Gone and Forgotten – Dann Street, Forest Lodge

By Rodney Hammett, August 2025, from Bulletin 6/2025 (August)

In the 1860s much of what we now know as Forest Lodge was owned by just a few landed gentlemen. George Wigram Allen not only owned Toxteth Park in Glebe but also several parcels of land in Forest Lodge; the others being Thomas Holt, Thomas Ware Smart and R J Want (see Figure 2).

At the western edge of Forest Lodge, bounded by Orphan School Creek, Pyrmont Bridge Road and Cross Street, two parcels of land were purchased by George Dann and his wife Jane. George purchased Lot A12 from Thomas Ware Smart and Jane purchased Lot B11 from Thomas Holt (see Figure 3).

The 1880s Sydney Metropolitan Detail Survey shows that by about 1887 several houses had been built on these lots, a number of which still exist today. (See Figure 4).

The certificates of title tell an interesting story of George Dann, a mason, trying to improve his lot as a developer. George purchased his lot (Lot A12) in January 1880 with the help of three mortgages to individuals and proceeded to build houses in the newly created Dann Street and on Cross Street (see Figure 1). These three mortgages were paid off in April 1883 and a new mortgage was taken out with the Australian Mutual Provident Society for about two thirds of the land, the remaining part closest to Orphan School Creek being without a mortgage.

George called for tenders in September 1880 for the plastering of two cottages in Cross Street. His plans were interrupted in March 1883 when a fire occurred in one of the houses being built in Dann Street, this at a time when the fire brigade as we know it today did not exist. Newspapers of the day did include George’s heartfelt thanks to the Glebe Fire Brigade, the Police and neighbours for their prompt attendance and praiseworthy efforts to extinguish the blaze.[1] Nevertheless, this would have been a setback despite his having a £200 insurance policy with Mercantile Mutual. The Sands Directory of 1884 shows that there were eight dwellings in Dann Street that were being lived in, one by George Dann himself, now described as a builder. 

The dwelling on the northern corner of Dann Street and Cross Street (now 32 Cross Street) was sold in May 1886 to Ann Evans, the wife of Thomas Evans. 

From early 1886 George was in trouble financially and was desperately trying to sell his completed cottages. We need to see this in the context of what else was happening in Glebe and Forest Lodge at that time. The swampy land between the current Tramsheds and Annandale was being reclaimed, which eventually led to the channelisation of Johnstons Creek. Toxteth Park was being subdivided resulting in the new lots in the roads between Wigram Road and Toxteth Road being advertised for sale in May 1886. The Lyndhurst Estate on Glebe’s eastern side was also being subdivided; the lots and cottages on this side certainly being more attractive than those George had to offer. The pressure must have gotten to George because he died on 28 August that year. The funeral left his Cross Street home on 30 August for the Balmain Cemetery, now Pioneers Memorial Park at Leichhardt. He was reportedly 67 years old.

George’s mortgaged cottages in Dann and Cross Streets were then sold by the mortgagee in possession.

Unfortunately, the lives of George and his wife Jane remain mostly a mystery. Records show they did not marry in New South Wales, nor have any children from their marriage been found. His 48-year-old unmarried sister Julia Dann arrived in Sydney from England on the ship Hawkesbury in September 1878. However, she died at the Sydney Infirmary in October 1880. She was also buried at the Balmain Cemetery. 

Jane Dann was admitted to the Callan Park Insane Asylum in 1883. Some details of her life there were aired during Supreme Court proceedings in November 1888 when, following George’s death, the Master in Lunacy sought permission to sell the properties owned or inherited by Jane. These properties were in need of maintenance and repair but the rental income the Master received on behalf of Jane Dann was not sufficient. A resolution resulted in the sale of these properties[2]. Jane died as an in-patient in September 1897, aged 74, and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

Dann Street was renamed to be a continuation of Foss Street in October 1905. The Borough of The Glebe changed a number of street names at this time: Denman Street became an extension of St Johns Road, Old Parramatta Road became Arundel Street, Glebe Road became Glebe Point Road, Brougham Street north of Bridge Road became Burton Street, Talford Street became Campbell Street, Water Street became Wentworth Street, Kennedy Street became Leichhardt Street, Darling Street north of Bridge Road became Taylor Street and Garran Avenue became Sheehy Street.[3]

Footnotes

[1] Trove; Sydney Morning Herald, 31 Mar 1883, p.4; [2] Trove; The Australian Star, 13 Nov 1888, p.5; [3] Trove; NSW Government Gazette, 20 Oct 1905, issue 545, p.7056, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220952112