World War One Monuments - Harold Kenneth Campbell Monument

Harold Kenneth Campbell, aged 19 years and 5 months, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 29^th June 1915.  His parents gave their written consent saying he had “been raised to fight for his King & Country”.  His father, James Spink Campbell, of “Beverley”, Blaxland, was named as next of kin.  Harold’s occupation was poultry farmer and James was a civil servant.

Harold fought at Pozieres as a Private in the 3^rd Battalion, sustained gunshot wounds to his knee and leg and died as a result of his wounds in the General Hospital, Rouen, on 2^nd August 1916.  He is buried at St Sever Cemetery, Rouen.

On 22^nd October the Blaxland Progress Association requested permission to erect a Soldier’s Memorial at the intersection of Railway Parade and Station Street, Blaxland (that is on the north side of the Railway Station) opposite the station in full view of passengers in passing trains.  Permission was granted.  It was to be a stone or granite pedestal with a machine gun mounted on top.  The monument was unveiled in 1925 with about 200 people assembled. Councillor Wilson made a speech in which he said that it would “stand for ever as a beacon for the boys of the future to do their duty as the fallen hero had done his”.  The machine gun was one of a number of German guns seized in France.  The monument was unveiled by Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal, a local highly decorated soldier.  Councillor Wilson took the opportunity to collect donations to finish paying for the cost of the memorial.

In 1926 the Great Western Highway on the south side of the railway station was proclaimed as a Main Road and superseded Mitchell’s Pass as the main western road.  It was decided to move the monument to Blaxland Park, a small park opposite Blaxland Public School and between the Highway and the Railway line.  In 2001 the Blue Mountains City Council requested and received permission from the Minister for Land and Water Conservation to rename the park the Blaxland War Memorial Park.  Barbara Higginson had lobbied for this renaming and had been supported by the Blaxland and District Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc. who commented:

“The war memorial is a significant part of the history of Blaxland and the Chamber of Commerce are mindful of the importance of the memorial and the park to the township and the residents.”

In the 1980s when the Highway was widened the monument was again moved and is now stranded on a narrow strip of land between the overhead bridge on Wilson Way and the Highway where it is difficult if not impossible to access.  The park is also difficult if not impossible to access.

Over the years the plaque(s) and the gun on the monument have disappeared and the Blaxland – Glenbrook RSL Sub Branch who have assumed a de facto ownership of it have, with the help of the Blue Mountains City Council, organised restoration and refurbishment, replacing the plaque and repairing the little fence at the base.

Springwood Historians have considered the possibility of moving the memorial to Glenbrook and make the following recommendations:

      a move to a more accessible site would be desirable. 

.     
    the move should be to another site in Blaxland as the monument is an important part of Blaxland history. An excellent position would be the Blaxland Mall which would provide easy access and space for holding memorial ceremonies

        
     a move to Glenbrook should not be made without consulting:

a.       any surviving family by advertising in the press

b.      the Blaxland Chamber of Commerce

c.       the general Blaxland community

CAMPBELL FAMILY BACKGROUND

We thought it was quite unusual for a World War I memorial to be erected for a single fallen soldier.  Honour Boards and Monuments in the Blue Mountains were erected in memory of numbers of men (and a few women).  Perhaps Harold was the only Blaxland man who enlisted.  Four other men, born in Blaxland, were located in the World War I Nominal Roll; two enlisting in Cootamundra, one in Lithgow and one in Sydney, but nothing further is known about them.   Blaxland was a very small township and Harold would have been quite well known locally.  His parents, James and Edith, and sister, Edith, lived in a house called “Beverley” which was situated where the Blaxland Arcade now is.  The house was named after James’ family home or rather property in Boorowa, NSW.

James and Edith were active community and Church workers.  James was treasurer of the Urban Area and Progress Association for many years and he and Edith were strong supporters of St Davids Church of England in Taringha Street.  They donated the block of land on which the Church Hall was built and they set up a Memorial to their son in the Church.  Unfortunately the church was destroyed in the 1968 bushfires.

James could claim a very interesting and prestigious pedigree.  His maternal grandfather was Rowland Hassall, an early colonial preacher and farmer.  His paternal great great grandfather, William Campbell, was a colourful sea captain who owned a ship called the “Harrington”.  He had trade connections with John Macarthur and settled in Australia after receiving a land grant of 2000 acres near Camden.  He named his property, “Harrington Park", and there is now a suburb with this name.  The homestead still stands and is being restored.  The Fairfax family are thought to have been the last private owners.

The Hassall and Campbell family members married into other well known colonial families including the Antills (Captain Henry Antill was Governor Macquarie’s ADC) of “Jarvisfield”, Picton. They also frequently married cousins so their family tree is scattered with the Campbell and Hassall surname.

James Spink Campbell was married twice, first to Gertrude Williams of Yass.  She gave birth to a son, William Douglas Adye Campbell in 1883 and died in the same year.  James married Edith Deacon at Ashfield in 1894 and they had two children – Harold and Edith.  Edith married John Back and they lived in Sydney for a time before moving back to live in “Beverley” in Blaxland in 1942.  They had three children, Josephine, Kenneth and Shirley. Kenneth became Vice Chancellor of James Cook University in Townsville.  He married Patricia Cummings, daughter of Regner Olaf Cummings, who was a noted tennis player during the Hopman era.  They currently reside in Queensland (see attached note).  After serving with the military forces in World War II, Josephine married Francis Clement Murray.  Shirley married veterinary surgeon Marcus Richard Edward Durand.

In the Hassall family tree on Ancestry.com James’ second marriage and children are not recorded.  William, the son of his first marriage, is noted as the family historian.  He died in 1966.  Does this indicate a family disapproval of the second marriage?  We don’t know.

With his privileged family background and his position in the tiny Blaxland community he would have been well known and respected and his loss of a son would have been felt by all – hence the erection of a community memorial.

Report by Pamela Smith and Shirley Evans

Since this report was produced new information has come to hand.  Information was supplied by Davina Curnow, Beryl Madden and Doug Knowles from a meeting of the Glenbrook and District Historical Society meeting in June, when these points were discussed and agreed upon.

 * the monument was located on the south side of the railway station, which, at that time, was the central location of the small village.

* The monument has not been moved since it was relocated to Blaxland Park.  What has changed is the re-alignment of the Wilson Way overbridge to form the present-day intersection.  The Wilson Way Overbridge and the 1926 GWH originally intersected in line with Bridge Road, Blaxland and this intersection was distinguished by having a large Turpentine tree strategically and centrally placed to act as a "Silent Cop."  In the 1980s the overbridge was realigned to its present location which effectively alienated the monument with the greater section of the park.

* Until about 1958, the original fence was intact.  It was of 1" x 1" steel posts: 6 of them, all 3' high, with a 3/8" diameter link chain through a ring on top of each post.

* The chain was stolen about the time that safety chains on trailers were made compulsory.  Scrap-metal collectors then stole the posts and the bronze plaques.  The end ones were a  bas-relief style laurel wreath.

* The original name plaque was, of course, the full size of the recess in the sandstone  monument.

           

           

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Medical Practitioners - Dr J. Boyce Mugliston

 Dr Mugliston was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons (England) and had been locum tenens for Dr Spark in Katoomba. In November 1895 it was announced that he was coming to live in Greenheys where he would begin to practise and would dispense his own medicine. By December he and his family had arrived and he was ready to begin. Horse and buggy accidents soon gave him opportunities to show his skills. In 1898 the Muglistons moved out of Greenheys and into Edmundville.

Dr Mugliston was a community minded citizen and became one of the Vice Presidents of the Cricket Club in 1897. Unfortunately, he found the Springwood community too healthy and went to Cargo near Orange in 1898 with the idea of relocating there, leaving his family temporarily in Springwood. He only stayed a few days, as he did not like Cargo. He threw himself into the recreational life of the town, participating in debates and entertainments. He debated ‘Republicanism versus the Monarchy’ with Martin Olsen, being himself in favour of the monarchy. He and Olsen often found themselves on opposite sides of a debate. He also organised a burlesque from Dickens’ Pickwick Papers in which he took the part of the judge, Justice Starleigh. In 1899 he was elected to the committees of the Debating Club and the Social Club, and later in the year he was elected President of the Debating Club. When the two clubs amalgamated he was made President of the new club.

He was always happy to take the chair at meetings and functions and chaired a banquet at the Oriental Hotel given for Mr S.E. Lees, the local member. Martin Olsen was present at this function too and spoke a few eulogistic words in favour of Dr Mugliston, who did not know what he had done to deserve all the nice things Olsen said about him. He felt it must have been because Olsen was a foreigner, and hence given to flattery. He also said that he was always willing to assist in anything that would tend to the progress of the town.

In July 1901, he finally had to accept that there was not enough sickness in Springwood to support a doctor and announced he was leaving the district. In December he returned for a presentation at the Royal Hotel where he received an address and a handsome present of plateware. He had been practising at Neutral Bay.

Shirley Evans

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