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r r mithe balmainassociat ionIncorporatednews sheet

T h e P e n i n s u l a

V o l 2 9 N o 4 i s s u e 2 3 0 F o u n d e d 1 9 6 3 August/September 1994

Mainstreet StudyIn 1989 the NSW Departmentof Planning introduced a MainStreet Program modelled on as u c c e s s f u l N o r t h A m e r i c a n

prototype consist ing of fiveprimary elements: organisation,design, heritage conservation,bus iness deve lopment andpromot ion. Le ichhardt Counc i lreceived a grant for a main streetstudy for Balmain and Rozelle andformed a steering committee toimplement the program.

O n t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o ft h e C o m m i t t e e , t h e C o u n c i lappointed a group of consultantsled by architect, Tim Shellshear,and including Greg Vicas andPeter Reynolds. A draft assessment of the significance has beensubmitted in which exist ingbuildings are classified either asessential, contributory, neutral ornon-contributory. These categories canbe defined as fo l lows:

Essential. Buildings which shouldnot be demolished under any circumstances as they are landmark buildingsand are most representative of the development of the area in architecturaland social items. The Workingmen'sInstitute, Bray's Bookshop and the Catand Fiddle Hotel are examples apartFrom the obvious heritage buildings suchas the Balmain Fire Station, Post Officeand the Westpac Bank.

Contributory. These support theessential buildings in the streetscape andare themselves generally competent examples of their style and architecture.Their demolition should be strongly discouraged and then only after suitablecontrols ensure that replacement will reinstate streetscape qualities and supportof adjacent buildings. A number of thesebuildings are in poor condition and areincluded because of their potential to beupgradedto make a more positive

Darling Street Procession 1914contribution. Some difficulty was experienced with a number of buildings asto whether they should be essential orcontributory. Darling Street News, theBalmain Fruit Market, Michael's Placeand Potsa Plenty in Rozelle are somebuildings classified as contributory.

N e u t r a l . T h e s e d o n o t a d d t o t h echaracter of the street nor do they detractfrom it. Some are competently designedbuildings in their own right, but haveignored contextural streetscape issuesand do no t add to the s t ree t cha rac te r.These sites are generally suitable for redevelopment subject to appropriatecontrols. Examples are Raler BusinessPublications, Top Video and the RozelleAust ra l ia Post .

Non-contributory. These do notcon t r i bu te to the charac te r o f the s t ree tand generally detract from it. They are allsites suitable for redevelopment subjectto suitable controls. Obvious examplesare Woolworths, Telecom, Rozelle TABand the ANZ Bank .

T h e C o m m i t t e e f a v o u r s t h e i n c l u s i o n

o f t h e B a r c h a m s c h e m e f o r e n v i r o r vmental improvements for the BalmainCentre with particular focus betweenMontague Street and Loyalty Square, itsought to improve public amenity bykerb extensions and tree planting, redesign Loyalty Square with traffic calming measures whilst minimising loss ofkerbside parking. The scheme yieldsconsiderable scope for additional pedestrian space. It could be funded fromthe income from annua! licensing of theseating provided by pavement cafes,estimated to yield $100,000 per annum.Initial capitalisation costs need to beovercome, requiring a form of stageddevelopment. RTA funds could besought for the redesign of LoyaltySquare. Council has made an application for dollar-for-dollar assistance upto $100,000 for the 1995-6 program.

A Public Meeting is to be held at7.30pm on Monday 8 August in theMeeting Room of the Balmain Town Hall.

I t ' s O f fi c i a l : Yu r u l b i n

"The wooden boy who told lies grewa long nose! So did Long Nose Pointwhen it concealed the rightful name ofYurulbin." Singer, Jimmy Little, usedthe words in a speech when he unveiledthe plaque to reveal the Aboriginal nameof the park on the Point, He said that hispeople had lived in the area long beforethe European invasion (the word wasdeliberately chosen by other speakers).He said not all Aboriginals moved awaywhen the Europeans arrived as he livedsome years in Louisa Road.

At least 200 people assembled in thepark on the beautiful sunny Friday, July8 and there many other well-wishers whodid not manage to arrive in time as Idiscovered as 1 walked back along LouisaRoad after the ceremony.

T h e L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t A s s o c i a t i o ninitiated the drive for recognition ofAboriginal place names to further thereconciliation of Australia's indigenousa n d E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e s . L e i c h h a r d tCouncil shows that it is in the forefront oft h i s m o v e m e n t w i t h t h e s u c c e s s f u l c e lebration of Yurulbin's official naming.

The Mayor, Larry Hand, introducedthe speakers, led by the Hon RobertTichner, Minister for Aboriginal & TorresStraight Islanders, and followed by PeterW o o d s , P r e s i d e n t o f t h e L o c a lG o v e r n m e n t A s s o c i a t i o n , M i c h a e lS t e w a r t , D i r e c t o r o f t h e O f fi c e o fAbor ig inal Affa i rs of NSW, Col inMarkam, Opposition spokesman, andPat Morris, Australian Local GovernmentA s s o c i a t i o n e x e c u t i v e w h o fl e w f r o mWest Australia to attend. All speakersexpressed delight that such positivereconciliation is gathering momentuma n d c o n g r a t u l a t e d L e i c h h a r d t ' scommitment. Jimmy Little's daughter,Frances Peters, spoke of her strengthened sense of belonging, not only toLouisa Road, where she spent most ofher life, but also the recognition of herpeoples lives which go back for morethan 40,000 years at Yurulbin.

Afterwards, the Forest Lodge & GlebeAboriginal Dance Troupe and TonIJanke, guitarist, provided entertainmentb e f o r e r e f r e s h m e n t s w e r e s e r v e d . I n

every respect a happy occasionF r a n c e s H e a t h fi e l d

Le ichhard t Town P lan

At a recent meeting of the Town PlanCommit tee the Mayor, Clr LarryHand, expressed dissatisfaction with theprogress of the Draft Town Plan and presented a "new way forward" to prepare apaper for public discussion before theend of the year. He called for the draftinstrument to be prepared by CouncilPlanners by 30 September with regularreports to the Committee and Council.Public meetings would then be called tod e b a t e t h e d r a f t a n d r e f e r r e d b a c k t oC o m m i t t e e f o r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t o

Council leading to formal exhibition andthen finally to Council for decision.

A number of issue papers had beenpresented to the Committee which wasincapable of reaching consensus onsome. These will not be discarded but willbe inc luded in the P lanners ' ins t rument .

The Committee resolved by amendments to hold public meetings in each ofthe old wards, Due to the amount of workin presenting new Local Environmentaland Development Control Plans themeetings will not take place untilO c t o b e r . T h e r e s u l t s o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n

would be referred to a municipal widepublic forum, then to the Town PlanCommittee and finally to Council.

M a r i t i m e M u s e u m

Proposed

Acting on the proposal of IanScandrett, President of Barcham,t h e B a l l a s t P o i n t N a t i o n a l P a r kCommittee agreed to campaign with theSydney Maritime Museum for the relocati o n o f t h e M u s e u m t o t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a lC a l t e x s i t e o n B a l l a s t P o i n t . L e i c h h a r d t

Council is supporting the strategy.Recently labelled an eyesore by the

Darling Harbour Authority, the sailingship James Craig, under the proposal,w o u l d b e r e t u r n e d t o t h e w h a r f a t t h een t rance o f Mor t Bay. The museumwould occupy existing buildings of the

Heliport Ttireot^ I ^he Environment ProtectionX Authority granted approval on 11

July for the Pyrmont Heliport, subject toa maximum of 48 movements per day7am-7pm Monday to Saturday and 24 onSunday 10am-4pm. Other safetycondi t ions rest r ic t the amount of av iat ionf u e l o n t h e s i t e a n d c o n t r o l w a s t e ,sediments and working hours duringc o n s t r u c t i o n .

T h e I n n e r C i t y & F o r e s h o r e sCommuni ty Act ion Group has jo inedwith Northside Residents AgainstHelicopter Noise, Galston ResidentsAssociation and Glebe residents to fightthe project. Their committees will planp r o t e s t s , e x p l o r e l e g a l c h a l l e n g e s ,assess safety and raise campaign funds.

Their protest was boosted by therevelation that Sydney casino partner,Leighton Properties was opposed to theheliport. Leighton's state manager, MarkGray, told a Balmain meeting on 18 Julythat they would prefer it to be as far awayas i t could be. He offered the assistanceof their acoustic engineer to monitorhelicopter noise.

Caltex oil plant with the rest of the sitebecoming a much sought after naturer e s e r v e .

On Sunday 25 June, the Mayor andMuseum chief, John Smith, were aboardthe Museum's steamship, Waratah, tolaunch the campaign.

T h e a r c h i t e c t s ' p l a n s w e r e c o mmissioned by the Ballast Point NationalPark Committee and would provide theM u s e u m w i t h i t s fi r s t r e a l h o m e i n 3 0

years. The Committee was set up bylocal residents with Council support toraise funds to purchase the $20 millionsite but it would ultimately be funded bythe Sta te and Federa l Governments .

Proposed museum site

Fire Brigade Station 1905

B a l m a i n F i r e S t a t i o n

C e n t e n a r yBalmain will be in celebratory mode

when the F i re S ta t i on tu rns 100 on theweekend of 13-14 August. The stationwill be open to the general public andchildren's activities will be provided from10am until 3.30pm on Saturday. Therewill be a Fire Brigade band concert from10 to 11 .a parade from 11.30, a sausagesizzle from 12 to 2pm. a Police Bandconcert from 1.30pm and a simulatedemergency by the MSW Fire BrigadesRescue Section at 2.30pm. On Sundaythe station will again be open to theg e n e r a l p u b l i c a n d t h e r e w i l l b e asausage sizzle from 12 to 2pm and aband concert from 12.30 pm.

Balmain was originally protected byvolunteer firefighters, the first VolunteerCompany being formed in Booth Streetin 1875. It moved to Montague Streetwith a branch station in Darling Streetbetween 1884 and 1888. The fire bell wasloca ted nea r t he Wa tch House . When i t

rang, the volunteers, who might havebeen at work when the bell sounded,would gather and proceed to fight thefire. They frequently adjourned afterwards to the Volunteer Hotel on the otherside of Darling Street.

A n e w s t a t i o n w a s b u i l t f o r t h eVolunteers in 1894. The site chosen "wasat about the highest elevation inBalmain. having the great advantage ofdown-hill runs for the (horse-drawn) fireappliances when called into service, andof commanding a distant view." TheVolunteers were disbanded in 1901 whena permanent staff was appointed.

A steam fire engine had beenprovided that same year with a capacityof 250 gallons per minute together withan escape ladder capable of extension to60 feet. The station was also equippedwi th a smoke he lmet fo r use whensearching for fires in a ship's load whichwas unique at the time.

C o r r e s p o n d e n c e f r o m F i r eDepa r tmen t A rch i ves i nd i ca tes t ha twater pressure was one of the majorproblems encountered by the firemen infighting the numerous fires whichoccurred. Letters of January andFebruary 1909 report one case in whichthis led to acrimonious dispute. J Scard,Turncock, reported on January 30, "inorder to get to the fire [at St Thomas'Schoolroom, Rozelle], the Brigade had topass one S.D. hydrant on the 15" main.

and one S.V. hydrant on the 9", Theattention of the Brigade was directed tot h e s e h y d r a n t s b y s e v e r a l o f t h espectators, and particularly by Mr. Burns,an ex-member of the Brigade, but non o t i c e w a s t a k e n o f t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . "

W. J. Corkill, the Station Officer, wasgiven an opportunity to reply: "In theturncock's report he states when hearrived at the scene we were workingfrom the 4 inch but does not mention thatwe were also working from the 9 inchmain, and had the steamer at work sometime before he arrived. He also says thata deal of comment was made by theonlookers, but I think the person whomade the most was his f r iend Ex-firemanB. who was a member of the BalmainVolunteer Fire Brigade. Whom I have meton several occasions at fires in Balmain,and always seems to know more thanany one else and has shown a desire tobe a l i t t le officious i f al lowed."

The professionalisation of the servicehad obviously not been universallywelcomed. The Superintendent of theMid Wes te rn D is t r i c t O ffices summar isedthe matter: "I would state that there is no

question about the water supply beingvery bad in the vicinity of this fire whenthe Brigade arrived and I therefore refuteany Statement that Turncock Scard hasmade in its entirety. This matter appealsto me as District Officer as the Brigadein my opinion has been held up toridicule through the malicious and falsereports which have been circulated in thePublic Press by Turncock Scard."

Despite being of weather boardconstruction with iron roof wood-lined, St

T h o m a s ' S c h o o l r o o m s u f f e r e d l o s s o fthe roof only and the Engineer-in-Chiefnoted "I question very much if damagecould have been prevented as the firehad a hold before the Brigade appearedon the spot."

Occasionally accidents occurred enroute to a fire. On 19 August 1905 G.H.Dadd reported, "1 do myself the honor toreport that Captain E.G.of Balmaincalled on me this morning Saturday 19thand stated that he was knocked down byour Engine and Sustained Severe Shockto the System. He admitted that theEngine did not touch him, but hearingthe horses and bell he looked up and sawthe Engine and went to step back andfell. Arthurson told me on Thursday nightthat a man fell down and he and Mulliganpicked him up and asked if he was hurt.G. replied he did not know. I will let youknow in the morning and walked ondown the Street. I took no further not iceof the matter after making enquiries andwas satisfied that the Engine did nottouch him until (G.) called on me thismorning and told me he had got Medicaladvice and was going to put the matterin the hands of his Legal Adviser as he isof the opinion that he should getcompensation for getting frightened witha Fire Engine."

"I may state that Captain G. is 72years of age very tottery and excitablen a t u r e . . . . G ' s M e d i c a l A d v i s e r i s a n o l dre t i red Doctor. Older than Q. h imsel f . . . "

In these early days of the station therecould also be problems with the horses,(more on back page).

I n t he Shade

Most gardens haveareas that are shadedo r s e m i - s h a d e d m o s t o f t h et ime. That doesn' t mean that

y o u c a n n o t g r o w p l a n t sthere. Be aware whether the

place is moist for longperiods or quite dry.

Don't expect floweringplants to bloom well in shadyc o n d i t i o n s , i n s t e a d l o o k f o r

plants with attractive foliage.The two tree begonias,metallica and haageanna, bloom quitewell under tall trees. Any soil can beImproved by adding plenty of compostor other rotted organic material. Plants

Fire Station Centenary continued.On 3 May 1906. Station Officer W.J.Corkil l reported that when havingharness drill on the 2nd May, "HorseDoncaster rushed the stable doors verysuddenly before the bell rang or the leveron the door re leased. Which caused thehorse to b reak bo th s t i les on the door. "

He noted further, however, "I may statethat the horses turned out severa l t imes

previous to the accident and everythingworked very satisfactorily."

F a l s e a l a r m s a l s o o c c u r r e d i n t h o s e

days, just as they do now. On 22 Dec1910 the Station officer reportedreceiving a call of fire aboard the S.S.Gabo lying at White Bay. When No 29Steamer arrived, however, havingproceeded "with all possible haste" theyfound no fire on board. Enquiries at theBalmain telephone exchange elicited theinformation that telephone number 173(the Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltdof Glebe Island) had made the call butwhen the Station officer rang the samen u m b e r t h a t s e n t t h e c a l l a n d m a d e

enquiries he was assured no such reportof a fire had been made. The fireman whowas on station duty when the call wasreceived however, "positively identifies

that answered mv ring on the telephone,"

Gnfortunately, the Chief Officer, NewSouth Wales Fire Brigades noted thel e t t e r w i t h " I d o n o t t h i n k t h a t w e c a n

proceed any further with this matter. Wecould not obtain a conviction for givinga f a l s e a l a r m . "

D e b b y N i c h o l l s

growing under trees will compete form o i s t u r e a n d n u t r i e n t s , s o w a t e r

regularly and feed them with a balancedfertiliser. Clived lilies not only thrive in

shady areas, but also flowerquite well. A shady, moistarea is ideal for tree ferns and

a se lec t i on o f sma l le r fe rns .H e l l e b o r u s o r i e n t a l i s l i k e sthe same cond i t i ons and w i l lflower throughout the winterand early spring.

For ground cover, any ofthese should do wel l : to lmiea

menz ies i , v io la hederaca ,asparagus sprengeri ajuga.For shady spots that seem todry out easily try bargeria

cordifol ia, nandina domestica, correas(most varieties) or westringia fruiticosa.The delightful long flowering correas willencourage nectar eating birds into thegarden. Dianella tasmarica develops intoa broard leafy clump. In spring andsummer it produces deep blue flowersfollowed by purple berries. For areas thatg e t m o r n i n g s u n o n l y, c o n s i d e rhydrangeas, rehmannia, fuchsias,impatiens, corylopsls spicata. The last isdeciduous and is pretty in early springwith lovely yellow flowers.

B o n n i e D a v i d s o n

T h e A n n u a l G e n e r a l

Meeting of the BalmainA s s o c i a t i o n I n c w i l l b eheld on Wednesday 3

August 1994 at 7.30pmin the Watch House.

W h a t ' s O nE x h i b i t i o n s a t t h e W a t c h H o u s e

• Julie Chamberiln • July 30 toAug 7

• Susan Kerville - Historic PapersSep 3-11

• Anita Johnston - Sep 17-25Paper Makers of NSW

• S u e C o w d e n - O c t 1 - 2• A n n e G r a h a m &

Jacquline Clayton- Oct 8-16• N a d o M i l a t - N o v 5 - 6

Ink on paper

Pr in ted on recyc led paper byS n a p P r i n t , B a l m a i n

© No t to be rep roduced w i thou ta u t h o r i s a t i o n

A S h o w c a s e o f

Young TalentDavid Nemeth and Jude Hungerford,

violin, Zee Hungerford, cello, SarahMcLain, clarinet, and the Amazing Joel,comedy magic, will be presented byMichael Oxenburgh at Clontarf Cottage,4 Wallace Street on Sat 6 August at 8pmand Sun 7 August at 3pm.

Tickets $10, concessions $8.Bookings at Michael's Place 405 DarlingStreet . Ph 810 4896

The Village Playerspresent at Clontarf Cottage

"Splinters", a comedy by Bill Condon.A love story about a man and a NorfolkPine. Champagne Opening at 8pm onSat 13 August. Tickets $15.Preview 1 1 & 12 August $5. PlayingThursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm andSunday at 3pm until 3 September. $10cone SB.Bookings at Michael's Place 405 DarlingStreet . Ph 810 4896

T h e B a l m a i n A s s o c i a t i o n I n crepresenting Balmain, Birchgrove,

R o z e l l e .

O u r A l m s A r e T o :• improve the living, working and

r e c r e a t i o n a l a m e n i t i e s o f o u ra r e a

• maintain all features havingn a t u r a l a r c h i t e c t u r a l a n d / o rh i s t o r i c a l v a l u e

• compile and record history ofthe area & keep a permanentc o l l e c t i o n o f i t e m s o f h i s t o r i c a li n t e r e s t

• seek the cooperation ofeveryone concerned in ther e a l i s a t i o n o f t h e a b o v e

The Watch House is open everySaturday from 12 to 3pm

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

first Wednesday of each month at 7.30pmi n t h e W a t c h H o u s e

179 Darling Street. Balmain.Mai lc /o POBox 57. BALMAIN. 2041.

Our editorial phone/fax is 818 4954Interested artists, potters, sculptors,etc. who would like to organise ane x h i b i t i o n i n t h e Wa t c h H o u s e a r e

urged to contact Steve South on8 1 0 1 4 1 1 .

Annual Subscriptions:Househo ld $16 , Pens ione rs &

Students $7, Organisation $21.