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.
Category: Placemaking
The Cowpastures Bicentennial, Governor Hunter and the Appin Massacre: the memory of the Cowpastures
I often wondered why the cultural material representative of the Cowpastures appeared to have been 'forgotten' by our community. The list of cultural items is quite an extensive include: roads and bridges, parks and reserves; historic sites, books, paintings, articles; conferences, seminars, and workshops; monuments, memorials and murals; community commemorations, celebrations and anniversaries.
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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.
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Camden, a Macarthur family venture
The establishment of Camden, New South Wales, the town in 1840, was a private venture of James and William Macarthur, sons of colonial patriarch John Macarthur, at the Nepean River crossing on the northern edge of the family’s pastoral property of Camden Park. The town’s site was enclosed on three sides by a sweeping bend in the Nepean River and has regularly flooded the surrounding farmland and lower parts of the town.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Rachel, a great yarn of the bush from colonial New South Wales
Jeff McGill's Rachel is a ripping yarn about the colonial frontier and the role of women in colonial New South Wales.
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The Cowpastures’ English-styled gentry and their private villages and land grants
The Cowpastures gentry, a self-proclaimed English aristocracy, resided on expansive estates while engaging in business and politics across the British Empire. By the late 1820s, they had transformed the landscape to resemble the English countryside. Various types of people, including convicts and freemen, also inhabited the area.
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Narellan’s Architectural Landmarks: A Journey Through Time
Narellan, named after an 1816 land grant, features historical buildings like St Thomas Church and School from the 1830s and 1880s. The village, surveyed in 1827, was one of four pre-dating Camden's establishment in 1840. Significant structures include the Narellan Hotel , the former Burton Arms Hotel and Ben Linden reflecting local heritage.
