Federation Workers Cottage - 42 Lane Street Wentworthville
This small weatherboard cottage is one of the few remaining Federation era cottages in Wentworthville.
The cottage stands on the 2,200-acre land grant obtained by D’Arcy Wentworth in 1819. D’Arcy Wentworth was born in Ireland in 1762, where he pursued a medical apprenticeship with Dr Alexander Patton of Tandergee. His career ambitions took him to London to hone his skills, however he soon found himself facing court for alleged highway robbery. As punishment, in 1790, Wentworth was shipped to the burgeoning penal colony of Port Jackson and was then quickly moved to Norfolk Island. On Norfolk Island, Wentworth took up the role of an assistant in the hospital and was eventually appointed the Super-Intendent of Convicts. He returned to Sydney in 1796 and was appointed the principal surgeon of the Civil Medical Department in 1809. Wentworth took on a number of civic and commercial positions including Justice of the Peace, Chief Police Magistrate of Sydney, and director of the Bank of New South Wales. In addition to his civic duties, Wentworth was an astute businessman and became one of the wealthiest people in the colony, using his large landholdings in this area for raising livestock.
Wentworth’s land holdings were passed along to his children and grandchildren, and in the 1880s his grandson, Fitzwilliam Wentworth, set about subdividing and selling the land. The Wentworth Estate Lands and Building Company purchased a large area of land from Fitzwilliam and started to build roads including Lane Street, which was originally called First Street. The land for the cottage was subdivided as Lot 17 of Section 1 of the Wentworthville Estate by Auctioneer William Pritchard. The Lot continued to be owned by the Pritchards until 1913, when it was sold as one of twenty lots to Marie Stuart Guildford.
Lot 17 and 19 were sold to Sarah Ann Nicholson, wife of Thomas Milton Nicholson of Erskineville in 1914. The cottage and the land were finally sold as an individual lot in 1921 to farmer Malcolm Hoy.
The cottage was constructed in the 1890s, and its small size and simple architectural details indicate that it is a ‘Workingmen’s cottage’. ‘Workingmen’s cottages’ were built throughout Wentworthville in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to provide homes for people working in the surrounding industries, particularly for those helping with the construction of the Prospect Reservoir. The cottage features architectural elements typical of ‘Workingmen’s cottages’ including a gable roof, symmetrical façade and a bullnosed shaped verandah. To enhance the simple building, small decorative elements were added including timber finials at each gable end, timber corner brackets attached to the verandah posts, and decorative timber skirts and coloured glass windowpanes to the front windows.
Holroyd City Council purchased and restored the cottage in the 1990s to ensure that this period of Wentoworthville’s history was not forgotten.
Sources
Emma Stockburn, Parramatta Heritage Centre, ‘Wentworthville’, City of Parramatta Resources, 2020, https://historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/blog/2020/02/10/wentworthville-a-brief-history
Federation Cottage, 42 Lane Street, Wentworthville. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I277.
J.J Auchmuty, ‘D’Arcy Wentworth (1762-1827)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, published online 2006, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wentworth-darcy-1545
Certificates of Title: Vol 3176 Fol. 219, Vol. 2491 Fol. 203, Vol.2370 Fol.170, Vol 2251 Fol. 118, Vol. 1106 Fol. 134, Vol. 874 Fol.42, Vol 616 Fol. 78. NSW Land Record Services.
Greystanes Gates – Greystanes Road, Pemulwuy
Nelson Simmons Lawson
These gates are the last remaining part of the Greystanes Estate, which was built by Nelson Simmons Lawson in the 1830s.
Nelson was the third son of renowned explorer William Lawson. He was born aboard the ‘Lady Nelson’ on the voyage between Norfolk Island and Sydney Cove on 26 May 1806, however he was soon sent to England to study.
After many years in England, Nelson returned to Sydney where he married Honoria Mary Dickinson. Like his father, Nelson was a pastorialist and later a politician, becoming a member for the County of Cumberland in New South Wales Legislative Council.
Greystanes Estate
Around 1810 William Lawson purchased 75 acres of land in the current suburb of Pemulwuy.
In 1836 William passed the 75 acres of land to Nelson and Honoria. It is likely that Nelson commissioned his brother-in-law, architect Edward Hallen, to design a grand Georgian style house; however, there are no signed or dated plans for the property. In addition to the grand house, the estate contained stables and a coach house set in a picturesque Old English style garden with avenues of olive trees, elms, hawthorns and Jacarandas.
The name of the estate was inspired by the basalt outcrops dotting the surrounding landscape and the Lawson’s Scottish ancestry, as ‘Stane’ is the Scottish word for stone.
Nelson lived at Greystanes until his death on 3 February 1849. His second wife Sarah Ann continued to live at the property until 1859, after which she and her new husband, Jeremiah Frederick Downes, moved to Brownlow Hill in Camden.
Members of the Lawson family continued to own and live at Greystanes Estate until the 1860s.
From the late 1860s to the early 1880s Greystanes Estate was owned by several influential figures including: the Honorable Walter Lamb, founder of the fruit canning business in Plumpton and later Member of the Legislative Council; Fitzwilliam Wentworth, the son of William Charles Wentworth; and John Wetherill, the name’s sake of the suburb ‘Wetherill Park’. It is likely that Fitzwilliam Wentworth was responsible for extending Greystanes House to its final form.
In May 1884, Greystanes Estate was purchased by prominent member of the Cumberland community and avid sportsman, Arthur Frederick Smart. Arthur expanded the estate, buying the surrounding land until he had amassed 464 acres. Due to the expansion of the property, it is likely that these gates and a gate lodge were built by Arthur. The Smart family lived at Greystanes Estate until the 1890s, when the property was passed to Major Phillip Charley who sought to exploit the quarrying potential of the land.
In 1905 the Cumberland Argus and Fruit growers Advocate reported that Greystanes Estate had been purchased by Messer P.H. Morton and Dr Ewen Frazer, who intended to run a model dairy farm and stud. The pair purchased 120 cows and aimed to employee at least 30 men. To create the model dairy, new milking sheds, pens, stockyards and milking rooms were built and Greystanes House underwent significant internal renovations under the watchful eye of contractor Mr. W. Noller of Parramatta.
In the 1930s Greystanes Estate was sold to NSW Blue Metal Company for quarrying. During World War II, Greystanes House was occupied by Australian and American Servicemen and sadly fell into a state of disrepair. Once the Blue Metal Company regained control of the estate in 1946, Greystanes House was demolished with gates the only reminder of the once grand estate.
Sources
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Renovating Greystanes’, 15 April 1905, pg. 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86177703
Evening News, ‘Death of Mr. A. F. Smart’, 25 January 1892, pg.6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113756064
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘ C.C.A. and H Association’, 30 January 1892, pg.6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86269592
Prospect Heritage Trust, History of Prospect, n.d. Blacktown Memories, https://blacktownmemories.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/17632#idx135070
Main Gates – Boral, Greystanes Road, Pemulwuy. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I226.
Former Goodlet & Smith Brickworks Site – Brickworks Drive, Holroyd
Goodlet & Smith Ltd
John Hay Goodlet migrated from Scotland to Australia in 1852 and found work with the timber firm C. and J. Smith of Melbourne. After a few years of working at the timber firm, John formed Goodlet & Smith Ltd with James Smith, the son of one of the founders of C. and J. Smith. Goodlet & Smith Ltd moved to Erskine Street, Sydney and within 10 years they had established sawmills in Ulladulla and Coolongolook.
Goodlet & Smith Ltd expanded their industrial enterprise into pottery in 1868 with the opening of a brick and pottery works on Riley Street, Surry Hills. In November 1884, the company purchased the Junction Brick and Pottery Co. at the now Holroyd Gardens Nature Reserve, which the company ran until 1954.
Brickworks in Holroyd
There is a long history of brick and pottery production in the wider Holroyd -Merrylands area. Many small brickworks were established in the early years of the settlement at Rose Hill, now Parramatta. By the 1850s, the expanding population in this area led to more brickworks being established along A’Becketts Creek.
Brickworks were established on this site in 1878, when the Junction Brick and Pottery Co. purchased 31 acres of the Denham Farm Estate alongside A’Beckett’s Creek. The Junction Brick and Pottery Co. was a large public company financially backed by many prominent Sydney businesspeople. The company intended to be at the forefront of brick making technology by investing in the latest brickmaking machinery including the Patent Brick Kiln and Shed, and a Bradley and Cravens Brickmaking machine. Their enterprise also included a 150-foot chimney stack, 15 and 20 horsepower steam engines and two 26 feet boilers, a tramway, trucks and two disintegrators.
Unfortunately, the Junction Brick and Pottery Co. brickworks didn’t prosper, and it closed in 1880. In 1883, the site was purchased by Willoughby Engineer, Henry Gurney, who intended to update and repair the brickworks to continue brick production. Henry’s time at the brickworks only lasted until 1884 when the site was purchased by Goodlet & Smith Ltd for £5,500.
Goodlet & Smith Ltd remodeled the brickworks and production recommenced in late 1884.
In the 1890s, Goodlet & Smith expanded the manufacturing capabilities of the site to produce Portland Cement, which they sold as ‘the Rock Brand’, and terracotta Marseille roof tiles, which were some of the first to be produced in Australia. These enterprises were not as successful as brickmaking as production of cement stopped in 1919 and production of roof tiles stopped in 1930 following a significant fire in the tile plant in 1924.
The World Wars and the Great Depression caused slumps in demand for building supplies. This significantly impacted Goodlet & Smith’s business and by 1927 the Holroyd Brickworks was their sole operation. The brickworks were kept open by Goodlet & Smith’s efforts to be at the forefront of brickmaking by expanding into the production of moulded and textured bricks. By the 1950s, the Goodlet & Smith Ltd Brickworks was taken over by Newbolds General Refractories and then L.J. Hooker in 1979, and a decade later all brickmaking stopped.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Holroyd Council acquired the former brickworks site, turning the former brick pits and the remnant brickwork structures into the Holroyd Gardens Nature Reserve.
Sources
Goodlet and Smith, Brickmaking plant, chimney and Hoffman Kiln and Chimney), Warpole Street, Pitt Street, Brickworks Drive, Holroyd. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I170.
Peter Romey, Heritage Study of Goodlet and Smith Brickworks Crescent Street, Granville, prepared for Hooker Land Development, March 1989. https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/9410#idx220600
Granville Town Hall - 10 Carlton Street, Granville
The Architects
Charles Assinder Harding
Charles Assinder Harding was born in England in 1842. He trained as an architect before migrating to Sydney in 1876. One of his first jobs in Australia was to help Thomas Rowe prepare drawings for the new Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street. In 1880, Charles established his own architectural and building surveying business, designing an array of buildings including the Victoria Arcade, Grand Central Coffee Palace, Kiama Hospital as well as the Granville Town Hall. For 14 years he also worked as an architect in the Harbours and Rivers Branch of the Department of Public Works where he designed cargo stores, buildings for Garden, Spectacle and Cockatoo Island and several lighthouses, including Norah Head Lighthouse.
James Whitmore Hill
In 1900, Granville Municipal Council commissioned James Whitmore Hill to design an auditorium to be built at the rear of Granville Town Hall. James Whitmore Hill was born and studied architecture in Melbourne. Following the completion of his architectural studies he joined the Victorian Public Works Department under William Warden. James moved to Sydney in 1881 where he opened an office on Elizabeth Street, Sydney and in Parramatta, where he resided for the remainder of his life. James’ work included residential and commercial projects throughout Western Sydney including Jubilee Hall at Parramatta Town Hall, Blacktown Council Chambers and the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy. His interests extended beyond architecture as he also served as an Alderman and Mayor of Parramatta. James’ addition to Granville Town Hall contains an unusual ceiling of ripple iron with decorative ventilation domes, a gallery and a stage.
The community and Granville Town Hall
Granville Town Hall has been a fundamental part of the Granville community life since its construction, hosting an array of public ceremonies and events. In 1927, Granville Municipal Council set up a broadcast for the community in Granville Town Hall to listen to the opening ceremony of Federal Parliament in Canberra where they heard the speech by the Duke of York and the performance of Dame Nellie Melba. Granville Town Hall has hosted musicales, concerts, card events, Children’s Frolics and charity balls to support community organisations including the Granville-Auburn District Hospitals. Granville Town Hall continues to be an important place in the community as a hub for creative and cultural activities.
Sources
Granville Town Hall, 10 Carlton Street, Granville. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I01679.
Richard Apperley, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Sydney: Angus and Robertsons Publishers, 1989. WEIR PHILLIPS HERITAGE | Cumberland Council Heritage Interpretation – 8 sites | HIP | January 2026 21
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Canberra Opening’, 8 April 1927, pg. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106232470
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘In Charity’s Cause’, 17 July 1925, pg.1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103770033
Granville Memorial Park – 1 Memorial Drive, Granville
Prior to the construction of Granville Swimming Pool and the dedication of Granville Memorial Park, this area formed part of the land purchased by James Bergan in 1866. Bergen established a Woollen Mill which specialised in tweed manufacture and successfully supplied the people of Sydney until the 1890s. Between the 1890s and 1920s, the mill was operated by a number of people including Messer Stokes and Weathers, and W.F. Holliday. All wool production stopped in 1920, and the mill fell into disrepair. The site of the Woollen Mill was converted into Granville Swimming Pool in 1934. The land that would become the Granville Memorial Park remained undeveloped and was often used as a site for a travelling circus.
In 1946, Mayor of Granville, J.R. Calov, persuaded his fellow councillors and constituents of the dangers of the travelling circus, citing various incidents including when the lions’ cages tipped over and the elephants ate some of the trees. In response, Granville Municipal Council decided to dedicate this land as a public park to honour the men and women who served in the World Wars.
Granville Municipal Council envisioned the memorial park as a ‘beauty park’ which contained ornamental trees and shrubs, with memorial gates located at the entrance. The design for the park was adopted in March 1947 and included a general recreational area, tennis courts, a cricket pitch and a bowling green.
The War Memorials
The tall stone memorial column standing at the centre of Granville Memorial Park was unveiled by Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal on 25 November 1922 to honour local servicemen. It was originally located on the corner of Carlton and Russell Street next to the Granville Town Hall. In the late 1950s the memorial was moved to its current position at the request of the Granville Sub-Branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia.
The park also contains a memorial dedicated to Private George Cartwright VC (1894- 1978). George Cartwright was born in London and moved to Australia in 1912. In 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces. He received the Victoria Cross, which acknowledges conspicuous valour and devotion to duty, on 31 August 1918, after attacking a machine gun post during the attack on Road Wood, near Peronne, France. His efforts were described as a ‘gallant deed [that] had a most inspiring effect on the whole line, which immediately rushed forward’. Following the end of World War I, George moved to Merrylands and became an officer in the militia where he trained recruits in the Merrylands Drill Hall. The memorial originally stood in Granville Park from 2000, until it was moved to Granville Memorial Park in 2015.
The Watering Trough
Near the Enid Avenue entrance to the park stands a reinforced concrete water trough. The water trough was donated by George and Annis Bills, who also donated a substantial amount of money to animal societies. After the death of George in 1927, a large portion of his estate was used to fund the creation and installation of over 700 horse troughs across Australia and Britain between 1930-1940 to provide relief for horses and other animals.
Sources
Granville War Memorial Park, 1 Memorial Drive, Granville. State Heritage Item, Heritage Item ID: I71.
Australian War Memorial, ‘Private George Cartwright’, accessed 2025, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P11071432
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘No more circuses in that Park’, 24 April 1946, pg. 12, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105734974
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Memorial Park’, 6 March 1946, pg.3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105738246
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Diggers want it shifted’, 14 May 1941, pg.2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107295553
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘New site for war memorial’, 5 March 1947, pg. 5,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105744468
Heritage Series, Annis and George Bills Trough, factsheet 196, n.d.
Colquhoun Park – 196 Blaxcell Street, South Granville
John Colquhoun
Colquhoun Park was named after prominent Granville community member and four-time Mayor of Granville, John Colquhoun.
John Colquhoun was born in Parkhead, Glasgow, Scotland. He moved to Australia in 1887 in search of a new life following the death of his wife. He started work in NSW as a miner at the Minmi Colliery, in the town of Minmi, before moving to Lithgow to work in the Oakley Park Mine. Eventually John earned enough money to send for his young sons who had remained behind in Glasgow, Scotland. John left the mining business and moved to Granville, where he set up a greengrocer on Parker Street. He soon changed the business to focus on the trade of second hand bottles and produce bags. John’s son Alexander joined the second hand business, which was rapidly expanding as the NSW and Australian agricultural sectors grew. The pair retrieved jute bags from the docks, including those damaged by water, then dried and repaired them and sold them to the public, reputedly becoming the ‘largest dealers in jute manufactures’ in Australia. In 1920, Alexander took over the business as John pursued a career in politics.
John served as an Alderman of Granville multiple times between 1904 and 1928 and served four terms as the Mayor of Granville. John was an important part of the fabric of the Granville community and was involved with the Granville School of Arts, Granville Agricultural Society and the Granville and District Football Association.
Colquhoun Park
During the rapid suburban development of Granville during the 1910s and 1920s, John Colquhoun observed that the provision of public space was being overlooked. In 1926, Colquhoun acquired 9 acres of land on Blaxcell Road to be used as a public park and donated the land to Granville Municipal Council. John’s generosity was praised by his colleagues, and it was decided that the park should be named in his honour.
The only condition Colquhoun attached to the donation was for preference be given to Granville sporting bodies for use of the fields and for no sports to be played on Sundays.
Granville Municipal Council planned a large opening celebration of the park for 12 May 1928 and engaged Mr J.T. Lang, the opposition leader, to conduct the ceremony. The opening celebrations were to be accompanied by a sports meeting and a five-a-side football tournament. Sadly, John passed away at St Joseph’s Hospital, Auburn, a few hours before the opening ceremony. During the ceremony, Mr Lang informed the large crowd of John’s passing. To honour the Alderman, a minute’s silence was held as Pipe Major Ross of the Granville Pipe Band played the Scottish lament ‘Flower of the Forest’. John was praised by his family, colleagues and the wider public as a pioneer who had risen from poverty to hold the highest position in the Municipality.
In 1935, the public donated money to build a memorial to honour John Colquhoun. The memorial was designed by Sir Charles Rosenthal and was constructed of Benedict Stone, which was produced at the local Goodlet & Smith Brickworks. The memorial was originally located on Good Street near Granville Railway Station before being moved to Colquhoun Park.
Sources
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Colquhoun Park’, 15 May 1928, pg.2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107098810
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Ald.John Colquhoun’, 18 May 1928, pg. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107101231
The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Donor of the Park,’ 14 May 1928, pg. 12, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16464396
The Daily Telegraph, ‘Alderman’s gift’, 15 October 1926, pg.1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.newsarticle245923730
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Colquhoun Park’, 8 June 1938, pg.3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104970687
The Biz, ‘Memorial unveiled to former Granville Mayor’, 6 September 1935, pg. 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76354029
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘No Sunday Sport’, 21 March 1929, pg.2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104722964
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘Colquhoun Memorial’, 29 June 1928, pg.2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107098416
Colquhoun Park, 196 Blaxcell Road, South Granville. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I234.
Colquhoun, ‘A Brief History’, accessed 2025, https://www.colquhouns.com.au/about/
Haslams Creek Bridge, Parramatta Road, Lidcombe
Long before Europeans arrived, the route that is now Parramatta Road was an ancient track used by the people of the Eora and Darug nations to travel from the coast to inland areas.
Parramatta Road was formed in the early years of European settlement to connect the growing towns of Rose Hill, now Parramatta, and Sydney Cove. Rose Hill was established in April 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip as a farming settlement to feed the growing population of Sydney Cove. Initially, Parramatta River was the main link between the settlements as land routes were considered too treacherous. Eventually, Europeans started following the ancient track used by the Eora and Darug peoples and, in 1794, widened it to accommodate carriage traffic.
As the colony expanded, land along Parramatta Road was granted to settlers. In 1806, Samuel Haslam was granted 50 acres of the surrounding land and then two more grants in the vicinity of Parramatta Road and this creek. The creek was originally recorded as Hacking Creek, until, eventually, maps started to record it as Haslams Creek.
In 1810, improvements were undertaken to Parramatta Road as part of Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s efforts to improve the colony’s road system. Convict chain gangs were tasked with constructing toll booths and paving the road. Throughout the nineteenth century, the road was used for transporting livestock and produce, and a stagecoach system was established to carry people between the towns. With the introduction of the railway in the latter half of the nineteenth century patronage of the road declined as commuters opted for trains rather than the stagecoach.
By the 1920s, use of Parramatta Road increased significantly as more and more people purchased cars. The rapid increase of car journeys along Parramatta Road revealed that the road was in need of an upgrade, prompting the Main Roads Board of NSW to undertake significant improvement works including the construction of this bridge.
Haslams Creek Bridge was built in 1928 as one of over 1,000 bridges built by the Main Roads Board between 1925 and 1940. The bridge is an example of a reinforced concrete beam bridge. This type of bridge was the most common standard design used by the Main Roads Board as it could cross a waterway in one span and used concrete, a highly durable and strong material. Haslams Creek Bridge was constructed to correct a kink in Parramatta Road between John Street and Day Street to provide a more comfortable commute. The bridge was built by State Monier Pipe and Reinforced Concrete Works and was built in two parts to allow for continued use of the road. The now smooth roadway helped the suburbs of Auburn and Lidcombe to flourish. Just after the construction of the bridge, Haslams Creek was channelised as part of the Unemployment Relief Program supervised by the Department of Public Works to provide work to unemployed skilled workers during the Great Depression.
Sources
Parramatta Road, road Bridge over Haslams Creek, Parramatta Road at Haslams Creek. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: A9.
Michelle Goodman, ‘Parramatta Road: A brief history’, City of Parramatta Research and Collections, published 2021, https://historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/research-topics/buildingsand- structures/parramatta-road-brief-history
NSW Department of Main Roads, ‘Rigid Frame Concrete Highway Bridges’, Volume 4, Number 1, September 1932, pg. 10.
Central Garden Nature Reserve – 71 Paton Street Merrylands West
Arthur Todd Holroyd
Central Gardens Nature Reserve is located on the land developed by Arthur Todd Holroyd. Arthur was an explorer, physician and jurist born in England in 1806. He practiced as a physician in London until pivoting to law in 1835, all the while pursuing an interest in exploration. He was the first European to cross the Bayuda desert to Khartoum and the first Englishman to visit Kordofan in Sudan. He also travelled through Palestine, Syria and Sinai.
In 1843, Arthur moved to Wellington, New Zealand to practice as a solicitor and barrister, before moving to Sydney in 1844. He was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1845 and established a thriving law practice. In addition to his legal practice, Arthur was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, was elected to NSW Parliament in 1855, was a director of the Australia Mutual Provident Society Ophir Gold Mining Co, a trustee of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales and Sydney Grammar School, and a Fellow of St Paul’s College at the University of Sydney. Arthur also played a key role in the establishment of Merrylands and the Municipality of Prospect and Sherwood, of which he was the first Mayor.
Holroyd and Merrylands
Early land grants in the Merrylands area were distributed to settlers by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. In 1822, William Sherwin Senior tried to consolidate many of these earlier land grants into one 1,165 acre property. William died before finalising the acquisition, however his son, William Sherwin Junior, was able to execute his father’s vision and negotiated with Governor Ralph Darling to formerly acquire the 1,165 acres in 1830. William Junior called the property ‘Sherwood’, after the forest associated with Robin Hood, due to its thick forest cover. In 1855, Arthur Todd Holroyd acquired William Junior’s property, which he renamed Sherwood Scrubs. On his very large land holding Arthur experimented with an array of agricultural activities including a dairy and an orangery. In 1869, he expanded the industry of the estate to include the Sherwood Brick and Tile Works to cater to the growing demand for bricks and tile drains.
In 1891, the Sherwood Brick and Tile Works was put up for sale and included 12 acres of land, a mill, sheds, kilns, and a Faucett (Leeds) brickmaking machine. The advertisement of sale noted that the property contains clay that was of a particularly fine property and only ‘fancy brick, tiles etc. [were] turned out’. The Faucett machine had the capacity to make 1,000 bricks per hour.
In 1970, the Municipality of Holroyd purchased part of the Sherwood Brick and Tile Works site which contained several kilns and the clay extraction pits. The Council redeveloped the site as the Central Gardens Nature Reserve and converted the clay pits into lakes. The park was officially opened on 10 April 1976 by the leader of the opposition, the Honorable Tom Uren. The clay pit lakes were named after Doug McLaren, a local lawyer who was a wellregarded member of the Merrylands community. The facilities at the park expanded with the construction of the Frank Edwards tennis courts, named after the former Deputy Mayor of Holroyd; the Norrie Maley Kiosk, named in honour of Norrie Maley, philanthropist and the wife of Alderman Harry Maley; and the Animal Enclosure, named in honour of prominent local Veterinarian Dr Alan J. Warner.
Sources
Central Gardens, Cumberland Hwy & Merrylands Road, Merrylands West. State Heritage Inventory, Heritage Item ID: I193.
Queanbeyan Age, ‘Sherwood Drain Tile Works’, 14 January 1869, pg. 4 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30578709
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, ‘The Sherwood Tile Works’, 10 January 1891, pg.7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86267655
H.T.E Holt, ‘Arthur Todd Holroyd’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, published online 2006, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/holroyd-arthur-todd-3783.
Neustein & Associates, Holroyd Heritage Study Final Report, Volume 1, on behalf of Holroyd City Council, 1993.
Caroline Finlay, ‘Merryland – a brief history’, City of Parramatta Research and Collections, published 2020, https://historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/researchtopics/ suburbs/merrylands-brief-history
