railways and Public Works.  Later, he worked at Coolgardie. He returned to Melbourne in 1899, joining an architectural firm who sent him to manage their Sydney office in 1900.

      

On 11 September 1897 Charles married Harriet Ellen Burston in Brighton, Victoria. They had three children: Charles Burston (born in Brighton in 1899), Alvord (1901 in Petersham), and Christian (born in 1907 in Mosman).

Rosenthal became involved in the affairs of his profession, and in music. With his fine bass voice he was in the front rank of oratorio singers in Sydney. He was also in the army and held the rank of Captain in the Australian Garrison Artillery. At some point in time he acquired a house in Valley Heights where he lived. The house was known as Terranora.  In later years it was known as Green Acres and became the site of Roy Deane’s Orchid Farm.

      

While living in Valley Heights, Rosenthal’s energy and wide interests characterised his life. Apart from commitments in Sydney he was involved in the community life of Springwood.

He was elected President of the Rifle Club in 1906 and 1907, and opened the new range in October 1906. The new Rugby Football Club elected him Vice President in 1909, and he also played cricket. Rosenthal held the position of Vice President of the Springwood School of Arts and in his capacity as architect, submitted plans for the new School of Arts building.  These plans however, were not accepted.

      

Charles took some interest in the politics of local government. He gave support to the candidature of J.T. Wall in the first elections for the Kanimbla Shire Council. In the Blue Mountains Shire elections of 1908 he nominated but was disbarred because he was in arrears with his council rates. He stood again in 1911, but was fourth in the final count and was not elected.

His diverse interests saw him as one of the founders of the Aerial League of Australia in 1909, and a pupil of the W.E. Hart’s Australian Flying School at Penrith. He also offered to teach scouts the art of map reading and signalling.  Rosenthal’s performance as a singer, performing with the Philharmonic Society, and as an organist and choir master at Dulwich Hill Holy Trinity Church, made him popular for local performance. He sang at the 1909 Empire Day celebrations and also at the official opening of the Glenbrook School of Arts. On Empire Day 1911 he made a patriotic speech to the Springwood Public School.

      

Rosenthal was one of the most remarkable leaders of his time. His energy and optimism, his courage and breadth of interests found him at the forefront of any action in which he was involved. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he sailed with the first convoy as Lieut-Colonel, commanding the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade.  He established his reputation at Gallipoli where he was twice wounded. Rosenthal, re-formed with the 4th Division, was promoted to Brigadier-General and was soon in the thick of fighting in France. It was through his outstanding leadership in the battles of 1915–8 where he gained his military honours. He was mentioned in Dispatches seven times and was awarded the CB (1915), the CMG (1917), the KCB (1919), the DSO (1918), the Belgian Croix de Guerre (1917), the French Croix de Guerre (1918) and the Legion d’Honeur (1919).

      

Rosenthal returned to Sydney to restore his architectural practice and continued to pursue his other interests. He was Commander of the 2nd Division 1936–7, Alderman of the Sydney Municipal Council 1921–4, member for Bathurst in the Legislative Assembly 1922–5 and member of the Legislative Council 1936–7. He made a brief return to Springwood in 1923 to open the gates of remembrance at Christ Church of England.

      

He became a leader in his profession: twice president of the Institute of Architects 1926–30, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Architects and life fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.  In 1937 he was posted as Administrator of Norfolk Island, which he governed through World War II, leaving this office in 1945.

      

He did not return to Sydney until 1948 when he married for a second time in 1953. His wife was Sarah Agnes Rosborough (nee McKinstry). He died at Green Point in May 1954, and was awarded full military honours at his cremation.

Lindsay Paish in The Making Of A Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District.

More on Rosenthal:

The Argus, 31.3.1923, p. 12 – Sir Charles president of the King and Empire Alliance of New South Wales.  Addressing a meeting of the British Empire League, stressed the need for leading business men to take an active part in public life.  He stated there was a need to co-ordinate loyalist organisations so that they could speak with one voice. Those present included the president of the British Empire League was Mr. Thomas Ryan, Rev. James Thomas, Mr. James Roland, F. Jowett, Rev. A.W. Thom, Philip Glass and Sir John Monash and members of most of the loyalist associations of Victoria.

The Argus, 4.1.1921, p. 6 – Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal named as a possible new divisional commander.  Instead of command going to permanent officers it was suggested that divisional commands might be given to several citizen soldiers like Major General Sir Thomas Glasgow and Sir John Gellibrand, commissioner of Police in Victoria.

The Argus, 7.5.1921, p 19 – Burning of the Union Jack caused a wave of indignation among returned soldiers who fought under the flag.  A meeting held at the Town Hall was filled to capacity with an estimated 15,000 people standing outside. The convenor of the meeting was Mr. W. Scott Fell, while the main speaker was Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal.

The National Anthem was sung by those assembled.  Fell stated his disgust at the burning of the Union Jack and the red flag being flown in the Domain.  The following motion was agreed to with great enthusiasm: That this meeting of Sydney citizens express its abhorrence of the disgraceful acts of those disloyalists who on May 1 publicly insulted the Union Jack and paraded the red flag in Sydney. That the meeting affirms its loyalty to the King George V, as head of the British Empire, and pledge itself to use every endeavour to crush the act of disloyalty in Australia and to maintain at all times the Empire’s unity.

In separate articles the Argus reported that in Sydney the Royal Agricultural Society had debarred the St. Patrick’s Committee from use of the showgrounds in the future and stated that any act of disloyalty to King and Empire would receive the same treatment.  In Perth an Empire Loyalty League had been formed.   

The Argus, 14.5.1921, p. 20 – A request for the Ministry to take action to prevent the red flag being exhibited in the Domain in the future was made by a deputation from the Returned Soldiers Imperial League which waited on the Acting Premier (Mr. Dooley) The deputation consisted of General Sir Charles Rosenthal (vice president), Messrs. R. Hastings (secretary), T.V. Roberts and C. Davis.  Rosenthal stated that he felt it would be unwise to allow the red flag to be flown in view of the state of public feeling. 

Dooley argued in favour of the flag stating that it had a long tradition with English Conservatives, and many loyal men had marched behind the red flag including Mr. Hughes, Mr. Andrew Fischer and Mr. J.C. Watson.  He stated, in Europe it was the flag used by the people to denote international emancipation of workers, and as a symbol of an endeavour to substitute production for use over production for profit. Dooley stated that even the Salvation Army used the red flag.  Dooley stated that until the red flag was outlawed in England it was not his intention to prohibit the red flag in Australia.  Dooley said he would not do anything that would interfere with liberty of speech or opinion.  It would seem that Dooley accused J.C. Watson of marching behind the red flag when he was connected with the labour movement but Watson pointed out that labour colours were blue and white.

It would seem that the red flag was causing consternation at that time, so much so that carriers of the flag were given an armed guard in the Domain.  Ernest Edward Judd caused panic when he drew a revolver on a crowd of people hostile to his “red” sympathies.  He was taken to the police station and charged with a breach of the Gun Act.

The Canberra Times, 14.10.1926, p. 9 – Sir Charles Rosenthal addressed an audience at the Lyceum Hall Sydney and stated that he hoped licenses for the sale of spirituous liquors would not be extended to Canberra.  He suggested that the question whether Canberra should cease to be dry should be put in front of the people to decide not only those living in Canberra.  It would seem Rosenthal’s view was based on the idea that Canberra would only become one of the finest cities of the world but if the residents all remained sober.

The Canberra Times, 3.5.1927, p. 4 – The impending transfer of the seat of Government to Canberra celebrated by the Federal Capital League at a dinner at the Hotel Australia, Sydney.  Many prominent men were among the guests including Sir Charles Rosenthal, Hon. W.M. Hughes, Mr. W.A. Holman, Mr. T.R. Bavin, Sir William Vicars, Mr. T. D. Mutch (State Minister for Education) and many others.  Hughes declared ‘Canberra’ to be one of the ‘most beautiful places in the world.’ 

The Canberra Times 30.5.1930, p. 1 – Sir Charles Rosenthal of Sydney and Goulburn, architect, sequestered his estate.  His liabilities amounted to £9,000

The Canberra Times 16.7.1930, p. 3 – Examination in Bankruptcy.  Rosenthal stated he was bankrupt in Western Australia 32 years earlier when he was a draftsman in the public service.  He received a certificate of discharge for his liabilities that amounted to several hundred pounds.  He said the cause of the latest financial distress was partly due to his involvement in an insurance company in Melbourne that had gone into liquidation. Secured creditors amounted to £7,100 while the value of his securities and a policy on his life amounted to about £11,000.

The Canberra Times 4.4.1946, p. 2 – The Governor General and the Duchess of Gloucester gave a luncheon party at Admiralty House where several notable men and their wives were entertained.  Later, Their Royal Highnesses received Sir Charles Rosenthal and Lady Rosenthal who remained to tea.

There is also speculation that D.H. Lawrence used Rosenthal as a model for Benjamin Cooley in his novel Kangaroo.[1]

All entries are available from Trove

Oil on canvas painting from collection of Australian War Memorial Museum Canberra, ART02988, John Longstaff artist,  1919.

[1] A.J. Hill, ‘Rosenthal, Major General Sir Charles,’ Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp. 451-453.

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Politicians - Sir Henry Parkes

Henry Parkes at his home at Faulconbridge

Funeral Procession at Central Railway Station

Henry Parkes Grave in Faulconbridge Cemetery

Clarinda Parkes

Although Sir Henry Parkes spent a comparatively short time in the Springwood district, his connection with the area was and still is a matter of pride to the residents. That his love of the place was also very deep is shown by his desire to have his beloved Clarinda and other members of his family buried in the little Faulconbridge Cemetery, even though he had had to give up his home, Faulconbridge House, prior to Clarinda’s death because of his ever present financial difficulties.

Sir Henry acquired large areas of land in North Springwood but did not appear to develop them in any way and they were probably sold or given in settlement of his debts. However in 1876 he bought 400 acres of land for £400 to the east of the Great Western Railway line in what is now the village of Faulconbridge. Here he built 4 houses: Stonehurst thought to have been named for his birthplace, Stoneleigh in England, Faulconbridge House named for his mother, Martha Faulconbridge, Moseley Cottage built for his sister Maria and Fern Dell, probably built to house an employee.

The life and achievements of Sir Henry Parkes have been well documented by so many historians that it seems redundant and presumptuous to write it all again. However, we feel that it is necessary to include some information about his life. He was born in England in 1815, the youngest of 7 children, to a farmer who fell on hard times and was forced to move to the city. Henry received only a very basic education and began labouring work as a small boy. He later became apprenticed to a bone and ivory turner. On the completion of his apprenticeship he set up in business for himself but was not successful. He had married Clarinda Varney and their first 2 children sadly died. They moved to London in hope of finding work but eventually decided to immigrate to NSW.

      

They set sail on the bounty ship, the Strathfieldsaye, in March 1839, arriving in Sydney in July. Clarinda’s third baby was born on the ship a few days prior to arrival. Conditions on the ship were very unpleasant but Sydney was not much better. They had precious little money, Henry had no job prospects and he was forced to accept a position working as a labourer on Sir John Jamieson’s farm at Regentville. After 6 months of this they moved back to Sydney, Henry finally taking the position of tide waiter with the Customs Department. He saved to buy the necessary tools and began a bone and ivory turning business in Sydney. He attempted to expand too rapidly and once again he was beset by failure.

      

Sir Henry had always been fond of books and writing and particularly loved writing poetry. His other passion was politics, and he was especially enthusiastic for social reform. He was a fine looking man and a forceful and persuasive orator. Feeling the lack of formal education himself he wanted to do his utmost to see that it was possible for every child to go to school. He wrote articles for newspapers, displaying remarkable journalistic skills despite this lack of education, and he involved himself in various political movements of the time. He established his own newspaper, the Empire, in 1850, becoming bankrupt in 1858.

      

He entered Parliament in 1856 and was Premier of NSW five times. His political life was as tumultuous as his business life but he achieved a great deal. He is now affectionately known as the Father of Federation as well as the Father of State Education. He was a great believer in rail transport and was one of those who fought to end the transportation of convicts to NSW.

      

When Henry, Clarinda and their family moved to Faulconbridge it was in response to a need for their own peaceful home. They had rented houses prior to this. Clarinda, a quiet woman who was more content in her home than in the arena of public life, was worn out from many years of child bearing and they settled happily into the loveliness of the Blue Mountains bush. Sir Henry invited many important people to their home, including the Princes Edward and George (later King George V) who were on a trip up to the Lithgow Zig Zag with a large party. They were given breakfast on the veranda overlooking the valley. The Princes are said to have planted a tree each but there is some confusion about the variety of the trees.

      

Sir Henry had a great deal of landscaping done on his property, making roads, planting trees and mounting statues on pedestals. He also had seating placed strategically to allow for the utmost enjoyment of the grounds.

      

When the Parkes family moved to Faulconbridge in 1877 Sir Henry asked that his official correspondence be sent there and, as there was no railway platform, he requested that it be put in a bag and thrown off close to his house. He later felt that a platform should be established there to deliver goods and to take up and set down passengers. He also had a Morse telegraph instrument installed in his house with at first a telegraphist and then his daughter Annie to operate it.

      

Clarinda’s health was poor during the years they lived in Faulconbridge and their two unmarried daughters, Annie and Lily, stayed with her during their father’s frequent absences. Clarinda, the first born, and affectionately known as Menie, had married a Presbyterian minister. He was tragically killed in a fall from a horse and Menie and her children moved from Victoria to Carlyle in Mt Victoria. She wrote many letters to her father and during the period of her widowhood made frequent requests for financial assistance which he must have been hard pressed to satisfy. During 1885 she thought she would move to Faulconbridge House and set up a school. However her brother Varney, who was training as an architect in Sydney, told her that the house would have to be sold. Their father was again in debt. Henry was supporting his wife and unmarried daughters, helping Menie and also maintaining another domestic ménage in Sydney. Like other men of the time he had a mistress. Eleanor Dixon, a young Redfern woman, had given birth to two children and was pregnant with a third prior to the death of Clarinda. Faulconbridge House was sold and the family moved back to Sydney.

      

In 1889, Henry shocked society and his family by marrying Eleanor. Annie and Lily moved out of his house in protest. Menie was horrified that he had married a girl younger than she was, but promised to try to love her as a sister. As family historians we are impressed by the fact that Eleanor’s three children, Sydney, Kenilworth and Aurora, born out of wedlock, were registered with the Parkes name and Henry named as father. This was so often not the case. Henry and Cobden were born after they were married. Eleanor died aged 38 in 1895 leaving Henry alone again. Julia Lynch, an Irish girl from County Cavan, had nursed Henry’s ‘sweet Nellie’ through her last painful illness and acted as governess to the small children and, at the age of 23, married Sir Henry in 1895. Henry himself died on 27 April 1896.

Although Sir Henry no longer had property in the Mountains, he had wanted Clarinda and himself to be buried at Faulconbridge Cemetery where he had set up a memorial to his parents. His son Robert who had died in 1880 and his sister Maria who died in 1891 were also buried there. Both Lily and Varney Parkes, daughter and son of Henry and Clarinda, were buried at Faulconbridge in 1929 and 1935 respectively. When Henry died, his remains were taken on a special train to Faulconbridge, accompanied by 200 people. Large crowds were there to hear the service and to say goodbye to a man whose greatness they respected. The Rev. J. Vaughan, at the conclusion of the burial service said:

       We are not called upon at this solemn moment, standing here around the open grave, to speak words of eulogy of the mighty dead. We are not here to speak of his public career, or the political institutions which he had founded, or the colossal part which he has taken in the public life of Australasia. All these things are written in this young nation’s history…

      

The attachment to Sir Henry felt by the local people has continued right up to the present day. In September 1882, after his return to Australia from a trip to England, he travelled up to Faulconbridge by train. All along the line he was ‘cordially received, and railway stations and bridges were decorated with bunting and ferns’. Upon his arrival in Springwood he paid a visit to the little school where a special address was read by a student. Unfortunately the lad had not been a student at Springwood for more than a year but had been brought up from Sydney. There were some very disgruntled parents who were not a bit pleased with the choice.

      

On Commonwealth Day 1901 wreaths were placed on the Parkes grave, the iron railings surrounding the grave painted and it was reported in the Nepean Times that the roses and other flowers within the enclosure were blooming beautifully. Michael Chapman, who had a house nearby, saw that his gardener kept the grave weeded and in order.

      

Early in June 1915 a special ceremony was held at the Faulconbridge Cemetery as a celebration of the centenary of Henry Parkes’s birth. It was attended by a number of dignitaries with the Hon. H. Hoyle, Minister for Railways, representing the Government. He read an inscription, which was to be carved on the tombstone:

       On this, the centenary of his birth, the Government and people of Australia remember, with feelings of gratitude and admiration, the patriotic example, and the enduring effects of the public labours in the interests of NSW, Australia, and the Empire, of Sir Henry Parkes, born May 27th, 1815, died April 27th, 1896.

      

In 1952 it was reported that the original plaque on the grave had been stolen during World War II and the Henry Parkes Cemetery Trust intended to ask the State Government to replace it.  On 27 January 2001 a special Centenary of Federation ceremony was held at the cemetery, attended by Gordon Samuels, Governor of NSW and his wife, descendants of the Parkes’ family and of other local families connected with him, and many local residents and visitors. This was organised by the Faulconbridge Residents’ Association and many fine speeches were made about Sir Henry and Federation. Later in the year, on 15 March, in a celebration of public education, local public school teachers met at the cemetery to celebrate Henry Parkes’s contributions to public education. A statement of appreciation to Henry Parkes was read on behalf of the teachers of the Blue Mountains.

      

In August 1902 The Mountaineer, arguing the case for a national monument to be erected at Sir Henry’s grave, said ‘Sir Henry Parkes loved his mountain home, where nature soothed him after many a time of turmoil and activity’. And in the same article, ‘We say that some national monument at his grave is due to Parkes. … True he was not perfect, but who is?’

Shirley Evans from The Making of A Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of the Springwood District.

More on Parkes:

In 1887 Sir Henry Parkes was in debt to the amount of £50,000.  He was forced to hand his assets over to trustees so that they could satisfy his creditors.  His principal assets were:

 * Land at North Sydney valued at £20,000

* Property at Faulconbridge valued at £19,000

* Coal property at Jamberoo valued at £5,000

* Property at Jervis Bay valued at £4,000

* Property at Coleridge valued at £2,000

* Property at Lawson valued at £1,300

* Property on the Holt Sutherland Estate valued at £1,500

* Property at Jerilderie valued at £500

* Property at Ashfield valued at £1,287

* Property at Wentworth Falls valued at £3,000

* Property at the Valley (Valley Heights) valued at £1,020

* Two lots at Springwood valued at £600 and £1,600

* Property at Guilford valued at £150

* Property at Moama value at £300

* Property at Canley Vale £120

plus various merchandise etc.

All up his assets were estimated to be worth £65,831.  Parkes creditors were numerous and included men like Messrs John Sutherland, Clarke, Abigail and Roberts, members of the Government of the day.  There may have been a hint of doggy-doings but the four men assured everyone that they were members of some kind of syndicate.  Other creditors were Hon. F. Vickery MLC (Vickery & Sons); the Hon. Charles Moore (owner of Moorecourt Springwood); Sir Saul Samuel and the late Hon. John Frazer MLC; the Hon. J. B. Watt MLC; Mr. A. Dean; Sir Daniel Cooper; Mr. James Watson (Treasurer in Parkes Government); Mr. John Shepherd; the Hon. S.A. Stephen MLC; Mr. Hugh Taylor MLA; Mr. W.C. Proctor, Mr. Sydney Smith MLA; the Hon. W.H. Pigott MLC; the Hon. Henry Mort  MLC and Mr. Fraser-Martin.[1]

   

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[1] The Brisbane Courier, 17^th October, 1887, p. 3.

Early Residents - Thomas Richard Smith

Thomas was born at Mt. Druitt c1843 to Thomas and Jane (nee Laimbeer) Smith. In 1867 he married Kezia (relative of Viv Colless) the daughter of George Colless and the couple are thought to have had two sons and two daughters named Thomas, Percy, Lillian Jane and Nina Matilda.

Thomas purchased a hotel at Woodside near Bathurst and farmed wheat in the area in approximately 1869.  Later he purchased the Royal Oak Hotel, moved to the Penrith area and purchased the toll on Nepean Bridge.

The lure of gold took him to the goldfields in 1872, and after losing money in speculative deals in Queensland, became a timber supplier at Colong.  In the 1880s he went into partnership with brother Sydney in an auctioneer and land agency firm known as T.R. & S. Smith.  The firm was also called Wills and Smith Bros.

Thomas was the MLA for the Nepean area during several periods 1887, 1895-8 and 1901-4.  He and his brother differed in their political ideals; while Thomas was a Protectionist Sydney followed the Free Trade party.

By 1890 Thomas had the lease of the Red Cow Hotel in Penrith and conducted a Penrith branch of his business.    The book written by Christine Stickley, called The Old Charm of Penrith, mentioned stained glass windows found in the Red Cow.  The windows had once graced the private chapel of Regentville the home of Sir John Jamison.  Thomas changed the wording on the windows to read "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of T. Smith." The original wording said "into the house of the Lord."  According to Stickley, sandstone from Regentville was used in the construction of the Red Cow.  She suggested that Breaker Morant was a regular patron of the hotel prior to his departure for the Boer War.

Like many others, Thomas went bankrupt in the economic downturn of the 1890s but his debts were discharged by 1898.  The Smith family leased the cottage Elsinor , located on the main road, for six months during 1898.  In 1880 he had become the first secretary for the NSW Bowling Association.  He was also a Freemason and an alderman on Penrith Council 1889-90 and was said to have been a keen sportsman and cricketer.

In 1888 the Nepean Times newspaper announced that he was a general auctioneer and a house, land and estate agent in Penrith.  Around 1890 a prospectus for the Faulconbridge Freehold Estate Co. Ltd assured potential investors that surrounding estates were owned by such prestigious persons as Sir James Martin, Hon. Charles Moore and A. H. McCulloch.  Application could be made to T.R. Smith, Chapman and Smith for shares in the company.  The secretary of the company was Thomas J. Chapman who is thought to have been the brother of Michael Nason Chapman (one-time Mayor of Sydney).  

On a visit to Springwood in 1901 Thomas revealed to an assemblage at the Oriental Hotel that in 1861 he had taken up the option of the large parcel of land on which the hotel stood but found it impossible, despite every effort, to fulfil the grant conditions thus Frank Raymond jumped his claim.  Later he took up land at Valley Heights.  

It was Thomas, as the first subscriber, that launched the first of several attempts to erect a School of Arts in Springwood.  Brinsley Hall replaced Thomas in 1904 as the member for the Blue Mountains.  Thomas died in 1918.
Pamela Smith
Ref:
The Making of a Mountain Community: A Biographical Dictionary of  The Springwood District. 
Christine Stickley, The Old Charm of Penrith.
Image of T.R. Smith from image collection of Penrith City Library local studies collection.