1 Manning Street, Taree

This building is a rare survivor. A purpose-built dental surgery, constructed for Cuth Haddan in 1938. Although now bang up to date in terms of facilities and technology, the building retains much of its period charm.

Francis Cuthbert Haddan was born in Pyrmont, Sydney in 1893. He served an apprenticeship with Taree dentist Alban Maloney, before qualifying and becoming a partner in the Victoria Street practice. Both men had served in the Dental Corps in WW1.¹

After Maloney’s untimely death in 1936, Cuth commissioned locally born architect, Gerard H B McDonell, to design new premises for his dental practice on land he had purchased at the southern end of Manning Street.² McDonell would later (1940) be the recipient of the prestigious Sulman Medal for Architecture for his own residence on Sydney’s Upper North Shore.³

Both Cuth and his wife Mary were active supporters of Old Bar Surf Club and the tender for the construction of the surgery was awarded to Ralph Chequer, a champion in the surf lifesaving movement who had won the Australian Belt race in 1926/27 and 1928/29.⁴

Cuth and fellow staff members, K W Roseby and F X Watson moved into the building in July 1938 and, although the ownership has changed over the years, the use has not.⁵

Author: Penny Teerman