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.

Art · Cowpastures · Cultural Heritage · Heritage · History · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Parks · Place making · Public art · Sculpture · Storytelling · Streetscapes · Uncategorized

Cowpastures Memorial at Narellan

In the plaza outside Narellan Library there is an item public art called the Cowpasture Story.

Bathtub effect · Cultural Heritage · Floods · Grief · Hawkesbury-Nepean river · Landscape · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Macarthur · Memory · Nepean River · Place making · Trauma

Flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Valley

The latest heavy rain in the area has sparked concerns about potential flooding, bringing back memories of past events. The Hawkesbury-Nepean River valley's unique landform features contribute to fast-rising and dangerous floods. This situation has led to considerable anxiety and trauma, prompting the need for emotional and trauma support in the affected communities.

Art · Attachment to place · Belonging · British colonialism · Camden · Camden Mayor · Colonial Camden · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Commemoration · Cowpastures · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Frank Brooking · Frontier violence · Heritage · History · Legends · Local History · Local Studies · Macarthur region · Memorial · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Myths · Parks · Place making · Placemaking · Public art · Sculpture · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Storytelling · Uncategorized · Urban development

Governor Hunter, a Cowpastures memorial at Mount Annan

The statue of Governor Hunter in the Governors Green Park at Mount Annan is another celebration of the history of the Cowpastures.

1932 · Artefacts · Camden · Camden Museum · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Ephemera · Heritage · History · Interwar · Local History · Local Studies · Macarthur · Place making · Political history · Propaganda · Sense of place · Starvation Debenture · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Uncategorized

Political propaganda in 1932

The Starvation Debenture produced by the United Country Party is an example of political advertising from the 1932 New South Wales election.

Agency · Agriculture · Agriculture history · Attachment to place · Belonging · British colonialism · Camden · Cawdor · Cobbitty · Colonial Camden · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Community identity · Cowpastures · Cowpastures Estates · Cowpastures Gentry · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Denbigh · Economy · Elderslie · England · Farming · Georgian · Gothic · Harrington Park · Heritage · History · Hope and loss · House history · Indigenous Heritage · Johm Macarthur · John Oxley · Kirkham · Landscape · Lifestyle · Local Studies · localism · Macarthur · Maryland · Menangle · Myths · Picton · Pioneers · Place making · Placemaking · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Storytelling · The Oaks · Urban growth

The Cowpastures’ English-styled-gentry and their private villages

A certain type of self-styled-English gentry created a landscape in their own vision in the Cowpastures.

Adaptive Re-use · Architecture · Built heritag · Business · Churches · Community identity · Cultural Heritage · Eastern Command Training School, Narellan, NSW · Heritage · History · History of a house · House history · Local History · Local Studies · Military history · Narellan · Place making · Placemaking · Schools · Second World War · Sense of place · Storytelling · Village

Narellan’s Built Heritage

The former colonial village of Narellan originally located in the Cowpastures has some fascinating surviving built heritage.

Attachment to place · Belonging · Cultural Heritage · Dress history · Family history · Historical consciousness · Historical Research · Historical thinking · Historiography · History · History of a house · History theory and practice · House history · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Media History · Medical history · Memory · Military history · Modernism · Music history · NSW History K-10 Syllabus · Place making · Placemaking · Schools · Sense of place · Storytelling · Women's history

We need new ways to tell stories of the past

We need new ways to tell local stories in the face of fake news, the search for 'the truth' and a host of conspiracy theories. Stories about our past need to based on evidence from a range of credible sources. There is a need to be a historical detective.