The historical photos and articles are mixed in amongst the School photos and information.
- 1770 - The Illawarra District is first mentioned by Captain Cook in the log book of the 'Endeavour'. A party from the ship failed to make a landing.
- 1796 - Bass and Flinders landed after a previous voyage in the 'Tom Thumb'. The district was called 'Allowrie' by the natives.
- 1797 - Survivors of a vessel, the 'Sydney Cove' found coal near Coalcliff.
- In 1958 the population of Wollongong was about 109,000.
- In 1890 land near the railway in Crown Street was sold for 6 pound 10 shillings per square foot. In 1957 property in the same street was sold for 2,000 pound per square foot.
Above photo was taken at the old Wollongong Showground Grandstand - also see photo below.
Crown Street/Corrimal Street , Wollongong 1938 to 2018.
Marcus Clark & Co.
Water's Building(s).
William Waters, general merchant, opened his original store in Unanderra in 1895. The business became known as ‘W. Waters and Son’ in 1927 when his eldest son John became a partner, later becoming ‘W. Waters and Sons’ when his second son William also joined the family business. In 1905 he opened his store at 313 Crown Street Wollongong and diversified into hardware and homeware.
In the late 1980s the Crown Street store closed and the business relocated to the corner of Stewart and Corrimal Streets Wollongong, where it operated until June 2000.
A Waters family store also operated at Shellharbour between 1993 and 2002.
In the late 1980s the Crown Street store closed and the business relocated to the corner of Stewart and Corrimal Streets Wollongong, where it operated until June 2000.
A Waters family store also operated at Shellharbour between 1993 and 2002.
Nock & Kirby's.
Nock and Kirby began as a partnership of Thomas Nock and Herbert Kirby in 1894. It became a limited liability company in 1906. It had a subsidiary, Beard Watson.It had investments in Outboard Marine Australia Pty. Ltd. and in a brick manufacturer, Zacuba Pty Ltd.
Two Nock & Kirby demonstrators, "Joe the Gadget Man" and "Handy Andy", employed from about 1950, became household names through their appearance in ads and TV shows.
All stores were changed to BBC Hardware following acquisition by Burns Phillip in 1983.
Two Nock & Kirby demonstrators, "Joe the Gadget Man" and "Handy Andy", employed from about 1950, became household names through their appearance in ads and TV shows.
All stores were changed to BBC Hardware following acquisition by Burns Phillip in 1983.
Wollongong Railway Station.
Where the Company started....
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Slide Show - Construction of No. 1 Blast Furnace; 1927 & 1928.
Gleniffer Brae House, Keiraville - Home of the Hoskins Family.
John Lysaght's - Springhill Works.
Three galvanised iron samples distinguished by their typical corrugations and trademark stamps. 'Guinea Australia' and 'Orb Australia' are corrugated in shape and are stamped on front. The 'Queen's Head Australia' is a flat sheet also stamped on front. These samples were manufactured by John Lysaght (Australia) Pty Ltd between 1937 and 1955.
Lysaght Referee Publication.
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Electrolytic Refining and Smelting Company of Australia. (1907-1994)
Metal Manufactures Limited.
Old Dapto Smelters.
Dapto Smelter Photos taken in the late 1800s...
Parkinson's Cordials.
In the early 1880s James Parkinson opened his cordial factory on the northern side of Bode’s Hotel (North Wollongong Hotel) before moving into Wollongong around 1898.
He sold ginger beer in a champagne style earthenware bottle. Parkinson’s trademark was the initials J. P. within a circle. The company produced cordials and sold them in bottles with a marble stopper in the neck.
The University of Wollongong library has published the region’s earliest known aerial footage, showing a 1930s bird’s eye view of a developing industrial city.
The footage was filmed by Illawarra identity Charles Jackson, who worked for federal Liberal politician William Wentworth.
According to UOW historian Glenn Mitchell – who was given the Kodak footage by Mr Jackson in the mid-80s – Wentworth owned vast tracts of land where Port Kembla, Warrawong and Lake Heights now lie.
He wanted to use the footage as promotional material to attract would-be investors to the region.
‘‘[Jackson] hired a biplane and hung out the side of it with a ... camera – and that’s what you see in the footage,’’ Dr Mitchell said.
The four-minute black and white film opens with the biplane preparing for take-off at Mascot airport and cuts to the view over Thirroul and Sandon Point.
It then pans over the township of Wollongong, with the city’s brand new lighthouse visible on Flagstaff Hill.
As the plane heads towards Port Kembla, Jackson films the expansive Tom Thumb Lagoon, which covered what is now the inner harbour between southern Wollongong and Cringila.
The showground and City Beach surf club are just visible, before Jackson pans over to film Port Kembla’s harbour, steelworks and five islands.
The UOW library, which recently digitised the footage, estimates it was taken in 1938, but Dr Mitchell said it could have been earlier given the relatively small size of the outer harbour and steelworks.
The footage was filmed by Illawarra identity Charles Jackson, who worked for federal Liberal politician William Wentworth.
According to UOW historian Glenn Mitchell – who was given the Kodak footage by Mr Jackson in the mid-80s – Wentworth owned vast tracts of land where Port Kembla, Warrawong and Lake Heights now lie.
He wanted to use the footage as promotional material to attract would-be investors to the region.
‘‘[Jackson] hired a biplane and hung out the side of it with a ... camera – and that’s what you see in the footage,’’ Dr Mitchell said.
The four-minute black and white film opens with the biplane preparing for take-off at Mascot airport and cuts to the view over Thirroul and Sandon Point.
It then pans over the township of Wollongong, with the city’s brand new lighthouse visible on Flagstaff Hill.
As the plane heads towards Port Kembla, Jackson films the expansive Tom Thumb Lagoon, which covered what is now the inner harbour between southern Wollongong and Cringila.
The showground and City Beach surf club are just visible, before Jackson pans over to film Port Kembla’s harbour, steelworks and five islands.
The UOW library, which recently digitised the footage, estimates it was taken in 1938, but Dr Mitchell said it could have been earlier given the relatively small size of the outer harbour and steelworks.
1890 - Photo taken from Crown Street with Church Street leading up the hill to the left; St Michaels Church of England at extreme top left.
Buildings pictured: Wollongong's St. Michael's Church of England, Court House, Frank Bevan's Sale Yards and W. James - Farrier and Veterinary Surgeon. This is where the Amphitheatre is today.
Crown Street over the years.....
Corner of Crown & Keira Street over the years...
Flinders Soccer Football Club - 1915.
First row: C. Booth, B. Gittins, P. Musgrave, R. Learmonth, S. Davies.
Second row: F.A. Parsons (Treasurer), A. Learmonth (Manager), T.J. Woods (Patron), E. Puckeridge (Vice-President),
Driver G. Graham (Life Member).
Third row: W. Woods (Trainer), W. Wales, L. Oswald, F. Parsons (Linesman), J. Wales, A. Simpson, W. Learmonth (Trainer).
Fourth row: F. Puckeridge (Captain), J. Puckeridge (Secretary), J. Wrightson (Vice-Captain).
First row: C. Booth, B. Gittins, P. Musgrave, R. Learmonth, S. Davies.
Second row: F.A. Parsons (Treasurer), A. Learmonth (Manager), T.J. Woods (Patron), E. Puckeridge (Vice-President),
Driver G. Graham (Life Member).
Third row: W. Woods (Trainer), W. Wales, L. Oswald, F. Parsons (Linesman), J. Wales, A. Simpson, W. Learmonth (Trainer).
Fourth row: F. Puckeridge (Captain), J. Puckeridge (Secretary), J. Wrightson (Vice-Captain).
H. E. Harrigan & Sons - Motor Vehicle Dealership.
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Crown Lane off Crown Street.
St. Michael's Church of England.
The Church on the Mall....Wesley Uniting Church - 116 Crown Street, Wollongong.
The building, an imposing neo-gothic sandstone structure, was opened in 1882 and has served for over a century as the central church of the Methodist heritage in the Illawarra region. Today the church is known as the Wesley Uniting Church and is a thriving part of the Wollongong Parish Mission with an extensive outreach in this section of the city
City Central Presbyterian Church - Wollongong
First Church was built on the corner of Crown & Church Streets while the second is on the corner of Kembla and Burelli Streets.
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Wollongong
Wollongong Ambulance Station.
Wollongong has had three Ambulance Stations. The first was near the western corner of Church and Market Streets from 1912 to 1934. The second was on the north eastern corner of Church and Burelli Streets from 1934 to 1969. The third was then built in its current location at 455 Crown Street, West Wollongong.
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The key object of the kit was a yellow globite case, reminiscent of those that once prevailed in Australian schoolrooms. Its random display of Sydney 2000 stickers complemented this childhood theme. Inside the case were green and gold socks, a torch, cheer band, lapel pin, program, postcard, cards, earplugs, stickers and a Kodak CD Rom. The torch and cheer band - set with movement- sensitive lights - illuminated the darkened stands during the Ceremony, while socks appeared prominently on the sea of waving hands. This particular kit was part of the surplus supply that remained with SOCOG after the event. Most examples were posited on seats before the ceremony and were claimed by spectators as they took their positions.
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Silver Bell Cafe and the Black and White Fruit Milk Bar.
Located near/on the corner of Crown & Keira Streets, both were owned, but at different times by the Tambakis family....click on button below to read the history:
The Black & White Fruit Milk Bar in Wollongong (above) was taken over in 1956 by brothers Peter, Harry and Theo Tambakis and was so successful that other Greek-run milk bars soon appeared in other cities and towns. The milk bar attendants' uniforms were an important 'visual branding' and styles differed from one cafe to another.
Wollongong Theatres.
Men's Baths.
Wollongong Ladies Baths & Nun's Pool.
The article below on the 'History of the Baths & Pool' is not clear and appears to have the two as one.....
Wollongong Teachers' College.
Began in 1962 under the Division of Social Sciences, Department of Education of the then New South Wales University of Technology. In January 1974, Wollongong Teachers' College changed its name to Wollongong Institute of Education. The autonomous Wollongong Institute of Education was officially dissolved in 1982 and formally amalgamated with the University of Wollongong. The Institute of Advanced Education was formed within the University. It was made up of the School of Education, Centre for Studies in Literacy, School of Arts and Community Studies, Centre for the Arts, School of Industrial and Administrative Studies. As part of a broader University wide restructure, the Faculty of Education was formed in 1984, from the merger of the School of Education and the University's own long established Department of Education which was based within the Faculty of Social Sciences. This restructure saw the formation of four new centres in 1985 within this Faculty: The Centre for Literacy, Language and Cognition, The Centre for Education Policy Studies (incorporating the Unit for Special Education), The Centre for Curriculum Theory and Teacher Development, and The Centre for Health Promotion and Lifestyle Management. The Centre for Literacy, Language and Cognition was formed from the amalgamation of the Centre for Studies in Literacy and the Centre for Language and Cognition. Works by these bodies are entered under the name used at the time of publication.
Mount Pleasant Colliery.
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Extracts from:
Old Pioneer's Reminiscenses of Illawarra, Illawarra Historical Publications, 176p.
http://ro.uow.edu.au/hcp/6
MOUNT PLEASANT COAL AND IRON MINING COMPANY.
This is the only mine on the South Coast which has included in its workings the mining for iron as well as coal. The history of the Mount Pleasant mine is interesting. The colliery was opened some five years after the Mount Keira mine, and, like the Mount Keira Colliery, the 17 Foot Seam was the first mined.
The mine was opened by Patrick Lahiff and Benjamin Fawcett in the year 1854. The first tunnel was driven on the 17 Foot Seam, which was worked for three or four years before the 7 Foot Seam was opened. The tunnel mouth at this time was on the Wollongong side of the mountain.
The colliery at an early period was floated into a company, the principal shareholders being Patrick Lahiff, James Byrnes of Parramatta, and William Spears of Sydney, the Howarth family also having an interest. Upon opening the mine the manager (Mr Lahiff) had an incline and line constructed to Wollongong Basin. The line was a wooden one, constructed of 3" x 4" sawn timber, let into slots cut in the sleepers, the timber being keyed into place in the sleepers with wood wedges. On the top of the wood rails long iron plates were fastened with plate nails, and for forty years this railway was in existence.
The late Mr Patrick Lahiff was a stonemason by trade, his first work at Wollongong being the erection of the original Anglican Church (in Corrimal Street). He had not the mining training which is considered so necessary in the scientific and practical mine manager of today; yet in many respects he was a genius.
The transport of the coal from the mine to the wharf was unique in Australia. The high grade of the incline was used by means of a double drum to lower the full trucks to the bottom of the incline, and by the superior weight of the full trucks to pull the empty trucks up the hill as haulage became necessary from the mine. As the drives advanced into the mountains the preponderance of weight or power on the incline was used by a system of gearing to pull the full skips out of the mine, and for very many years this system was used with great success. Today when we see locomotives hauling coal on all the colliery lines it is hard to believe that there was a time when the whistles and sounds of the Loco were unknown at Wollongong.
For a great number of years at the Mount Pleasant Colliery the trucks of coal were hauled from the bottom of the incline along wooden rails to the wharf by teams of horses. Old hands will remember when the late John Kennedy had the contract for haulage on the Mount Pleasant line, and his fine team of horses hauling eight and ten waggons along the line to the wharf.
At this time the mine was driven by the main tunnel running through the mountain on the inside of the "outcrop". At certain distances a drive was made to daylight for purposes of ventilation. This main tunnel was eventually driven to daylight about 1.5 miles from entry. At this point - known as the "Drift" - a shaft was sunk and a furnace erected to ventilate the mine. All the drives for the purpose of winning coal were driven south west to the Mount Keira Colliery boundary. This colliery at its early stage was under control of Patrick Lahiff (Manager), James Cram (Under-Manager), and E.Gillies (Assistant Under-Manager).
Iron Mining.
About the year 1880 Mr Patrick Lahiff erected a smelting furnace at the bottom of the incline for the purpose of treating the various iron ores which crop out at various points on the mountains. The late Mr Lahiff had men almost constantly employed prospecting for a suitable iron ore that might be of use commercially. To the late Mr Lahiff a great deal of the credit is due for the part he played in an effort to develop the iron ore industry in the Illawarra district. He spent both money and time, and although he was not able to make a commercial success his efforts have not been in vain, and it is pleasing to know that the directors of the Mount Pleasant Colliery still maintain the name of "Mount Pleasant Coal and Iron Mining Company" as the name of their venture.
Coke Making.
Away back behind the veil of 40 years the late Patrick Lahiff had a belief that some day the product of the small waste coal would come into its own, and to test his belief he had erected at the Wollongong harbour two coke ovens for the purpose of coke making. The venture was not a success. This was due to want of experience in coke burning, but an effort had been made, and as one watches the sky at night lit with the flare from dozens of hungry coke ovens one can but remember the pioneer of the industry and be grateful for his effort.
In the coke industry Mount Pleasant was indeed the pioneer. For a short period Mr Ashley had charge of the coke making at the wharf and then it was abandoned. In the year 1887 coke making was commenced with more success close to the Mount Pleasant loco sheds, near the Main Bulli Road. Coke ovens were erected under the control of Mr Robshaw, and good marketable coke was made. Later the late Mr Figtree and his sons took over the works, the quality of the coke was improved, and sound markets secured, and the waste slack which for half a century was dumped over a huge heap, as a thing of no account, became of great commercial value.
There are few living souls who were associated with the Mount Pleasant mine at the time the above details were recorded. A few are yet with us - Mr William Brownlee of Yellow Rock; Mr E.Gillies of Fairy Meadow; and Mr Pat McMahon of Balgownie. All others have passed away, and we remember them for the part they played in the pioneering of a great industry.
Old Pioneer's Reminiscenses of Illawarra, Illawarra Historical Publications, 176p.
http://ro.uow.edu.au/hcp/6
MOUNT PLEASANT COAL AND IRON MINING COMPANY.
This is the only mine on the South Coast which has included in its workings the mining for iron as well as coal. The history of the Mount Pleasant mine is interesting. The colliery was opened some five years after the Mount Keira mine, and, like the Mount Keira Colliery, the 17 Foot Seam was the first mined.
The mine was opened by Patrick Lahiff and Benjamin Fawcett in the year 1854. The first tunnel was driven on the 17 Foot Seam, which was worked for three or four years before the 7 Foot Seam was opened. The tunnel mouth at this time was on the Wollongong side of the mountain.
The colliery at an early period was floated into a company, the principal shareholders being Patrick Lahiff, James Byrnes of Parramatta, and William Spears of Sydney, the Howarth family also having an interest. Upon opening the mine the manager (Mr Lahiff) had an incline and line constructed to Wollongong Basin. The line was a wooden one, constructed of 3" x 4" sawn timber, let into slots cut in the sleepers, the timber being keyed into place in the sleepers with wood wedges. On the top of the wood rails long iron plates were fastened with plate nails, and for forty years this railway was in existence.
The late Mr Patrick Lahiff was a stonemason by trade, his first work at Wollongong being the erection of the original Anglican Church (in Corrimal Street). He had not the mining training which is considered so necessary in the scientific and practical mine manager of today; yet in many respects he was a genius.
The transport of the coal from the mine to the wharf was unique in Australia. The high grade of the incline was used by means of a double drum to lower the full trucks to the bottom of the incline, and by the superior weight of the full trucks to pull the empty trucks up the hill as haulage became necessary from the mine. As the drives advanced into the mountains the preponderance of weight or power on the incline was used by a system of gearing to pull the full skips out of the mine, and for very many years this system was used with great success. Today when we see locomotives hauling coal on all the colliery lines it is hard to believe that there was a time when the whistles and sounds of the Loco were unknown at Wollongong.
For a great number of years at the Mount Pleasant Colliery the trucks of coal were hauled from the bottom of the incline along wooden rails to the wharf by teams of horses. Old hands will remember when the late John Kennedy had the contract for haulage on the Mount Pleasant line, and his fine team of horses hauling eight and ten waggons along the line to the wharf.
At this time the mine was driven by the main tunnel running through the mountain on the inside of the "outcrop". At certain distances a drive was made to daylight for purposes of ventilation. This main tunnel was eventually driven to daylight about 1.5 miles from entry. At this point - known as the "Drift" - a shaft was sunk and a furnace erected to ventilate the mine. All the drives for the purpose of winning coal were driven south west to the Mount Keira Colliery boundary. This colliery at its early stage was under control of Patrick Lahiff (Manager), James Cram (Under-Manager), and E.Gillies (Assistant Under-Manager).
Iron Mining.
About the year 1880 Mr Patrick Lahiff erected a smelting furnace at the bottom of the incline for the purpose of treating the various iron ores which crop out at various points on the mountains. The late Mr Lahiff had men almost constantly employed prospecting for a suitable iron ore that might be of use commercially. To the late Mr Lahiff a great deal of the credit is due for the part he played in an effort to develop the iron ore industry in the Illawarra district. He spent both money and time, and although he was not able to make a commercial success his efforts have not been in vain, and it is pleasing to know that the directors of the Mount Pleasant Colliery still maintain the name of "Mount Pleasant Coal and Iron Mining Company" as the name of their venture.
Coke Making.
Away back behind the veil of 40 years the late Patrick Lahiff had a belief that some day the product of the small waste coal would come into its own, and to test his belief he had erected at the Wollongong harbour two coke ovens for the purpose of coke making. The venture was not a success. This was due to want of experience in coke burning, but an effort had been made, and as one watches the sky at night lit with the flare from dozens of hungry coke ovens one can but remember the pioneer of the industry and be grateful for his effort.
In the coke industry Mount Pleasant was indeed the pioneer. For a short period Mr Ashley had charge of the coke making at the wharf and then it was abandoned. In the year 1887 coke making was commenced with more success close to the Mount Pleasant loco sheds, near the Main Bulli Road. Coke ovens were erected under the control of Mr Robshaw, and good marketable coke was made. Later the late Mr Figtree and his sons took over the works, the quality of the coke was improved, and sound markets secured, and the waste slack which for half a century was dumped over a huge heap, as a thing of no account, became of great commercial value.
There are few living souls who were associated with the Mount Pleasant mine at the time the above details were recorded. A few are yet with us - Mr William Brownlee of Yellow Rock; Mr E.Gillies of Fairy Meadow; and Mr Pat McMahon of Balgownie. All others have passed away, and we remember them for the part they played in the pioneering of a great industry.
Written by J.L.N. Southern, B. Met.E., M. Aust.I.M.M.
THE HISTORY OF IRON SMELTING IN AUSTRALIA.
In lllawarra, Patrick Lahiff had been taking a keen interest in the attempts of the various enterprises to produce pig iron by smelting local ores. He was manager of the lllawarra Coal Co. at Mount Pleasant Colliery, which opened in 1861. He had approached the managers of the various ironworks in Tasmania, Victoria, Mittagong and Lithgow recommending the use of lllawarra Bulli seam coal or coke to solve their fuel problems. Lahiff was taking quite an active part in the develop· ment of Wollongong, in the construction of sandstone buildings in the town as well as the building of Belmore Basin in Wollongong harbour. Lahiff knew of the existance of ironstone deposits along with the coal seams on the lllawarra Range fron Coalcliffe to Jamberoo that had been discovered in 1863. These deposits, in various places, were described as ferruginous shale, clayband, carbonate of iron and brown hematite, varying from 20% to 50% iron.
Very little coke was being produced in lllawarra prior to 1888 and when Lahiff found coke produced by spontaneous combustion at the base of the coal slack dumps, he built a small blast furnace in 1882. Using this coke as fuel he produced some ten tons of iron to test the local materials. This furnace is of particular interest as it was the only experimental blast furnace built that could be examined in modern times.
It was typical of such furnaces and gave an insight to the relatively modest outlay needed to test local ores and fuels. This was built at the foot of the Mt. Pleasant Colliery incline, at the end of what is now Robsons Road. It stood on a six feet square sandstone base four feet high above which was erected a cylindrical brick furnace bound for reinforcement with the material most readily available to the owner, a colliery haulage rope. This brick structure was six feet high and six feet in diameter. There were two nine inch courses, the outer of common building brick from which the inner firebrick lining was separated by the usual layer of 4 inches of insulation. The hearth diameter was 30 inches and there was a 16 by 14 inch opening in the side of the furnace for a single uncooled tuyere. When inspected by the author in 1943 there was severe burning of up to three inches of the firebrick lining in the lower part and a hole had been knocked through the side of the furnace allowing the close inspection to be made.
By 1955 only the sandstone hearth remained and in 1970 the whole site disappeared completely in the excavation for the extension of Robson Road. No provision was made for continued operation of the furnace and it would appear that the three feet eight inch gauge skipway and its rails, near which the furnace was built, would have had to be covered with sand to allow the furnace to be tapped.Following the successful trial smelting Lahiff tried to encourage investors into setting up a local coal industry. The name of the company was changed to the Mt. Pleasant Coal and Iron Co. in 1888 and the Wollongong Argus of 28 November, 1894 carried reports of a meeting of local dignitaries and businessmen at the O'Briens Hotel to discuss the matter. Two proposals were discussed, one for a furnace producing 500 tons per week and a less ambitious scheme for a 70 tons per week furnace. After inspection of the nearby iron ore seam was carried out by representatives of the interested parties interest appears to have waned and no more was heard of the project. The quality and quantity of ore in the local deposit, the costly transport problems to obtain limestone and the experience of previous iron smelting enterprises prevented any enthusiastic support.
Other schemes in the lllawarra included the formation of the North Bulli Coal and Iron Mining Co. in 1863 but they did no more than observe Lahiff's attempts. From the 1870's, two politicians, Henry Parkes and John Sutherland, with land holdings in the Shoalhaven and Jamberoo areas, had plans to produce iron from ore, coal and limestone in the district. Plans initially called for the iron to be shipped from Jervis Bay or Kiama, then by rail with the move to build the llla- warra railway. In 1890 the location suggested for the smelting works w.as Port Kembla but again further interest in the scheme was not forthcoming and nothing more was heard of the project.
THE HISTORY OF IRON SMELTING IN AUSTRALIA.
In lllawarra, Patrick Lahiff had been taking a keen interest in the attempts of the various enterprises to produce pig iron by smelting local ores. He was manager of the lllawarra Coal Co. at Mount Pleasant Colliery, which opened in 1861. He had approached the managers of the various ironworks in Tasmania, Victoria, Mittagong and Lithgow recommending the use of lllawarra Bulli seam coal or coke to solve their fuel problems. Lahiff was taking quite an active part in the develop· ment of Wollongong, in the construction of sandstone buildings in the town as well as the building of Belmore Basin in Wollongong harbour. Lahiff knew of the existance of ironstone deposits along with the coal seams on the lllawarra Range fron Coalcliffe to Jamberoo that had been discovered in 1863. These deposits, in various places, were described as ferruginous shale, clayband, carbonate of iron and brown hematite, varying from 20% to 50% iron.
Very little coke was being produced in lllawarra prior to 1888 and when Lahiff found coke produced by spontaneous combustion at the base of the coal slack dumps, he built a small blast furnace in 1882. Using this coke as fuel he produced some ten tons of iron to test the local materials. This furnace is of particular interest as it was the only experimental blast furnace built that could be examined in modern times.
It was typical of such furnaces and gave an insight to the relatively modest outlay needed to test local ores and fuels. This was built at the foot of the Mt. Pleasant Colliery incline, at the end of what is now Robsons Road. It stood on a six feet square sandstone base four feet high above which was erected a cylindrical brick furnace bound for reinforcement with the material most readily available to the owner, a colliery haulage rope. This brick structure was six feet high and six feet in diameter. There were two nine inch courses, the outer of common building brick from which the inner firebrick lining was separated by the usual layer of 4 inches of insulation. The hearth diameter was 30 inches and there was a 16 by 14 inch opening in the side of the furnace for a single uncooled tuyere. When inspected by the author in 1943 there was severe burning of up to three inches of the firebrick lining in the lower part and a hole had been knocked through the side of the furnace allowing the close inspection to be made.
By 1955 only the sandstone hearth remained and in 1970 the whole site disappeared completely in the excavation for the extension of Robson Road. No provision was made for continued operation of the furnace and it would appear that the three feet eight inch gauge skipway and its rails, near which the furnace was built, would have had to be covered with sand to allow the furnace to be tapped.Following the successful trial smelting Lahiff tried to encourage investors into setting up a local coal industry. The name of the company was changed to the Mt. Pleasant Coal and Iron Co. in 1888 and the Wollongong Argus of 28 November, 1894 carried reports of a meeting of local dignitaries and businessmen at the O'Briens Hotel to discuss the matter. Two proposals were discussed, one for a furnace producing 500 tons per week and a less ambitious scheme for a 70 tons per week furnace. After inspection of the nearby iron ore seam was carried out by representatives of the interested parties interest appears to have waned and no more was heard of the project. The quality and quantity of ore in the local deposit, the costly transport problems to obtain limestone and the experience of previous iron smelting enterprises prevented any enthusiastic support.
Other schemes in the lllawarra included the formation of the North Bulli Coal and Iron Mining Co. in 1863 but they did no more than observe Lahiff's attempts. From the 1870's, two politicians, Henry Parkes and John Sutherland, with land holdings in the Shoalhaven and Jamberoo areas, had plans to produce iron from ore, coal and limestone in the district. Plans initially called for the iron to be shipped from Jervis Bay or Kiama, then by rail with the move to build the llla- warra railway. In 1890 the location suggested for the smelting works w.as Port Kembla but again further interest in the scheme was not forthcoming and nothing more was heard of the project.
Click on the button below and view a 1920s arial photo. Select full page view in the top right corner. The photo can be magnified. Zoom in and look at the Tramway running from Belmore Basin to Mount Pleasant Colliery. Men's Baths, Coke Ovens, Engine Shed, Power House and Inclines can be seen.
Click on the button below and select 1938 Imagery. This 1938 photo shows the Wollongong area and includes both the Mt. Pleasant Colliery Tramway Line and Mt. Keira Colliery Railway Line running to Belmore Basin. The photo can be magnified.
See page 2 for more on Mt. Pleasant Colliery.....
Puckey's Estate and Salt Works
Courtenay Puckey, bought the area of land known today as Puckey's Estate by 1905 and set about constructing his saltworks. Puckey's graduation tower (above) stood at 9.15 metres high (30 feet) and used a centuries-old process to extract salt. A wind powered pump at the lagoon entrance pumped salt water to the top where it would trickle down through the wooden structure filled with tightly packed tea tree brush-wood branches until it reached several evaporation basins for heating and final salt extraction. Remnants of these basins, Puckey's house, wall and jetty, and the cement base of the tower, are still visible.
About 1933 Patrick Lahiff had two salt pans cut out of the rocks near the Men's baths for the purpose of producing commercial salt. A pumping and condensing plant was built...see photo above. Years later Mr. Puckey, a chemist took over the plant as a chemical laboratory and carried on the work there for some years.
Battery Park - Cliff Road.
The two old muzzle-loading guns in Battery Park, Cliff Road, have for many years been a never-failing source of interest to visitors and residents, and much regret was expressed that a misguided City Council had filled in the gun pits and underground works. A committee was formed, and after a long, hard struggle the Council was converted, and the objections of the military authorities and rival claims from fortress artillery in Sydney were defeated. The local committee's untiring efforts were crowned with success, and the guns fired off, shattering the peace of Sunday morning as if the long-awaited navy of the Czar of All the Russias had at last put in an appearance.
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Horse shunting of Mt. Pleasant Colliery 3ft 8.5in gauge wagons at the coal straits, Belmore Basin, Wollongong Harbour, circa 1890.
Wollongong Lighthouses.
Wollongong Harbour Breakwater Lighthouse.
The old Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse is located on the end of the breakwater, and assisted the passage of vessels into Wollongong Harbour.
HistoryThe lighthouse was built in 1871. It is situated in the Belmore Basin on the southern breakwater.
Edward Orphan Moriarty, the Engineer-in-Chief of Harbours and Rivers Department, NSW, designed the Lighthouse.
The tower is constructed of wrought iron on a ferro-concrete base.
Joseph Mather won the contract to build the lighthouse, as well as an identical one which was built next at Ulladulla, later moved to Warden Head.
The wrought iron plates were manufactured and assembled in his foundry, after which they re-assembled them on site.
It is not known when the original oil burner was replaced. Gas was supplied to the town in 1883. It is known in 1908 that a Kern Gas Burner was installed.
An acetylene gas burner was installed in 1916 and was considered to be a great improvement.
Again it is not clear when the light was upgraded to electricity. Some believe 1922, others as late as 1947.
The first request for a lighthouse was made in 1866 by the Wollongong Borough Council.
Until the lighthouse came into service a temporary red light was fixed in a box at the end of the pier.
While the lighthouse was being constructed there was concern that the tower would not survive in gale force weather, and that under these conditions the keeper would not be able to reach it on the end of the breakwater.
Work was delayed by heavy seas which the lighthouse tower did survive.
Even though the lantern was installed in July 1871 the light was not exhibited regularly until January 1872.
The original Chance apparatus was dismantled about 1970 and the Maritime Services Board of NSW proposed to use it at Eden on the South Coast.
The new Wollongong Head Lighthouse (below) was constructed on Flagstaff Point to the south of the Breakwater in 1937 and took over as the major light in the area.
The breakwater light was extinguished in 1974.
The old Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse is located on the end of the breakwater, and assisted the passage of vessels into Wollongong Harbour.
HistoryThe lighthouse was built in 1871. It is situated in the Belmore Basin on the southern breakwater.
Edward Orphan Moriarty, the Engineer-in-Chief of Harbours and Rivers Department, NSW, designed the Lighthouse.
The tower is constructed of wrought iron on a ferro-concrete base.
Joseph Mather won the contract to build the lighthouse, as well as an identical one which was built next at Ulladulla, later moved to Warden Head.
The wrought iron plates were manufactured and assembled in his foundry, after which they re-assembled them on site.
It is not known when the original oil burner was replaced. Gas was supplied to the town in 1883. It is known in 1908 that a Kern Gas Burner was installed.
An acetylene gas burner was installed in 1916 and was considered to be a great improvement.
Again it is not clear when the light was upgraded to electricity. Some believe 1922, others as late as 1947.
The first request for a lighthouse was made in 1866 by the Wollongong Borough Council.
Until the lighthouse came into service a temporary red light was fixed in a box at the end of the pier.
While the lighthouse was being constructed there was concern that the tower would not survive in gale force weather, and that under these conditions the keeper would not be able to reach it on the end of the breakwater.
Work was delayed by heavy seas which the lighthouse tower did survive.
Even though the lantern was installed in July 1871 the light was not exhibited regularly until January 1872.
The original Chance apparatus was dismantled about 1970 and the Maritime Services Board of NSW proposed to use it at Eden on the South Coast.
The new Wollongong Head Lighthouse (below) was constructed on Flagstaff Point to the south of the Breakwater in 1937 and took over as the major light in the area.
The breakwater light was extinguished in 1974.
Brighton Hotel.
1900 - Brighton Hotel, located on the corner of Harbour Street and Cliff Road. Licensed 1854 as the Black Swan and demolished 1923. A search in the Sydney newspapers of the 1830/40s period showed BRIGHTON to be applied to the beach in Belmore Basin as early as 1838 whereas the hotel was renamed the Brighton in 1856.
First Court House and Old Wollongong Gaol.
Did you know that Wollongong’s first lockup was located next to the old Courthouse at Belmore Basin and was in operation from 1860 until 1915? It was a relatively small prison that started with 12 cells. The Wollongong Gaol Entrance books give a fascinating insight into the crimes committed by local people and the harsh penalties that were often given.
In 1866, Thomas Edwards was charged with ‘exercising his horse in a public street in the town of Wollongong’. He could pay a one-pound fine or be imprisoned for 7 days. He paid the fine. Susan Simpson was charged with obscene language and had the option of paying the one-pound or spending one month in prison. It can be assumed she had no money because she was incarcerated. John Robertson ‘neglected to perform certain work’ and was given six months labour. John Evans was imprisoned for 14 days because he was ‘idle and disorderly’.
The expense of running the establishment, the efficiency of transferring prisoners to other gaols, along with the desire to better utilise the services of retaining officers to other positions, led to its closure on the 31 October 1915.
In 1866, Thomas Edwards was charged with ‘exercising his horse in a public street in the town of Wollongong’. He could pay a one-pound fine or be imprisoned for 7 days. He paid the fine. Susan Simpson was charged with obscene language and had the option of paying the one-pound or spending one month in prison. It can be assumed she had no money because she was incarcerated. John Robertson ‘neglected to perform certain work’ and was given six months labour. John Evans was imprisoned for 14 days because he was ‘idle and disorderly’.
The expense of running the establishment, the efficiency of transferring prisoners to other gaols, along with the desire to better utilise the services of retaining officers to other positions, led to its closure on the 31 October 1915.
Brighton Beach Area.
Chromolithographic views of Wollongong N.S.W used in Illawarra Mercury supplement published 23 April 1892. Printed by Rider & Mercer, Ballarat, Victoria. Photographs taken by Mr Flodin. Shows views of the following stores (from left to right).
First row: The Illawarra Arcade - John Noble's furniture warehouse. W.M. Hutson (Keira Street) - builder, contractor, timber merchant and undertaker. Post office (Market Street). Hewlett Brothers Centennial store (Crown Street), drapers, merchants and importers. The Freemason's Hotel (near the railway station), Edgar Hulbert proprietor. Wollongong Court House. Plans for proposed new Wollongong Harbour.
Second row: The Arcade - W J Gunning importer of drapery and general merchandise. Street and interior view of Gunnings Arcade.
Fourth row: Marcus Tynan - bookeseller, stationer, news agency, tobacconist and music warehouse. Joseph White - bookeseller, stationer, news agency. John Bright & Co., London Stores (Crown Street) - general merchants and importers. Walker's Produce Stores Keira Street) - John Walker produce stores. Wollongong Public School (Smith Street view). Crystal Fountain Aerated Water and Cordial Factory - James Parkinson, proprietor.
Last row: Wollongong Town Hall. Westminster House (Crown Street) - W. Himus, importer, general drapery, millinery, underclothing, baby linen, fancy goods emporium. Illawarra College (Market Square) - W. R. Dalrymple, principal. Interior view of John Bright & Co., London Stores (Crown Street) - general merchants and importers. Harry A. Craven, Sheffield Stores (Crown Street) - importer, ironmonger. T. F. Armstrong Auctioneer (Crown Street), rents collector, estates managers, agents for Colonial Mutual & National Fire Insurance Cos. Walter Vogan (Crown Street) - importer of ironmongery, miner's tools, bedstead, crockery and glassware.
Mount Keira Colliery (1857 to 1991).
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Name changed to Kemira Colliery in 1955...derived from {Kem}bla and Ke{ira}.
First commercial mine in the Illawarra area. It was a prime example of the major changes which occurred in the organisation of work, coal mining equipment and the transport of coal over its 143 years of operation. For example, in 1965 the first successful fully mechanised retreat longwall mining system in Australia was installed at this mine - a method now standard throughout the industry.
First commercial mine in the Illawarra area. It was a prime example of the major changes which occurred in the organisation of work, coal mining equipment and the transport of coal over its 143 years of operation. For example, in 1965 the first successful fully mechanised retreat longwall mining system in Australia was installed at this mine - a method now standard throughout the industry.
Steam loco 1803 crossing the Foleys Road overpass bridge (near present day Throsby Drive roundabout) on the Mount Keira Colliery railway in the early 1950s.
Click on the button below and view a 1920s arial photo. Select full page view in the top right corner. The photo can be magnified. Zoom in and look at the Mount Keira Tramline running from Belmore Basin towards Mount Keira.
Click on photo to enlarge....
Federal Coke Works(1908 to 1968) and Wollongong Gas Works.
Albert Memorial Hospital.
The hospital mentioned in the newspaper article above is Wollongong's first hospital...Albert Memorial Hospital in Flinders Street. It was established to commemorate the death of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria who died in 1861. The foundation stone was laid in June 1863 and the establishment was opened on September 27, 1864. The hospital closed in November 1907 and the building was demolished in June 1969. The Collegians Club is now on the site.
David Bros. Pty Ltd Foundry.
The old Fig Tree over the years.....
Pioneer Kerosene Works near American Creek - Mount Kembla.
See next page.