Brief outline of Hawkesbury's Railway Service

An extension of the Sydney to Parramatta railway line was discussed as early as 1843. Following the plans to extend the line to Blacktown, the community pressured the Government. The railway line was officially opened to Blacktown in 1860. The Government eventually set aside money in the budget in 1862 for the line to be extended to Richmond. Originally the line was going to be a horse-drawn service however there was a lot of opposition and at the proclamation in 1863 the change was announced.

The line was officially opened by Sir John Young, the Governor of New South Wales, on the 29 November 1864 with stations at Riverstone, Mulgrave, Windsor and Richmond. Newspapers reported the opening in detail and The Sydney Morning Herald on the 30 November 1864 gives a thorough account. When the need grew, other stations opened at various times, these included:

• Racecourse 1870 but renamed Clarendon in 1876. This station was used extensively for the racecourse in the vicinity.
• Hawkesbury Dairy & Ice Society siding near Windsor opened in 1922 
• Vineyard 1935 
• East Richmond 1935

Richmond Railway Station in the late 1950s. Photo: R. D. Power
Source : Hawkesbury Library Service

The railway line was electrified to Riverstone on the 22 May 1975 and following long delays and debate, the extension continued to Richmond, officially opening on the 17 August 1991.

Official opening of electrified line at Richmond Railway Station, 1991. Photo: M. Nichols
Source: Hawkesbury Library Service

During the 1880s the community proposed that the rail service be extended to Kurrajong. In 1924 the first sod was turned and the line was officially opened to Kurrajong on the 8 November 1926. The line ran at a loss and following flood damage and land slides the line was officially closed in 1952.

Additional information about the Richmond-Kurrajong Railway Line is located online at Richmond Kurrajong Railway 


Sources
Hawkesbury Heritage / Stan Stevens
Macquarie Country / Douglas Gordon Bowd
Hawkesbury 1794 - 1994 / Jan Barkley & Michelle Nichols

Sport in the Hawkesbury

In previous centuries, recreation and leisure time in the Hawkesbury was constrained due to working commitments and economic factors. The residents of the district created their own activities which included a wide range of sporting pursuits and recreational entertainment.

Sport

The Hawkesbury district as always been very involved in the pursuit of sport. Some of the most popular sports include :-

Horse breeding and racing

Breeding horses and horse racing has always been very popular in the Hawkesbury district. A map dated in 1806 mention a "Race Course" and an early account reports of a race in 1810 in Windsor. Mr Benn's Scratch was matched against Mr May's roan poney (sic) formerly Mr Williamson's, to run two miles for a sum said to be considerable and Scratch was the eventual winner. Regular races were held throughout the Hawkesbury district including: Killarney, near McGraths Hill, Clarendon, Wilberforce and North Richmond. The first organised meet took place in 1829. 

Some of the well-known horse breeders in the district included members of the Cox family, Phillip Charley, William Town and his son, Andrew Town.

In 1865 a race course was built from leased Crown Land. A grandstand was also constructed and the first Hawkesbury Grand Handicap was run in 1871 with a purse of 120 sovereigns. 

Cricket

Cricket has been played in the Hawkesbury district since the early nineteenth century. In 1882 a match between the visiting 'All England Eleven' was played against a team selected from players from the Hawkesbury and Nepean. A special train conveyed about a thousand additional spectators to the game held in Windsor. The home team scored 61 with All England replying with 5 for 135. 

Local cricket at Richmond Park in the 1950s

Source : Hawkesbury Library Service

Charlie Nicholls of Freemans Reach was one of the finest players in the Hawkesbury in the 1920s. A promising fast bowler who played Grade cricket as well as representing NSW. The local newspaper reported he retired from Grade Cricket in 1933. 

Football 

Various forms of football have been played in the Hawkesbury. Rugby Union, which had been introduced from England in the 1860s, was the first type of football played in the late nineteenth century in the Hawkesbury. Rugby Union games were played in McQuade Park from at least 1896. 

Windsor Football Club in 1910 

Source: Hawkesbury Library Service 

Another code of football was introduced when a break away group Rugby League was set up in NSW in 1907. The first League team in Windsor was established by 1910. This was a very popular sport, particularly in the post World War 2 period, and the district won many premierships and produced many fine players. Rugby League continues to be a popular sport in the district and the local Windsor Wolves team generating a lot of support. The Windsor Leagues Club officially opened a licensed league club in South Windsor in 1986.

Australian Rules Football evolved in Victoria in the 1850-1860s. Mainly a Victorian game, eventually the code spread to NSW in the twentieth century. The local team club is Hawkesbury Australian Rules Football Club.

Athletics

Various challenges were made during the nineteenth century by persons wishing to show off their athletic abilities. These included running races, rolling downhill in a barrel and running with a pumpkin on your head. One interesting chap was William Francis King (1807-74) who was known as the ‘Flying Pieman.’ William migrated to Australia in 1829. He worked as a schoolmaster at Sutton Forest, then a barman in Sydney & also worked as a pie man. His nickname the Flying Pieman came from a series of extraordinary walking feats. He beat the Windsor to Sydney coach, several times. He walked from St. John's Parramatta to St. Matthew's Windsor and back, a journey of forty-three miles, three days in row. The first trip took eight hours, the second day seven hours and the last day it took him seven hours and twenty-five minutes. Other things he was renowned for was carrying a dog between Campbelltown and Sydney.

Athletic days were held in local parks or wherever there was space. One particular event held in Richmond Park in 1881 included races, hurdles, sack races and a tug of war. A fifty yard backward race as well as a race run on both hands and feet. Schools promoted athletics and a wide range of activities involving students took place. During the mid to late twentieth century many combined school athletics days took place at both Richmond Park and McQuade Park in Windsor.

Sports Days and tea meetings were very popular in the smaller communities around the Hawkesbury and often held for the dual purpose of raising funds for local projects and for the entertainment of the community.

The community at Bull Ridge (East Kurrajong) spent many years raising money to build a much needed School of Arts adjacent to Stanley Park. It was reported in the Windsor & Richmond Gazette in 1913 that a nice gathering assembled at Stanley Park on Monday, 27th January, for the tea meeting. Some of the proceeds were to go towards the project. A number of races were held including a bicycle race, flag race, and needle race. Apparently one lady cheated by having the needle already threaded but still failed to win the contest. Tests of strength were also included such as the wood chopping and ladies nail driving contest. After the tea meeting, about twenty couples continued the festivities by engaging in music and dancing into the night. About midnight refreshments were passed around. Dancing was kept going until 4 o'clock.

Today there are several organisations in the district promoting athletics for juniors. 

  

School athletics carnival at McQuade Park Windsor in the 1950s

Source: Hawkesbury Library Service

Netball

Over the last few decades, netball has grown to be an extremely popular sport in the Hawkesbury area. Played females of all ages in day games as well as night. The district has produced a number of outstanding teams and players, including Liz Ellis who commenced her career playing with Green Hills Netball Club in the Hawkesbury Association. Liz was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Tennis 

Lawn tennis has been enjoyed by Australians since the 1870s. Although it was largely male dominated, females began playing the Hawkesbury district from at least the 1890s. Competition tennis commenced in the early twentieth century and night competition tennis was also very popular. The lights were turned on in 1936 on courts near the old Presbyterian church in Windsor. One of the finest tennis players was William "Bill" Walker who won many state and national titles during the 1920-1930s. Today tennis is still very popular and played throughout the district at various locations. Richmond Tennis Centre is the largest site where many significant competitions.

Wilberforce Tennis Team 1895

Source: Hawkesbury Library Service

Other activities

A wide range of other sporting activities took place in the Hawkesbury including bowls, skating, pugilism, tennis, cockfighting and ratting.

Ratting

This sickening diversion involved the placing a dog into a pit confined with and see how many the dog can kill in a certain time. An example from the Windsor & Richmond Gazette in 1888 follows:

Windsor & Richmond Gazette, 1 September 1888, p. 3

Newspapers of the time also advertised that rats were bought in any quantity, from Humphrey Douglas at the Royal Hotel, Windsor, at 2d each. He also sold rats and terriers. Douglas ran a Pit where ratting took place regularly.

Skating 

Skating was all the rage in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Windsor. 

Skating carnivals were regularly held in the 1880s including one conducted by Mr Hesford in 1888 at the Windsor School of Arts. The local newspaper reported that the Skating Carnival on Monday evening was a decided success. The attendance was very good, the weather delightful for such exercise, and the costumes selected by those in attendance were pleasing in the extreme. The hall of the School of Arts was made to assume a brighter aspect than usual by the introduction of a large collection of Chinese lanterns, which were suspended from the ceiling, and made quite a pretty show. 

During the early 1950s Charles Main requested permission to establish a skating rink in the district. Eventually permission was granted and Windsor Roller Skating Rink was erected in Brabyn Street, close to the railway station. Later renamed Windsor Skatel, it was a popular venue, particular for the youth of the district. By the late 1980s interest in skating declined and the business eventually closed in 2003.

Economy of the Hawkesbury district

The economy in the Hawkesbury district was originally based on agriculture and to a lesser extent, manufacturing. Some local identities demonstrated perceptive insights and commenced ventures that flourished, such as boat building, tanneries, meatworks, breweries, flour mills and wineries. The cultivation of wheat, maize, oats, vegetable & fruit production plus timber, dairying & poultry were important to the development of the district.

Manufacturing commenced early in the Hawkesbury with the processing of crops such as milling. Boatbuilding and brewing were other important industries in the during the 19th century. Settlers involved in the early shipbuilding industry along the Hawkesbury River included James Webb, Andrew Thompson, Jonathan Griffiths, Charles Beasley, William Grono & Alexander Books. With a good supply of timber boats of various sizes were constructed. It was reported in the Sydney Gazette 21st July 1810: On Saturday last came around from Hawkesbury where she was built, the new schooner 'Elizabeth & Mary'. Messrs Griffiths and Thorley owners. She was launched at Richmond Hill about a month since, and brings a cargo of maize. Her burthen is about 80 tons, her keel 48 feet, 18 feet beam; and is considered to be one of the handsomest vessels ever built in the colony.

Up until the late 19th century boats up to 100 tonnes could dock at the Windsor Wharf, however due to the serious silting of the Hawkesbury River as a result of years of flooding, only smaller vessels could reach the wharf. During the 1880s the Hawkesbury Steam Navigation Company was established with smaller vessels working co-operatively conveying goods. The 'S.S. Hawkesbury' was one of the first steam ships trading regularly along the river. During World War II, the river trade emerged as a lifeline to farmers along the river. Produce, passengers and goods were ferried along the Hawkesbury, Colo and Macdonald Rivers.

The tanning industry boomed quickly in the 19th Century in NSW & by the 1830s six tanneries were recorded in Windsor (1) this was 10% of the State's total. By the 1870s this figure had doubled.(2) Bootmakers set up businesses close to the leather supply and both Windsor and Richmond had numerous Shoe and Boot makers.

Mortley Bootmakers in George Street Windsor
Courtesy Hawkesbury Library Service 

Brewing was another significant business in the Hawkesbury. Andrew Thompson, a convict who arrived in 1792, and was given permission to set up a brewery business in 1806. He constructed a large brewery along South Creek which expanded until his untimely death in 1810. Two large establishments were Cadell's Brewery and the business of John O'Dell. Hotels have always been popular in the district, however in the 1840s it was reported there were at least forty public houses in and around Windsor, which is possibly an exaggeration.

In the mid to late nineteenth century, the district was still flourishing, a small, but major country town. The railway line linked Richmond to Sydney in 1864, encouraging growth along the line and the river still played an important role in transporting goods to the markets.

Small businesses developed in the township dotted around the Hawkesbury, however the administration hubs were centred around Windsor and Richmond. The main streets of these towns have for nearly two centuries have been bustling with general stores, blacksmiths, speciality shops, offices, banks and hotels.

On the commercial side there has been growth and fluctuations. Issues such as transport, the river trade and floods have had their affects on the local industries. The Great Fire in 1874 in Windsor's George and Macquarie Streets, destroyed three whole blocks of the town centre. This would had serious repercussions on businesses, as only few individuals had insurance in those days. Although the Hawkesbury had the great distinction of assisting the colony to initially develop, by the late nineteenth century the relevance of the district declined for a number of reasons including the expansion of other major centres in western Sydney.

The local district is still a major supplier of vegetables and fruit to the Sydney markets. Up until about fifty years ago almost a quarter of the State's citrus trees were located in the Hawkesbury.(4) Eventually successions of major floods damaged many of the orchards and market gardens.Turf farms replaced many orchards however in more recent years, market gardens are again flourishing side by side the turf farms on the riverflats. 

Today the district is focused on encouraging sustainable economic and employment growth within the Hawkesbury district. The main features of the Hawkesbury's economy are related to tourism and hospitality, the RAAF Base, small business whilst agriculture and horticulture still contribute significantly. Only a few large of the large manufacturing businesses remain in the area.

Water lifter used at the turn of 20th Century to irrigate farms along the Hawkesbury River
Courtesy Hawkesbury Library Service

Footnotes

1. Returns of manufactories, mills etc., State Records NSW Loc. 4/7267
2. NSW Statistical Registers 1867, p. 107 & 1873 p.119.
3. Steele 1916, Early days of Windsor, p. 13
4. Barkley & Nichols 1994, Hawkesbury 1794-1994, p. 32