Aesthetics · Art · Attachment to place · Belonging · Camden · Camden Art Group · Camden Story · Community identity · Community organisations · Community work · Cultural Heritage · Heritage · Hope and loss · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · localism · Place making · Public art · Sense of place · Storytelling · Volunteering · Volunteerism

‘Baker, The Artist, The Influencer’, the exhibition

The Alan Baker Art Gallery Macaria in John Street Camden has a new exhibition 'Baker, The Artist, The Influencer' running until September 2023.

Aesthetics · Art · Artists · Belonging · Colonialism · Community identity · Community work · Crafts · Cultural Heritage · Design · Education · Elyard Reserve, Narellan · Heritage · History · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Memorialisation · Memorials · Narellan · Parks · Place making · Public art · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Storytelling · Tourism · Urban Planning · Urbanism

Narellan Community Mosaic Project: art in the park

The Narellan Community Mosaic Project was commissioned in 2005 by Camden Council with funding from the NSW Department of Planning. This artwork is one of number in Elyard Reserve in Narellan.

1920s · 1930s · 1932 · 20th century · Adaptive Re-use · Aesthetics · Architecture · Argyle Street · Attachment to place · Belonging · Built heritag · Business History · Camden Story · Camden Town Centre · Collective Memory · Colonial Camden · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Design · Economy · Governor Macquarie · Historical consciousness · History · Interwar · Local History · Local Studies · localism · Macarthur region · Mid-century modernism · Modernism · Place making · Placemaking · Sense of place · Storytelling · Streetscapes · Town planning · Uncategorized · Urban growth · Urban history · Urbanism

 The former Bank of New South Wales building in the country town of Camden

In central Camden is an empty bank building of understated significance at the intersection of John and Argyle Streets. This building was the premises of Westpac, formerly the Bank of New South Wales, and was the second banking chamber on that site. Constructed in the 1930s by a prominent firm of local builders and designed by one of Sydney’s top award-winning architects. It is a building of much architectural merit, and few know its history. 

20th century · Adaptive Re-use · Aesthetics · Architecture · Attachment to place · Belonging · Burra Charter · Camden Story · Church History · Churches · Collective Memory · Commemoration · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Elderslie · Families · Family history · Farming · First World War · Genealogy · Heritage · History · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Place making · Placemaking · Sense of place · St Mark's Church Elderslie · Urban development · Urban growth · Urbanism · Village · Wartime

St Mark’s Church Elderslie, the little church on the hill

St Mark's Church Elderslie tells the story of a small farming community that has disappeared through the mists of time. The history of St Mark’s church is the history of Elderslie, and the church was a special place of community celebrations and commemorations along with family celebrations, traditions, and events. The church has been a gathering place, a sacred site.

Aesthetics · Architecture · Art · Artists · Attachment to place · Belonging · Community identity · Cultural icon · Design · Heritage · Living History · Local History · Memorial · Memorialisation · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Oran Park · Oran Park Library · Oran Park Raceway · Place making · Placemaking · Sense of place · Storytelling · Urban Planning · Urbanism

Oran Park Library: public art celebrates the ghosts of motor racing

The Oran Park library has a number of public artworks that commemorate the former Oran Park motorway that was on the site. These wonderful public art installations celebrate the memories of the  Oran Park Raceway which closed in 2010.

Aesthetics · Art · Attachment to place · Belonging · Camden · Colonial Camden · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Commemoration · Cowpastures Bicentennial · Cultural icon · Dharawal · Family history · Festivals · Frontier violence · Governor Macquarie · Heritage · Historical consciousness · History · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Memorialisation · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Place making · Public art · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Tourism · War

Cowpastures’ memories in monuments, memorials and murals.

Many memorials and monuments across the Cowpastures landscape commemorate its history and sense of place, with a recent nostalgic turn focusing on the pioneers and European settlement. War memorials are a ubiquitous form of memorialization in the Macarthur region, and public art, historical sites, and cultural heritage also play significant roles. These commemorations can be controversial, especially considering Australia's dark history, and evoke different memories for different people. Additionally, the landscape of the Cowpastures is interpreted in various ways, including as a colonial frontier, government reserve, and English-style landscape. Various memorials, artworks, and historic sites dot the region, contributing to its identity and history.

Aesthetics · Art · Artefacts · Colonial Camden · Cowpastures · Cowpastures Bicentennial · Craft · Crafts · Cultural Heritage · Fashion · Heritage · Leisure · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Memorials · Memory · Place making · Placemaking · Public art · Quilting · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Sewing · Storytelling · Women's history

A Cowpastures memorial quilt

Hanging on the wall in the Camden Library is a quilt, but no ordinary quilt. It is a hand-made quilt that had previously hung in the foyer of the Camden Civic Centre for many years. The quilt celebrated the Cowpastures Bicentenary (1995) and was made by members of the Camden Country Quilters Guild.

Aesthetics · Art · Attachment to place · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Cowpastures · Cultural Heritage · Dharawal · Farming · Frontier violence · Harrington Park · Heritage · History · Landscape · Living History · Local History · Macarthur · Memorial · Memory · Monuments · Place making · Placemaking · Sense of place · Storytelling · Urban development · Urban growth · Wayfinding

Cowpastures: artwork at Harrington Park Lake

The public art installation called 'Cowpastures' at Harrington Park Lakeside walkway is an example of wayfinding, placemaking, memorialisation and urban development.

Adaptive Re-use · Aesthetics · Architecture · Argyle Street · Attachment to place · Business · Camden · Camden Gasworks · Camden Story · Communications · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Electricity · Engineering Heritage · Gas · Gothic · Heritage · Historical Research · Historical thinking · History · Industrial Heritage · Infrastructure · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Memory · Myths · Place making · Public art · Sense of place · Service utilities · Storytelling · Streetscapes · Technology · Town planning · Urban Planning · urban sprawl · Urbanism · Utilities · Water

Mundane objects tell an interesting story

Utility covers are mundane objects that tell interesting stories about the past in an area. Others consider then to be a form of street art and street aesthetic.

Aesthetics · Attachment to place · Business · Cultural Heritage · Cumberland Plain · Dharawal · Entertainment · House history · Lifestyle · Living History · Media · Media History · Photography · Retailing · Sense of place · Shopping · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Sydney · Uncategorized · Wollondilly Shire Council

The West Journal

A new lifestyle magazine, The West Journal, has appeared in the local area and makes an interesting addition to the media landscape.