Harry Wilfred Webster
Harry Wilfred Webster was born in Essex, England in 1885 and undertook his architectural training there...
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Black Head Surf Club or is it River Club?Calls for a lifesaving club at Black Head started as early as 1915 after the near drowning of four people. Ten years later in 1925, the surf club officially opened. While rescues have been a part of regular duty, a special rescue happened in Taree in 1929. Black Head and Taree-Old Bar Surf Clubs have… -
Air Pageant and Aviator’s Ball – Taree 1930In the 1920s the fledgling aviation industry was thriving and progressive towns wanted an aerodrome. Thus it came to pass that a portion of Taree Showground was combined with adjoining land donated by Mr H Beeton to provide Taree’s first in-town aerodrome. The official opening was celebrated with an air pageant and aviator’s ball on 7… -
Commonwealth Bank Mural – 176 Victoria Street, TareeIn 1956 the Commonwealth Bank commissioned Byram Mansell to design a mural for its new premises to be erected in Victoria Street, Taree. Born in Sydney in 1893, William Arthur “Byram” Mansell was trained as an engineer, but attended evening classes at Julian Ashton’s Art School. Seeking to further his experience, he travelled overseas and, whilst… -
Castor, a man from MadagascarOn 12 April 1856, an African man died in the vicinity of Tarree Estate. His name was Castor, a labourer aged 50 years, who died from heart disease. Witnesses to the burial were Henry Flett, William Wynter Jnr. and Thomas Dyball. His death certificate states he was born in Madagascar but this story begins in Mauritius… -
George Cassimaty: Local heroGeorge Cassimaty was a well-known business identity in Taree running a fruit exchange and refreshment rooms in Manning and Victoria Streets for many years. Born on the Greek island of Kythira, it can be imagined that George knew how to swim. On 8 December 1923, two year old Gwen Graham was playing in her… -
Pixie O’Harris paintingsIn 1957, renowned Australian illustrator and author, Pixie O’Harris, painted a series of 25 murals for the Children’s Ward of the Manning River District Hospital in Taree. The paintings depict scenes from children’s stories including Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood... -
Toki Simon: The smiling assassinToki William Simon was a Biripi man born in Forster, NSW in 1915. When he was young, Toki worked with his family to craft cabbage tree furniture at Forster. He also played rugby league for Cape Hawke being regularly identified as one of the team’s best players. In 1939 Toki married Joyce Dungay from Taree. World… -
The Walter Plummer Hall‘The Walter Plummer Hall’ is a two-storey brick building situated in the heart of the Taree Showgrounds. It was built in 1910 as an exhibition hall for the new showgrounds. Some declaring it ‘the best hall outside the great cities of the state’. Walter Plummer was an auctioneer and one of the most popular men in the district. -
Glenthorne Public School: Segregated historyGlenthorne Provisional School opened in a room on Thomas Trotter’s farm “Orange Grove” in July 1877 with an enrolment of 36 students. Within three years, under the tutelage of Miss Eliza Plummer, the school became a Public school. In 1891 a more permanent brick building was erected, while in 1906 a cottage was moved from… -
The Wrecking of the UranaIt was just after 9pm on the night of 31 August 1937 when the Postmaster at Old Bar noticed the impending disaster – ship’s lights looming out of the fog and heading towards submerged rocks just off shore. The Urana, a steamer carrying 100 tons of coal from Newcastle en route to the Macleay River,… -
Tunbridge Wells, 81 High Street, TareeHenry Wilson Alcorn began his life on the Manning as a farmer and later advertised his services as a brick merchant and building contractor. He constructed many brick buildings around Taree, including the Exchange Hotel and his own home 'Tunbridge Wells'… -
Westcrag Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd FellowsThe Grand United Order of Odd Fellows was conceived as a friendly society which provided financial support to its members in need and promoted their moral, social and intellectual development. It was established in Australia in the 1840s. Lodges proliferated in Australia and even small communities were able to generate sufficient numbers to form local Lodges… -
Edward Langley (Teddy) WhitbreadEdward Langley Whitbread is buried in Woola Cemetery on the outskirts of Taree. The headstone describes his death on the 12th February 1909 as accidental. Look a little closer and you may be able to make out a jockey’s cap and crop incised into the stone. A local lad, Teddy Whitbread was born in 1888 and… -
The Great RaceIn 1847 after two years of crafting, John Nicholson a shipbuilder of the Manning River, completed the 270 ton barque Fanny Fisherwhich had been commissioned by (William) Henry Fisher. The ship was named after Henry’s daughter. Coincidentally, in another Manning River shipyard, a barque of similar proportions, Rosetta Joseph, was being built at the same… -
Croki RegattaIn its heyday around 1900, Croki was a thriving village. Croki Regatta, an annual event, was a great drawcard. Some people paraded in their finest while others looked upon it simply as an excuse to let off steam. Boat races and competitive swimming featured, while a range of… -
Manning Steam LaundryIn the mid 1960s whilst undertaking work on the Chapman Place parking area, traces of brickwork were uncovered which were believed to be part of an underground well used by the Manning Steam Laundry. Henry W Alcorn was a local builder who, in 1915, saw the potential in developing a commercial laundry to service Taree… -
Nancy-Bird Walton (1915 – 2009)Nancy Bird flew into the history pages in 1935 when, at the age of 19, she became the first woman to hold a commercial flying licence in Australia. She was a pioneer in aviation and used this passion to help and inspire others. Nancy was born in Kew, NSW in 1915. After attending school in… -
Trooper Percy Lyon – 7th Light Horse RegimentGenerally speaking, the names inscribed on war memorials indicate that the individual has experienced the horrors of the battlefield, but this is not always the case. For these exceptions, their stories are, nevertheless, poignant. Percival Ernest Lyon was born on 22 November 1891, the fourth son of James and Alice Lyon. His father was a… -
Those rascally rabbits: Broughton Island rabbit experimentAudiences tend to love fictional rabbits such as Thumper or Bugs Bunny, but in Australia rabbits have caused widespread environmental and economic devastation since their introduction in the 1850s. Governments have spent millions of dollars fighting these pests. In 1906, Broughton Island became the scene of one such attempt. Microbiologist Dr Danysz from the… -
Ghost sign: Lifebuoy soap, WinghamIn the alleyway beside the building at 89 Isabella Street, Wingham you will see a ghost sign. A ghost sign is a hand-painted advertisement on a brick wall from years gone-by. This particular advertisement is for Lifebuoy soap which was popular in Australia between the two world wars. Lifebuoy soap was introduced in 1894 as… -
Majestic Theatre GloucesterThe history of the Majestic Theatre is as dramatic as the movies that played there for over half a century. In 1926 Albert Augustus Smith, baker, bought the property and built a bakery and a picture show. The theatre, with seating for 400, opened on 21 August 1926 with Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” being one… -
Tinonee Broom FactoriesTinonee was once home to no less than four broom factories. Joseph Edward Chapman established the industry when he distributed free seeds to farmers to encourage them to grow millet crops. The experiment was so successful that he opened a broom factory in 1894 which employed 5 people and provided work to local sawmills making broom handles... -
Anne Baxter – Hollywood ActressOn 12 December 1985 the Los Angeles Times reported the death of Anne Baxter aged 62. This followed a stroke suffered some eight days earlier. Anne Baxter was a grand-daughter of the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright. More importantly she was a very successful American actress with a career spanning her Broadway debut aged 13… -
First television in TareePeter and Dawn Calvin were proud owners of the first television in Taree. Owners of Calvin’s Electrical at 70 Manning Street (now 34 Manning Street), Taree they proudly showed off this technology to the Taree community in the early 1960s. Living behind the shop, they offered the television for everyone to enjoy. Dawn remembers that… -
Brinawa SchoolThe Bulga Plateau in the rugged Wingham hinterland has always been somewhat inaccessible and sparsely populated: however a school was established in the Bulgong (now Elands) village in 1916. In the mid 1920s, the scattered settlers to the west of the village petitioned the government to provide another facility in the locality of Brinawa to… -
Carlyle Hospital Wingham: Nurse Phyllis BidnerIn 1929 Fassifern Private Hospital in William Street, Wingham became known as Carlyle Hospital; a residence transformed into a hospital. As a young woman, Phyllis Bidner joined the nursing staff in 1951 and had one week in which to make her two blue uniforms and cap. The life of a nurse in the 1950s was… -
Sander’s DairyChristian Sander, his wife and three daughters, arrived in Brisbane aboard the Japanese steamer “Aki Maru” in December 1923. Sander, an Estonian national, told of colourful adventures in escaping from the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Circa 1926 Sander commenced the production and sale of ice-cream in a small premises in Victoria Street, Taree. The success… -
Darawank Public SchoolThe former Darawank Public School is a heritage listed building and a fine example of a nineteenth century brick school in the New South Wales Mid-Coast region. The school was built on land owned by James Brown, a farmer, who bought 100 acres of farmland along the Wallamba River in 1889. Soon after, two acres… -
Bohnock Literary Institute HallBefore 1925 the people of Bohnock had to travel long distances to attend dances and other night-time functions. After many years of discussing building a community hall, the dream finally came to fruition in 1925. Local identities, Vic and Ettie Carle, generously donated a corner section of their property on Bohnock Road for the purpose…
