1920s · 1930s · Architecture · Attachment to place · Built heritag · Business History · Collective Memory · Community Health · Cultural Heritage · Design · Edwardian · Film · Foresters Hall (former) · Heritage · History · Interwar · Leisure · Living History · Local History · Local Studies · Memory · Modernism · Movies · Narellan Military Camp · Placemaking · Second World War

The former Forestersโ€™ Hall, a marvellous Edwardian building

In Camden NSW the former Forestersโ€™ Hall occupies one of the most prominent sites in the Town Centre on Oxley Street and Argyle Street at 147 Argyle Street. On its opening in 1908, the hall was considered the best in New South Wales by the Order of Royal Foresters.

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

ย 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 Sydneyโ€™s top award-winning architects. It is a building of much architectural merit, and few know its history.ย 

Appin · Art · Attachment to place · Belonging · British colonialism · Campbelltown Art Centre · Collective Memory · Colonial frontier · Colonialism · Commemoration · Community identity · Cowpastures · Cowpastures Bicentennial · Cultural Heritage · Dharawal · Governor Macquarie · Heritage · History · Landscape · Landscape aesthetics · Local History · Local Studies · Memorial · Memorialisation · Memorials · Memory · Monuments · Place making · Placemaking · Public art · Sculpture · Sense of place · Settler colonialism · Settler Society · Stereotypes · Storytelling · Uncategorized

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.

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 Markโ€™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 Markโ€™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 ย 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.

Charles Cowper · Colonialism · Cultural Heritage · Economy · Heritage · History · Lost Sydney · Maryland · Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Powerhouse Museum · Railway · Sydney Railway Company · Technology · Thomas Barker · Transport · Uncategorized · Wivenhoe

A Camden connection to the first railway line in New South Wales

26 September 1855 A forgotten anniversary of Sydneyโ€™s Central Railway Station On 26 September 1855, the first train left the Sydney terminus, a โ€˜tin shedโ€™, with great pomp and ceremony and thus began the great railways of New South Wales. The โ€˜tin shedโ€™ was replaced by two further buildings, one opened in 1874, and the current grand Victorian edifice of brick and sandstone in 1906.

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.