William Currey, VC MLA
William (Bill) Currey was born at Wallsend, NSW, in 1895. He served in WWI in the 4th Light Trench Mortar Battery, and then the 53rd Battalion. He fought at Polygon Wood, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery at Pėronne on 1 September 1918. Despite being gassed, he was able to help isolated comrades withdraw from no-man’s-land.
After the war, he lived at Bexley for many years, and worked for NSW Railways. He was active in the Australian Labor Party, and in 1941, he stood as Labor candidate for Kogarah and was elected to the Legislative Assembly, becoming the first Victoria Cross recipient to serve in the NSW Parliament. He successfully contested the seat twice more, in 1944 and 1947, and was respected by all sides as a hard worker for his constituency. He was also a popular member of Kogarah RSL.
He died in office, following his sudden collapse in Parliament House on 27 April 1948. He was previously commemorated in the naming of the William Currey Housing Estate at Kogarah, and there is a portrait of him by John Longstaff in the Australian War Memorial.
The Historical Marker reads:
William Currey, VC MLA 1895 - 1948.
Venerated WWI hero for actions at Peronne and the first Victoria Cross winner to enter NSW Parliament as Member for Kogarah (1941-1948). His office was located at this site.
Location of Historical Marker:
Corner of Regent Street and Railway Parade, Kogarah.
Location on Google Maps.
Paramount/Hoyts Cinema
Built in late 1928 for Petersham cinema-owner Stan Kennedy, the cinema at Mortdale had an unfortunate beginning – while still partially-built, it collapsed in a storm on 4 January 1929. By late August 1929, it was finally completed. The opening ceremony was performed by Mrs Florence Gosling, wife of the local MLA, Mark Gosling, and the building was described as ‘a triumph of workmanship and skill’. Local residents recall going to the cinema was considered a special occasion. During the 1930s the cinema was also used as a venue for Armistice Day and ANZAC Day services.
Kennedy Theatres Pty Ltd ran the Paramount until June 1950, then there was a change of ownership, and it operated as one of the Hoyt’s chain, along with the South Hurstville Paramount. In June 1953, it ran special screenings of the film of the Queen’s Coronation, Elizabeth is Queen. But by the late 1950s patronage had fallen off. The cinema changed hands again, and in 1963 was sold off, and subsequently demolished, replaced by the current unit blocks.
The Historical Marker reads:
Paramount/Hoyts Cinema. 1929 - 1959.
The Paramount Cinema was built on this site and was a popular venue for movie goers, seating 1100 people. It later became Hoyts (1950-1959) and was demolished in 1964.
Location of Historical Marker:
126 Railway Parade, Mortdale.
Location on Google Maps.
Edmond & Elizabeth English
Irishman Edmond English (1818-1912) and his wife Elizabeth were early pioneers of Kogarah. Edmond, who had been a successful miner on the goldfields, purchased 87 acres in the area from Archibald McNab in 1854, and developed a market garden. The family’s stone house, The Homestead’, stood where Carlton South Public School is today. Edmond was active in local affairs, and was a Trustee of the Catholic school and of St Patrick’s Church, Kogarah. He was influential behind the scenes in the campaign to bring the Illawarra railway line through Kogarah. He worked for the incorporation of Kogarah as a municipality, and two of his sons, Patrick English and James English became Aldermen of Kogarah Council; a third son, John English, became Lord Mayor of Sydney but died soon after attaining office. Edmond English also helped to establish the Kogarah School of Arts.
Members of the family built several grand houses within easy reach of one another – Karuah in English Street is still standing, as is The Laurels, diagonally opposite, which is now an aged care home. Edmond English built the Kogarah Hotel in the 1870s, which still stands on the corner of English Street and Princes Highway, now reborn as the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple.
Perhaps most significantly of all, the paddock of The Homestead became Kogarah Park, and in 1935, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the incorporation of Kogarah as a municipality, Jubilee Oval was built on Kogarah Park. Of course, it is now the home ground of the St George-Illawarra Dragons NRL team.
The Historical Marker reads:
Edmond & Elizabeth English, 1818-1912; 1823-1892.
Early pioneers of Kogarah. The English family purchased 87 acres of land in 1854. They were instrumental in the development of the area, establishing a school, church, market gardens, and advocating for the railway.
Location of Historical Marker:
Corner of English Street and Princes Highway, Kogarah.
Location on Google Maps.
'Ellesmere Camp' c.1855
On the shores of Kogarah Bay was the location for the camp of several Aboriginal fishing people in the 19th century, some of whom were living there until the mid-1880s. An article in the St George Call on 14 May 1904 included a photograph of ‘The Last of the Dolls Point Aborigines’. Among those shown in the photograph were Biddy Giles and Jimmy Lowndes, whose recollections were key sources for the 2009 publication, Rivers and Resilience, by Heather Goodall and Allison Cadzow. Their camp was not far from the imposing mansion ‘Ellesmere’, home of Sir Joseph Carruthers (1856-1932), 16th Premier of New South Wales, who is known to have visited the site.
At one time Biddy Giles was married to King Kooma of the local tribe, then in 1858 married an Englishman, Billy Giles, living with him in a hut at Mill Creek, off the Georges River. Land subdivision and settlement encroached upon traditional hunting grounds and forced the abandonment of the camp.
The Historical Marker reads:
Ellesmere Camp, c.1885.
Aboriginal people, including the Malone family, lived on the shores of Kogarah Bay, sharing the 'Ellesmere' estate, then owned by NSW Premier, Joseph Carruthers.
Location of Historical Marker:
Endeavour Street Reserve, Sans Souci.
Location on Google Maps.
Collaroy House
Collaroy House was constructed in circa 1883 for a Newtown businessman, Robert Newell. It was on an eight-acre block, set back from Forest Road. Reputedly, it used timbers salvaged from the cargo of the SS Collaroy, which ran aground in 1884 at what later became known as Collaroy Beach. Newell was well-known in the Peakhurst area, and was an Alderman on Hurstville Council from 1893-1895. He sold his property in 1916, for £1,550, by which time the adjacent Collaroy Avenue had been named.
Collaroy House was described in 1923 as ‘containing eight acres of land, together with a brick cottage of six rooms, kitchen, laundry, pantry, stables, outhouses etc erected thereon, the whole being enclosed by wire and paling fences.’ In 1947, the property was purchased by a Peakhurst chef, who developed it as a venue for wedding receptions and functions. From 1970 it was known as Roslyn Gardens Function Centre, and more recently as Gardens on Forest.
What remained of the original house was described in the Hurstville Historical Society Heritage Register in 1986 as “a single-storey masonry cottage unsympathetically extended. The original cottage retains a steep gable roof form with half-hip ends.”
The Historical Marker reads:
Collaroy House. c.1882.
The house was originally built for Robert Newell on an 8 acre block, and is believed to be named after the SS Collaroy. Used a popular function and reception venue since 1947.
Location of Historical Marker:
764 Forest Road, Peakhurst NSW
Location on Google Maps.
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