Otford - History

Land grants

North of the town of Wollongong, the land was originally granted as a large parcel which included Coalcliff, Stanwell Park and Otford (known then as Bulgo.) The 1000 acres was promised to Matthew John Gibbons for grazing in 1824. The property then passed to William Bucknell in 1838. Then to Sir Thomas Mitchell Surveyor-General and explorer in 1848 eventually the property was purchased by John Fletcher Hargrave in 1872. (Bayley, 1989. Adams, 1986?)

Two parcels of land totalling 326 acres, located north of Bald Hill, were granted to John Dwyer and G. W Newcombe in 1840. However the land was not developed and was resumed by the New South Wales Government to preserve the pristine nature of the coastline. Only in the valleys the grants were suitable for grazing as the steep hills were covered in sub tropical rainforest which became a source of the best cedar trees found within Australia at the time.(Bayley, 1989: Adams, 1986?: The Helensburgh & District Historical Society, 2006)

Early residents

Hargrave, John Fletcher (Judge) and Gilbert Hargrave

John Fletcher Hargrave, (father of Lawrence the famous aviation pioneer), was a Supreme Court Judge as well as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the electorate of East Camden which extended to the coast. (Grainger, 1978). He purchased the land parcel from Mitchell with a view to develop the coal reserves located at the southern end of the property known as The Coal Cliffs. However, with the rugged terrain surrounding the area, he had difficulty in attracting capital to help with the development of a mine and a jetty to export the coal. Thus he let the idea go. Instead enjoying the beauty of his property building a holiday house at Coalcliff. (Adams, 1986?)

John Hargrave is said to have named his farm Otford after the previous home in Otford, Kent as its surroundings reminded him of his former home. (Illawarra Mercury, 31 August 1996 p.46). Hargrave divided his estate between his four children. His son Gilbert inherited in 1884, property at the southern end of Otford that included forty acres and a lease of a further 311 acres with the option to compete the purchase later.

Gilbert was not very good at managing money and did not finish the larger purchase. He mortgaged the 40 acre property to Eugene Nicholls and eventually surrendered to it to him in 1893. During his time at the property Gilbert supplemented his income by transporting timber to the Coalcliff mine (and possibly to the new mine in Helensburgh) by bullock team. There are many accounts that Gilbert named one bullock "Jesus" and the other "Christ" so that the locals could not "distinguish the swearing from gentle encouragement to his team". (Adams, 1986?, p.77; Fletcher & Rook, 1985).

Gardiner Family

William and Agnes Gardiner were known to be living in the Otford area by 1867. The couple brought up their family of 6 sons and 3 daughters on the property. The family used the land to make wine, train horses and raise goats for milk, as there were not many cows in the area at this time.

The children were sent to stay with friends and family at Bulli for their education as there was no school at Otford. William's son Patrick later became one of the signatories of the petition to open a school at Otford. The family were known to be the "life of the party" and very popular within the community. (Fletcher & Rook, 1985).

Other early residents, were William and Margaret Hamilton who purchased 304 acres and built a 15 room residence and Thomas Hall James who purchased a property of 320 acres in 1864. (Fletcher & Rook, 1985; Adams, 1986?).

The first mill within the Otford valley was established by Thomas James and his three brothers in 1875 at the northern end of Otford. James Forster also created a mill at the southern end of Otford 1899. The sound of the sawmills echoed around the valley as men cut and prepared timber for use in the local coal mines and for housing in the area. ( Adams, 1986?; Fletcher & Rook, 1985)

Services
In 1885 the building of the railway line transformed the sleepy town of four houses and a public house (a combined store and inn) overnight to become a busy community with over 100 men employed to create bricks for the construction of tunnels, and the actual construction of the line. Accommodation for many of the workers was in the form of tents. Many of the workers originally came from Italy, so the camp became known as "little Italy". (Adams, 1986?, Bayley, 1989. Fletcher & Rook, 1985)

A school was built for the local children in 1885 as the children originally had to travel to Clifton for school fives miles to the south of the village. The post office opened in 1885 and with the growing population many retailers moved into the area. A police constable was stationed to the town in 1886 but was later withdrawn in 1887. By 1887 the village had a Hotel, as well as butchers, bakers, tailors, jewelers, and a general store. Entertainment came in the form of a billiard room and a skittle alley. Often on pay day a mobile tailor would visit the camps to measure the workers for new suits. (Adams, 1986?, Bayley, 1989. Fletcher & Rook, 1985).

After the completion of the line, the population of the village declined as most of the workers and their families moved on. The school closed in May 1893.The Inspector for School's made the decision to close the school as the small number of children remaining in the village could travel on the train safely to Helensburgh or Clifton. However, the traveling public did not appreciate the less than perfect behavior of the children and many complaints were made. In 1895 the number of children of school age in the town had increased to 34 so the parents successfully petitioned to have the school reopened. (Fletcher & Rook, 1985)

Mushroom Industry
Lilyvale Mushrooms Pty. Ltd. is the largest growing mushroom firm in Australia. It began in 1952 in a very small single tunnel at Lilyvale and in 1959 two tunnels were in operation. Eighty to ninety crops are grown per year and eighty percent of the production is canned and the remainder is sold fresh. (History of Helensburgh, 1978).

Early transport

The announcement of the building of the railway line in 1881 was welcomed by the people of the Illawarra as the demand for a safe transport route between Sydney and the Illawarra had been constant. Other routes were by the sea in small craft where the travellers were subject to sea sickness on unpredictable seas and weather conditions. Or by the overland route via, Bulli pass which was so steep, fit and healthy passengers were expected to walk the mountain pass then travel to Campbelltown by coach, to complete the journey by rail. A reliable rail link would also help transport coal to Sydney. (Adams, 1986?)

The line between Waterfall and Clifton took the longest time and was expensive to build because of the construction of seven tunnels and the rugged terrain of the area. This section of work delayed the opening of the line to Illawarra by two years and used over 18 million bricks for the construction. During the construction of the largest tunnel through Bald Hill, at the southern end of Otford (1500 metres), teams had to work in continuous shifts to complete it. (Adams, 1986?, Singleton, 1970).

The first Steam Locomotive travelled from Sydney carrying first and second class passengers for the official opening celebrations in North Kiama on the 3rd October 1888. The line was well used especially for day trips and holiday makers, as the south coast became more accessible for people from Sydney. Larger towns to the south also noted an increase in trade from the previously isolated north. (Bayley, 1989. Singleton, 1970).

However, travel through Otford tunnel became known as being very unpleasant during the long steep climb back to Otford. There were no lights in the carriages so the passengers had to sit in the dark and the thick smoke and soot poured in through gaps and under the doors. Passengers in the third class section had no windows or shelter against the choking soot as the train crawled at a snails pace up through the hill. The enginemen suffered the most as they had to travel the length of the tunnel crouching on the floor to avoid the heavy soot and smoke. (Adams, 1986?. Bayley, 1989. Singleton, 1970).

The tunnel's notoriety increased on a busy day in October 1890 when a 12 car train stalled in the tunnel. Eventually the engineman had to reverse the train to Stanwell Park and divide the train into halves to be taken through the tunnel. The fear of the tunnel grew following reports of accidents and engines' stalling more frequently. Finally the decision was made in June 1917 to move the line and construct a new tunnel with an easier incline of 1:80 compared with the original tunnels' 1:40. This was completed in 1920 and is the same line that is used to this day. (Adams, 1986?. Bayley, 1989. Singleton, 1970).

Road
"The first road to the Illawarra came from Campbelltown, through Appin. The road branched, one heading for Bulli, the other through Darkes Forrest, down Mount Mitchell to Stanwell Park and along the coast to Wollongong. Even after the construction of the Illawarra Road in 1850, most people continued to use the western approach to Wollongong". (The Helensburgh & District Historical Society, 2006). It was suitable for bullock and coaches. An alternative path to Syndey was by a saddle track along the coast, up Bald Hill and along the Bulgo Range and through to Bundeena on the shores of Port Hacking. (Adams, 1986)

Otford road was commenced in 1905 as a direct link between Otford and Helensburgh and was abandoned in about 1916 because it was steep, unsafe and costly to maintain. The bush track was used by bullock teams to transport timber to the mine. Helensburgh was consequently only accessible via Bald Hill until around 1970 as modern cars were now strong enough to handle to steeper grades. (Fletcher & Rook, 1985. History of Helensburgh,1978).

During the depression years the State Government created a road building program to support many unemployed men. One of the major construction projects was the building of Lady Wakehurst Drive through the Royal National Park in 1937-1939. The men were divided into teams that worked alternative weeks which allowed families to live on a weekly wage over a fortnight. (Fletcher & Rook, 1985).