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Showing posts with label Powerhouse Parramatta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powerhouse Parramatta. Show all posts

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Willow Grove – 34 Phillip Street – Parramatta – Annie Gallagher's Villa, the Maternity Hospital and the Powerhouse Fight – 1891 to 2026

Willowgrove - Parramatta - NSW

Willow Grove (often styled Willowgrove) was a Victorian Italianate villa at 34 Phillip Street, Parramatta, a familiar sight on the Parramatta riverfront for generations, set back behind its cast-iron fence and stone gate posts that locals knew at a glance. Built as a private house on the Parramatta River foreshore, it later sat squarely in the path of the Powerhouse Museum Parramatta project.

In 2021 the villa was dismantled to clear the site. The former NSW Government had promised relocation and reconstruction elsewhere; sandstone, bricks and architectural elements were catalogued and stored. Heritage advocates, including the National Trust (NSW), argued that dismantling was effectively demolition and that an “authentic” rebuild was not real conservation.

In 2023 the Minns Government announced it would not proceed with a costly rebuild, citing heritage advice that a replica would be “fake heritage.” Attention shifted to interpreting the Powerhouse site’s layered history (including Willow Grove), advice on reuse of salvaged materials, and other Parramatta priorities such as the Roxy Theatre.

Further reading: Willowgrove Biggest Bungle

Willow Grove – The Story of the House on Phillip Street

I wrote the bit above back in 2022, when the fight over Willow Grove was still fresh. Since then the City of Parramatta's own historians have dug right through the title deeds and old newspapers, so here's the fuller story of the house, the women who owned it, the babies born in it, and how it ended up in storage while the Powerhouse went up where it stood.

The Parramatta River near the Elizabeth Street bridge, a short walk from where Willow Grove stood on Phillip Street
The Parramatta River near the Elizabeth Street bridge, a short walk from where Willow Grove stood on Phillip Street. Chris.sherlock2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Burramattagal Country

Long before anyone drew a boundary line here, this stretch of riverbank was an important foraging place for the Burramattagal clan of the Darug people, according to the City of Parramatta's history of the site. The council history notes that European settlers cleared the land, riverbanks included, which badly cut back the native plants and animals Aboriginal people depended on. Green Left's 2020 report on the campaign also points out that the name Parramatta comes from the Burramattagal, and that the Darug Strategic Management Group objected to the museum, saying it hadn't been consulted and pointing to a significant tree on the site.

A French view of the landing at the entrance to Parramatta, published around 1833
A French view of the landing at the entrance to Parramatta, published around 1833. J. Tastu, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Augustus Earle's watercolour of the Female Factory at Parramatta, about 1826. Colonial Parramatta was already growing up along the river
Augustus Earle's watercolour of the Female Factory at Parramatta, about 1826. Colonial Parramatta was already growing up along the river. Augustus Earle (1793-1838), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Benjamin Lee, the Waterloo Man

The council's research traces the land back to Benjamin Lee, who held two blocks, Portions 41 and 43 of Section 25 of the Town of Parramatta. Lee died in April 1879 aged 91, and he was known locally for a military record that included fighting with the British at Waterloo. After he died, his estate of twenty lots in Phillip and Church Streets was cut up and auctioned. The lots that later became Willow Grove were sold as vacant building blocks with "good, elevated positions, and nice sheltered spots for cottages away from the dust of the public road".

The Town of Parramatta in the 1840s, from Baker's Australian County Atlas. Phillip Street runs along the river's south bank
The Town of Parramatta in the 1840s, from Baker's Australian County Atlas. Phillip Street runs along the river's south bank. Baker's Australian county atlas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Mr T. Ellis bought Lots 11 to 15 for £360. That was Thomas Henry Ellis, an auctioneer, though the title went into his wife Rebecca's name. The couple lived on the north side of Phillip Street until Rebecca died in September 1890.

Frederick Tudgay's 1879 painting of Parramatta, the year Benjamin Lee's estate went under the hammer
Frederick Tudgay's 1879 painting of Parramatta, the year Benjamin Lee's estate went under the hammer. Frederick Tudgay, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Annie Gallagher, the Draper Who Built It

In November 1890 the land sold again, for a hefty £1,000, to Annie Josephine Gallagher, born Hanly. The council history makes the point that she bought it with her own money, which the Married Women's Property Act 1879 made possible for women like her.

Annie had started young. Her father John Hanly died in April 1883 and left her £230. By July that year she'd opened A. J. Hanly's Cash Millinery and Drapery Shop in Church Street, which she called "The Sydney Gem". She married Thomas Gallagher at St Patrick's in Parramatta in April 1884 but kept trading under her maiden name for a while. In 1885 the business moved into bigger premises called The Arcade. In time it became Gallagher's Arcade, and sometimes, a bit grandly, Gallagher's Great Arcade. Her motto was "Small Profits, Quick Returns".

Church Street, Parramatta, in 2015. Annie Gallagher's drapery and arcade traded on Church Street from 1883
Church Street, Parramatta, in 2015. Annie Gallagher's drapery and arcade traded on Church Street from 1883. User:rcbutcher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On 3 December 1890 a tender went into the Cumberland Mercury for a cottage in Phillip Street for the Gallaghers. The architect was Sydney Moore Green, a colonial-born architect with offices in Pitt Street. According to the council, Green had earlier worked with Thomas Rowe, first as an employee and then as a partner, on jobs including the YMCA building, the original part of Sydney Hospital, the Synagogue and Vickery's Chambers. Green died in 1912 and is buried at Gore Hill.

Thomas didn't get long to enjoy it. He died at home in Phillip Street on 3 November 1891, aged only 35. Annie carried on, and in August 1892 she put out a tender for the front fence, with its "stone pier and dwarf wall and iron railing". That was the fence and those gate posts everyone remembers.

The Crown Hotel in Church Street. The street was Parramatta's main shopping strip in Annie Gallagher's day
The Crown Hotel in Church Street. The street was Parramatta's main shopping strip in Annie Gallagher's day. rcbutcher (talk · contribs), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The 1890s were brutal for business, with more than a hundred bankruptcies in Parramatta between 1890 and 1895, but Annie kept going. In April 1894 she advertised a "Great Winter Fair", boasting that while banks had collapsed, "Gallagher's Arcade stands unrivalled". In 1899 she rebuilt the arcade, more than 150 feet long and nearly 30 feet high, with skylights. She did that partly on borrowed money, including debts to the firm of W. & A. McArthur Ltd. She was also fined at Parramatta Police Court in 1895 for putting stock out on the footpath.

In early 1903 the creditors moved in. On 3 March the contents of Willow Grove were auctioned. The sale notice described a brick villa with drawing, dining and breakfast rooms, a kitchen and six bedrooms, plus a coachhouse, stable and man's room, on a block with a 100-foot frontage to Phillip Street that ran about 420 feet deep. W. & A. McArthur Ltd, one of the creditors, bought it in July 1903. Annie was declared bankrupt in 1906. She died at Darlinghurst on 9 January 1924 and was buried with Thomas at Rookwood.

Rookwood Necropolis, where Annie and Thomas Gallagher are buried
Rookwood Necropolis, where Annie and Thomas Gallagher are buried. J Bar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Melhuishes

McArthur's rented the house out for a while. Then on 1 November 1906 it went to Elizabeth Melhuish, the second wife of Henry Dutton Melhuish of Granville. Henry had made his money from an engineering business, H. D. Melhuish and Son of Spring Hill near Orange, and he patented improved farm machinery. Elizabeth, the widow of Thomas Hubbard of Maryvale near Wellington, owned rental properties in her own right. They married at Granville in 1898.

The council says the couple lived at Willow Grove from 1906 to 1915. Henry preached with the Baptist church and took services at aged care homes around Parramatta. After that the house seems to have been let. The Sands Directory has a Mr and Mrs S. Hoffman there in 1915, and a Mrs Brown was the occupier in 1917. Elizabeth died at Taringa in Granville in 1924, aged 79. Henry went back to Wellington and died there in 1929, aged 95.

Old Government House in Parramatta Park in jacaranda season. The council lists jacarandas among the trees in Willow Grove's garden too
Old Government House in Parramatta Park in jacaranda season. The council lists jacarandas among the trees in Willow Grove's garden too. Michael Cleary, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Babies on Phillip Street – Willow Grove as a Private Hospital, 1919 to 1953

This is the part of the story that a lot of Parramatta families are personally tied to. The title passed on 5 February 1919 to Evangeline Estelle Davidson, a matron and midwife, the wife of Robert Davidson of Ashfield. She opened it as Estella Private Hospital, licensed for "medical, surgical, and lying-in" cases, with no more than fourteen patients in six wards. That was the same year the influenza pandemic hit Sydney. The council history says 129 private lying-in hospitals were recorded in Sydney in 1920, most of them run by trained midwives. The Private Hospitals Act of 1908 brought in yearly licences and inspections.

'Lying-in' meant a mother was kept in bed for a stretch before and after the birth. Birth notices in the local papers named Estella Private Hospital or Sister Davidson's Private Hospital, and some grateful families placed thank-you notices too.

St John's Church, Parramatta, in 1913, a few years before Willow Grove became a hospital
St John's Church, Parramatta, in 1913, a few years before Willow Grove became a hospital. Anglican Church, Australia,1913, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On 23 July 1923 Sister Davidson sold to nursing sister May Victoria West, who renamed it Westcourt. Sister West kept ownership until August 1949. In October 1925 she leased it to Sister Amy Agnes Allen and Sister (Elvira) Maud Lowe, who called it Aloha, and the lease said it could only be used as a private hospital. By 1927 the lease had passed to two sisters, Hannah Florence McLachlan and Mary McLachlan. They had come from Inchneuk Private Hospital on the corner of Smith and George Streets, which their former partner Mary Helena Watson kept running.

Green Left quoted the campaigner Suzette Meade saying the house was always owned by women until the 1950s. The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association backed the green ban because of that midwifery history.

The Roxy in Parramatta in the 1930s, photographed by Sam Hood, while Willow Grove was still a hospital around the corner
The Roxy in Parramatta in the 1930s, photographed by Sam Hood, while Willow Grove was still a hospital around the corner. Sam Hood (1872-1953), No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Post Office Engineers, a Car Park and Forever Living

The hospital closed in 1953. Part of the land went to Parramatta Council for a car park and open space. The rest went to the Commonwealth and was handed to the Postmaster-General's Department in June 1953 for engineering offices. In March 1987 part of the land went to Agostino Bros Pty Ltd. In 1994 Rex Maughan, the owner of the American company Forever Living Products, bought the house, renovated it and ran his business from it. From June 2015 it belonged to Parramatta City Council, until the land was resumed for the Powerhouse.

The Parramatta ferry wharf at the end of Phillip Street
The Parramatta ferry wharf at the end of Phillip Street. Abesty, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A RiverCat docking at Parramatta wharf in 2013
A RiverCat docking at Parramatta wharf in 2013. user:rcbutcher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Powerhouse, the Green Ban and the Dismantling

When the Berejiklian Government picked the riverbank for the new Powerhouse Museum, Willow Grove and St George's Terrace were both in the way. Green Left reported that the government's response to submissions in October 2020 still planned to "deconstruct and relocate" Willow Grove, but would keep St George's Terrace. The Save the Powerhouse group said 1,232 of the 1,299 submissions to the inquiry objected. Green Left also noted that the Premier and Don Harwin had pledged before the election to save the house.

The North Parramatta Residents Action Group, led by Suzette Meade, took the fight to the CFMEU. She told Green Left she went to the union's Committee of Management with letters of support from the National Trust, and within twenty minutes she had a phone call saying an interim green ban was on, by unanimous decision. Meade had worked with the union before, on its green ban over the old Cumberland Hospital site, and she told Green Left that the late BLF leader Jack Mundey had been beside her on that one.

Floodwater at the Parramatta Wharf bridge on Phillip Street, 21 March 2021. The Powerhouse's riverside site sits on this floodplain
Floodwater at the Parramatta Wharf bridge on Phillip Street, 21 March 2021. The Powerhouse's riverside site sits on this floodplain. SHB2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The residents lost a court bid in July 2021 to stall the removal by challenging Infrastructure NSW's environmental impact statement, the Guardian reported. Then, on 24 August 2021, with western Sydney locked down for the Delta outbreak, the union lifted its ban. In return the government agreed to save St George's Terrace and fold it into the museum design. The deal also set up a committee to oversee the dismantling and rebuilding, and promised the house would stay in public hands. Meade accused the government of using COVID as cover. Arts Minister Don Harwin said Willow Grove would be rebuilt brick by brick at a site still to be announced.

The planning consent made the builders draw up a Relocation Framework and Methodology Plan before any work started, and update it within twelve months of the dismantling to name a new site. A Willow Grove Community Reference Group was formed in November 2021. The National Trust walked out of it in April 2022, saying the house couldn't be authentically rebuilt.

The Parramatta River from the air near Rosehill, downstream from the Powerhouse site
The Parramatta River from the air near Rosehill, downstream from the Powerhouse site. Beau Giles, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

"Fake Heritage" – Willow Grove Will Not Be Rebuilt

On 10 September 2023 the Minns Government drew a line under it. Arts Minister John Graham said the former government had never allocated money or found a site for the rebuild, and that heritage people were calling a rebuild "fake heritage". "Willow Grove will not be rebuilt," he said. The ABC reported that more than 90 per cent of the original bricks were in secure storage, along with the slate roofing, the windows, the front door, the timber framing and the fence. Suzette Meade said, "Thankfully sanity has prevailed, no Willow Grove Frankenstein will be resurrected." The government said it would turn its attention to places like the Roxy Theatre instead.

Hoyts Roxy Theatre, Parramatta, in 1993. The Minns Government named the Roxy as its Parramatta heritage priority in place of the rebuild
Hoyts Roxy Theatre, Parramatta, in 1993. The Minns Government named the Roxy as its Parramatta heritage priority in place of the rebuild. lindsaybridge from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On 25 September 2023 Parramatta Council resolved to ask that the rebuild money be redirected to the Riverside Theatres and other heritage projects. It also asked the government to consult the council before any parts of the house were reused or thrown away.

Where Things Stand Now

As far as I can find, the salvaged pieces of Willow Grove are still in storage, and I haven't found any announced decision on what will become of them. Infrastructure NSW says the Powerhouse Parramatta building was finished in April 2026 and the museum opens on Saturday 7 November 2026. St George's Terrace is part of it. Willow Grove isn't.

Church Street, Parramatta, after the light rail was finished in January 2025. Parramatta is changing fast
Church Street, Parramatta, after the light rail was finished in January 2025. Parramatta is changing fast. Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Parramatta Square in 2020
Parramatta Square in 2020. Xing Lin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Other Old Parramatta Places Worth a Visit

Willow Grove is gone, but these older Parramatta places are still standing, and they give you a feel for the town Annie Gallagher knew.

Old Government House, Parramatta Park
Old Government House, Parramatta Park. Yewenyi at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Farm, Harris Park
Elizabeth Farm, Harris Park. Sardaka (talk) 06:15, 23 January 2013 (UTC), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Experiment Farm Cottage, Harris Park
Experiment Farm Cottage, Harris Park. Sardaka (talk) 06:07, 21 January 2013 (UTC), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lennox Bridge, which carries Church Street over the Parramatta River
Lennox Bridge, which carries Church Street over the Parramatta River. inas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Timeline

  • Before 1788 – The riverbank is a foraging place of the Burramattagal clan of the Darug people.
  • April 1879 – Benjamin Lee dies aged 91, and his Phillip and Church Street lots are auctioned.
  • 1879 – Thomas Ellis buys Lots 11 to 15 for £360, with the title in Rebecca Ellis's name.
  • July 1883 – Annie Hanly opens her drapery, "The Sydney Gem", in Church Street.
  • April 1884 – Annie marries Thomas Gallagher.
  • November 1890 – Annie Gallagher buys the land for £1,000.
  • 3 December 1890 – Tenders are called for the house, designed by Sydney Moore Green.
  • 3 November 1891 – Thomas Gallagher dies at Willow Grove, aged 35.
  • August 1892 – Tenders are called for the stone piers and iron front fence.
  • March to July 1903 – The contents are auctioned, and W. & A. McArthur Ltd buys the house.
  • 1 November 1906 – Elizabeth Melhuish buys the house.
  • 5 February 1919 – Evangeline Estelle Davidson buys it and opens Estella Private Hospital.
  • 23 July 1923 – May Victoria West buys it, and it becomes Westcourt.
  • October 1925 – It is leased to Sisters Allen and Lowe and renamed Aloha.
  • 1927 – The McLachlan sisters take over the lease.
  • 1953 – The hospital closes. The PMG takes the house, and the council takes part of the land.
  • 1994 – Rex Maughan of Forever Living Products buys and renovates it.
  • June 2015 – Parramatta Council becomes the owner.
  • 2020 – The CFMEU puts a green ban on Willow Grove and St George's Terrace.
  • 24 August 2021 – The green ban is lifted, and St George's Terrace is saved.
  • Late 2021 – Willow Grove is dismantled and put into storage.
  • April 2022 – The National Trust quits the Community Reference Group.
  • 10 September 2023 – The Minns Government says Willow Grove will not be rebuilt.
  • 7 November 2026 – Powerhouse Parramatta is due to open on the site.

Where the Sources Disagree

  • When it was built. The NSW Government's 2023 media release and the ABC both say Willow Grove was built between 1870 and 1880, and the Guardian called it a 140-year-old homestead in 2021. The City of Parramatta's research, drawing on Terry Kass's 2020 history, puts it at 1890 to 1891, from Annie Gallagher's purchase and the December 1890 tender. The council's architecture page calls it a design of the 1880s to 1890s. The deeds and tender notices point to the early 1890s.
  • When the green ban went on. Green Left Weekly, writing in October 2020, said the CFMEU placed the ban in April 2020, with the announcement held back by COVID. The Guardian said it went on in November 2020.
  • When it came down. The Guardian reported on 24 August 2021 that dismantling had already begun. The NSW Government said it was demolished in late 2021. The council's Part 1 history says it stood until December 2021, and its Part 2 history dates the resumption for Powerhouse construction to January 2022.
  • Demolished or dismantled? The ABC, the Minns Government and Parramatta Council all say "demolished". The former government and the union deal called it dismantling for relocation.
  • How to spell it. The house is "Willow Grove" in the council and government sources, but it's often written "Willowgrove", as in my title and one of the council's own headings.

My Earlier Posts

Sources

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