Putney, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Putney is a suburb
of Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. It is located 12 kilometres (7 mi) west-northwest of the Sydney central business district
on the northern bank of the Parramatta River
. Its local government area
is the City of Ryde
.
The area of Putney and Ryde
was originally known Eastern Farms and then as Kissing Point by the British colonists. It was of one the first areas of British settlement in the colony. One of the earliest settlers within the present day suburb was the brewer James Squire
who settled there in 1792. He established his brewery the Malt Shovel near the present day Kissing Point.
The eastern section of Putney was part of a land grant to Nicholas Bayley. The land was later sold to Eugene Delange who subdivided the land calling it the Village of Eugenie.
The name was later changed to Putney, derived from its namesake Putney
on the River Thames
in London
. Parramatta River
had been known as the 'Thames of the Antipodes
' and other nearby suburbs were also named after Thames localities of Greenwich
, Woolwich
and Henley
. Putney was also the mid-point for watching World Championship rowing races from the 1880s to 1930’s. The first regatta was held in 1847 at Kissing Point. The following decade, Sydneysiders were mad about rowing, and lucrative prizes were given to local and national championships. By the 1880s the river was a focus for thousands watching the world championship sculling races. The course ran between Kissing Point and Uhr's Point (south east side of Ryde Bridge
). The local addiction to sculling fever was called "water on the brain". World Championships were contested on the course, results eagerly awaited in both Britain and America. Men and women alike discussed water conditions, racing times, and technicalities of boats. Most of the champions trained at Ryde. Local, national, and international races were held on the Parramatta River. Inter-varsity and GPS schools also had their annual regattas on the river between 1893–1935. Banjo Paterson
recalled;
"from twenty-five to thirty men could be seen on any fine morning swinging along in their sculls at practice – and such men! From riverside farms, and from axe men's camps in the North Coast timber country, from shipyards and fishing fleets, they flocked to the old river as the gladiators flocked to Rome in the last days of the Empire."
A punt service was established before 1896, crossing the river between Putney Point and Mortlake Point
. This service was driven by hand. A cable ferry was opened in 1928, and was officially called the Mortlake Ferry
. It is the last surviving punt in the Sydney metropolitan area.
In 1943, during World War II
, Slazengers (Australia) Pty Ltd established a ship building yard on Pellisier Road, Putney. The company manufactured wartime equipment for the United States Army and the Australian Government. During the war, the Putney shipyard built scows and landing craft; however Slazengers also built military huts, houses for munition workers, military canteens, hospitals, small arms, ammunition boxes and gas masks. Ship contracts included trawlers, tugboats, landing craft, life boats, scows and high speed work boats.
Morrisons Bay is named after Archibald Morrison, a soldier who received a land grant in 1795 of 55 acres. One of the colony's wealthiest settlers, Captain William Raven, owned 100 acres that ran between Glades Bay to Morrisons Bay. The land was subdivided in 1887. Named after Lord Alfred Tennyson, the Tennyson Estate was promoted as having front seat views to the Championship rowing course. Two world Champion rowers, Beach (1884) and Kemp (1887) have streets named after them. The Eastern side of Morrison’s Bay was a textile mill, the Head of bay is a reclaimed mangrove flat and River baths were established 1918.
via Meadowbank
. The Kissing Point ferry wharf, located in the suburb, provides access to the Parramatta River ferry services, with a 40-minute ferry
service to Circular Quay.
Meadowbank railway station is located beyond the suburb's northwestern boundary.
Cleves Park is the possible burial site of Bennelong
and contains a memorial plaque.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located 12 kilometres (7 mi) west-northwest of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
on the northern bank of the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....
. Its local government area
Local Government Areas of New South Wales
The local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...
is the City of Ryde
City of Ryde
The City of Ryde is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the Lower North Shore and Greater Western Sydney over West Ryde and Eastwood District....
.
History
Evidence of the Walumedegal clan remains around Morrisons Bay and Glades Bay, with 4 distinct sites including shelters amongst the sandstone overhangs, open rock engraving site, sheltered stencil (art site) and an axe grinding site.The area of Putney and Ryde
Ryde, New South Wales
Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...
was originally known Eastern Farms and then as Kissing Point by the British colonists. It was of one the first areas of British settlement in the colony. One of the earliest settlers within the present day suburb was the brewer James Squire
James Squire
James Squire , a convict transported to Australia, is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia at the turn of the 19th century, and is also considered to have founded Australia's first commercial brewery in 1798, though John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making...
who settled there in 1792. He established his brewery the Malt Shovel near the present day Kissing Point.
The eastern section of Putney was part of a land grant to Nicholas Bayley. The land was later sold to Eugene Delange who subdivided the land calling it the Village of Eugenie.
The name was later changed to Putney, derived from its namesake Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....
had been known as the 'Thames of the Antipodes
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
' and other nearby suburbs were also named after Thames localities of Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and Henley
Henley
- Places :UK:*Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England**Henley Rural District, a former rural district in Oxfordshire*Henley-in-Arden, a village in Warwickshire, England*Henley, Suffolk, a village in Suffolk, England...
. Putney was also the mid-point for watching World Championship rowing races from the 1880s to 1930’s. The first regatta was held in 1847 at Kissing Point. The following decade, Sydneysiders were mad about rowing, and lucrative prizes were given to local and national championships. By the 1880s the river was a focus for thousands watching the world championship sculling races. The course ran between Kissing Point and Uhr's Point (south east side of Ryde Bridge
Ryde Bridge
The Ryde Bridge, which is in fact two bridges, is located in Sydney, Australia that crosses the Parramatta River, linking the suburb of Ryde in Sydney's Northern Suburbs to the suburb of Rhodes in Sydney's Inner West...
). The local addiction to sculling fever was called "water on the brain". World Championships were contested on the course, results eagerly awaited in both Britain and America. Men and women alike discussed water conditions, racing times, and technicalities of boats. Most of the champions trained at Ryde. Local, national, and international races were held on the Parramatta River. Inter-varsity and GPS schools also had their annual regattas on the river between 1893–1935. Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
recalled;
"from twenty-five to thirty men could be seen on any fine morning swinging along in their sculls at practice – and such men! From riverside farms, and from axe men's camps in the North Coast timber country, from shipyards and fishing fleets, they flocked to the old river as the gladiators flocked to Rome in the last days of the Empire."
A punt service was established before 1896, crossing the river between Putney Point and Mortlake Point
Mortlake, New South Wales
Mortlake is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mortlake is located 17 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay.-Transport:...
. This service was driven by hand. A cable ferry was opened in 1928, and was officially called the Mortlake Ferry
Mortlake Ferry
The Mortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, is a cable ferry that runs across the Parramatta River in Sydney, connecting Hilly Street in Mortlake and Pellisier Road in Putney.- History and heritage :...
. It is the last surviving punt in the Sydney metropolitan area.
In 1943, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Slazengers (Australia) Pty Ltd established a ship building yard on Pellisier Road, Putney. The company manufactured wartime equipment for the United States Army and the Australian Government. During the war, the Putney shipyard built scows and landing craft; however Slazengers also built military huts, houses for munition workers, military canteens, hospitals, small arms, ammunition boxes and gas masks. Ship contracts included trawlers, tugboats, landing craft, life boats, scows and high speed work boats.
Morrisons Bay is named after Archibald Morrison, a soldier who received a land grant in 1795 of 55 acres. One of the colony's wealthiest settlers, Captain William Raven, owned 100 acres that ran between Glades Bay to Morrisons Bay. The land was subdivided in 1887. Named after Lord Alfred Tennyson, the Tennyson Estate was promoted as having front seat views to the Championship rowing course. Two world Champion rowers, Beach (1884) and Kemp (1887) have streets named after them. The Eastern side of Morrison’s Bay was a textile mill, the Head of bay is a reclaimed mangrove flat and River baths were established 1918.
Transport
Putney is served by Sydney Buses route 507, which travels between the city and Macquarie UniversityMacquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
via Meadowbank
Meadowbank, New South Wales
Meadowbank is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Meadowbank is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...
. The Kissing Point ferry wharf, located in the suburb, provides access to the Parramatta River ferry services, with a 40-minute ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service to Circular Quay.
Meadowbank railway station is located beyond the suburb's northwestern boundary.
Landmarks
Putney's facilities include a primary school, post office, sporting fields, parks, a shopping area and a few restaurants. Putney is also home to St Chad's Anglican Church, Delange Road, which was founded in 1912 and whose building is of historical significance. It is named after St Chad of Mercia, who lived in the 7th century and was abbot of several monasteries, as well as a bishop.Cleves Park is the possible burial site of Bennelong
Bennelong
Woollarawarre Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia, in 1788...
and contains a memorial plaque.