Vol 37 No 6 Issue 280

U n c o v e r i n g O u r P a s tA house and its storyV ooking at the early history of a■-^house and the occupants is afascinating task which househ o l d e r s c o u l d u n d e r t a k e f o r t h e ms e l v e s . N o 1 3 J o h n s t o n S t r e e t ,Balmain has an interest ing pastw h i c h i s r e v e a l e d i n o f fi c i a l d o c u

ments and private papers.John Hosking purchased land in the

first land sale in 1836, the area fromthe bay up to Darling Street and bet w e e n J o h n s t o n a n d U n i o n S t r e e t sf o r £ 2 0 0 . 1 8 . 3 . I n N o v e m b e r 1 8 4 4 a

Surry Hills market gardener, John TBaptist, bought lot 15 on which theh o u s e a t 1 3 J o h n s t o n S t r e e t s t a n d s .

Baptist re-sold to a Sydney plasterer.William Richardson in January 1845a n d h e b u i l t a s u b s t a n t i a l w e a t h e rboa rd house . D i i ns ley Co t tage .Richardson sold the property in 1854for £275 to Captain Thomas Tinley, aYo r k s h i r e m a n w h o h a d b e e n a t e nant of Frederick Cottage, site 70-72Darling Street.The Captain had brought the schoo

ner Thomas Crisp from London in1841 and was master of ships suchas the Marian Watson and the brigM a t h a o n t h e H o b a r t r u n . H e a l s otook the barque Orwell to the SouthS e a s f o r s a n d a l w o o d a n d t h e S t a r o fC h i n a t o N e w Z e a l a n d b e t w e e n1842 and 1845. Tinley expandedfrom being shipmaster to shipownera n d h i s v e s s e l s t h e M o u n t a i n M a i d .O c e a n Q u e e n a n d W i l l i a m A l f r e dplied the Australia - New Zealandr u n .

Tinley marr ied in 1842 to El izaN e e s t r i p a t S t A n d r e w s S c o t sChurch. Sydney. Their son ThomasM a t t h e w w a s b o r n i n 1 8 4 4 . T h o m a sM and his wife Elizabeth Newportw e r e t o h a v e s i x c h i l d r e n a l l b o r n i nB a l m a i n .

Captain Tinley set sail in the WilliamAlfred on 28*̂ September 1860 witha cargo of his own goods to sell inWellington. Four day before setting

F o u n d e d N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 5

out on the journey, he made his will,naming his wife and son, as beneficiaries. The Captain however, neverreached New Zea land.

TInley's friend, the Reverend Wat-kins, a missionary in New Zealand,wrote in his journal on 24'̂ ^ November 1860: There are fears for Captain Tinley. Eight weeks away and now o r d o f h i m . I c a n n o t r e a l i z e t h e f a c tthat he can be lost. I hope it is not so.Poor Mrs T. poor Tom". Three daysb e f o r e C h r i s t m a s 1 8 6 0 h e n o t e dsadly: 'No news of Capt T. I ama f r a i d t h e s e a h a s s w a l l o w e d h i mu p .

Captain Tinley was presumed tohave been lost at sea and probategranted in February 1861. A memorial was placed in the DevonshireStreet, Cemetery: Thomas TinleyM a s t e r M a r i n e r l o s t a t s e a i n t h e W i lliam Alfred about 5"^ October 1860.52 years. Mrs Tinley lived with herson Thomas and family at DunsleyCot tage , un t i l he r dea th on 4Mayl 905 age 86 years. Daughter-in-law Elizabeth died on 4^*^ June 1896a n d b o t h w e r e b u r i e d i n t h e O l d B a lmain Cemetery, the area now Pioneer Park, Norton Street Leichhardt.N e i t h e r n a m e w a s i n c l u d e d i n t h e

cemetery index, so always check theburial register. Thomas M Tinleydied on 15^̂ July 1915 and as Captain Tinley's memorial stone hadbeen removed to the Old WesleyanSection. Rookwood Cemetery in1 9 0 1 w h e n t h e D e v o n s h i r e S t r e e t

Cemetery had closed, Thomas Mw a s b u r i e d t h e r e a n d a l l n a m e s r ec o r d e d .

The property passed through num e r o u s h a n d s u n t i l t h e o w n e r i n1 9 7 8 u n d e r t o o k r e s t o r a t i o n . B o r e r

damage had been severe and therare Huon Pine timber lining was totally destroyed but the cedar joinery,staircase and marble fireplaces weres a v e d . A l l b r i c k s a n d n a i l s a r e h a n dm a d e a n d t h e f o u n d a t i o n s a r e o f l oc a l s t o n e . T h e o r i g i n a l t i m b e rshingles are under the iron roof oft h e v e r a n d a .

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 2

Some of Captain Tinley's accountswere found behind the wall liningswhere they had lain since 1859 -newspapers dated that year wereused as backing for the wallpaper.The present owners kindly invited

two of the history committee to viewthe building.Begin to research your house your

self. The history committee will ass i s t .

Source: Newssheet February 1981.L e i c h h a r d t H i s t o r i c a l J o u r n a l N o 1 4 .Peter Reynolds. Old Balmain Cemetery Index. History Group.

S u b s c r i p t i o n sSome member's subscriptions are

due. On the address may be the sign12/02. Local postage was increasedduring the year and the cost will increase to 50 cents in January 2003but there is no increase to the yearlyfee. Would any member be intere s t e d t o r e c e i v e t h e P e n i n s u l a O bserver by e-mail?

d h T i s l - m a ' S P r i t n l k sYou are invited to join us to

a F e s t i v e d r i n k ' o n t h ehouse' on 14^^ December.1pm to 3pm.B e s t W i s h e s f o r C h r i s t m a s

and a Happy New Year.

T h e S a n d swn hobbies, sports, clubs etc one*has to understand the jargonand so to the study of family andhouse history, the first Jargon onehears is 'have you looked in TheSands'? This reply to an enquiryc a n p r o d u c e s o m e q u i z z i c a ll o o k s . ' W h a t ' s t h e S a n d s ' . T h eS a n d s D i r e c t o r y w a s p u b l i s h e dfrom1858 to 1932 by John Sands,b o o k s e l l e r a n d s t a t i o n e r s o f 3 9 2

George Street , Sydney and whow a s J o h n S a n d s ?John Sands came from a long line

of noted engravers, who was born inSandhurst, Berkshire, England in1818. After serving his apprenticeship as an engraver and map-colourer. Sands came to Sydney in1837 for the sake of his health withstationery valued at £550 and set upa retail business in George Street. In1848 he took over Mary Reibey'shouse and shop front, next to theGenera l Pos t O ffice where the fi rmoperated untiM970.John Sands married Marjory nee

Moffat in Sydney on 6"̂ December1850 and they were to have fivesons and a daughter. Sands died athis residence, Marmion, Waverleyon 16'̂ August 1873, survived by hiswife who died in 1904. Sands was re-interred in Waverly cemetery fromRookwood cemetery on the death ofh i s w i f e .

Sands formed several partnershipsin Sydney and in Melbourne with his

S h a r e d T r a f fi c Z o n e sSomething has to be done to allow

emergency vehicles access in ournarrow streets as well as pedestrians. The only satisfactory solution isshared traffic zones. Unfortunatelytheir expense has frightened theCouncil Planning and Engineeringofficers. However, there are some alternatives to the detailed requirements. On the Balmain Peninsulathere is widespread use of sandstone block kerbing. The expense ofremoving this kerbing is much lessthan concre ted kerbs . Moreovermost streets are across the gradeand drainage could be accommodated on the lower side of the streetin open gutters. The traditional approach to drain shared traffic zonesis for underground piping and that is

t h e c o s t b l o w s o u t .

brother-in-law Thomas Kenny. It wasSands & Kenny, bookseller and stationer who produced the 1858-1859address Directory, printed by F Cunningham, King Street, Sydney.T h e fi r m ' s a d v e r t i s e m e n t c a r r i e d t h e

'hourglass' trademark and stated:Beg respectfully to solicit the attention of customers and the public gen-era l l y to the i r p resen t ca re fu l l yselected stock, embracing. StandardB o o k s o f G e n e r a l L i t e r a t u r e a n d a

supply of every new works publishedin England is received by them, including Juvenile books and educational works. Bibles, Prayers andChurch Services and handsomelybound Family Bibles. Supplies oftheir own brand of fine pencils freefrom grit, 6d each, 4s6d doz. Stationery Cabinets, Cash-Boxes, PewterInkstands, artists' and drawing materials, copying press.Each issue of the Directory listed

householders, businesses, public ins t i tu t ions and o ffic ia ls o f the ent i reSydney are and some country areasin some issues, in a format whichvaried during the 74 years of publicat ion . The in fo rmat ion was co l lec tedby Sands agents who called door todoor and is open to error but a goodsource for research.The two major components of the

Directory were the Alphabetical andthe Subu rban sec t i ons . The fo rmersect ion consists of a s ingle sequence of all names with addresses.The latter section provides similar information arranged variously undersuburb, locality or local Government

C a l l a n P a r kFriends of Callan Park are claiming

complete vindication of the community campaign to protect Callan Parkwith the passing of the Callan Park(Special Provisions) Bill introducedby MP Sandra Nori. Several amendments in the Legislative Council addressed the major loopholes thatallowed long term leases amongother issues. Activities in Callan Parkwould now be restricted to education, health and community issues.

Ms Nori said she was stunned bylosing agreement on aged-care facilities within the existing buildings.The Govt bill ruled out SEPP5 aged-care housing and a governmentamendment prevented retirementvillages. The next step will be the formation of a trust to manage Callan

Area as the Directory developed. In1880 the format of the Suburb section arranged entries by streetnames, listing occupants accordingto the position of the premises occupied. In Balmain, house numbersw e r e i n t r o d u c e d i n 1 8 8 7 a n d r e n u mb e r e d i n s o m e s t r e e t s i n 1 9 1 6 .House names were important in theearlier years to identify the owner.By working backwards from 1932

and noting down the details of an individual property for each year that itis listed in the Sands, a chronologicalprofile of the occupants of a propertycan be built up. The earliest date aproperty appears may be an indication when the land was developedand so a circa date can be derived.The listing generally only includedt h e h e a d h o u s e h o l d e r s n o t n e c e s

sarily owners.For the family historian, the Alpha

betical section is a wonderful sourcefor research as their call ing wass o m e t i m e i n c l u d e d a n d t h e h o u s ename can give an indication to theirhomeland. Micro fiche of ' the Sands'a r e a u a i l a b l e a t B a l m a i n a n dL e i c h h a r d t L i b r a r i e s .

In 1881, John Sands Ltd was one ofthe first to print Christmas cards andN e w Ye a r c a r d s i n A u s t r a l i a . T h efirst card at a price of Is 3d, waslisted as 'Little girl offering a Christmas pudding to a Swagman.' TodayJohn Sands is the largest greetingcard company in Australia.Source: Sands Directory. Glebe So

ciety Bulletin April 2002. ADB.

P h o t o s a t t h e Wa t c h H o u s e

Photographs from the Balmain Association's archives will be on display each Saturday from 7thDecember to 25'^^ January 2003.11am to 3pm. Entry Free.Research your house/local family

history. Volunteer a couple of hoursgreet our visitors to the WatchH o u s e . .

C a r o l s a t S t J o h n sOn Sunday 8 December at 6pm

Nine lessons and Carols with the Inner West Chamber Choi r a t StJohns Church, Birchgrove Road.Christmas Eve 11pm Solemn

Eucharist and Carols. ChristmasDay 7.30am Eucharist and Carols.9.30am Sung Eucharist and Carols.A l l w e l c o m e .

Robert K l ippel (1920-2001) Ar t is t /Sculp torThe Art Gallery of New South Wales

held a Robert Klippel Retrospectivefrom August to October 2002. Robert Klippel produced the greatestbody of work by an Australian sculptor with more than 1,200 sculpturesduring the six decades of his activecreation and possibly 5,000 drawings, paintings and collages. Klippelrarely gave titles to his sculptures,preferring to use the term Opus,meaning a work, with a number indicating the order of completion. Two1948 Surreal ist works of the col lection of wood and jigsaw part assemblage were gifts to the Gallery by theArt Gallery Society in 1970. Thelarge outdoor bronze which, until recently, has been located on the Gallery's ground floor sculpture terrace,was the Society's Bicentennial gift.Klippel did not initially see his path

as an artist as he had envisaged hiscareer in a t rade re lated to h is father's textile business of Clipper tiesa n d C r a v a t s . H i s i n t e r e s t a s a c a r v e rand assembler of model ships fromthe age of six years was developedduring WWII when he served in theNavy and because of his skill in making miniature ships he was asked tomake models of boats and planesthat were used in recognition exerc i s e s . I n 1 9 4 6 h e c o m m e n c e d a r tclasses at East Sydney TechnicalCollege but shortly moved to Londona n d P a r i s . A f t e r a s h o r t r e t u r n t o

Sydney in 1950 he travelled to Amer

ica where he lived for severalyears and taught sculpture at fthe Minneapolis School of"Art. It was during this periodof the early 1960s that Klippel first used patterns andmachine parts in his metalassemblages. He r^urned toAustralia permanently in1963 and from 1968 for thenext 33 years he lived at hisBirchgrove home Clover-nook bui l t c1861.

Klippel lived most of his lifein Sydney and since 1968 at43 Wharf Road. Birchgrove.Inspired by industrial cranes of Sydney's docklands he constructed hisfirst major statement in weldingmetal. He worked with stone, wood,metal, plastics, junk, found objectsand machinery parts and using thetechniques of carving, casting, welding construction and assemblage.His works ranged from a group of 36b r o n z e s i n 1 9 8 0 s s i z e d f r o m 7 t o16cm, 89 polychrome tin sculptures,in 1995, painted and assisted byRosemary Madigan. ranged 3 to 15cm, to monumenta l wooden assemblages.T w o w a r e h o u s e s i n t h e B a l m a i n

area were used for the larger worksbut according to Steve Meacham.SMH 31 July 2002,: One of theartist's friends, his long-term agentFrank Watters, compares Klippel'shouse in Birchgrove to walking intoM i s s H a v e r s h a m ' s h o u s e . " F u l l o fc o b w e b s , d u s t , t h e t o o l s o f t r a d e ,lathes, saws, vices, soldering irons

Robert Klippel with his sculptures. Photo David Liddle

and hundreds of his exquisite sculptures in various stages of completion. The whole house and its warrenof more than 20 rooms, was Klippel'sshed, every room was a workshop,apart from a basic kitchen and bathroom. Oblivious to the peeling plaster, faded paintwork and threadbarecarpets, Klippel toiled with his focuson his art not his habitat.He would move around the house,

spending a month in the woodworkroom, a year in the metalwork room,a few weeks in the collage room,p a i n s t a k i n g l y a r r a n g i n g m i n u t escraps of paper with tweezers. Visit o r s n e e d e d t o b e b r i e f e d n o t t ot o u c h . O n c e a n a d m i r e r o f h i s w o r k

attempted to blow dust off a collage,not realising it was one of the manyunfinished works. Paper went everyw h e r e a n d t h e w o r k w a s r u i n e d " .

Source: Look Magazine-DeborahE d w a r d s . C u r a t o r o f A u s t r a l i a n A r tand Robert Klippel Retrospective.

2 0 0 1 C e n s u s D a t a

Data from the 2001 Census clearly demonstrates theimpact of the urban consolidation planning policies onpopulation numbers. Population numbers in local government areas with major urban renewal projects likeSydney has rocketed upwards with a 32% increase innuer of children living in the city but the Australia-widepopulation as a whole is aging. The Census found thatthe average age is now 35 and the proportion of peopleover 65 has increased to 12.6%. Australia's birth rate iscurrently below replacement rate and many women arehaving children later in life. Inner Sydney region compared to Leichhardt.T o t a l P e r s o n s 2 0 0 1 1 9 9 1L e i c h h a r d t 6 2 4 5 2 5 8 4 7 2Inner Sydney 4 7 0 8 7 O 4 0 8 2 6 6Private Dwell ingsL e i c h h a r d t 2 7 6 7 3 2 4 4 7 3Inner Sydney 1 9 3 0 3 0 1 6 1 1 4 6Total Over Age 65L e i c h h a r d t 6 0 7 2 6 5 1 1Inner Sydney 5 5 2 1 5 5 2 1 5 7

T o t a l u n d e r l S y e a r s 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2L e i c h h a r d t 7 8 6 2 8 3 1 1

I n n e r S y d n e y 5 9 6 9 7 5 7 5 6 6Total IndigenousL e i c h h a r d t 6 3 1 5 6 3

I n n e r S y d n e y 4 5 8 5 3 4 2 0Language Other Than English Spoken At HomeL e i c h h a r d t 9 5 0 8 1 0 7 6 4

Leichhardt: Most common languageItal ian 2070, Chinese 1094, Greek 973,

I n n e r S y d n e y 1 0 6 9 9 2 1 0 1 0 0 9B o r n O v e r s e a s

L e i c h h a r d t 1 7 4 1 5 1 8 0 7 1Three main regions: UK 4655, N2 2262, Italy 1317.I n n e r S y d n e y 1 5 7 3 1 8 1 5 1 6 4 7F a m i l i e s / H o u s e h o l d sLeichhardt ( 2001 ) couples with children 4929l o n e h o u s e h o l d 8 5 2 6

Inner Sydney couples with children 35625

T i m e l y Ta s k s■ ■ere is a roundup of timely"^tasks. Prune climbers afterflowering. Take hydrangea cutt ings now f rom non-flower inggrowth. Check camellias for scalea n d u s e w h i t e o i l f o r c o n t r o l . S o w

seed of primula mala-c o i d e s a n d a b s c o n i at o m a k e e x c e l l e n t

winter and spring potplants.Keep dead -head ing

r o s e s t o e x t e n d t h e i r

flower ing per iod. Jethose aphids off newbuds. Climbing rosest h a t h a v e fi n i s h e d fl o w

ering should be prunedn o w . T a k e l a t e r a lb r a n c h e s b a c k t o t w oor three strong eyes.O l d c a n e s a n d d e a d

w o o d s h o u l d b e c u t o u t f r o m t h ebase. Plant out struck dahlia cuttings.Spray heat sensitive shrubs andtrees with a fine mist early morning orlate evening when it is hot and windy.Leaves as well as roots need watering.Prepare your garden for the hot

months with a layer of mulch .overgarden beds to keep roots cool andt o c o n s e r v e m o i s t u r e . Yo u c c a n u s e

a m i x t u r e o f d e c o m

posed leaf litter, compos. decayed animalmanure, peat moss ors t r a w . M u l c h i n ghelps reduce weeds.If you go on holiday

have a neighbour orfriend water your gard e n a t l e a s t o n c e aweek, more if possibleif you have lots of potplants as they dry outso quickly in the heat.

H o n n y D a v i i l s o n

W h a t ' s O nA t t h e W a t c h H o u s eC h r i s t m a s d r i n k s 1 4 D e c

E x h i b i t i o n s• P h o to r a p h s f r o m o u r

a r c h i v e s e a c h S a t u r d a y7 D e c t o 2 5 J a n 2 0 0 311am-3pm. En t r y f ree• O r i g i na l a r t wo rksN o r m a n L i n d s a y,wa te rco lou r, o i l , pen &ink d raw ings , p r i n t s ,E l i zabe th Du rack , m i xedmed ia & d raw ings ,W a l a n g a r i K a r n t a w a r r a ,a b o r i g i n a l a r tl l ya Vo lykh ine , ( l oca la r t i s t ) , fi g u r a t i v ea b s t r a c t s 1 - 9 F e b

• Bing Wu 15-23 FebP a i n t i n g s

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AUSTRALIA

Miss Theresa L Wayward61 Louisa RoadBirchgrove NSW 20412 0 0 3 / 1 2

T h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n i n c

Representing Balmain, Birchgrove & Rozelle.Our aims are to:

Improve the living, working and recreationalamenities of our area; maintain all features having natural, architectural and or historical value ofthe area and keep a permanent collection of historical interest; seek the cooperation of everyoneconcerned in the realisation of the above.

The Balmain Association meets on the firstWednesday of each month at 7.30pm in theWatch House 179 Darling Street Balmain. TheWatch House is open every Saturday from 12 to3pm. Our editorial phone/fax is 02 98184954.Email :vhamey@tpg.com.au.Our Web site:;wviw.baimainassociatlon.homestead.com

Annual subscriptions:Household $20, Concession $10Organisations $30.