Patterns of Keeping

Why are some stories – or more tangibly, places – remembered, and preserved?

Places in the past

While ‘history’ in its traditional, textbook, sense might not figure in the lives of most of us living in the Marrickville Local Government Area, recollections from, or stories handed down about the past are meaningful to many.

This sense of the past is often embedded in a particular place. Aspects of the built environment that have been preserved from previous years, decades, or centuries tug perhaps at our memories: our school classrooms, local church, the art-deco cinema down the road. Other sites might be more palpably ‘historical’, and evoke a different way of thinking about the past.

Standing on the corner of Marrickville and Petersham roads, for instance, the Winged Victory is a familiar sight. The figure of Nike (goddess of Victory) grasps a sword in one hand and in the other, a laurel wreath, symbolising peace. The names inscribed at the base of the statue serve as a reminder of the 450 recruits from Marrickville who lost their lives fighting in the First World War. The Winged Victory was sculpted by Gilbert Doble (1880-1974) and unveiled by Sir Walter E. Davidson, then governor of New South Wales, in May 1919.[1]

The statue thus pre-dates the current Marrickville Town Hall in front of which it stands, which was opened in 1922.

Visitors to the Winged Victory soon after its unveiling. “Winged Victory War Memorial”, ca. 1922., Marrickville Library and History Services, http://swft.mvls.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/179283.

The original statue was removed in 2009 over concerns about its deteriorating condition. It remains on display as a centre piece to the new World War 1 Gallery in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Click on the image below to view a video of the original Winged Victory being prepared for exhibition:

Today, the Winged Victory is a re-imagined and subtly re-worked version of the original. Sculpted by Darien Pullen, the new statue was lowered onto the same pedestal in April of this year. Nike’s sword is no longer raised in triumph, but held by her side in a more peaceful gesture. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Pullen articulated that in altering Nike’s heroic pose, he aimed to reach for an image of “peace and sacrifice”.[2]

 

The current Winged Victory. “Replacement Sculpture”, April 2015, Monument Australia, http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/22052-marrickville-soldiersand%2339%3B-memorial.

The original Winged Victory. Gilbert Doble, “Winged Victory”, January 1919, Australian War Memorial Collection, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P11931.002.

In celebration of the unveiling of the new Winged Victory Statue in 2015, Young Henry’s crafted an ANZAC biscuit flavoured “Winged Victory” beer. “Winged Victory”, Young Henry’s, http://www.younghenrys.com/winged-victory.

 

Click through the photos below to have a look at what aspects of the built landscape have endured, changed or are about to be removed in the Marrickville region. Megan Martin, who along with fellow heritage consultant Ian Kirk has recently surveyed original service stations from the interwar years across NSW, suggests that getting people interested in reading the built environment is an important step in heritage conservation.

“Once you talk to people about something like [a heritage study] and show them some examples, then they learn to read the built environment. If people are doing that, then they are valuing it. There is a much better chance of protecting something if people can read it and like it.”[3]

Megan Martin

Tempe Park Methodist Church (pictured here) was built in 1884. The church was sold in 1969 and reconsecrated as the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mina and St Mary, constituting the first Coptic church built outside of Egypt. “Tempe Park Methodist Church”, unattributed, St Peters Cooks River History Group, https://stpeterscooksriverhistory.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/19th-century-cooks-river-calendar/.

St Mina and St Mary Coptic Orthodox Church on Palm Sunday in 1984. Chris Meader, Richard Cashman and Anne Carolan, ‘Marrickville People and Places’, (Sydney: Hale and Iremonger, 1994), p. 80.

The church as it stands today. However, as the Marrickville Heritage Society have notified in their newsletter, the building will soon be demolished, having fallen into a state of disrepair. Marrickville Council is collecting stories about the church. “St Mary and St MinaCoptic Church”, ‘Gasp’ blog, https://gasp2011.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/st-mary-st-mina-coptic-church/, accessed 15 November 2015.

This garage has been a familiar sight on the corner of Princes Highway and Canal Road since the 1940s. Built in the Spanish-Mission style common to independent garages constructed in the interwar years, it is one of the few surviving examples of this architectural style. This photo is from the 1970s, and is provided on Dynamo Auto Electrician’s website: http://dynamoautoelectricians.com.au/about-us.html.

Dynamo Auto today. Unfortunately the garage is earmarked for demolition in December this year, under the new WestConnex M5 development. Take a look at the petition on change.org to see what people have to say on the matter: https://www.change.org/p/please-help-save-iconic-heritage-listed-st-peters-garage-dynamo. Photo from Google Maps.

St Brigid’s Church on the corner of Livingstone and Marrickville Roads, was opened in February of 1921. Designed by John Barlow, it is constructed with a Spanish-Mission exterior and Romanesque interior. This photo comes from a contemporary photographer’s blog, “Wedding Photojournalism”, http://weddingphotojournalism.com.au/st-brigids-parish-marrickville-church-wedding/, accessed November 15, 2015.

This is a picture of St Brigid’s from the Organ Music Society of Sydney. A closer look at the page reveals that this building houses an organ, built in 1865 by Henry Bryceson, and moved to St Brigid’s church in 1921. The organ was reconstructed in 1957 by S.T. Noad and Son. Take a look at the webpage to see photos of the organ in 1940s, and today: http://www.sydneyorgan.com/StBrigids.html.

The original Marrickville Town Hall was opened in 1879 and stood on Illawarra Road. The building remains, as an item under the NSW Heritage Act. “The First Marrickville Town Hall”, 1916, Marrickville Council, http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/en/library/history-services/past-exhibitions/local-government-week-exhibition/the-first-marrickville-town-hall/

The new Marrickville Town Hall, located on Marrickville Road, was opened in 1922. “Marrickville Town Hall Opening Ceremony”, 1922, Marrickville Council, http://yoursaymarrickville.com.au/marrickville-town-hall-forecourt-upgrade/photos/12220.

St Clement’s Church was commissioned to replace a smaller chapel (built in 1883), and was built in two stages (completed in March 1907). Designed by Rowe and Spain, it was constructed in the Gothic Revival style from dark red brick with a slate roof. “St Clement’s Church, Marrickville”, from the Josef Lebovic Gallery Collection, http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/129870.

“St Clement’s, C.E.”, from the Josef Lebovic Collection, http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/32476/print.

The original St Clement’s Church can be seen in the right of this picture, now the parish hall. “St Clement’s Anglican”, 2015, Australian Christian Church Histories, http://www.churchhistories.net.au/church-catalog/marrickville-nsw-st-clements-anglican/.

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Herbet Street in Dulwich Hill. This building, constructed in 1915 and designed by John Burcham Clamp, replaced a smaller church that had been in use across the street. It’s centenary will be celebrated on Sunday the 6th of December. Photo from Google Maps.

This is a photograph of the original church building, which dates back to 1886. The hall was sadly destroyed in a fire in April 2013. M. Broadhurst, “Parish Hall Dulwich Hill”, ca. 1920, Marrickville Council, http://photosau.com/marrickville/scripts/home.asp.

 

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Notes

[1] Richard Cashman and Chrys Meader, Marrickville, Rural Outpost to Inner City, (Petersham: Hale and Iremonger, 1990), pp. 30 – 31.

[2] “Winged Victory Raised Again Outside Marrickville Town Hall”, The Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/winged-victory-raised-again-outside-marrickville-town-hall-20150415-1mlo6t.html.

[3] Megan Martin, “Heritage by the Roadside: Interwar Service Stations”, in Heritage Projects in NSW: Case Studies, p. 11.