History
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.
The story behind the packaging – Sydney Flour
Posted on 6th March 2022
1 Glebe Rd, Glebe, now the site of 279 Broadway, was the home of Federation Flour sold by Sydney Flour Pty Ltd. The site had been purchased by Adolph Frederick Brockhoff, and his sons Frederick and Charles, in January 1906
Blue Plaque nominations for Glebe & Forest Lodge
Posted on 4th March 2022
The Glebe Society has made a number of nominations to our local member, Jamie Parker, for Blue Plaques to be erected in Glebe and Forest Lodge. Blue Plaques will recognise and celebrate important people and places in NSW. Our first nomination was 27 Catherine St, Forest Lodge, which was the home of the civil rights activist Charles Perkins and his wife Eileen and daughter Hetti while he was studying at the University of Sydney.
This month’s mystery photo – December 2021
Posted on 22nd December 2021
with Lyn Collingwood, December 2021 from Bulletin 10/2021 Where are we? Please send your suggestions to history@glebesociety.org.au.
Mystery photo – November 2021
Posted on 17th November 2021
See the answer to the Mystery Photo for November 2021.
Mystery photo – October 2021
Posted on 6th October 2021
The October 2021 Mystery Photo was the site on which John Byrne Court now stands.
Who worked in your street? 37 Glebe Point Rd
Posted on 6th November 2021
Badde Manors, Glebe Point Rd’s oldest café trading under the same name, was vandalised in late September 2021. Fortunately, emergency services arrived quickly and fire damage was minor. A variety of businesses operated at 37 Glebe Point Rd before Badde Manors opened in 1982 …
The Creation of Lombard St, Glebe
Posted on 4th October 2021
Lombard St came into existence in 1901 and took its final form in 1994 when Mirvac developed the old Meloy Carriers site. Read about the transformation of the land which Lombard St now occupies from 1828 until the current day.
This month’s mystery photo – September 2021
Posted on 13th September 2021
Try your hand at this month’s mystery photo – which pub is this and what are they doing?
Vale Janet Venn-Brown
Posted on 13th September 2021
Well-known Australian artist, Janet Venn-Brown, died on 6 August, aged 96. Janet had a long association with Glebe and the Glebe Society. Read more about her fascinating life.
An unsuccessful proposal for the development of part of Glebe
Posted on 13th September 2021
In the 1840s, a new, and poorly-managed, Sydney Council proposed to use Grose Farm (now the University of Sydney) as a cattle market and abattoir.
A man who punched above his weight – John McColl
Posted on 12th September 2021
A much-loved boxing trainer and community member, John McColl, died in August at the age of 81 years. After a successful boxing career he set up and ran the Glebe Estate Boxing Gym that was once located on Wentworth Park Rd. As well as training state and national champions, the gym played a vital social role in the Glebe community.
Mystery photo – August 2021
Posted on 14th August 2021
Mystery photo for August 2021 – This month’s mystery photo. Somewhere in Glebe or Forest Lodge!
Queen’s Birthday Honours for Glebe local, Ann Curthoys
Posted on 4th August 2021
In the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours List Glebe local, Ann Curthoys, received the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her significant service to tertiary education, to social history, and to research. Ann has a long association with Glebe, both as a resident and as an intellectual and an activist participating in Glebe’s progressive environment. Find out more about this Glebe treasure.
Who lived in your street? Catherine Anna Korff (1862-1938)
Posted on 4th August 2021
Catherine (Kate) Korff was one of eight daughters of Frederick James Robert Korff. The last unmarried sister to die, Kate’s passing marked the end of her family’s 80-years’ residency on Hereford St. In 1940 two brick semi-detached houses replaced the old home. They remain standing, as numbers 19 and 19A.
100 Years ago in Glebe & Forest Lodge – June 1921
Posted on 7th June 2021
100 years ago, June 1921: Double shipping tragedy off the NSW North Coast felt in Glebe & Forest Lodge
Who Lived in your Street? Peter Lewis Tighe (1860-1946)
Posted on 7th June 2021
Real estate salesman Peter Tighe enjoyed a fleeting moment of celluloid fame in 1913 when he featured in Picturesque Stanwell Park a 20-minute silent film advertising a new land release. Tighe and his family are seen leaving their home Kareela 154 Glebe Point Rd and squeezing into a taxi waiting outside.
Glebe’s Aboriginal residents, 1788-1859
Posted on 4th June 2021
Assumptions that Glebe’s Aboriginal community disappeared shortly after British settlement need revisiting.
The Duke in Sydney (and Glebe!)
Posted on 26th May 2021
Did you know Prince Philip visited Glebe in 1956 and toured the Glebe Library?
100 years ago in Glebe & Forest Lodge – this month: May 1921
Posted on 26th May 2021
What were the papers reporting about Glebe in May 1921?
Anzac Day in Glebe, 2021
Posted on 22nd May 2021
Max Solling on the impact of the Second World War on Glebe residents.
