The beginning

The name Narellan is used for the village, the district and the parish, and was probably derived from William Hovell’s 1816 grant of 700 acres (283 hectares) called Narralling. Most of the parish of Narellan was granted to settlers by Governor Macquarie between 1810 and 1818. 

In 1827 Robert Hoddle and John Oxley had surveyed the site of the village, which was set out in a rectilinear plan, and marked the site of a church, school and courthouse.

Narellan was one of four villages that pre-date the foundation of Camden in 1840 in the Cowpastures. The others were Cawdor, Cobbitty and Elderslie.

Narellan’s built heritage items

Former St Thomas Church Hall and schoolhouse

1A Wilson Crescent

Built in 1839 as a church by Thomas Hassall and served on weekdays as a schoolroom.

Former St Thomas Church

1A Wilson Crescent

Built in 1884 to a design by colonial architect Edmund Blacket (1879)

Former Camden Country Milk Depot

259 Camden Valley Way

Built in the 1920s and owned by Mr Coleman. It was closed in 1931 when stricter health regulations around milk were introduced in NSW.

Former Tildsley butcher shop

269 Camden Valley Way

Built in 1937 and operated until the early 2000. The site has operated as Cake Biz since 2003.

Narellan Hotel

279-283 Camden Valley Way

The former Queen’s Arms Hotel opened in 1847, modified in 1937 and operated as Byrne’s Hotel. The current building underwent extensive renovations in 2003.

Ben Linden

311 Camden Valley Way

Built in 1919 by George Blackmore as a residence for Anne Stuckey. Later a maternity hospital and in the 1960s a convalescent hospital.

Former Burton Arms Inn

332 Camden Valley Way

Built in c1830, the site has operated as a hotel, general store, auto electrical workshop, and most recently a real estate office.

Narellan Public School

Cnr Coghill Street & Camden Valley Way

Built in 1877 as a schoolhouse and resident. The school opened in 1875 after St Thomas Anglican school closed in 1874.

Narellan Cemetery

Richardson Road

Surveyed as a cemetery in 1827 by Robert Hoddle with the first burials in the 1840s.

Struggletown

Stewart Street, Narellan.

Sharman’s Slab Cottage

Stewart Street

Yamba

81 Camden Valley Way

Yamba is an Edwardian timber cottage built in the early 20^th century.

Studley Park

52 Lodges Road

Built in 1888-1889 as the last gentleman’s ‘country estate’ in the local area by Sydney businessman William Charles Payne. Designed by Sydney architects AL & G McCredie. Served as Camden Classical and Commercial School (1901-1919), country retreat for Twentieth Century Fox executive AA Gregory (1933-1939), Eastern Command Training School (Army) (1940-1945), Citizen Military Forces (Army Reserve) (1948-1951), Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (1951), Camden Golf Club (1951-present)

Sources

Heritage walking tour of Narellan  (K & P Lyons, c2010)

Narellan, Dictionary of Sydney (2008)

Posted 17 April 2022