The Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage Organisations will hold its inaugural history conference "Colonial Society & Beyond" 20th October, 2012 at the Carrington Hotel Katoomba. Speakers will present papers on topics like public history, textiles and fashion, gardens etc. Strictly limited bookings. Contact jkoperberg@bigpond.com  

Medical Practitioners - Dr. Joel Baxter

BAXTER, Dr Ernest Joel (c1902–50) & Sylvia: Dr Baxter was one of Springwood’s most admired and respected medical practitioners. Both physician and surgeon, he trained in a number of Sydney hospitals.

      

He was born in Western Australia and was the son of Mr and Mrs John Baxter. In December 1929, following his marriage in August to Sylvia Watson (the daughter of Mr and Mrs J. A. Watson), he purchased the practice of Dr Milne in Springwood and remained here for the rest of his life. There were no children of the marriage.

      

His initiation into the Springwood practice was not an easy one. On the evening of 27 January 1930 a crowded excursion train ran off the rails and over an embankment at Warrimoo. Dr Baxter was one of the first to arrive at the accident site and found both the driver and the fireman dead and a 16-year-old Blaxland porter, who had been riding in the engine, trapped under the wreckage. Assisted by another doctor, Dr Baxter crawled under the engine and, in a two-hour operation carried out in heavy rain and using the light from car headlamps, amputated the boy’s hand to free him.

      

A cheerful and sociable man with a keen sense of humour, he involved himself in numerous town activities. He served a period as president of the Golf Club and as a member of the Christ Church Parish Council, was a life member of the School of Arts, a member of the Masonic Lodge and was actively associated with the Springwood Development League. He was a keen golfer and tennis player and a champion at billiards. ‘His handling of the cue’, noted one admirer, ‘like everything about him, was neatness personified.’ He was also a member of the honorary medical staff at the Nepean District Hospital.

      

Dr Baxter carried on working almost to the end of his life, assisted and supported by his equally popular wife, Sylvia. He died on 12 April 1950 in the Mater Misericordia Hospital in Sydney and was cremated at the Woronora Crematorium. A memorial service was held at Christ Church, Springwood, on 30 April and a committee was later established to raise money for a public memorial. The Dr Baxter Memorial Gates, designed by Wynn Davies, were erected at Buckland Park in front of the Springwood war memorial as a lasting tribute to one of Springwood’s most respected citizens.

Baxter Memorial Gates

John Low

Springwood War Memorial - Buckland Park

The present day War Memorial in Springwood is located behind an impressive set of gates at the entrance to Buckland Park in Macquarie Road. The memorial was re-located and upgraded from its original site in the front of the Old School of Arts building in 1964.  The old memorial, dedicated by Sir Walter Davidson in 1923, stood proudly in its original position for forty one years.

It would seem that its re-location and refurbishment served two purposes.  Firstly, the loss of significance allowed council to demolish the School of Arts building in 1969, and secondly the empty sandstone platform - where an enemy trophy gun from World War One had once stood - was refurbished to reflect community views at that time. 

An initial investigation did not reveal any consternation from residents about relocation, which, according to K.S. Inglis, was common with other communities when War memorials were threatened or moved.[1]  However, that opinion was revised after further research revealed that several earlier attempts to move the memorial had failed due to community outrage..[2]

The only description of the original Springwood memorial comes from photographs taken at the official dedication ceremony in 1923.  Oddly, no newspaper report can be found of the occasion. 

Forty one years later a committee was formed to re-locate the memorial and in January 1964 several groups were represented on the committee including the Returned Soldiers and Sailors League (the forerunner to the RSL), the ladies auxiliary, the Blue Mountains Beautification Group and Alderman J. Powell who represented the council.[3]  Powell’s involvement seems clear.  He was anxious to get rid of the School of Arts building from its valuable location in the central heart of town and he had offered to purchase the School of Arts site from council prior to 1964.[4]

The committee managed to achieve its ends in a very short space of time and today the War Memorial sits behind the decorative gates that are a memorial of the service of local GP, Doctor Joel Baxter.  Sophie Durham MBE officially dedicated the memorial on Anzac Day 1964.[5]  Matron Durham served on the army troop ship Gascon during the First World War.[6]

Unveiling of original War Memorial

World War One Honor Roll

Present day memorial & Baxter Memorial Gates

Unlike the original sandstone pedestal that held the enemy war trophy gun, the present memorial carries no potent symbol of war.  The cenotaph consists of a stone pedestal, said to have been fashioned from the sandstone of the original memorial, with a thin arch of stone where once the trophy gun stood.  The arch holds the Flame of Remembrance and emblazoned on the front are the words ‘Lest We Forget’ A granite plaque announced that the memorial is in ‘Memory Of Those Who Gave Their Lives In The Service Of Their Country,’ thus it does not discriminate between gender or rank or indeed war.  It is a memorial that honours all those that have fallen in the name of military service. 

It is perhaps unusual in that it contains no names, dates or honor roll, but perhaps what it lacks in sophistication speaks volumes about the feeling of the community at that time because of an impending war in Vietnam and Australia’s inevitable commitment to the United States. 

*The World War One Honor Roll is located in the foyer of Springwood Civic Centre 

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[1] K.S. Inglis, Sacred Places, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1998, pp. 412-422.

[2] Blue Mountains City Council local studies collection, Springwood library, War Memorial File Springwood.

[3] The Blue Mountains Gazette, War Memorial to be Moved, 8.1.1964, p. 2.

[4] Blue Mountains City Council local studies collection, Town Clerk’s Report, Offer to purchase, Item 17, 19.6.1962.

[5] Blue Mountains Gazette, Unveiling of New War Memorial, Matron Durham to Perform the Ceremony, 1.4.1964, p. 7.

[6] Ibid.

Cottages - 'Eringah'

Eringah was built in Springwood by John Lawler (see blog entry) in the latter part of the 19th century. The sandstone cottage still exists and is located in Railway Avenue.  Lloyd Hamilton Bunting and his family rented the cottage in the 1960s following the departure of the nuns who resided there.  Later, Lloyd Hamilton Bunting built a family  home on Hawkesbury Road.  Lloyd, an American serviceman, had married Australian born Pauline Prentice.  Anne Kirk (nee Bunting) stated that before the present highway was built,  the property stretched across to what is now Jim Aitkens Real Estate (previously Harry New's garage) The photograph below shows 'Eringah' when the Bunting family lived there and before the Bundah family erected the tower which can be seen from the highway today.  

Pamela Smith
* The photograph is courtesy of Anne Kirk (nee Bunting)

'Maadi' - Early cottages

'Maadi' is located in Charles Street, one of the oldest subdivisions in Springwood.  Originally part of the Hon. Charles Moore's extensive land holding - where his mountain home 'Moorecourt' was constructed - Charles Street is one of the prettiest and most sought after locations in Springwood lined, as it is, with mature crepe myrtle trees and other period cottages. 

Built c1918/1919, the weatherboard cottage has had limited owners.  Mary Price, the first, purchased the land from real estate agent Mr Godfrey and erected the cottage shortly after.  (Mary's name has been immortalised on the reverse side of the timber mantle in the lounge room)  The Acland family were the next owners until Miss Irene Acland sold the cottage to the present owner and moved into a retirement village approximately 20 years ago.  Period features like timber lined walls, high ceilings and six inch floorboards remain unchanged in the original cottage.  The present owners erected an addition to the rear of the property in 1994.

The name of the cottage is somewhat obscure however given the age of its construction it is feasible to suggest that it has some connection to World War One because Maadi - in Egypt - was the site of the Australian Light Horse camp.  

Interesting facts: Maadi (sometimes spelled Ma'adi) is the name of one of the first fully excavated predynastic sites in Egypt and the site for Maadi culture.  It is located on a rocky ridge next to the Nile River floodplain.


Pamela Smith

Funding Cuts to State Records

Background (Preamble):

In late 2011, the State Records Authority of New South Wales announced the closure of the city reading room effective 30 June 2012. The History Council of NSW believes that the access to records is fundamental to the study of history.

State Records has been directed, along with other state government agencies, to make substantial savings to their budgets. Over the next four years State Records is expected to save a total of $1.8 million.

State Records is one of NSW’s key cultural institutions and an invaluable research facility for any historian’s investigations into aspects of the functioning of the state, from colonial and convict history, through all the permeations of the state’s role in people’s lives.
While the History Council acknowledges the challenges faced by State Government to be fiscally responsible, the budget cuts imposed on State Records NSW has a severe impact on the accessibility of records and services.

The cuts will downgrade the archives, undermining its position as a key cultural institution, limiting access for key user groups, and hampering the organisation’s role to inform and support state government, especially in its ongoing role in the state’s Digital Archives as well as guiding digitisation of records across NSW government.

A full Executive Summary of the issue can be found at
http://historycouncilnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/HCNSW-Executive-Summary-State-Records-city-office-closure-March-2012.pdf

Petition:<a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-cuts-to-state-records-nsw-funding.html">Stop the cuts to State Records NSW funding Petition | GoPetition</a>

Publicans

Hodson Allen was  the licensee of the Welcome InnValley Heights from 1858 until 1860. The inn had also been known as the Valley Inn.