Balgownie - History

Land grants

John Buckland

John Buckland was granted 1920 acres north of Campbell's grant at Geard's Hill. Governor Bourke granted this land in virtue of a promise of a grant made by Governor Darling dated 11 April 1829. This grant was called "Balgownie".

The name Balgownie was used from this time although prior to the discovery of coal in the area in 1861 early settlers used place names shown on old maps and documents such as "Cramsville", Ousley-vale and Ryanvale.

In 1839 the property was subdivided into 32 lots of 10 and 80 acres each. Four farms were offered for sale in 1840, and the village lots were advertised in 1841. The village that was established became known as Fairy Meadow and the coal centre nearby was given the name Balgownie. (Lindsay, 1994; Ryan, 1984; Northern Leader, 2002)

Early residents

Some prominent pioneers of the Balgownie Estate were: Wright, Farrell, Cram, Ryan, Brennan, McLauchlan, McNale, Caldwell, McKenbie, McMahan, Hutchinson, Dornett, Carr, Stewart, Barker, Payne, Crossman, Dingwall, Walker, Cooke, Lang and Madden.

James Cram

In 1850 James Cram arrived from Newcastle-on-Tyne to find employment in the Mount Keira coal mine. He acquired thirty six acres in the heart of Balgownie. In 1866 he became the under manager of the Mount Pleasant coal mine. He played a major role in developing this mine into the biggest coal mine in New South Wales at the time. James later disposed of some small building sites; these were the first to be sold in the northern district. He also built small cottages and rented them to local miners. This small settlement became known as "Cramsville".

James Cram was prominent in the local council, he established the first grocery business in the estate and he was also a government inspector. In 1888 the railway station at Fairy Meadow was named Cramsville platform. James was married twice, firstly in 1853 to Sarah Hedley and secondly in 1866 to Alice Frost. He had 17 children and many of his descendents were Illawarra pioneers.

James resided at "Cramsville" Balgownie from 1866 until 1919 and died on the 14th February 1919. (Illawarra Mercury, 1979 p. 19; Illawarra Pioneers pre- 1900)

Patrick Lahiff

Patrick Lahiff was the manager of the Mount Pleasant Colliery. He was born in the County of Limerick in Ireland in 1824 and arrived in New South Wales in 1829. He was a stonemason by trade and won the contract to build St Michael's Church of England and its parsonage in Wollongong.

The greatest contract that Patrick was awarded was for the construction of Belmore Basin which was opened in 1868. Patrick Lahiff was so well known that residents entitled the project 'Lahiff's Dam' before its official naming as Belmore Basin. In 1861 Patrick Lahiff opened the Mount Pleasant Colliery with land he acquired in 1861 in partnership with a Mr Fawcett. For 27 years he managed the colliery and he is also believed to have manufactured fire bricks in the Mount Pleasant area as well as experimenting with a blast furnace using ores from Mount Pleasant.

He was mayor of Wollongong in 1873 and 1883 and mayor of the North Illawarra Council in 1886, 1887 and 1894.

Patrick was married twice and had children from both marriages. He died in 1897 and is buried in the Corrimal Catholic Cemetery. (Illawarra Mercury, 2001 p.15; Wollongong Advertiser, 1992)

Madden Family

John Madden was eleven years old when he arrived in Australia. He married Johanna Gallagher in 1863 and they had eight children.

John Madden resided in the Illawarra district for over 63 years. He had a notable career as a diver and was involved in important salvage works in the Illawarra. On retiring from diving John became a farmer at Balgownie where he resided up until the time of his death. In 1883 John and Johanna purchased the homestead 'Balgownie'. The homestead was originally the quarters of the officers in charge of the convicts. The stone pavements that formed the floor of the wide verandahs on three sides of the homestead were brought from Parramatta in Bullock drays by convicts over Rixon's Pass near Bulli.

John Madden died in 1913 and Johanna passed away in 1927. They were one of the pioneering families of Balgownie. (Illawarra Mercury, 1927; Illawarra Mercury, 1913)

Early industry

Orchards and Farming

The early settlers in Balgownie had orchards and farms. In 1853 John Ryan purchased land in the Balgownie Village Estate he established an orange orchard and sold oranges locally and also to Sydney. In 1889 Ryan's farm of 70 acres was divided into 121 allotments varying in size from half an acre to six acres. It was advertised in the Wollongong Argus as having "splendid soil for gardens and orchards, you can keep your families in all vegetables." (Wollongong Argus, 12th January 1889)

The Murray family had a farm at the bottom of Church Street. The farm was then known as Walkers and was bounded on the north by Cabbage Tree Creek, east by Caldwell's Lane (now Napier Street) and south and west by houses in Hunter Street. Cabbage Tree Creek was important as the water was used by Duncan's Farm, Murray's Orchard and market garden and also by the Caldwell Brother's farm. (Ryan, My Balgownie; True North, 2001)

Coal Mining

The development of Balgownie resulted from the opening of the Mount Pleasant Coalmine in 1861. Until its closure during the depression years of the 1930's the town and its residents were dependent on its operations.

The mine was situated on the slopes of Mount Keira approximately three and a half miles north west of Wollongong Harbour. The owners were the Mount Pleasant Coal Company and the mine was opened by Patrick Lahiff and Benjamin Fawcett in July 1861.

A good description of the mine was given by the Illawarra Mercury in 1876. "The entrance to the mine is at an elevation of 650 feet above sea level; the main drive runs in a general north-westerly direction for upwards of a mile, and for three-quarters of a mile from the outlet falls 140 feet. The seam averages fully seven feet in thickness of clean coal, with a lustrous appearance, free form bands or refuse, rolls and dykes occur in places, but no obstacles to working of any great extent have been encountered." (Illawarra Mercury, 1876)

In the initial years of opening the colliery got out 250 tons of coal. In those initial years the company employed 55 miners and 35 labourers and boys.

In 1880 Patrick Lahiff erected a smelting furnace at the foot of the incline to treat iron ore. He also made a small quantity or pig iron. Patrick also built two experimental coke ovens at Wollongong Harbour but failed from inexperience. Mount Pleasant Coalmine was acquired by Vickery interests of Mount Keira and ceased to function separately in 1934. Until that time it had a significant influence on the development of Balgownie and its residents both directly and indirectly. (Francis, 1980; Illawarra Mercury, 1876)

Early transport

Railways

When the Mount Pleasant mine commenced producing coal it was taken down the steep slopes of the foothills in sleds drawn by oxen. It was then transferred into carts and delivered to local customers. Sydney consumers also purchased coal which meant loading from Wollongong Harbour Wharf into small sailing vessels.

The Illawarra Coal Company took over the colliery and the construction of a tramway was most important to ensure the success of the company. It was decided to construct a line between the mine tunnel and the shipping wharf at Wollongong Harbour.

Patrick Lahiff took the project on board and it was due to his driving force and vision that the tramway commenced to take shape months before the authorising Act was ratified. The company opened their line to Wollongong Harbour in the same month that the Act was granted. The first coal transport ran over the line on the 9th December 1862. It had 21 coal wagons drawn by five horses in tandem.

In 1884 the Locomotive "Illawarra No. 1" was run on the improved Mount Pleasant tramroad and its successful operation lead to the introduction of a second locomotive "Illawarra No. 2". The route of the tramway descended the slopes of Mount Keira and traversed in an easterly direction the flat farming country lying between the foothills and Fairy Creek. The northern boundary of the farm known as 'Walkers' was the Kembla Extended coal mine tramway which ended at the Princes Highway. Balgownie residents frequently used the railway station that was first opened on the 3rd October 1888 as 'Para Meadow'; the name was changed to 'Balgownie' in 1909 and then the name 'Fairy Meadow' was adopted in 1956.

Roads

Balgownie lacked road in the early days and those that existed were in very poor condition. The few roads that were opened were described by the Illawarra Mercury in 1888 as "crooked as a dogs hind leg and about as narrow as a miner's liberality.." (Eardley, 1968; Fletcher, 1989)