SYDNEY SUBURBS: CONDELL PARK, CONNELLS POINT

CONDELL PARK

Location:

Condell Park is a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, located 22 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. The postcode of Condell Park is 2200, which is shared with Bankstown and Bankstown Aerodrome.

Name origin:

Condell Park was named after Ousley Condell, an engineer who arrived on 8 May 1829 on the barque Swiftsure with 13 other settlers. He applied for a position in the public service and was granted four 50-acre (200,000 m2) adjoining lots in 1830 that he called Condell Park.

About:

Black Charlie's Hill, located in Simmat Avenue Condell Park, was named after a local identity whose nickname was 'Black Charlie'. His real name is said to have been Charles Luzon or Charlie Lopez, a man of Aboriginal ancestry. He lived near Edgar Street, South Yagoona and like others in the area, during the early 1900s, grew vegetables that he carried off to the market by horse and cart. His home was constructed of corrugated iron. Black Charlie was said to fire a single shot each evening promptly at 9pm but the reason was never disclosed. Some suggested he was hunting rabbits, others to warn of the approach of aircraft.

Bankstown Bunker, formerly known as Air Defence Headquarters Sydney (ADHQ Sydney), is a heritage-listed defunct Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operations facility, located on the corner of Marion and Edgar Street, in Condell Park.

After the arrival of General Douglas MacArthur in Australia during the Second World War, Bankstown Airport was established as a key strategic air force base to support the war effort. During this period the specially constructed bunker became an important RAAF headquarters from 1945 until its closure in 1947.

The Bankstown Bunker was an exact replica of the underground Ops rooms of wartime England, which directed Britain's air defence fighter plane attacks on the invading German Luftwaffe. It had all the attenuated fixtures necessary to run a top secret operational defence base. The bunker was equipped with its own code room, plotting rooms, two escape tunnels and a radio transmitter room. In the centre of the bunker was a large room of about two stories in height. This was the main Ops room and control centre for all RAAF Missions in the Pacific area. The room also had a large map of the South West Pacific theater of World War II.

The bunker still exists and access can be obtained through one of the old air vents. The entry point is located on private property in the backyard of a dwelling with an access tunnel running under a public park in which the bunker is buried. This is located at the end of Taylor Street, which can also be found on the corner of Marion and Edgar Streets, Condell Park. In 1976 the entire site was redeveloped into town houses which cover most of the land area. The area now comprises a number of separate complexes or "Closes" containing eight to eleven villas. Each Close is named appropriately after planes which flew from Bankstown during the Second World War.

Gallery:

Bankstown Bunker, 1945

Bankstown Bunker during WW2

The same room as it is today, after a fire destroyed it in 1972

Third Avenue, Condell Park, 1955

CONNELLS POINT

Location:

Connells Point is a suburb in southern Sydney, located 20 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of in the local government area of the Georges River Council, in the St George area.

Name origin:

Connells Point takes its name from the geographical formation beside Connells Bay, on the Georges River. Connells Point and Connells Bay were named after Charles Daniel O'Connell who held land in the area. Connells Bay was originally called O'Connells Bay.

About:

In the early days, the bay was used for shipbuilding.

It is a small suburb surrounded by the suburbs of Hurstville Grove and South Hurstville, Blakehurst and Kyle Bay.

According to the 2016 census, there were 2,829 people living in Connells Point. 68.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was China at 9.0%.

59.1% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 9.8%, Mandarin 9.4% and Cantonese 6.1%.

Gallery:

Connells Point, Sailing Club wharf; view from Donnelly Park

Lookout Reserve, Connells Point

Aerial view, ignore the yellow circle, it is a real estate marketing photograph

Connells Point Road, Connells Point, 1959

Looking SW along Connells Point Road towards the intersection of King Georges Road and Hotel South Hurstville now the Kings Head Tavern.

Connells Point Public School, 1934

The building was brick and consisted of six classrooms with adequate space for 296 pupils and additional space for the principal and a staffroom. The total cost of the building was £4328.17.6 and funds came from the Unemployed Relief Funds.

When the school opened in 1934, there was no school bell and, being depression years, there were none available, so a bell was donated by the local school at Hill End. The bell was erected in the school grounds by 1936. Today, this bell is still used on special occasions.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

FUNNY FRIDAY

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For those unaware, it has been announced that our current lockdown restrictions will end when 70 per cent of the adult population is fully vaccinated, which is forecast to happen on October 18. It has been dubbed Freedom Day. I hold grave fears (no pun intended) that when that happens, the stats will blow out again.

Last week I spoke to someone by phone and explained that I couldn’t take the call immediately because I was getting vaccinated. She said that was disappointing, she had always considered me to be one of the intelligent ones. I said that intelligent people get vaccinated, she said that we would just have to agree to disagree on that.

So let’s leave the melancholy and enjoy some laughs and levity, it’s time for Funny Friday.

Oh, there’s some needle jokes ahead and a caution that there’s also some risque content.

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SOME HUMOUR:

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Yesterday my wife shouted down to me from up stairs. ‘Do you ever get a shooting pain across your chest, like someone’s got a voodoo doll and they're stabbing it with a needle?’

'No,' I called back.

She shouted, ‘How about now?’

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An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession.

Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:

A Bible.

A silver dollar.

A bottle of whiskey.

A Playboy magazine.

'I'll just hide behind the door," the old preacher said to himself. "When he comes home from school today, I'll see which object he picks up.."

"If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be!

"If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too.

"But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be.

"And worst of all if he picks up that magazine he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer."

The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's foot-steps as he entered the house whistling and heading for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them.

Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired the magazine's centerfold.

"Lord have mercy," the old preacher disgustedly whispered. "He's gonna run for Congress."

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Today there's been another gruesome murder by the killer that police have nicknamed "The knitting needles killer".

Police fear he may be working to a pattern.

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Two men go fishing, one has a stutter.

The man with a stutter says “shh ssshhh sshh”. The other man says “what is it, did you catch a fish”? The stuttering man continues to make ssshhh noises, the other man says “spit it out”. The stuttering man says “ssshhh ship!!” Before the second man can react a ship crashes into their boat.

Months later they both have recovered and go on another fishing trip. The stuttering man again starts saying “ssshhh”. The second man starts panicking thinking he’s going to get hurt again. The second man jumps out of the boat as fast as he can, the stuttering man says “sshhh sshhh Shark!!”

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You'd think anti-vaxxers would love needles...

They're used to surrounding themselves with a bunch of pricks.

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London Zoo acquires, at great expense, a very large female gorilla of a particularly rare species. Right from the outset she is very bad tempered and very difficult to handle. The zoo's vet, after examination, boldly announces that her problem is that she's in heat. If she was to be mated she would become docile and adjust to her new surroundings. But what to do? There are no males of her species available and the other male gorillas are terrified of her.

The zoo administrators remember that one of their zoo-keepers, an Irishman called O'Reilly, who is responsible for cleaning animals' cages, is a large man and notorious for his abilities with the opposite sex. Perhaps they could persuade him to placate the gorilla.

So they approach O'Reilly with a proposition: would he be willing to have sex with the gorilla for five hundred pounds?

O'Reilly asks for the night to think things over and on the following day, says that he'll accept the offer on three conditions: "First, dere's to be no kissin’. Second, if dere’s any children, dey have to be raised Roman Cat'lic."

The zoo administrators quickly agree to these conditions. "But what about the third?" they ask.

"Well," says O'Reilly, "You've got to give me some time to come up wit' de five hundred quid...."---

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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:

A young violinist from Rio

Was seducing a woman named Cleo.

As she took down her panties

She said, "No andantes;

I want this allegro con brio!"

Andante: moderately slow, in music

Allegro con brio: at a fast tempo, and with spirit

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GALLERY:

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RELIGION SPOT:

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CORN CORNER:

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My girlfriend left me because of what she described as my "weird pasta fetish"

Now I'm feeling cannalonli

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I stabbed twenty people in the supermarket line with thin needles.

It's a new type of therapy I'm calling "aqueuepuncture".

________________

Adding an s to the word "needles"...

Is needless.

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Did you hear about the priest who went mad and poisoned the wine at church?

He was tried for mass murder

________________

Girlfriend moved out

Before she left, she claimed I was too much into football.

And we were only together for 3 seasons!

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QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

RAG AND BONE MEN

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that Victorian England wasn’t necessarily as depicted in Mary Poppins. I illustrated this by describing three Victorian occupations: mudlarks, toshers and grubbers.

That inspired one reader, Sandra J, to email me:

Reminds me of my childhood somewhat – We used to scavenge at Milperra/East Hills Tip. Not for food, just something we could use. Mine was always at year end all the rich families threw their coloured pencils, biros, stationery out, there was always books with blank pages which, I ripped out I scavenged as much as I could. I used to take everything home and clear the top of our singer treble sewing machine for my desk and set myself up with these pencils etc and pretend I worked in an office. We also looked for school bags, I started high school with a plastic bag, Mum had 4 children in high school, she worked in a factory Dad was a Boilermaker/Communist/Drinker. When my younger sister started high school 5 years later she had a briefcase. With us 4 out working, paying board, things were easier for her and my younger brother. BUT we never went hungry, we had 3 meals a day, and a piece of fruit.

To this day I love stationery although now I don’t have to scavenge, I can afford to go to Officeworks. I have passed my love of stationery onto my daughter, who in turn has passed it onto her daughter Zoe (my flower girl at the wedding)

One of us 6 children found a gaudy clock surround, like an ornament, my mother had that on her dressing table as a decoration forever.

Anyhow that’s my scavenger story….

Cheers Sandy

I responded:

Fascinating although hard times, yet you’re looking back on them with fondness.

We didn’t go to the tip but we did scavenge on Council clean up days. Some good stuff back then.

Sandy replied:

People still do that now Otto, Clean up days are luxury to some people.

Cheers

Sandy

Here are some other Victorian occupations to make us realise how fortunate we are to be living now and not back then . . .

Bone grubber:

Bone grubbers were people who collected bones of dead animals for sale to bone-boilers for use in everyday items — handles for toothbrushes, teething rings, knife handles, and cheap combs. Bones that could not be used were pulverized into fertilizers or boiled to make soaps.

Journalist Henry Mayhew published his London Labour and the London Poor in 1851, a groundbreaking and influential survey of London’s working classes and criminal underbelly. Mayhew recorded conversations and quotations from the people themselves as to their lives, jobs and activities.

According to a bone grubber:

There’s a great deal more than 100 bone-pickers about here, men, women, and children. The winter is the best time for us, for there is more meat used, and then there are more bones. I’ve lost my health since I took to bone-picking, through the wet and cold in the winter, for I’ve scarcely any clothes, and the wet gets to my feet through the old shoes; this caused me last winter to be nine weeks in the hospital of the Whitechapel workhouse.

Rag and Bone Men:

Whereas the bone grubbers devoted themselves to finding and selling bones, rag and bone men were wider based.

Those of us getting on in years may recall Steptoe and Son, the 1960s sitcom of two rag and bone men eking out a living in Shepherd’s Bush, London – Harold, his father Albert and their cart horse Hercules. God that takes me back. Whereas Albert Steptoe, an old rag and bone man, is set in his grimy and grasping ways, Harold, with his social aspirations and pretensions, wants out of that life. Sadly, Albert, life and circumstances frustrate every attempt and Harold stays where he is.

I recall in one episode two escaped prisoners hold them hostage in winter. Without enough money for the meter for heat, no food, and no amenities, the convicts realise how well off they were in comparison. They depart to go surrender themselves and give the Steptoes some money. Watch that episode by clicking on:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x68hd96

Which is all by way of introduction to rag and bone men in Victorian days.  I used to wonder why Albert and Harold Steptoe were called rag and bone men, that was the days before the internet and google.

Rag and bone men collected unwanted household items for sale to merchants. Traditionally performed on foot, the scavenged materials included rags, bones and various metals, usually carried in a bag slung over the shoulder. Some used a cart pulled by a horse or pony.

In the 19th century, rag and bone men lived in extreme poverty, surviving only on the proceeds of what they collected each day. Although conditions improved following the Second World War, the trade declined during the latter half of the 20th century. In more recent years, partly as the result of the soaring price of scrap metal, rag-and-bone-style collection continues, particularly in the developing world. Typically now vans and lorries are used.

(Much like on garbage collection nights today, I see numerous people with baby strollers, shopping strollers and bags going through the bins on the street for cans and bottles for the cash refunds).

According to Mayhew:

The bone-picker and rag-gatherer may be known at once by the greasy bag which he carries on his back. Usually he has a stick in his hand, and this is armed with a spike or hook, for the purpose of more easily turning over the heaps of ashes or dirt that are thrown out of the houses, and discovering whether they contain anything that is saleable at the rag-and-bottle or marine-store shop.

An 1836 edition of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal describes how "street-grubber[s]" could be seen scraping away the dirt between the paving stones of non-macadamised roads, searching for horseshoe nails.

Mayhew's report indicates that many who worked as rag-and-bone men did so after falling on hard times, and generally lived in squalor.

Rag-and-bone man, with horse and cart. They would usually call out Rag n' Bone Rag n' Bone or ring a bell.

A rag-and-bone man with his horse and cart on the streets of Streatham, southwest London in 1985

A rag-and-bone man in Croydon, London, May 2011

More instalments to come.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

SOME GOOD TIPS HERE . . .

 

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

G SPOT: MOVIE TRANSFORMATIONS

 

Another contribution from Graham . . . 

Hi Mr O,

Just reading about the new film “House of Gucci” starring Lady Gaga, Jared Leto and Adam Driver, and was amazed at the physical transformation of Jared Leto for the role.

I have included a number of other amazing physical transformation from recent films. 

Jared Leto/ Paolo Gucci “House of Gucci” 2021

 

Colin Farrell/ Oswald Cobblepot “The Batman” 2022

 

Eddie Murphy/ Saul “Coming To America 2” 2021

 

Tom Hardy/ Al Capone “Capone” 2020

 Russell Crowe/ Roger Ailes “The Loudest Voice” 2019

 

Tilda Swinton/ Dr. Josef Klemperer “Suspiria” 2018

 

Christian Bale/ Dick Cheney “Vice” 2018

 

Nicole Kidman/ Erin Bell “Destroyer” 2018

 

Gary Oldman/ Winston Churchill “The Darkest Hour” 2017

 Johnny Depp/ Whitey Bulger “Black Mass” 2015

 

Eddie Redmayne/ Stephen Hawking “The Theory of Everything” 2014

 

Anthony Hopkins/ Alfred Hitchcock “Hitchcock” 2012

Cheers

Mr G

Thanks Graham.

👍 😃
 

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

Defunct Occupations: Mudlarks, Toshers and Grubbers

From the vault – posted in Bytes March 5, 20210

Anyone who has seen Mary Poppins could be forgiven for thinking that life in a Victorian English household was carefree and happy, especially for children. For many children in Victorian England, this was far from the truth. Extreme poverty sometimes forced young children into grim occupations as a means of assisting their family’s finances.

One such occupation was that of mudlarks, people who scavenged the mud of the River Thames at low tide for anything of value. Mudlarks were usually children between the ages of 8 and 14, although elderly people also participated. Items found which might be sold included bits of coal and rope, discarded copper nails, bones (ground up and used for fertiliser) and tools which had been lost.

The River Thames in Victorian England was befouled by waste and human excrement, with untreated raw sewage being discharged into it. Corpses of humans and animals, commonly cats and dogs, often lay stinking on the river shores.

People who scavenge the river mud today are still known as mudlarks, although these days they are adults with metal detectors seeking historical artefacts and valuables.

Toshers were people who scavenged in the London sewer system. It was not uncommon for whole families of toshers to remove a lid and enter the sewer system to commence the day’s scavenging.

Toshers and mudlarks were unpopular with everyone, including the desperate poor, by reason of the smell they carried with them from their activities. The jobs were considered amongst the lowest of the low.

Grubbers were people who scavenged in drains in Victorian England.

Toshers and grubbers were also commonly children.

According to Henry Mayhew, in his 1851 book London Labour and the London Poor:

“They may be seen of all ages, from mere childhood to positive decrepitude, crawling among the barges at the various wharfs along the river; it cannot be said that they are clad in rags, for they are scarcely half covered by the tattered indescribable things that serve them for clothing; their bodies are grimed with the foul soil of the river, and their torn garments stiffened up like boards with dirt of every possible description”.

A tosher at work c. 1850 ,sieving raw sewage in one of the dank, dangerous and uncharted sewers beneath the streets of London. From Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor.

A London sewer in the19th century. This one, as evidenced by the shaft of light penetrating through a grating, must be close to the surface; others ran as deep as 12 metres (40 feet) beneath the city.

Mudlarks

Bone Grubber

THIOUGHT FOR THE DAY