1830s Our Campbelltown

Jack Wollorong

Jack Wollorong, a Burragorang man, was the best known Aboriginal in Campbelltown in the 1830s where he was very active in assisting the police. He was not a local man of the Dharawal but Wollorong and his wives Kitty, Biddy and Hannah were, according to the Police Magistrate, the only Aborigines routinely in the town. Wollorong collected blankets for his family from both Campbelltown and Stonequarry in 1834. Unfortunately we do not have an image of Jack.

(Image sourced from Sydney Water)

Thomas Rose

Thomas Rose was an enterprising man who arrived in the colony as a convict and went on to win wealth and respectability. He is remembered as a colourful figure in the early commercial and sporting life of Sydney, and as a pioneer of the Appin-Campbelltown district. Thomas Rose built the windmill using convict labour in 1834. The windmill stands out on the Campbelltown skylinevisible from high points in Camden, Menangle and Narellan. Learn more about Thomas Rose's contribution to the local area, in particular Rosemeadow.

(Image sourced from Murgatroyd Collection, Campbelltown City Library )

Francis Allman

Irishman Francis Allman (1780-1860), soldier and public servant, was a wounded hero of the Napoleanic Wars who arrived in NSW with his family in 1818. He was commandant of Port Macquarie and Newcastle, before arriving in Campbelltown in 1834 as police magistrate, a position he held for a decade. He was a kindly man widely respected. This portrait was possibly painted by J. A. Wilson.

(Image sourced from Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales ) 

Establishment of the town's first water supply

The 1830's saw the establishment of Campbelltown's first water supply. The stonemasonry structures in Hurley Park were built by convict labour in the 1830s. The reservoirs were fenced. Water carts would fill up at the reservoir and travel the town selling water. The structures in Hurley Park were a rectangular tank with a ramp, used to water cattle, and a reservoir with a stone wall. Learn more about the significance of the Hurley Park water tanks(PDF, 255KB).

(Image sourced from Kerry and Jones Collection, Campbelltown City Library)

Original St John's Catholic Church Campbelltown

Campbelltown's original St John's Catholic Church(PDF, 233KB), erected during the 1820s and 1830s, on the hilltop near Broughton Street. It is recreated here at its prime, in an oil painting by Sandy Inglis. The building functioned as a church until the 1880s, when parishioners - tired of walking up the hill to mass - built a new St John's Church in Cordeaux Street. The "old" church became a Good Samaritan convent school for girls - St Patrick's College - which remained on the site until 1969, when it transferred across to the former St John's Preparatory School for Boys on a nearby hilltop.

(Image sourced from Campbelltown Catholic Club)

Mount Gilead Windmill

The convict-built windmill at Thomas Rose's Mount Gilead farm was erected in the 1830s. It was topped by a moveable cap made of wood, as the sails had to face into the shifting wind. It is the best surviving example of its kind in NSW. As painted by Sandy Inglis. Learn more about this historical site at Mount Gilead(PDF, 52KB).

(Image sourced from Campbelltown Catholic Club)

An early school building

One of the earliest school buildings in the Campbelltown area was St Peter's Church School Building(PDF, 379KB) made up of three rooms shared by the local school children and local magistrates. This building stood until 1973, when it was demolished for the Moore Oxley Bypass construction.

(Image sourced from Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)

Local Watering Hole

The Forbes Hotel stood on the corner of Railway Street and Queen Street. Location has been a local "watering hole" for over 100 years until demolition of Lack's in 1984.Stood from 1831 to around the turn of the century when it was replaced by the Federal Hotel, which later became Lack's. An early hotel built by Daniel Cooper - convict made good, became a successful businessman. Mr Cooper was also called as a witness at the Fisher trial, learn more about Daniel Cooper's connection to Fred Fisher.

(Image sourced from Sedgewick Collection, Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society)