Tram services in Newcastle began in July 1887 with the opening of the Newcastle to Wallsend line. Other areas wanted a piece of the action and immediately began agitating for extensions to the tram line. In October 1887, Adamstown Council sent a deputation to Sydney asking for a line to their municipality, but it took another decade of lobbying before the Government finally approved the Adamstown line.
Construction began in January 1900 of a one-mile single track that branched from the Wallsend line at the Nine Ways in Broadmeadow and ran along Brunker Rd. A steam tram service commenced on 13 August 1900, and the line was subsequently electrified in 1925.
Originally the tram terminated at the Public School, and this was a source of much contention. The tram whistle disrupted meetings of the Methodist (now Uniting) Church, and the shunting of engines back and forth across the Glebe Rd intersection to couple up with carriages for the return journey to Newcastle caused much traffic congestion.
In 1927 as part of the tram line duplication, the terminus was moved to just south of Glebe Rd, but this caused as many problems as it solved. With the terminus now in the centre of the narrow main shopping street, in an era when car and bus traffic was increasing, congestion was even worse. In 1929 a widening of the street by 18 feet failed to fix the problem, so in 1938 the tram line was extended south a further 100 yards to place the terminus past Victoria St.
As competition from bus services increased, some advocated that the tram system should be closed, while others argued that it should be extended. Eventually, with falling patronage and rising costs, the service proved unsustainable, and at 11:41pm on Sunday 16 April 1950 the last tram from Adamstown returned to the city.
Seventy years on, with passenger numbers on Newcastle’s light rail exceeding forecasts in its first year of operation, who knows, maybe we will one day see a return of trams to our suburbs?
The Victoria St terminus on the last day of the Adamstown tram service, 16 April 1950. Photo courtesy of Greg and Sylvia Ray from their book “Destination Newcastle”.The same location in Brunker Rd Adamstown in 2020.
The article above was first published in the April 2020 edition of The Local.
When is a school not a school? When it’s a vital part of Australia’s wartime defence. When Japan entered World War 2 in December 1941 with the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Australia faced a real threat of aerial attack, and a radar defence system was urgently needed to monitor enemy aircraft movements. A radar commenced service at Shepherds Hill in Newcastle in January 1942, and with the establishment of many other radar stations including Ash Island in the Hunter River and Tomaree Head at Port Stephens, a central headquarters was needed to collate information and direct operations of allied aircraft interceptions.
Consequently, on 10 March 1942, the Minister for Education announced with deliberate vagueness that New Lambton Public School was required “to be used for other purposes” and that students would be distributed over Lambton, Adamstown, Hamilton, and Cardiff schools. The school became the site of RAAF No 2 Fighter Sector, the principal coordination and control unit for radar defence operations in the Williamtown and Newcastle area.
The RAAF occupied the three main school buildings, erected temporary buildings in the playground and converted the headmaster’s residence into the unit HQ. Twenty-four hour operations commenced on 29 March 1942 with 134 staff, including 69 from the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). The school also became the training base for other radar sector units and at its peak in August 1943 had a total of 268 personnel.
In December 1944 the RAAF transferred operations from New Lambton to the radar station at Ash Island, and in January 1945 handed the school back to the Department of Education. The senior boys and girls returned to the school, but necessary restoration and repairs carried out during 1945 meant that the infants’ classes did not return until the following year. The resumption of all classes at the New Lambton site and remembrance of its important war time role was celebrated with a grand “Back-to-school” gala day on 27 April 1946.
Aerial photo from September 1944, showing a number of temporary buildings erected by the RAAF in the school playground.
Commemorative plaque installed in the foyer of the school office in 1995.
Because of the school’s unique association with the RAAF, the school was granted approval in May 1995 to use the RAAF ensign, on display here adjacent to the commemorative plaque.
The article above was first published in the March 2020 edition of The Local.
Acknowledgements
Much of the information for this article I sourced from Peter Muller and John Hutchison’s 1991 book “RAAF Base Williamtown, The First 50 Years”, a copy of which is in Newcastle Library Local Studies section.
The matter has come to a stage that if there is no [new] school there will be no New Lambton children attending other schools.
A temporary infants’ school was subsequently constructed in “Payne’s Paddock” on St James Rd, consisting of 8 classrooms built of wood, and a separate administrative block. The temporary school opened for students on 18 April 1944.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 April 1944A 1944 aerial photograph of the temporary Payne’s Paddock school, overlaid into Google Earth.
The infants attended the Payne’s Paddock temporary school until April 1946, when the completion of restorations and repairs to the New Lambton school allowed them to resume classes there. The temporary school on St James Rd was closed, but became the site of the New Lambton South Public School, opened on 31 Januuary 1950 with an enrolment of 360 students.
WAAAF Hostel
To assist in the accommodation of Womens Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) personnel working at No 2 Fighter Sector, the YMCA opened a hostel, converting a shop and residence on the corner of Hobart and Rugby Roads.
The WAAAF Hostel in New Lambton in 1944.The WAAAF hostel building in 2020
"Pupils from New Lambton Public School are to be distributed over Lambton, Adamstown, Hamilton, and Cardiff schools because their building is to be used for other purposes. This was announced tonight by the Minister for Education (Mr. Clive Evatt). Mr. Evatt said the necessary transport for the children to be picked up from selected points, and taken to their schools, was being arranged."
"Property at the corner of Hobart and Rugby Roads, New Lambton (a shop and residence), has been selected
for the establishment of a leave hostel for the convenience of 'W.A.A.A.Fs' and other service women."
New Lambton Parents and Citizens' Association campaigning for "more satisfactory arrangements for the 900 school children of New Lambton, who are now distributed among the Hamilton, Adamstown, and
Lambton schools. The association last week agreed that a forceful claim should be made for the erection of portable classrooms at New Lambton to accommodate the transferred children."
"For several weeks, Mrs. W. E. Bramble and her daughter, Miss Mary Bramble, have entertained groups of W.A.A.A.F. and R.A.A.F. personnel at their home at Russell-road, New Lambton, on Sunday nights. The number of guests varies, but as many as 80 have attended for tea, and 115 for supper. Mrs. Bramble's chief worry is to secure sufficient tea and sugar to cope with the crowd."
New Lambton Parents and citizens' Association stated "that the proposal to keep New Lambton children away from school was not bluff. The matter has come to a stage that if there is no school there will be no New Lambton children attending other schools."
"The commonwealth Government had provided the funds for the erection of accommodation for an
Infants' school at Payne's Estate. The Government Architect had completed plans and tenders for the work would be invited this week."
Popularly known as Payne's paddock school, New Lambton, these buildings in St. James-road will be "taken over" by the children this morning. Many of the children who will now go to this school have been travelling by bus to Hamilton school since New Lambton Public School was closed.
"A letter Mr. R. Cameron, M.L.A., has received from the Minister for Education (Mr. Heffron) with reference to the department's repossession of New Lambton Public School from the R.A.A.F., indicates that action
has been taken to enable two buildings to be re-occupied by classes after the vacation."
"The Minister for Education, Mr. Heffron, complained yesterday of the way in which the R.A.A.F. had
left New Lambton Public School after they had occupied it … the R.A.A.F. had made structural alterations inside and outside the school. After months of negotiation, he had been unable to get the R.A.A.F. to remove the alterations. Because of this, the infants' part of the school was still unusable."
Demolition of RAAF huts proceeding. The old headmaster's residence to be demolished and the playground area enlarged. There are 222 boys at the school. Restoration of the girls' school yet to happen.
"Plans are under way for a "Back-to-New Lambton" day, to mark the complete reunion of classes
of New Lambton Public School at their old home. The Parents and Citizens' Association proposes to have a roll book completed withl the autographs of past and present pupils and to preserve it as an historical record of the school. "
"THE war role of New Lambton Public School was referred to by speakers at the 'Back-to-school'
celebration on Saturday. Saturday's function ... marked the school's full reinstatement."
"Many former pupils returned today to participate in the Back to New Lambton School celebrations arranged by the P. and C. Association to mark the reopening of the school after military occupation."
"The boys and girls returned to the school in February of last year, the boys using their own department and the girls the infants' department, while the girls' school was being renovated. The girls returned to their school at tthe end of last year, but the infants remained at Payne's Paddock until this week, when the renovations to the infants' department were completed."
"The new primary school at New Lambton South (Payne's Paddock) ... was opened yesterday for the enrolment of pupils. The buildings, which are of brick, contain 16 class rooms, a special room for a school library, headmaster's and headmistress's offices, staff rooms, special sheds for luncheon for the children, bicycle racks and a separate brick tuck shop ... there was already an enrolment of 360 pupils."
In my historical researches lately I’ve been noticing how fluid the the street names were, with some streets having multiple spellings (Dickson/Dixon) and some street names morphing over time. Robert How, an investor in the Scottish Australian Mining Company had a street named after him, but the street name somehow acquired a trailing “e” to become “Howe Street”.
The mystery of the extra “e” was solved when I noticed that “Wye Street” was originally called “Wyee Street”. It seems that shifty “e” just wandered in from the neighbouring street and took up residence! If not for the peripatetic positioning of that vagrant vowel the street sign would look like this …
For quite some time as I researched Lambton history, I’ve come across references to “Tharwa Road”, which no longer exists in Lambton. I wondered whether it was a mis-spelling or variant of “Tathra Road”. Recently while perusing old maps I discovered that a 1906 real estate poster map shows that “Tharwa Road” used to be the section of Wallarah Road north of Womboin Road.
Tharwa Road, Lambton. University of Newcastle, Cultural Collections.
It made sense that the road had two names, for they began as two completely separate roads divided by the Lambton colliery railway. Each road was also in a different council area – Tharwa Road in the Lambton municipality, Wallarah Road in the New Lambton municipality.
As early as 1926, residents of East Lambton were agitating to have the roads connected to make a thoroughfare to New Lambton. The joining of the roads appears to have happened around 1941, with The Newcastle Sun reporting on 11 Feb 1941 …
It was decided to ask the Newcastle Council to attend to … the renumbering of Wallarah Road, which has now been extended to include Tharwa Road.
New Lambton Public School published a booklet in 1980 to celebrate their centenary. Although this book contains much useful information, it also contains a number of errors, which I document below. In doing so, I’m not intending to pass judgement on the authors of the booklet, who in 1980 did not have access to the many online resources available to me today. My intention here is simply to correct the record where I can.
The originally proposed site
The booklet quite correctly states that “The first site chosen was on ground owned by the New Lambton colliery.” This means that the site was south of Russell Rd, that road being the border between New Lambton and Lambton coal leases. The centenary booklet then states that the proposed site was “around the south-eastern section of St James Rd.” I have found no evidence to support that statement. Instead, we know that:
In December 1875 Alexander Brown agreed to donate “a splendid site on the side of the hill near to the Wesleyan Church.”
I can only guess that the authors of the centenary booklet incorrectly assumed that the eventual site for New Lambton South Public School (opened 1944) was the originally proposed site for the New Lambton school.
Other corrections
“New Lambton came into being in 1867”. The correct year is 1868.
The statement that the Lambton colliery railway “carried the coal to the wharves via ‘Betty Bun’s Crossing” is incorrect. Betty Bunn’s crossing was on the Waratah coal company’s railway.
The statement that the New Lambton colliery railway went “across New Lambton Park to join the line from Lambton pit” is incorrect. The line actually curved to the right before the Lambton line, and was a separate line all the way in to its junction with the great northern railway.
The statement that “New Lambton mine opened late in 1867” is somewhat misleading. In 1867 James and Alexander Brown opened up a new pit in their 280 acre “Dog and Rat” lease east of Lambton, and called it “The New Lambton Coal Pit”. The pit they sunk in the suburb of New Lambton wasn’t opened until 1868.
The photo of the 1888 New Lambton Colliery Strike is somewhat misleading in that it doesn’t identify that this strike took place at the New Lambton C pit, which is actually in Adamstown.
The booklet correctly states that “many smaller [coal mining] operations, often employing two or three men, were common around the turn of the century” and in the next sentence it lists some of the names of the pits. Two of the names mentioned were not small pits. Mosquito pit was part of Lambton colliery, and Dog and Rat pit was operated by the Brown’s mining company.
There is a photo captioned “The first steam tram to Lambton 1891”. The photo might be from 1891, but its not the first steam tram, as the tram line opened in 1887.
There is a photo captioned “1912 Aldermen New Lambton Council”. The list of names given does not correspond the alderman from that year. The list appears to match more closely with the alderman in 1914-1915. A number of the names are mis-spelled – “Gourd” should be “Goad”, “Jordon” should be “Jordan”
The map
The map in the booklet contains a number of errors, some minor, and some nonsensical.
“Rasberry Gully” is mis-spelled – it should be “Raspberry Gully”.
The rail line to Raspberry Gully is marked as the “Waratah” pit, whereas it should be “South Waratah” pit.
“Betty Bun’s” crossing is mis-spelled. It should be “Betty Bunn’s” crossing.
The location marked for “Betty Bunn’s Crossing” at the intersection of Griffiths and Turton Roads is incorrect. The actual location was further to the west, at the intersection of Acacia St and Griffiths Rd. This was the point where the road between Lambton and Waratah townships crossed the Waratah Coal Company’s railway.
Carrington Parade is shown as a continuous street, instead of split into two disconnected sections.
The New Lambton colliery railway is shown as joining on to the Lambton colliery railway near Womboin Road. Competition between the collieries meant that sharing of rail lines was inconceivable. The New Lambton railway actually traversed the area now occupied by the sporting fields and Hunter stadium, and went all the way in to a junction on the great northern rail line.
The map maker has assumed that the present day “Railway Rd” matches the alignment of the original Lambton colliery railway. This has resulted in a railway course with an impossible right angle bend. The railway actually ran in a fairly straight line slightly to the north of Railway Rd.
Colliery railway lines as marked on a 1918 real estate poster. University of Newcastle, Cultural Collections.
This year marks 140 years of New Lambton Public School. It’s an anniversary that would have been celebrated a decade ago, if not for government inaction, squabbling colliery owners, and construction delays.
“a good Public School will soon be required, there being now scores of children in the township.” (The Newcastle Chronicle, 16 Sep 1869)
Although the need was great, the government took no action until August 1875, when a deputation from New Lambton delivered a petition to the Minister for Education in Sydney, and a school was approved.
The New Lambton Colliery initially promised land for the school near Evescourt Rd and Victoria St, but nothing happened while the co-owners of the colliery, Alexander Brown and George Dibbs, engaged in a bitter dispute over control of the mine. After two years of fruitless waiting, the school committee asked for the present site north of Russell Rd, as it belonged to Lambton Colliery whose general manager Robert Morehead was known to be a generous supporter of public education.
A contract for construction was awarded to Edward Constable and the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone took place on 30 November 1878. With an expected construction time of ten months the stone was optimistically engraved with the year 1879. But delays due to contractor disputes and a scarcity of bricks meant that as 1879 drew to a close, the Newcastle Morning Herald reported, with a dose of dry humour:
“There is now no prospect of the Public School being ready for opening at Christmas. Many of the children in whose interest this school was first advocated, are now married, and have large families.”
Finally, on 2 March 1880, classes commenced for 270 children. The following Saturday over 400 people gathered for the opening ceremony, where it was remarked that
“the lack of this institution for years past has been so apparent as to make it appear strange that its erection was not an accomplished fact far earlier.”
Students assembled in front of New Lambton Public School, 13 February 1900. University of Newcastle, Cultural Collections.The school in 2020. The original brick building was demolished in 1954, after suffering damage from mine subsidence.The original foundation stone was laid in 1878, with the (misplaced) expectation that the school would open the following year. The stone was incorporated into the foundations of the new classrooms built after the original building was demolished in 1954.
The article above was first published in the February 2020 edition of The Local.
The originally proposed site
One of the sources I used in researching this article was the booklet produced by the school on the occasion of their centenary in 1980.
Although there was much helpful information in the booklet, there were a number of errors, in particular when describing the originally proposed site for the school.
The booklet quite correctly states that “The first site chosen was on ground owned by the New Lambton colliery.” This means that the site was south of Russell Rd, that road being the border between New Lambton and Lambton coal leases. The centenary booklet then states that the proposed site was “around the south-eastern section of St James Rd.” I have found no evidence to support that statement. Instead, we know that:
In December 1875 Alexander Brown agreed to donate “a splendid site on the side of the hill near to the Wesleyan Church.”
I can only guess that the authors of the centenary booklet incorrectly assumed that the eventual site for New Lambton South Public School (opened 1944) was the originally proposed site for the New Lambton school.
Tenders submitted for construction of New Lambton Public School, showing successful tenderer E. Constable, for a price of £3275 and a construction time of 10 months. From the New Lambton Public School centenary booklet.
“A good Public School will soon be required, there being now scores of children in the township; the Public School at Lambton is too far distant for tender children to attend.”
“We understand that it is in contemplation to make an application to the Council of Education for the establishment of a public school, at New Lambton, where such an institution is very much required”
"There are 172 children under four years of age, and 427 between the age of four and thirteen years. These children have to walk a considerable distance to the Lambton Public school, and the road (particularly in wet
weather) is very bad. Mr. Alexander Brown, one of the proprietors of the colliery, has consented to dedicate a piece of his land to the school board."
A deputation to Sydney "for the purpose of presenting to the Council of Education the petition recently signed by the inhabitants of this neighbourhood, praying that a Public School may be established at New Lambton."
"The deputation to Sydney have returned. They have been successful in their endeavours to obtain a Public School for New Lambton. It is presumed that nearly three hundred children will attend the school when opened."
Letter from the Council of Education to New Lambton Public School: committee: "1. The Council has finally resolved to establish the School as a Public School. 2. The Council has further agreed to accept the land
offered by the New Lambton Coal Company."
"There is only one obstacle in the way of commencement with the building at once and that is the delay of
Mr. A. Brown in handing over the land promised for the purpose. It is now seven or eight weeks since he promised to come up and hand over the land but has not done so yet."
"Mr. Alexander Brown came up on Wednesday, and, in company with Messrs. Sharp and Rippon, examined the most likely pieces of land, and at last picked upon a splendid site on the side of the hill near to the Wesleyan Church."
"Nothing further has as yet been done concerning our public school … There are upwards of 300 children in New Lambton able to attend school, the majority of which have to travel to the Lambton public school, which is about two miles distant from some of their homes."
"The delay in handing over the site is the only obstacle to a public school being built in New Lambton.
The land was promised some months ago by Mr. A. Brown, jun., but has not yet been handed over, owing probably to the unfortunate disagreement between the Messrs. Brown and Dibbs."
"A deputation had visited the Messrs. Brown's recently, but had received no satisfaction, and the promise had evidently been withdrawn." Mr G. Holland of the school committee subsequently "met Mr. A. Brown, sen., in the street at Newcastle recently, and asked him if he would receive a deputation on the school question. Mr Brown informed him then that at present nothing could be done in this matter. The New Lambton people might therefore rest assured that they would not got any land from the Brown's estate. It was therefore their duty to try some other means of procuring a school site."
A letter of stinging rebuke regarding inaction on the school: "We are, therefore, in a fix, and must, at least so far as can be seen at present, submit to bring up our children in ignorance … it is rather too bad that a few individuals should be allowed to monopolise hundreds of acres while the public can not procure a few feet whereon a a school can be erected … When next our Legislative wiseacres indulge in their educational
clap-trap, it would be well if they would say, 'Educate the children of the colony, but lift not the veil of ignorance from New Lambton.' "
"There can be no doubt that the the proprietors of the New Lambton Colliery are in a great measure to blame for this unfortunate state of things, for they have never by word or deed seconded the efforts of the people; but in the choice of a suitable site have thrown every possible obstacle in the way. These gentlemen would do well to take a pattern in this matter from some other colliery proprietors and officials in this district who have evinced a regard for the educational requirements of their workmen's children."
A petition is presented to Minister for Education requesting change of site for the school. “The site proposed is on the Commonage, at the boundary of the Lambton and New Lambton Company's estates, where it is thought that a barrier of coal has been left in.”
In the dispute between colliery owners Brown and Dibbs preventing the granting of land for a school, it appears that Brown is the culprit … "I am informed that the Messrs. Dibbs are doing all in their power to further the movement ; but Mr. A. Brown is inexorable, and will not grant anything which will be a benefit to the people."
The grant of land for the school, may be held up "until the matter of the Newcastle Common, of which the land in question forms part, has been settled."
"The Minister for Lands has now approved of the appropriation for Public School purposes of the two acres of land at New Lambton, applied for by the Council on 11th October last. Steps will now be taken for the
erection of the school building as early as possible."
"Failing to obtain a site at New Lambton from private individuals, the Council [of Education] made application to the Government on the 18th October last, for portion of land for the purpose. An intimation
that this site has been granted, was received at this office on 20th March instant, and the usual steps have been taken for the erection of a public school with the least possible delay."
"The Commonage land promised for a school site is a portion of the Lambton Company's lease ... it is well
known that there is not a better friend of education in the colony than Mr. Morehead, who will, no doubt, forfeit all claim to the land in question as soon as application is made to him, and the object for which it is required made known."
"It would appear that the fates are against a public school ever being erected at New Lambton. After years of agitation, tenders were accepted several weeks ago for the erection of a school, but the contractor evidently thinks that some time in the next century will be soon enough to complete his work, as beyond a few stones being carted on to the ground, there is no sign of a start being made."
"The new public school building has so far progressed as to be ready for the shingles. The building seems to be of a very substantial nature, and will, when finished, be an ornament to the place, as well as a blessing in an educational point. The children, no doubt, wish it was completed, as those who at present attend school have to tramp up to their knees in sludge to the Lambton school."
"There is now no prospect of the New Public School being ready for opening at Christmas. Many of the children in whose interest this school was first advocated, are now married, and have large families."
There’s often a story lurking behind street names. While many of our streets owe their existence to the rise of mines, some have their origin in the demise of mines. The Scottish Australian Mining Company opened Lambton colliery in 1863. Adjacent to the pit they established a small township bounded by Young, Morehead, Croudace and Howe Streets, these being named after managers and directors of the company.
For the next 50 years the company made their fortune underground, but when the coal seam was depleted, they looked instead to make money above ground, in real estate. They began in August 1914 with a modest subdivision of 24 blocks on the south side of Howe St. On 17 January 1920, one hundred years ago this month, the company auctioned a bigger subdivision with 61 building sites. As was the custom at the time the sale was publicised using large coloured poster prints.
The subdivision included two newly constructed streets. Turner St was named after Frederick William Turner, the London based secretary of the Scottish Australian Mining Company. Chilcott St was named after Henry Frederick Chilcott, the Sydney based General Manager.
Chilcott was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1844 and was brought by his family to Australia when he was three. At age 14 he joined the Scottish Australian Mining Company in a junior capacity, and was progressively promoted, eventually becoming General Manager in 1892. Chilcott was also a long-time member of the Colonial Volunteer Forces, a forerunner of today’s Army Reserve, enlisting in 1860 and rising to the rank of Captain by the time of his retirement in 1894.
In a strange coincidence, Henry Chilcott died on 21 January 1920, just four days after the auction of land in the street named in his honour. He was aged 76, still holding the position of General Manager in the company that he had served for an impressive 62 years.
Captain Chilcott on his retirement from the Colonial Volunteer Force in 1894. The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 21 April 1894.
The article above was first published in the January 2020 edition of The Local.
Acknowledgements
My thanks this month go to Greg Manning, whose research into Chilcott St alerted me to Henry Chilcott’s birthplace being in Ceylon, and led me to the photograph of Chilcott in his military uniform.
Additional Information
EmPloyment Start
There is some slight ambiguity as to the exact year that Chilcott joined the Scottish Australian Company. An article from 1894 states that Chilcott “was born on January 5, 1844” and that “he has been connected [to the company] since he was 15 years of age. This implies that Chilcott joined the company in 1859. However the article reporting his death in 1920 states that he joined the company in 1858, implying that he was aged 14 at the time.
Lambton Streets
The streets in the the early Lambton township were mainly named after managers and directors of the Scottish Australian Mining and Investment Companies, owners of the Lambton colliery.
Named after Thomas Croudace (b. 1838, d. 15 Jun 1906), manager of Lambton Colliery and subsequently General Manager of the Scottish Australian Mining Company in Australia.
Grainger St
Named after Charles Garston Grainger, director and secretary in London of the Scottish Australian Investment and Scottish Australian Mining Companies. Resigned 1885.
Morehead St
Named after Robert Archibald Alison Morehead (b. 1812? d. 9 Jan 1885), General Manager of the Scottish Australian Mining Company in Australia.
Named after James Denis De Vitre, director of the Scottish Australian Mining Company. Retired February 1872.
Elder St
Named after Alexander Lang Elder (d. 5 Sep 1885), director of the Scottish Australian Investment and Scottish Australian Mining Companies. Although Elder died in September 1885, he continued to be listed as a director of the company in Australian newspapers until 13 Mar 1886. An updated list of directors appeared on 20 Mar 1886.
Probably named after Robert How, who was named in 1864 as a director of the Cadiangallong copper mine near Orange. This mine was worked by the Scottish Australian Mining Company, and given the overlap of directors between the two companies. it is quite likely that How was also a director or investor in the Scottish Australian Mining Company. The Government Gazette of 14 Oct 1873, shows “How-street” in the list of Lambton streets. As early as April 1872, the spelling appears with a trailing “e”.
Chilcott St
Named after Henry Frederick Chilcott (b. 5 Jan 1844, d. 21 Jan 1920), General Manager in Australia of the Scottish Australian Investment and Scottish Australian Mining Companies.
Turner St
Named after Frederick William Turner (d. September 1928) director of the Scottish Australian Investment Company, and secretary of the company in London.
Howe Street
The Lambton Primary School centenary booklet in 1965 stated that Howe St was “named either in honour of the Earl of Howe (prominent Englishman of the day) or John Howe a well known explorer and pastoralist in the Hunter Valley.” I’m a little suspicious of the accuracy of this statement given that I can find no corroborating evidence, and that the centenary booklet has a number of other errors regarding the origin of street names. e.g. the naming of Hill St. Given that all the other street names are of men associated with the mining company, I think it much more likely that it was named after Robert How, one of the directors of the Cadiangallong copper mine .
Croudace Street
One curious anomaly in the early Lambton street names is that at one time there were two Croudace Streets. As well as the north-south road we know today, for some period of time the section of road along the south side of Lambton Park (now Howe St) was called Croudace St. See for example the map on a real estate poster from 1906. (For information on the section of LLoyd Rd running across Lambton Park, see my January 2016 article.)
At first I thought this was an error by the map maker, but I found many other maps of the era also had the street labelled as Croudace St. I then found a proclamation in the Government Gazette of 22 Nov 1878 that names the road between Church St and Lambton Coal Company’s railway as being Croudace St – so the map makers were correct in their labels.
In the period 1916 to 1935 the road south of Lambton Park gets referred to as “Howe Street East” and afterwards simply as “Howe Street”.
So why was there two Croudace Streets? It seems that in the 1860s and 1870s street names were still in a bit of flux. When you look at the Government Gazette proclamation of roads there are many names that don’t match what we have today.
14 Oct 1873 – mentions a “Reservoir-street”, which refers either to the present day Grainger St or present day Croudace St.
22 Nov 1878 – mentions a West Street and a Crozier St that do not exist today.
The naming of the road to the south side of Lambton Park as Croudace St was probably done by some bureaucrat based in Sydney, unaware of the Lambton locality, and unaware that there was already another street known by the locals as Croudace St.
Map showing both Croudace Streets, with Howe St in between.
On the retirement of R A A Morehead as General Manager of the Scottish Australian Investment Company, Mr. Archibald Shannon the sub-manager becomes General Manager, and "Mr. Henry F. Chilcott, the accountant, who has been twenty-six years in the service of the company, will succeed to the post to be vacated by Mr. Shannon."
Archibald Shannon, General Manager of Scottish Australian Investment Company and Scottish Australian Mining Company, returns to England. Thomas Croudace becomes General Manager of the Scottish Australian Mining Company, and although not stated in this article, Henry Chilcott becomes General Manger of the Scottish Australian Investment Company. (See article reporting his death in 1920, that states that Chilcott became General Manager in 1892.)
Details of The Scottish Australian Investment Company, listing Henry Frederick Chilcott as "Manager in Australia" and Frederick William Turner as "Secretary to the Company in London."
The "long and meritorious" decoration bestowed on H F Chilcott of the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Colonial Volunteer Forces, recognising 26 years of service.
"Messrs. Creer and Berkeley will offer at auction to-morrow afternoon 61 elevated building sites at Lambton. These sites form a portion of the Scottish-Australian Mining Company's estate, and are within two minutes of the tram. With bold frontages they face Chilcott, Turner, Croudace and Grainger streets."
"Mr. Henry Frederick Chilcott, general manager of the Scottish-Australian Investment Company, Ltd., and the Scottish-Australian Mining Company, Ltd. died at his residence, Forest Road, Arnclilffe, on Wednesday. He joined the Investment Company in 1858 in a junior capacity, and in 1892 succeeded to the management upon the death* of the late Mr. Archibald Shannon. In 1904 he succceeded the late Mr. Thomas Croudace in the management of the mining company."
* It was actually on Shannon's return to England, not his death, that Chilcott became general manager. Shannnon died in Torquay in 1898.
I noticed in the paper this weekend that the property known as “The Grange”, in Queens Rd New Lambton, is up for sale. This house and surrounding area was originally owned by William Thomas Dent, who was Secretary of the Northumberland Permanent Building Investment Land and Loan Society for 43 years.
“The Grange”, New Lambton
The building and land was sold by Dent in October 1921, purchased by the Newcastle Hospital Board for £4387. They planned to convert the property into a convalescent home.
“The Grange” in New Lambton in 1921, purchased for use as a convalescent home.
The planned conversion of “The Grange” to a convalescent home never happened, as the following year the hospital board purchased Lambton Lodge (the former home of Thomas Croudace, manager of Lambton Colliery) and developed it as the convalescent home instead. With “The Grange” property now surplus to requirements, the hospital board subdivided the land, and in June 1930 offered for sale 25 blocks of land around the original house.
The Grange Subdivision 1923.
W T Dent moved to a house in Curzon St New Lambton, where he died in 1942.
W T Dent properties in Curzon/Curson St New Lambton.
The other William Thomas Dents
The William Thomas Dent (1870-1942) who owned The Grange is not to be confused with his father, also called William Thomas Dent (1844-1901) who was secretary of the building society before his son, during the years 1877 to 1899. William Thomas Dent senior was the fifth Mayor of the Lambton Municipality and was instrumental in the erection of the Lambton Park Rotunda, and has his name in the ornamental ironwork above the entrance.
“W T Dent Mayor” on the Lambton Park rotunda.
Additionally note that the William Thomas Dent (1870-1942) who owned “The Grange” also had a son called William Thomas Dent (1901-1930) who predeceased his father, aged just 29.
[Note that the birth year I have stated for the three W T Dent’s above are approximate only, based on their age reported at their death.]
