This photograph was donated to our collection today !!! We are keen to know anything about the Leichhardt Union Football Club.

Similar photographs dated 1927 of the Rozelle Depot Football club have also been found. According to one lovely lady all the footballers in the Rozelle Depot photographs were tram conductors from the Rozelle Depot. The conductors got Wednesday afternoons off  to dedicate time to play in competitions against other depot teams.

Eco-Annandale 2010- Ecological Art Exhibition and Night Markets.

Exhibition: 6th December 2009 – 30 Janurary 2010

The exhibition will feature art works depicting Annandale’s   Biodiversity

Night Market: 5.30-7.30pm Wednesday 9th December 2009.
Night Market: 5.30-7.30pm Wednesday 16th December 2009.

Leichhardt Library Piazza Level Italian Forum
23 Norton Street Leichhardt 2040 View exhibition in library opening hours.
Monday- Friday 9.30am-8pm
Saturday:9.30am-4pm Sunday:10am-4pm

1st stop: Balmain Library

 The Busted Walking tour was a sunny Sunday in Balmain and a wonderful group of 18 local history enthusiasts and heritage consultants gathered at Balmain Library for morning tea and a sneak preview of the Busted Exhibition, which showcases 8 mug shot images, courtesy of the Justice and Police Museum, a street landscape of Beattie street and a 1958 shot of the Balmain courthouse registry room.

A short film “Balmain Boys Do crime” flavours the exhibition with some old time Balmain characters, Larrikins at heart, they share stories of SP bookmakers, local pubs and a few scandalous crime stories from decades ago.

The walk took us to the historical  Balmain courthouse, then the confectionary shop run by the notourious cross dressing convicted murderer Eugene Falleni and wife Annie Birckett. Next stop was further down Darling street for a guided tour by Kath Hamey and June Lumsman of  the Balmain Watchhouse which once operated as a an overnight lock-up. The Balmain Association, showcased police uniforms, historical photographs, stories and newspaper clippings of gripping local crime from yesteryear.

The Exhibition is open from September 5^th – October 31^st at Balmain Library.

Scandals, Crime and Corruption

Exhibition: BUSTED! A snaphot of crime in Balmain

Dates:September 5 – October 31

Cost: Free

Where: Balmain Library,

Balmain Town Hall building

370 Darling Street, Balmain

Presented by LEICHHARDT LIBRARIES

 Email:localhistory@lmc.nsw.gov.au

Family history BALMAIN Workshop:- you’ve done the research, now what?

Join genealogist Terri Kempe as she discusses techniques and strategies to use when writing up family histories and memoirs.

Date: Tuesday September 8

Time: 6.30pm

Cost: Free

Where: Balmain Library

Balmain Town Hall building

370 Darling Street, Balmain

Presented by LEICHHARDT LIBRARIES

Email:localhistory@lmc.nsw.gov.au

BALMAIN Author talk: RAZOR by Larry Writer

Date: Tuesday September 15

Time: 6.30pm

Cost: Free

Where: Balmain Library,

Balmain Town Hall building

370 Darling Street, Balmain

Presented by LEICHHARDT LIBRARIES

Email:localhistory@lmc.nsw.gov.au

History Council History Week 2009

Leichhardt, 1950

Saturday 25 July 2009

10.30 AM to 4.45 PM

Metcalfe Auditorium Macquarie Street wing, State Library of NSW

Cost: $48, $42 (Friends) $38 (Oral History Association of Australia members) includes lunch. Morning or afternoon sessions $18 each ($30 with lunch)

George Imashev, formerly of the Australian War Memorial will present a family history: Recorded memories of my family — from Bohemia to Batemans Bay. Sue McClean and Frances Rush, both members of the OHAA, will combine to examine selected photographs as inspiration and background for history and oral history. Sue McClean will address Remembering Burdekin House — a mystery, and Frances Rush will offer A Bea on my bonnet — memories of Bea Miles.

In the afternoon, Rosemary Block, the State Library’s Curator of Oral History, will conduct a practical seminar on oral history practice and technique.

BOOKINGS: 9273 1770 or bookings@sl.nsw.gov.au

The Abbey, 1880s

The entire contents of the Johnston Street, Annandale landmark home The Abbey, being the lifetime collection of Dr Geoffrey Davis, an eminent Sydney physician and music lover. is to be auctioned.

Furnishings include dumbwaiters, revolving bookcases and many cedar chests, extensive display cabinets and bookcases, washstands, desks, chesterfields, early coffer, Georgian gateleg table, boxes and compendiums of all shapes and sizes.

Viewing is Friday 22nd May with the auction happening on both Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th May. The Auctioneers have offered an opportunity for the Annandale Historical Society to ask those attending on the 3 days to donate a gold coin as a means of raising funds for its work.

See the Lawson’s Auctioneers site at http://www.lawsons.com.au/

More info. on The Abbey can be found at: http://localnotes.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/the-houses-of-john-young/

NSW PREMIER’S HISTORY AWARDS

The NSW Premier’s History Awards are national awards, made to Australian historians in recognition of distinguished achievement in scholarly writing and publication and in the presentation of history in non-print media. The 2009 awards, each valued at $15,000, are:

• The Australian History Prize for a book on Australian history.
• The General History Prize for a book on international history.
• The NSW Community and Regional History Prize for a book which contributes to the understanding of community, institutional, urban or regional history in New South Wales.
• The Young People’s History Prize for a book or audio/visual presentation which increases the historical understanding of children and young adults.
• The Multimedia History Prize for the presentation of history utilising non-print media (including film, television, radio, CD-ROM, DVD or website).

Closing Date for the 2009 NSW Premier’s History Awards: Friday 17 April 2009.

Balmain Co-operative Store, Montague Street, ca1910

Join the folks at National Archives of Australia in a one day workshop on February 25 as expert family history researchers share their techniques on genealogy research.  More info. can be found here (requires PDF reader): syft-sydney_tcm2-199502

Heritage Conservation in the Leichhardt Council Area – The Principles of Good Practice – An Introductory Talk

One of Australia’s most experienced and respected heritage consultants and Lilyfield resident Meredith Walker will present an illustrated talk on behalf of Leichhardt Council, on the history and principles of heritage conservation and the wide range of places and issues that make up Leichhardt Municipality’s heritage.

All are welcome to attend this free information seminar.

Meredith Walker is a past president of Australia ICOMOS – the international council on monuments and sites and is actively involved in the reparation and review of the Burra Charter – the Australian standard for good practice in heritage conservation.

Annandale acqueduct, ca 1895

The talk will draw on Meredith’s experiences as a resident of Leichhardt Municipality, as a member of the National Trust, and her work as co-author of The Illustrated Burra Charter: Good Practice for Heritage Places – which includes examples of good practice from around Australia – including Leichhardt.

A short complementary presentation will be made on the night by Christopher Reeves, Council’s part-time heritage planner, who will briefly describe the provisions for heritage conservation in the Leichhardt area.

A light supper and refreshments will be provided.

Day, Date & Time: Thursday, 26 February 2009 – 6.30pm – 8.15pm.

Venue: Leichhardt Council Chambers – First Floor, Leichhardt Town Hall, corner of Marion & Norton Streets, Leichhardt.

Parking and access facilities: the venue has disabled access via Marion Street & parking is available in the adjacent Marion Street Car park.

RSVP: is essential for the event, due to restricted numbers (the venue has a capacity for 55 places) and for catering purposes – Telephone (02) 9367 9220 during business hours.

Cost:  This is a free seminar.

Balmain Coal Mine, ca 1907.

It is probably not now very well known that Balmain, for many years, had its own coal mine.

The surface works were on the site to the north of Birchgrove Primary School. The mine, at first known as the Sydney Harbour Colliery, started operations in 1897 and the last coal was mined in 1931.

The mine was the deepest ever worked in Australia and later produced methane gas, but was not a commercial success. It had poor working conditions and suffered several disastrous accidents.

 The property was sold in 1955 and the shafts filled in and sealed two years later.

Eco-Annandale 2009 is an exhibition, walk and talk examining Annandale’s contemporary eco-system.

The exhibition features the work of 7 local artists who have reflected on Annandale’s  ecology in glass, on paper and by using recycled packaging. It looks at local provenance plants, the Whites Creek Wetland and the wild birds now thriving in inner-city Annandale. Bronwen Campbell will talk about the work of the Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery.

The self guided walk takes in the sites that have been

revegetated with Local Provenance Plants by the Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery’s volunteers, Annandale’s two wetlands and the mangroves reintroduced into Rozelle Bay. The exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on the dramatic changes to the local environment since European arrival in Sydney.

EXHIBITION

January 1 – 31, Leichhardt Library, Piazza level, Italian Forum, 23 Norton Street, Leichhardt.

Opening event: WEDNESDAY January 7, 2009 6-730pm, RSVP 9367 9266 or localhistory@lmc.nsw.gov.au

For more info, see: www.ramin.com.au/annandale/ecologically-sustainable-annandale-2009.shtml

Iron Cove bridge, looking towards Callan Park, ca 1905

We were amused (yet also sobered, given the severity of the 1890s depression) by the following note from a Balmain Council meeting we came across recently, as reported in the Balmain Observer, December 1897:

Q: Are the Council’s employees entitled to any holidays, besides public holidays, during the year?

A: In 1881 we instituted a system of a fortnight’s holiday, but it was only twice taken advantage of, our officers being too, too busy to take advantage of such luxuries.

With best wishes for the holiday season!

Bruce, Amie & Garry

Local History team

Leichhardt Council

Interest in family history research continues to grow, particularly since the recent screening on SBS of the Australian version of Who Do You Think You Are?

However many tracing their family tree are often faced with the problem of how to access overseas records.

Co.As.It Leichhardt’s Italian Family Hitory Group has announced that arrangements have now been finalised which will enable those Sydneysiders with Italian ancestry to undertake research into tracing their Italian ancestors in Sydney instead of overseas.

Arrival in Sydney, ca 1955

 “After eight years of negotiations I am very pleased to say it will now be possible to order copies of records on microfilm containing the actual entries of official Italian registers, both civil and church” said Dominic Arrivilo, Chairperson of the Co.As.It Italian Family History Group.

At present 48 reels containing the registers of the Aeolian Islands (Province of Messina) are available at Casa D’Italia, Co.As.It HQ at 67 Norton Street, Leichhardt.

For further information contact Linda Nellor, Co.As.It Heritage Officer on 02 9564 0744 or Dominic Arrivolo on 02 9789 1787.

It is now 50 years since mass tram services operated in the inner-west. Trams operated in the inner-west between 1882 and 1958 and were originally driven by steam power. From the early 1900s as Sydney’s electricity supply expanded, trams were converted to electric operation. Sydney’s tramway system developed into the largest in the British Commonwealth outside of London and supplied transport to the growing suburbs.

At its peak in 1922 some 1,600 trams were operating across the city. Most inner-west trams operated from Fort Macquarie (today the site of the Sydney Opera House) and travelled down George Street. In peak periods additional services operated from Railway Square. Inner-west services were known as “red lines” services due to the red destination signage they displayed.

The controversial decision to phase out trams altogether in favour of government buses was made as early as 1938. Trams were blamed for traffic congestion in the city centre, and post-World War II as Australia’s car manufacturing industry bloomed interest groups such as the National Roads and Motorists’ Association and the Modern Road Transport Association lobbied government calling for the removal of trams from Sydney streets.

Services to Five Dock and Abbotsford were replaced by buses in 1955. The last tram services from Leichhardt and Balmain operated on Saturday 22 November,1958. The last tram service in Sydney operated from La Perouse to Maroubra on Saturday 25 February, 1961.