Category Archives: Suburbs and Towns

Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown

Reply

In 1862 Robert and Mary Love and their children migrated from Scotland to New South Wales. The family settled in Lambton, where Robert worked as a storekeeper. In July 1874 an advertisement placed by Robert invited tenders to construct a brick building in Adamstown, 30ft by 25ft by 20ft high. After obtaining a publican’s licence, in December 1874 he opened Adamstown’s second hotel, the Royal Crown, on the north-east corner of Victoria and Union St (Brunker Rd).

Three years later Robert Love died, aged just 46. Mary took on the hotel, assisted by her family. In the next four decades three of her sons-in-law were licensees of the hotel she owned. In 1904 Mary offered the hotel for sale at auction, however the reserve price was not met. The recent Local Options amendment to the NSW Liquor Act, which gave electors the ability to vote for liquor licence reductions, meant that owning a hotel was not as secure a business as it was previously. The Love family continued with the Royal Crown until Mary’s death in 1913. Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers then purchased the hotel.

A societal desire for curbing alcohol consumption led to further changes to the Liquor Act, and the eventual demise of the hotel. In January 1921 the Licence Reduction Board determined that 23 hotels in Newcastle would be closed, including the Royal Crown in Adamstown. The hotel ceased in July, and the property was advertised for sale.

Mary Love’s fourth son-in-law then purchased the property. Thomas and Janet Freeman owned the adjacent Kitchener Hall that they had built in 1915 “for picture show purposes”. Acquiring the former hotel allowed the Freemans in 1937 to rebuild and widen their picture theatre. The cinema operated until 1965, when it was sold and converted to shops. The art deco façade of the former cinema survives to this day. However next door on the corner block, the Royal Crown Hotel building was demolished sometime between 1967 and 1974.

Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown, 9 September 1902. Photo by Ralph Snowball. The University of Newcastle, Living Histories.
The hotel’s location in 2024, corner of Brunker Rd and Victoria St, with the former cinema building behind the tree.

The article above was first published in the December 2024 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Licensees

There has been some confusion arising from Snowball’s photograph, because the sign above the door reads “William Russell”, suggesting that he was the licensee at the time.

Snowball on his listing for negative box 290, has also labelled the photo as “W. Russells Hotel Adamstown – Sept 9”

However records show that Arthur Carnley was the licensee between December 1898 and November 1904. Also the Federal Directory of Newcastle 1901, shows the licensee of the “Royal Crown” was “Carnley, A.”

The apparent discrepancy can be reconciled by understanding that both Arthur Carnley and William Russell were sons-in-law of Mary Love, whose husband Robert opened the hotel in 1874. William Russell had previously been the licensee from 1889 to 1891. A third son-in-law, Adam Hogg, became licensee in 1904. The hotel was owned and run by the same family from 1874 until 1914, the year after Mary Love died. The presence of the name “William Russell” above the door may be just an old sign that the family never updated, or an indication that William Russell still had a hand in running the hotel in the period when his brother-in-law Arthur Carnley was the licensee.

[Note that in the period April 1891 to October 1893, James Gray is named as the licensee. I have found no evidence that this was the undertaker James Gray who was Adamstown’s alderman and Mayor on several occasions. My strong suspicion is that it was another James Gray, or indeed a James Grey as he is spelled in the newspaper article in April 1891.]

When Mary Love died on 27 August 1913, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate printed the following obituary …

Mrs. Mary Love, proprietress of the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown, died yesterday, in her 81st year. During the past few months the deceased had been in declining health, and has not been able to leave her room. Mrs. Love, whose husband predeceased her 37 years, opened the Royal Crown Hotel 39 years ago. It was the second hotel opened in Adamstown. For many years she conducted a large business at the hotel, that was always noted for its respectability. The deceased lady, who was respected by all who knew her, was of a generous disposition, and contributed liberally to any movement that was for the progress of the district in which she resided. She left Scotland with her husband 51 years ago, and after spending a couple of years in New Zealand, carried on to New South Wales, and settled down in Lambton, where they lived prior to opening the hotel in Adamstown. Mrs. Love retired from the hotel business about 20 years ago, and the business has since been conducted by members of her family. She leaves a family of two sons and four daughters, 24 grandchildren, and 17 great-grand-children. Her oldest son, Mr. James Love, is in West Australia.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 28 August 1913

Other Photos

Newcastle Libraries Online Collections has an undated photo of the Royal Hotel in Adamstown. Their notes indicate that the photo with “Arthur Carnley, owner”. This suggests the photo was taken in the period 1899 to1904 when Arthur Carnley was the licensee.

The Royal Hotel, Adamstown. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 056 000044

Location

Although the hotel was licensed as the “Royal Crown Hotel”, it was often referred to as simply the “Royal Hotel”. This is somewhat confusing as there was another hotel very nearby named the “Royal Standard Hotel”.

The Royal Crown Hotel shown opposite the Adamstown Hotel, and the Royal Standard Hotel on the corner of Victoria St and Gosford Rd. 1890s Water Board map, The University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Photographs from the NSW Historical Aerial Imagery site show that the Royal Crown Hotel building was demolished between 1966 and 1974. A photograph of the adjacent picture theatre on page 3 of the book “Front Stalls or Back?” by K J Cork and L R Tod shows that the Royal Crown building was still there in 1967.

Aerial image, 1966. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery
Aerial image, 1974. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

Arthur Carnley

In researching the Royal Crown Hotel and finding that Arthur Carnley, son-in-law of Mary Love was licensee for two periods, I wondered if there was any connection to Carnley Avenue in New Lambton, that runs beside Blackbutt Reserve. The answer is yes. In September 1904 Arthur Carnley purchased 7 acres of land in New Lambton. (See Vol-Fol 1733-192 and 1739-181.) Overlaying this land into Google Earth we can see that Carnley Ave

Location of Arthur Carnley’s 7 acres of land. Vol-Fol 1739-181

Carnley lodged a subdivision plan (DP20046) for his 7 acres of land in 1945 …

Plan lodgement for DP20046. HLRV

… and in 1949 land was resumed for the construction of Carnley Avenue through the middle of the subdivision. Carnley Avenue is first mention in Trove in January 1950.

Reservation for Carnley Ave in 1949, recorded on Vol-Fol 4748-83.

Interestingly, at the same time that Arthur Carnley purchased his 7 acres in 1904, his brother-in-law Thomas Freeman also purchased 7 acres, to the south of Carnley’s land, and there is now a Freeman St at that location.

Freeman St, New Lambton, now runs through the land purchased by Thomas Freeman in 1904.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event DateNotes
1 Jul 1874"Notice to Bricklayers. WANTED, TENDERS for the BRICKWORK of a HOUSE, 30 feet by 25 feet, by 20 feet in height, situated in Adams' Town. For all information apply to ROBERT LOVE, Near Lambton Colliery Railway."
16 Dec 1874Robert Love granted a license for "The Royal Crown Hotel" in Adamstown.
13 Feb 1878
14 Feb 1878		Funeral of Robert Love - "The procession to move from his late residence, the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown."
22 Dec 1888"Mrs. Love, who has conducted the business at the Royal Crown Hotel so creditably and with so much respectability for the past fourteen years, has retired from business. During her proprietorship of the hotel, it has always been looked upon as a model establishment. Mr. William Russell, Mrs. Love's son-in-law, took charge of the hotel on Thursday." (Note that while Mary Love retired from running the hotel in 1888, she continued to own the property until her death in 1913, and held the hotel licence again during the period 1894-1898.)
4 Sep 1893"FOR SALE, the Lease, License, Furniture, and Goodwill of the ROYAL CROWN HOTEL, Adamstown. For particulars apply to James Gray, on the premises, or to the Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Bros. & Co., Limited."
15 Dec 1908
14 Dec 1908		"The Royal Crown Hotel, or what is better known as Mrs. Love's hotel, at Adamstown, was offered for sale by public auction yesterday by Messrs. Goodman, Wright, Ltd. It was anticipated there would be keen competition amongst the brewers for the hotel, as it is a free house. Such, however, was not the case. The bidding started at £2000, and ran up to £3000, and at that figure the property was withdrawn. The sale has made it evident that the new Liquor Act has had its effect on hotel property, for it is almost certain that had the same property been offered for sale before the passing of the new Liquor Act it would have realised £5000."
28 Aug 1913
27 Aug 1913		Death of Mary Love, proprietress of the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown.
24 Jan 1914Advertisement for the sale of the estate of Mary Love, deceased, including the Royal Crown Hotel.
9 Mar 1914
7 Mar 1914		"Messrs. Lang, Wood, and Co. report a very large attendance at the sale on Saturday last of the Adamstown properties belonging to the estate of Mrs. Mary Love, deceased, when as the result of spirited competition, every lot was sold. The most important item was the well-known RoyalCrown Hotel, for which there was some lively bidding; starting with £2000, bids came in quick succession until £4000 was reached, when by hundreds and fifties the price of £4350 was reached, at whichfigure it was knocked down to the local Castlemaine Brewery, the announcement being greeted with a hearty round of applause. "
14 Jan 1921
13 Jan 1921		License reduction board hearing for the Royal Crown Hotel.
29 Jan 1921
28 Jan 1921		Licenses Reduction Board announces its decision to close 23 hotels in the Newcastle electorate, including the Royal Crown at Adamstown.
20 May 1921Licences Reduction Board awards compensation for hotels to be closed. For the Royal Crown hotel, £1640 to owner, but the licensee had no claim.
15 Jun 1921Renewal of license to Stanley W Barnes. (Presumably the renewal was only to 28 July 1921, that being six months from the Licenses Reduction Board determination for closure made on 28 January 1921.)
24 Oct 1921Advertisement for the sale of the Royal Crown Hotel property at Adamstown.
10 Feb 1947Death of Isabella Carnley whose "parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Love, moved to Adamstown to build and establish Adamstown's first hotel, the Royal Crown. In 1894 she married Mr. Arthur Carnley, who in turn was licensee of the Royal Crown Hotel, the Commercial Hotel, Wickham, and the Commercial Hotel, Adamstown." (Note, the Royal Crown was actually Adamstown's second hotel.)

Styles Grove

Reply
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 May 1902.
An 1890 map showing the 25 acre “Styles Grove” property. State Library of NSW.

Overlaying the 1890 map into Google Earth shows that the Glendor property was where the northern tip of Maryland is today.

The 1890 map with “Glendor” overlaid into Google Earth.
The approximate 25 acre area of “Styles Grove” as marked on the 1890 map. The site is now part of Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College.

This page is part of the collection of Newcastle’s Obsolete Place Names.

Frog Hollow

Reply

Quite number of locations around Newcastle seem to have attracted the name Frog Hollow …

  1. An area in Wickham near Lindus St.
  2. A stagnant waterhole on the AA Company’s land near Darby Street, Cooks Hill.
  3. In Mayfield, corner of Ingall and Crebert Streets.
  4. An area between Wallsend and Jesmond where the tramline ran beside the Waratah Coal Company railway.
The area in Wallsend known as “Frog Hollow” where the tramline ran parallel to the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Co railway. 1944 aerial photograph.
The same area in 2024.

This page is part of the collection of Newcastle’s Obsolete Place Names.

YY Aerated Water

Reply

On 13 December 1920 the “YY Aerated Water Company” was registered in Newcastle for the purpose of acquiring the business of Healey Brothers, a manufacturer of aerated water and cordials in Wickham. The name of the company was inspired by the daughter of one of the company directors, who on her recent honeymoon in New Zealand learned of the Maori word “wai-wai”, meaning “running water”.

In 1937 the company opened a new modern factory in Wickham, with electrically driven machinery.  With continued success in the following decades, in 1958 Newcastle City Council approved the company’s application to construct a larger factory in Verulam Road Lambton, at a cost of £25,000.

YY operated in a time when glass bottles were valuable. When you bought a soft drink you purchased the contents but not the container, which had a label reminding that “This bottle is not sold and always remains the property of YY Aerated Water Co.” Consumers received a small deposit refund when returning bottles, which were taken back to the factory to be washed and re-used. In 1965 YY installed a new £15,000 “Bellock” automatic bottle washer in their Lambton factory.

In the 1970s the production of soft drinks came to be dominated by a few multi-national corporations, and smaller operations like YY struggled to compete. After trading at a loss for several years, on 30 August 1983 YY ceased production at Lambton with the loss of 12 jobs. The company closed after 63 years of operation.

Just a week later another small soft drink factory in Lambton announced its closure, with the loss of 15 jobs. The Schweppes facility had been operating in Orlando Road since 1954, but the company decided to cease local production to concentrate manufacturing in Sydney instead. YY may have left Lambton over 40 years ago, but their fleet of brightly coloured trucks and catchy slogan “First for Thirst” will still be a fond memory for many a Novocastrian.

The YY factory in Verulam Road, Lambton. Photo from Lost Newcastle Facebook group.
The former YY factory building still stands in Lambton today.

The article above was first published in the November 2024 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

In the 1950s, two different cordial manufacturing companies opened factories in Lambton – the YY Aerated Water Co, and the NSW Aerated Water Company. Because of the similarity of name, company mergers and acquisitions, the proximity of their factories in Lambton, the fact that they both had moved from Wickham, and that they both closed in 1983, the two companies are easily confused. To make sense of them the table below shows a timeline summary with a separate column for each company.

YearYY Aerated Water CoNSW Aerated Water Co / Schweppes
1876Auguste Ferriff moves from Murrurundi to Newcastle to produce aerated waters at premises in Darby St.
NMH 28/08/1876, NMH 17/11/1876
1877George E Redman, purchases equipment from Ferriff, who has ceased manufacturing. Redman commences manufacturing in Newcomen Street.
NMH 02/03/1877
1891First mention of Healey Bros, with cordial factory in Hamilton.
NMH 21/07/1891
1896Formation of NSW Aerated Water and Confectionery company, by the amalgamation of several existing companies: Coleman Bros, G Redman, Rowland Bros.
NMH 23/12/1896
1900Healey Bros cordial factory now in Wickham.
NMH 10/03/1900
1920YY Aerated Water Company formed and acquires Healey Brothers cordial manufacturer.
DCNASL 28/12/1920
1937New factory in Wickham with electrically driven machinery.
NS 13/09/1937
1953Purchase of land in Orlando Road Lambton.
Vol-Fol 6014-246
1954New factory opened in Lambton.
NS 09/11/1954
1958Application to Newcastle Council to build new factory in Lambton.
NMH 20/08/1958
1959Purchase of land in Verulam Road Lambton for new factory.
Vol-Fol 4758-152
1965New automatic bottle washer.
NS 15/11/1965
1967NSW Aerated Water Co acquired by Schweppes Australia.
NMH 10/11/1967
1983Factory closed.
NH 31/08/1983		Factory closed.
NH 08/09/1983

YY Aerated Water Co

Purchase of land in Verulam Road Lambton, 17 January 1959.Vol-Fol 4758-152.

NSW Aerated Water Co/Schweppes

Purchase of land in Orlando Rd Lambton, 28 October 1953. Vol-Fol 6014-246.
The Schweppes office and factory in Orlando Road Lambton, 1983.
The former Schweppes soft drink factory building in 2024. The brick office building in front of the arched factory was demolished sometime between 1987 and 1993.

Newspaper articles

No events found.

Croudace Road, Elermore Vale

Posted on by
Reply

A friend recently asked me about the naming of Croudace Road in Elermore Vale.

Croudace Road, Elermore Vale. Open Street Map

There is a Croudace Street in Lambton, named after Thomas Croudace, the first manager of the Lambton colliery. Thomas was also the reason for the naming of Croudace Bay, as he bought land and built a house in that locality. Presumably Croudace Road in Tingira Heights has a similar connection, being a road leading towards Croudace Bay. But what was the connection that led to the naming of Croudace Road in the Wallsend area? The answer turns out to be not Thomas, but his son Sydney.

Sydney Croudace was born in Lambton about 1874, the third son of Thomas and Christina Croudace. He was educated at The King’s School, Parramatta, and then followed his father into a coal mining career. At a comparatively early age he became manager of the Scottish Australian Mining Company’s B pit (also known as the Durham or Lambton B pit) at Redhead. In February 1913 he was appointed manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company’s pit at Wallsend.

In August 1915, while he was manager, the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company registered a subdivision of a large area of their land with Deposited Plan 8479.

Lodgement entry for Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company’s subdivision Deposited Plan 8479, in 1915. HLRV.

The subdivision, of approximately 1500 acres, covered the area between Wallsend, New Lambton and Cardiff. An area of about 50 acres was excluded from the middle of the subdivision, as this was the location of the Jubilee Shaft of the coal company. (More on this shaft later in this article.) The first land sale in DP8479 was to Henry Hancock for Lot 60 on 24 July 1916.

From land title Vol-Fol 5215-110, a map showing the lots in DP8479. The area shaded white was not included in the subdivision, as this is where the Jubilee Shaft of the Wallsend mine was located.
Area of DP8479 shown in Google Earth.
DP8479 extends over the area of six modern suburbs: Elermore Vale, Rankin Park, New Lambton Heights, Cardiff Heights, Cardiff, Glendale.

Just a few months after registering the subdivision, Sydney Croudace resigned as manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company in December 1915 due to ill-health. The employees of the mine held a farewell dinner for Sydney Croudace, with both the office staff and the miners bestowing effusive praise upon him. By 1921 Croudace’s health had recovered sufficiently that he was able to resume the position of manager in February 1921.

By this time about 40 of the 94 lots in the subdivision had been sold. In July 1921 the residents in the northern part of the subdivision, known as Chinaman’s Flat, lobbied Wallsend Council to change the the name of their suburb, and to also set names for their as yet unlabelled streets.

Chinaman’s Flat is by no means a high-sounding title for a progressive suburb. The residents of No. 2 subdivision, which is situated on the Lake road, near Wallsend, think it should be changed to something more Australian. They have asked Wallsend Council, through the Lake-road and Cardiff Progress Association, to erase the name of Chinaman’s Flat from all official records, and that the streets be named according to a list they supplied. South Wallsend was suggested as more appropriate. Alderman England said that the name certainly acted to the detriment of the place, and visitors were not favorably impressed who might otherwise have entertained the idea of purchasing land there. The names suggested are: Jubilee-street, Cardiff-road, Scott-street, Lake-road, Croudace-road, Smith-street and Watkin-street. The council agreed to all of the requests on condition that they be called roads.

The Newcastle Sun, 29 July 1921.
  • Jubilee Road would have been named after the Jubilee shaft of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company. The shaft was sunk in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. The section of the road north of Croudace Road was originally called Lundy (Lundie) Street. In December 1953, at the request of the Lake Road Progress Association, Newcastle Council renamed that section to be an extension of Jubilee Road.
  • Cardiff Road is obviously named as for being the road from Wallsend to Cardiff. Although the residents requested this name, interestingly it was not formally granted at this time. As late as 1946 the road appears unnamed in land titles (e.g. Vol-Fol 5579-214.) Newspaper reports as late as December 1935 refer to the road as “Chinaman’s Flat Road”. By 1957 a Shell street map shows “Cardiff Road”, and land titles in 1959 (Vol-Fol 7753-30) now show “Cardiff Road”.
  • Scott Road – the inspiration for this name is unknown. It was later renamed to Grandview Road.
  • Lake Road was a name that was already used for that road further south in the Lake Macquarie Shire. The request by the residents here appears to be just an extension of that name further north into the Wallsend Council area.
  • Croudace Road was almost certainly named in honour of Sydney Croudace, who was manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company when the subdivision was created in 1915 and the streets named in 1921.
  • Watkins Road is probably named after John Thomas Watkins, who purchased Lot 35 on that road in 1917.

Ministerial approval for the naming of Croudace, Smith, Watkin, Jubilee, and Scott Roads was received in December 1921.

Prior to 1921, land titles in DP8479 just showed unnamed roads. Vol-Fol 2782-170.
Land Title Vol-Fol 3327-139 in June 1922 is the first to show the name “Croudace Rd”.
A 1957 Shell Street map shows that Cardiff Road has now been officially named, however it still shows Lundy Street, although it had been renamed to Jubilee Road in 1953.

Sydney Croudace finished as manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company in October 1928, and moved to a property in Brighton Avenue, Toronto where he lived until his death on 3 February 1935 at the age of 61. Co-incidentally, his death came just one week after shareholders of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company voted to cease operations at the Wallsend Colliery that Croudace had managed for ten years.

In the ensuing years the suburb adjacent to his namesake road was variously called “South Wallsend” and “Wallsend South” in equal measure.

A 1957 map with the suburb labelled “South Wallsend”.
The 1970 Gregory’s Street Directory has the suburb labelled “Wallsend South”.
The 1973 Robinson’s Street Directory has the suburb labelled “South Wallsend”.

On 14 November 1975, the suburb name was officially changed to “Elermore Vale”, probably in reference to the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company’s “A pit” that opened in Wallsend in 1859, which was also known as the “Elermore Vale Colliery”.

1920s Craigies map showing the A pit of the Wallsend colliery labelled as “Elermore Vale Colliery”. Newcastle University, Living Histories.
Somewhat confusingly, the area of the modern day Elermore Vale suburb (shaded red) does not include the location of the original Elermore Vale Colliery.
The 1984 UBD street directory shows the new suburb name “Elermore Vale”, and the former “Jubilee Rd Public School” is now labelled “Elermore Vale Public School”.

Jubilee Shaft

In 1887 in the year of Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company sunk a new shaft to assist with ventilation of their mine, and named it the Jubilee Shaft. It was located inside the area that was later subdivided in 1915 as DP8479, and thus was excluded from that subdivision.

The area shaded orange was excluded from DP8479 in 1915, as it was the location of the Jubilee Shaft.

In the early 1930s the Wallsend Colliery struggled to be profitable, and in November 1934 the owners advertised the colliery for sale or lease. When no acceptable offers eventuated, the shareholders voted in January 1935 to close the mine and sell off the colliery plant, machinery, waggons and railway. Surplus equipment from the Jubilee shaft was sold at auction in May 1935. The land in the vicinity of the shaft then began to be subdivided and sold off, however a smaller parcel of land around the shaft was retained by the coal company.

After the closure in 1935, the coal seams were worked by various tribute collieries until 1968, when the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company resumed operations at Wallsend under the new name of “Gretley Colliery”. The name was a combination of two coal seams the company was mining – the Greta Seam in their Pelton and Ellalong mines, and the Dudley seam they were working at Wallsend. In November 1996 tragedy struck at Gretley mine when four miners were drowned by a sudden inrush of water when they inadvertently broke through to flooded abandoned workings adjacent to the Gretley workings. The error was due to the mine having been supplied with incorrect plans of the old workings by the Department of Mineral Resources. Work at Gretley was immediately suspended. In 1999 Gretley was bought by New Wallsend Coal Pty Ltd, who operated the workings as “New Wallsend No. 2 Colliery.”

A partial history of the Jubilee Shaft site can be seen in the photo below, the sign on the enclosing fence shows “Gretley Colliery” overstamped with “New Wallsend Coal Pty Ltd, New Wallsend No. 2 Colliery.” At the bottom of the sign, the words “Mine Ventilation Shaft” are just visible.

Sign on fence enclosing the former Jubilee Shaft. Page 20 of Appendix G of Development Application for Lot 1 DP1197128. EJE Heritage.
Plaque at the former Jubilee Shaft indicating that is was filled and capped in March 2003. Page 22 of Appendix G of Development Application for Lot 1 DP1197128. EJE Heritage.

In 2021 Newcastle Council approved a development application for the construction of a 50 lot Community Title subdivision on the former Jubilee Shaft site. The development will retain some of the remnant Jubilee Shaft sandstone building walls in a community area

In 2022, the area around the Jubilee Shaft was still mostly vacant, and some remains of the mine buildings were still present.
In October 2024, the concrete capped shaft (red) and remnants of a sandstone wall from an old mine building can be seen in the midst of the development of 50 new housing units.

Croudace Road in Edgeworth

In the original iteration of this blog post I posed the question of why there is a Croudace Street in Edgeworth? Thanks to a note on page 138 of Ed Tonks’ 1990 book “Wallsend and Pelton Collieries. A Chronology of The Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company”, I have the answer.

That area of Edgeworth has five north-south streets, all named after prominent colliery managers of the Newcastle district when that subdivision was created in 1885.

Street names in Edgeworth named after colliery managers. OpenStreetMap.

Edgeworth was originally called “Young Wallsend”, and the subdivision created by John Charles Bonarius was described by the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate on 16 May 1885 …

The subdivision has been laid out by Mr. Percy Hodgkinson, of this city, whose abilities in laying a township are well known to everyone in the district, and is under the supervision of Mr. John C. Bonarius, our oldest and well-esteemed auctioneer, who will wield the hammer at the sale. The streets are plainly seen. Large posts, with the names Neilson, Fletcher, Croudace, Turnbull, Thomas, and other notables connected with the coal trade of Northumberland are seen.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 16 May 1885.

A real estate poster advertising the sale of the subdivision was produced, but with Neilson and Johnson spelled incorrectly.

Young Wallsend subdivision, 1885. State Library of NSW.

The naming of Johnson St is uncertain. It possibly refers to R Johnson who was the manager of the Glebe colliery.

Unanswered questions

  • When exactly did Cardiff Road get its official name?

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event DateNotes
7 Feb 1913Sydney Croudace appointed manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company's Wallsend Colliery.
6 Dec 1915
4 Dec 1915		Retirement due to ill-health of Sydney Croudace as manager of Wallsend colliery. "There was a large attendance at the Masonic Hall, Wallsend, on Saturday evening, when Mr. S. Croudace, who for the last three years has occupied the position of manager of the Wallsend Colliery, was entertained by the employees of the colliery, and presented with marks of their esteem and appreciation."
2 Feb 1921"Mr. S. Croudace will succeed Mr. N. J. Clark as colliery manager of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company." (Croudace returns to the position he previously resigned from due to ill-health.)
29 Jul 1921Residents of "Chinaman's Flat" request that their suburb be renamed to "South Wallsend", and suggest names for a number of their roads.
17 Dec 1921"Ministerial approval having now been received, it is notified for public information that the un-named roads in the South Wallsend subdivision, otherwise known as Chinaman Flat Subdivision, will be designated as follows: Croudace-road, Smith-road, Watkin-road, Jubilee-road, Scott-road."
13 Oct 1928
10 Oct 1928		"Mr. Sydney Croudace on Wednesday terminated his second period of service with Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company as manager of Wallsend colliery."
23 Nov 1934Advertisement for sale or lease of Wallsend Colliery.
25 Jan 1935
24 Jan 1935		"At the annual general meeting of shareholders of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company held yesterday it was decided to cease operations at the company's Wallsend colliery owing to heavy losses incurred during the past six years and the uncertainty of the future."
4 Feb 1935
3 Feb 1935		Death of Sydney Croudace, in Toronto, aged 61.
16 Feb 1935"Hopes of a reopening of Wallsend Colliery, commonly known as Wallsend C Pit, have been shattered … dismantling and removal to the surface of the underground appliances and plant of the colliery. … The mine is to be abandoned."
18 Feb 1935"Wallsend citizens who have been hoping for an 11th-hour sale of the colliery property, or for a lease which would allow a resumption of operations, are beginning to despair as they realise the latest definite steps Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company has adopted to seal the doom of Wallsend C pit. For three-quarters of a century the coal company has been operating at one or another of the branches of its Wallsend mine. Wallsend without a Wallsend colliery is to many people almost unthinkable."
2 May 1935Sale of equipment from the closed Jubilee Shaft in Wallsend.
16 Dec 1953"Newcastle Council Works Committee recommended last night that the council alter the name of Lundy-street, Wallsend, between Lake-road and Croudace-street, to Jubilee-road. The City Engineer (Mr. Baddeley) said a month had passed since the council proposed to alter the name. It had been publicised and no objection had been received."
14 Nov 1975The suburb name "Elermore Vale" is officially gazetted.

Kotara Railway Station

Reply

In 1924 the Scottish Australian Mining Company, owners of the Lambton colliery, made plans to subdivide several hundred acres of their land to form a new suburb.  To make the estate appealing to potential purchasers, the company constructed a new station on the Great Northern Railway that ran through the middle of their development.

Both the suburb and the station were originally intended to be named “Exton”. However, the Railway Commissioners, concerned that the name was too similar to other existing stations, chose instead the name “Kotara”, the Awabakal word for a hunting club. To avoid confusion, the developers then agreed to rename their subdivision to match the station.

For the first sale of land, held on site on Saturday 17 January 1925, the agents Creer and Berkeley produced a 40-page booklet with panoramic photos, glowing prose for the suburb, and praise for the new station.

“In order that every facility might be afforded to the residents of Kotara, a modern Railway Island Platform, 520ft in length, has been constructed in the Heart of the Suburb, and a regular service is maintained between Newcastle, the other Suburbs, and the Lake.”

In 1925 there were twelve train services each day, but as the platform was unstaffed, travellers faced the inconvenience of having to alight at the next station on the line to purchase tickets.

A century later, Kotara station is largely unchanged. There are now 25 train services each weekday, but a very low patronage of 90 passengers a day. This may change if the state government delivers on their recently announced “Transported Oriented Development Program”, which aims to streamline the development of mid-rise housing (up to 6 storeys) within 400 metres of selected railway stations, including Kotara.

In examining the birth of Kotara 100 years ago, it is interesting to note how the development of housing and the provision of public transport occurred together. Now that’s a practice from the past I’d love to see followed in the future.

The newly constructed Kotara railway station in late 1924. From the 40 page promotional booklet produced for the initial land sale on 17 January 1925. National Library of Australia, Call Number mc N 1870 MCL HIST 553
Kotara railway station, 2024.

The article above was first published in the October 2024 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Kotara Railway Station

For the current day passenger numbers at Kotara Station, I used the Train and Metro Station Monthly Usage numbers from the NSW government Open Data website. This showed that entries and exits totalled 2747 for the month of July 2024. This equates to an average of 89 trips per day, to or from the station.

Kotara Estate

As early as July 1922 there were reports that the Scottish Australian Mining Company planned to subdivide their land adjoining the Tickhole Tunnel of the Great Northern Railway. By October 1923, plans had been drawn up for the subdivision. In 1924 the Kotara Railway Station was constructed, and the streets of the new subdivision prepared, in readiness for the initial big land sale to take place on Saturday 17 January 1925.

Advertisement for sale of Kotara subdivision. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 3 January 1925.

The plans have been prepared for the Scottish-Australian Mining Company of a subdivision of about 200 blocks of land contiguous to the railway line on both sides. For many years eyes have been cast on this area, which lies between the Adamstown railway station and the Tickhole tunnel, and is within easy distance of the city. The design of the big subdivision conforms with the new ideas planning for model suburbs, and provision has been made for park areas, children’s playgrounds, street gardens, plantations, and other recreative utilities. The company has entered into an agreement with the Railway Commissioners for the erection of a railway platform to serve the area.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 17 October 1923.
Kotara Subdivision Plan, Saturday 17 January, 1925. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

Although the initial reports of the auction on 17 January 1925 stated that “160 lots were disposed of in about two hours”, the land wasn’t formally sold at this time, it was just people signing up with intention to purchase. At that time New Lambton Council (the municipality in which the land was located) still hadn’t formally approved the subdivision, being in dispute with the developer about various matters including access to Charlestown Road, and the width of the main streets in the subdivision. After resolving matters, New Lambton council finally approved the subdivision in May 1925. The deposited plan DP13333 for the subdivision was lodged with the Department of Lands on 27 August 1925.

DP13333 lodged on 27 August 1925

Transfers of title arising from land sales in the subdivision subsequently appear in Volume-Folios 905-119, 3878-122, 4350-65, and 5604-172. The first transfer recorded is for Lot 97 Sec A to Leslie Arthur Fitness on 15 September 1925, and the final transfer was for Lot 51 Section B to Thomas Egginton on 21 October 1953.

Despite the January 1925 article reporting that 160 lots had been sold, actual sales and transfers of title occurred over a very long period of time. Examination of the land title records shows that it took until 1944 before 160th lot sold. How much of this delay was due to slowness in purchasers finalising their transaction, and much due to purchases foregoing/forfeiting their lot due to economic pressures is uncertain.

Cumulative sales of lots in subdivision DP1333.
A 1938 aerial photograph of Kotara shows that only 36 dwellings had been constructed in the Kotara Estate subdivision (DP13333) in the thirteen years after the initial land sale in 1925. Newcastle University, Living Histories.
A 1944 aerial photograph shows considerable building work in the previous 8 years, with 67 dwellings now erected in the Kotara Estate subdivision (DP13333). Newcastle Region Library, Local Studies.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event DateNotes
26 Jul 1922"At the present time the Scottish-Australian Company and the Kinnaird Land Syndicate are about to subdivide their estates adjoining the Tickhole Tunnel, and property running between New Lambton and Tickhole Tunnel and Charlestown. This property is most ideal for suburban residences, being four miles from the Broadmendow station, and served by two railways, the Sydney line and the Waratah coal line. At the present time it is anticipated that the Scottish-Australian Company will build a railway station on their land between Adamstown and the Charlestown Tunnel and then subdivide."
17 Oct 1923"The plans have been prepared for the Scottish-Australian Mining Company of a subdivision of about 200 blocks of land contiguous to the railway line on both sides … The company has entered into an agreement with the Railway Commissioners for the erection of a railway platform."
3 Oct 1924"It is authoritatively stated that the name of the station in connection with the new subdivision at present known as Exton has been altered to Kotara. This has been brought about by the suggestion of the Lands Department and the Railway Commissioners. The vendors of the estate, the Scottish-Australian Mining Company, Limited, having undertaken the cost of the construction of a new station, desired to have it named Exton in keeping with the township, but the departments pointed out the similarity to the name of other stations and the possibility of confusion arising. They suggested a native name, and with a view of obtaining something appropriate the agents. Messrs. Creer and Berkeley, enlisted the services of Mr. J. J. Moloney, who submitted a long list of local aboriginal names, from which Kotara was finally chosen. The construction work of the railway platform will be finished in a few weeks, and its train service will be of considerable advantage to all those people living on the northern side of Cardiff, at Charlestown, and the south-western side of New Lambton or Orchardtown, as it is more familiarly known."
9 Oct 1924
8 Oct 1924		New Lambton Council meeeting … "Correspondence was received from S.A.M. Company, stating that as the Railway Commissioners had decided to call the railway station situated near Cardiff tunnel, in their subdivision, Katara (sic), they had renamed the subdivision Katara in lieu of Exton. The Mayor said that the Railway Commissioners had acted discourteously in not conferring with the council re the naming of the station."
10 Nov 1924"The new railway station at Kotara, on the Newcastle to Sydney line, has been completed by a Scottish-Australian mining company. The cost was borne solely by the company which, however, may be compensated after three years by the Commissioners if traffic justifies it. The new station is situated between Adamstown and the Cardiff tunnel, and will serve a fairly large population. The necessary overhead bridges have been erected, and the platform is of island design."
19 Nov 1924"The new railway station at Kotara is already being availed of, as certain trains from Toronto are stopping there."
16 Jan 1925
17 Jan 1925		"Kotara, the newly subdivided suburb of Newcastle, has been the object of considerable interest for some time past amongst land speculators and investors generally. The sale of the land will be conducted to-morrow (Saturday), by Messrs. Creer and Berkeley. Easy terms of payment have been arranged, and the sale should be a big success."
20 Jan 1925
17 Jan 1925		"One of the most successful land subdivision sales held in this district was that of Kotara, conducted by Messrs. Creer and Berkeley, on Saturday afternoon last. The result evidences the importance of transit. The vendors, the Scottish-Australian Mining Company, Limited, realising this, undertook the responsibility of having a railway station erected in the centre of the estate. This convenience, a run of only 19 minutes from the central station, Newcastle, with a service of some 12 trains a day, each way, was no doubt a great factor in attracting upwards of 600 people to the sale, when 160 lots were disposed of in about two hours."
30 Jan 1925
29 Jan 1925		"A well-attended meeting of purchasers of land at Kotara was held last night at the rooms of Messrs. Creer and Berkeley, when a progress committee was formed. The meeting prepared a lengthy agenda of work and improvements to be effected, and the association will particularly watch the parks, railway facilities, supply of water, gas and electric light, and generally assist home builders to embrace modern ideas in keeping with a district so full of residential possibilities."
10 Feb 1925"New Lambton Council is not satisfied with the plans for the subdivision of portion of the Scottish-Australian Mining Company's Estate at Kotara … The plans did not provide for any outlet to Charlestown-road … the council would insist on the main road being 22 feet wide, instead of 16 feet."
8 May 1925"The Kotara Estate subdivision has at last received the legal approval of New Lambton Council. For a considerable time the finalising has been held up, although the greater part of the subdivision has been sold."
22 May 1925"As [Kotara] is gradually growing in importance, and trains are being stopped to pick up and set down passengers, the regulations that tickets must be got at Adamstown is becoming more and more irksome. The other morning half a dozen persons, who got into the train at Kotara, had to alight at Adamstown to get their tickets en route to Newcastle. The train, in consequence, was delayed for about two minutes."
29 May 1925"The monthly meeting of the Kotara Progress Association was held last night … the vendors of the estate, the Scottish-Australian Mining Company, Limited, set aside large areas for park and recreation purposes, and it is the planting and improvement of these reserves that is engaging attention."
30 Sep 1925"One of the biggest residential estate developments in the Newcastle district was inaugurated at the beginning of this year, when the Kotara subdivision was made available. It comprises several hundred acres, lying between Adamstown railway station and Tickhole tunnel, five miles from Newcastle. The first sale in the estate was conducted on January 17 by Messrs. Creer and Berkeley acting for the Scottish-Australian Mining Company. There were 191 allotments offered and over 160 were sold on the day. The success of the sale was largely due to the enterprise of the vendors. About three miles of streets had been made, and a railway island platform 520 feet in length constructed in the centre of the new suburb. With the object of assisting in the development of the suburb, purchasers of blocks formed a progress association, which now has a membership of between 70 and 80."