The Edwardian era in the Camden district spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910.
The era was marked by the growth of the market town, the population in 1901 was 720, and the area relied on dairy farming, with improvements in technology from the 1890s.
Camden (Dictionary of Sydney, 2008)
The new hospital opened on Windmill Hill in 1902, after the cottage hospital in Mitchell Street, founded in 1899, had outgrown its capacity. At the time, the town had two doctors, a chemist, a dentist and private maternity hospitals.
Camden’s First Hospital: A Historical Insight (CHN, 2025)
Camden Cottage Hospital – foundation and early days (CHN, 2024)
Camden Cottage Hospital – early English influences and the cottage hospital movement (CHN, 2025)
1901 Anniversary Day sports and other amusements on January 26 in aid of the Camden Cottage Hospital. (CHN, 2025)
Camden Cottage Hospital, from accidents to amputations and early patient experiences (CHN, 2025)
Communications were critical, and a new post office opened in 1898, followed by a telephone exchange in 1910.
A volunteer fire brigade was formed in 1900, following the destruction of the woollen mill in 1899.
Local government was established in 1889 with the establishment of the Municipality of Camden.
Civic improvements followed, among them was the philanthropic donation of five acres of land by Elizabeth Macarthur Onslow in 1905 to form Macarthur Park.
The early years of the era were marked by the Boer War, and 26 members of the Camden Mounted Rifles volunteered for service in the British Army. Soldier comforts were organised by Camden women led by Sibella Macarthur Onslow with a Camden branch of the NSW Patriotic Fund.
Quite a number of Edwardian cottages were built in the area, sometimes called Federation. These weatherboard cottages have come to typify the period in the Camden district, and the residential architectural style remained popular into the 1920s. The style is sometimes called ‘the Camden cottage’.
Camden Edwardian Cottages (CHN, 2021)
The Camden Fibro Cottage and its connection to mid-century housing styles (CHN, 2014)
Ben Linden Narellan An Edwardian Gem (CHN, 2016)
Camden needs a residential heritage-style guide (CHN, 2017)
The silver mines at Yerranderie continued to provide galena ore that was transported to the Camden railhead by horse teams called teamsters.
Camden Teamsters Memorial, when the horse was king on the Yerranderie Road (CHN, 2023)
