'70s Annandale: A Short Walk

'70s Annandale takes you on a walk through the landscape of the 1870s and streetscape of the 1970s.

Annandale and Stanmore were landgrants to George Johnston. Johnston arrived in Farmcove via the American Civil War, as Aid-de-Comp to Captain Phillip with the First Fleet on 26 January 1788.

He rose to head to NSW Corp and led the "Rum Rebellion" against Governor Bligh on 26 January 1808. His family received many landgrants as far as Weston Creek in the ACT.

Johnston and his eldest son died in 1820s. Johnston's second son, Robert, retired from the Royal Navy, returned to the Colony and inheritated, extensive land and went on to increase the family's property holdings as far as Weston Creek in the ACT. Robert fought his widowed mother on the sale of part of the Annandale Estate (north of Parramatta Rd), but had to wait until her death and that of her Lawyer to proceed.

https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/nZNvQy6n#viewerAnnandale Farm, south of Parramatta Road 1877, Samuel Elyard, Dixson Galleries, SLNSW

In the 1850s Robert tried, to sell leases in a subdivision of part of North Annandale. In the 1860s Robert sold part of his land, at Petersham Station, as the "Northwood Estate" under Torrens Title. Torrens Title became law in NSW under the Real Property Act 1863.

Sale of Annandale Estate, Petersham. Collections of SLNSW, Z/SP/L5

 

Collections of State Library of New South Wales. Z/SP/P12

Robert attempted a similar sub-division and sales of his Estate north of Parramatta Rd, but by 1876 decided to sell 309 acres to builder John Young. The following year, Young off loaded the land to the Sydney Freehold Land Co which had been fully subscribed in just 12 days with 148 shareholders. By February 1879, Young was Mayor of Leichhardt and Annandale was the East Ward.

The Municipal District of Leichhardt had been proclaimed in December 1871, under the Municipalities Act of 1867. Elections of the new "body corporate" were to be held within 3 months, at noon on 6 February 1872 at the residence of Mr. Frank Beames, in Piper-street, Leichhardt, with Walter Beanies, Esquire, to be the first Returning Officer.[1871 'Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 29 December, p. 2949. , viewed 03 Aug 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223720472]

"At one point along the road in the Petersham-Annandale section there is: a spot of peculiar interest to latter-day residents. Here, there once grew a giant blackbutt tree, the enormous limbs of which overhung the road for many feet. Gaol carts with prisoners condemned to death were driven to the spot, for many a hapless victim of a fiendish convict system was whisked into tho' beyond from a limb of this Blackbut eallows tree." - 1922 'SYDNEY'S MUNICIPAL GROWTH.', Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), 9 July, p. 10, viewed 24 December, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128220268