History
Glebe’s Blue Plaque Nominations, Part 7: Matilda Steer
Posted on 12th September 2022
by Lyn Collingwood, from Bulletin 7/2022, September The seventh site nominated for a Blue Plaque is 79 Glebe Point Rd where the clairvoyant Matilda Steer (1858-1931) lived. Married to a van driver and mother of six, Steer augmented the family income by charging for private consultations and admission to her public seances at the turn […]
‘Toby Tosspot’, Glebe resident and Australia’s first prime minister
Posted on 9th August 2022
Australia’s first Prime Minister was nicknamed ‘Toby Tosspot’, a reference to his love of long dinners with more than a few glasses of wine. Another prime minister was nicknamed the Silver Bodgie …
Who worked in your street? Missionary James Henry Mills
Posted on 9th August 2022
J.H. Mills was a missionary who worked in the Glebe-Pyrmont district for 35 years. He ran the Glebe branch of the Sydney City Mission from an office in the Mission Hall in Bay St, which opened in 1894. Drinking and gambling were viewed by Mills as major social evils. Read more about his life and his activities as a missionary.
Mystery photo – August 2022
Posted on 9th August 2022
Do you know where this was taken, and what was happening?
Blue Plaque Nominations Part 6: 148 St Johns Rd Glebe
Posted on 9th August 2022
In September last year the NSW Government called for communities to nominate places linked to notable personalities and events for recognition as part of the NSW Blue Plaques program. The Glebe Society made a number of nominations. The sixth site nominated is 148 St Johns Rd Glebe, the home of activist Lucy Eatock.
A tale of two Prime Ministers
Posted on 6th June 2022
Australia’s first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton (1849-1920), was born in Glebe and our 31st Prime Minister, The Hon. Anthony Albanese also has a close association with Glebe. His childhood home was on Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown, just next to Forest Lodge
Glebe’s Blue Plaque Nominations (Part 5): 97 Derwent St, once home of Bessie Guthrie
Posted on 6th July 2022
In September last year the NSW Government called for communities to nominate places linked to notable personalities and events for recognition as part of the NSW Blue Plaques program. The Glebe Society made a number of nominations. The fifth site nominated by the Society is 97 Derwent St Glebe, lifelong home of Bessie Guthrie (1905-1977), designer, publisher, feminist and campaigner for children’s rights.
Who worked in your street? Gordon Page Barton (1929-2005)
Posted on 7th July 2022
No.1 Arundel St Forest Lodge was once the offices of express transport giant, IPEC. Gordon Barton and Greg Farrell bought the Adelaide-based Interstate Parcel Express Company (IPEC) in 1962, and grew the business into the multinational express freight company it is today.
Caroline Jones and the Glebe Estate, ‘This Day Tonight’ 1972
Posted on 10th June 2022
In 1972 when she was a reporter on the ABC’s ‘This Day Tonight,’ Caroline Jones’s report on the Glebe Estate shocked viewers, many of whom were seeing for the first time what living in poverty looked like in Australia. The landlord, the Anglican Church thought that the best solution to its problem was to sell the Estate to developers, knocking down the historic cottages without concern for the community that had taken root there. Thanks to Tom Uren that did not occur and it was bought by the government. Unfortunately, today it’s not safe from further predations by developers, while the current NSW Government turns a blind eye to ‘demolition by neglect’.
Glebe’s Blue Plaque nominations, Part 4: Elsie Women’s Refuge
Posted on 10th June 2022
The fourth site nominated by the Glebe Society for a Blue Plaque is Elsie Women’s Refuge at 73-75 Westmoreland St, Glebe. It was the first women’s refuge to open in Australia. In September 2021 the NSW Government called for communities to nominate places linked to notable personalities and events for recognition as part of the NSW Blue Plaques program.
Mystery photo (June 2022)
Posted on 10th June 2022
Last month’s Mystery Photo competition featured Glebe’s former and current post offices. In 2011, despite massive public opposition, the Glebe Post Office was closed and a post shop opened in Broadway Shopping Centre.
Who lived in your street? Leslie John Roberts Jones (1886-1970)
Posted on 7th March 2022
Inspired by reports he heard of the flying exploits of the Wright brothers and lectures he attended given by Lawrence Hargrave, ‘Jack’ Jones built an aeroplane frame and engine in the backyard of his 108 Hereford St house.
Sarah (Sadie) Murdoch King passes away days after her 100th birthday
Posted on 7th March 2022
It is with great sadness that we heard about the death of Sadie King, just a few days after her 100th birthday. Read more about Sadie’s fascinating life.
