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Badgally Road Campbelltown - The Other Side of the Line |
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by Marie Holmes This book is based on a major assignment submitted for a component of a Graduate Diploma Course in Local and Applied History at the University of New england at Armidale, NSW.
I chose Badgally Road for this work as at the time I travelled along it each day to work at nearby Eagle Vale High School, and never ceased to be fascinated by the old homes found along this road. The desire to know more of the people who lived in these homes then led to this more detailed study.
In publications readily available I found only brief references. I wanted more information and this led to a search through newspapers, land records and archives. I interviewed former residents of properties along Badgally Road. These include Marjorie Morris who lived at Rosslyn Farm and Allan McClelland of Glenroy. Tess Holm and Councillor Verlie Fowler have also assisted with information on Hillcrest and on the State Nursery. Brett Spackman has assisted with land documents for Hillcrest and Rosslyn. Michael Turner of Blairmount showed me his property and explained many of its changes to me. I visited the Campbelltown Library, the Mitchell Library and State Library, The Land Titles Office and the Archives and it is with the articles, maps, land records and photographs they yeilded that I have been able to write this history.
In compiling this history, I wished to highlight a number of properties that existed along Badgally Road, to describe these homes and to investigate the social life of those who lived in them. The time span will extend from the early grants of land about 1816, until the late 1960's when the nature of the area changed to housing estates and an industrial estate of Campbeltlown. A brief history of the Aboriginal occupation of the district is also included.
I feel it is important to establish a lasting history because this road, once the site of homes of many people, is becoming part of modern life, with little to remind us of its former times except some street and reserve names and a small number of buildings.
Marjorie Morris, who lived at Rosslyn, a property on Badgally Road for many years told me that it was "the other side of the line." Consequently, when seeking a suitable title for the book, her comment seemed very appropriate.
This book should assist in providing a lasting record of the history of Badgally Road, so that those coming to live in the area may be aware of the history of their suburb.
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