Thirroul - History

Land grants

From the Parish map for the area, it appears that the first land grant in Thirroul was made to Samuel McAuley (later referred to as McCauley) in 1/6/1855. Other original land grantees were Joseph Roberts, James Holt, Jane Rose, Thomas Rose and David Ballantyne (Map of the Parish of Southend, County of Cumberland, 1921)

Early residents

Samuel McCauley

Mr Samuel McCauley was one of the very oldest residents of the Illawarra district when he died in June 1899 at his home in Thirroul. He arrived in Sydney from Ireland in 1838 after which he immediately came to the ‘Five Islands’ as the Illawarra was then popularly known. From the time of his arrival, he never lived outside the Illawarra area.

The first five years after his arrival he lived on the Berkeley Estate where he was one of several settlers who respectively cleared and cultivated the property. He left there to buy and settle on a farm in Thirroul, then known as North Bulli, until his death at age 85. He was survived by his wife aged 84. They had three sons, two daughters, fifty-seven grandchildren and thirty-eight great-grand children.

‘….The deceased was a true type of the grand old veteran colonisers who faced the wild woods of the country in the early days with strong hearts and hands and subdued the land for the convenience, advantage and enjoyment of succeeding generations.’ (Obit. Kiama Independent, 29/6/1899 p.2)

The McCauley land extended from the beach to the railway line, adjoining Bulli Pass and north to Fords Road. In 1906 the first land in Thirroul to be advertised for auction was submitted under the name of "MacCawley Park Estate" (Gray, 1994)

Frederick Robbins

Frederick Robbins was a prominent resident who gave his name to the township of North Bulli as at was then called. Other suggestions for a name included, Southend, Newtown and flippantly, Mudmire, but were defeated by Robbinsville. The Department of Railways petitioned for the name of Robbinsville to be changed to the original name of Thirroul, and this was granted in 1891.

He was made the first postmaster of Robbinsville in 1888 after, along with other residents, lobbying the government to supply a post office and railway platform.

He was also actively involved in local meetings in particular those of the New South Wales Public School League. He was reported [IM 14/7/1888] to have sold one acre of his land, ‘well situated and elevated, being the centre of population’, to the Department of Education for the purpose of building a school and teacher’s residence. The school subsequently opened in 1889 with 154 children on the roll.

At a public meeting on 31/10/1879 it was resolved to favour a "universal and uniform system of national education; that aid should be withdrawn from denominational schools" and that "primary education should be national, secular, compulsory and free". Frederick Robbins said, "many children yet unborn would have cause to bless the perfecting of such a system in this country". (Illawarra Mercury 13/11/1874, 4/11/1879, 24/2/1880, 24/4/1888, 14/7/1888)

Early industry

Cedar

Cedar logging began along the escarpment from Bulli and to the north in 1890. The logs were sawn up on the spot and taken by horse and dray to Parramatta for sale. Most of the timber was removed by the 1850

Whaling

Whaling operations were in progress by 1817 and boiling down works had been established at Sandon Point. Whaling never really flourished here as whales only pass at certain times of the year making it a seasonal operation.

Ship Building

Cornelius O"Brien settled on Sandon Point in 1817. He was a very resourceful man who farmed and also built boats for the whaling industry. Evidence of his boat building activities in Hewitt’s Creek were still visible in modern times, but not much research into this activity has been done.

Tourism

Tourism was the first real industry in the Thirroul area. This was due to the construction of the railway, beginning in 1882 and completed from Kiama to Sydney in 1888. This made the area easily accessible to people from Sydney and Robbinsville, as Thirroul was then still known, became a popular family seaside holiday destination with boarding houses and holiday cottages in demand. This changed in when the coal mines and the railway marshalling yards came to the area, and tourists chose to spend their holidays in neighbouring Austinmer, where a seaside holiday atmosphere remained.

In 1912, Mr T Horan, postmaster, erected an open-air theatre, King’s Theatre, in Thirroul. It had a canvas roof and canvas deck-type chairs. The name was changed to the rather grand ‘Crystal Garden Pictures’ in 1915, still without a proper roof. It became the summer picture show while the School of Arts was used in winter.

Coal Mining

Coal was first discovered in the Thirroul area in a creek bed off Ford’s Road in 1895 and five years later, John S Kirton opened Excelsior No 1 Coal Mine at this spot and the coal which was extracted was sold locally. In 1905 Excelsior No 2 was opened at the top end of Phillip Street. Initially coal was hauled to the surface by pit ponies but as the mine progressed, steam driven steel ropes were installed. The coal was then transported to the rail line at Kennedy’s Road by incline in skips. Once empty, the skips were returned to the mine by steam driven tailed ropes. However, pit ponies were still used underground until the mines were mechanised in the 1950’s. Excelsior Mine closed in 1962.

Brickworks

Thirroul Brickworks was the common name given to the "Vulcan Silica Fire Brick Company" which started to manufacture bricks in approximately 1920. In 1938 it was sold to "Newbolds Industrial Refractories" and the bricks were in great demand for use in gas retorts and furnaces. In 1974 Newbolds were taken over by "Australian Industrial Refractories" increasing the number of employees to about 300 with a much greater output. BHP has been in charge of the company since 1991. (Gray,1994; Parkinson,1994)

Early transport

Roads

Dr Charles Throsby cut the first track down the escarpment in the Bulli vicinity, in 1815. This track was in use until 1844 when Captain Westmacott found another route up Bulli Mountain in approximately the same vicinity as the Pass of today. (Illawarra Mercury 31/12/98 p.11)

By 1880 maps showed the main South Coast Road from Sydney to be via Campbelltown down what is now known as Bulli Pass, Mount Ousley road not being built until 1939. In 1925 the Main Roads Board was formed and improvements to sections of the Princes Highway were begun. The section of road, which followed the coast from Bulli to the top of Bald Hill, was named Lawrence Hargrave Drive after the famous aviator from Stanwell Park. (Wollongong History Highlights, 1983)

Railways

Construction of the first section of the rail link between Sydney and the South Coast began in 1882. By 1884 the Illawarra Line as far as Hurstville was operational, and by 1886 the line to Loftus opened and buses began to operate completing the Sydney to Wollongong journey. The complete link up with Sydney was made in 1888 and the double rail line came in 1892. (Gray, 1994)

Shipping

Steam ships carrying coal made their way up the coast to Sydney and further afield as early as 1863. Most of the Illawarra’s early coal was shipped from Bulli jetty which unfortunately did not offer enough protection for ships moored to it. Several vessels were washed ashore during storms and wrecked. In June 1864, 250 feet of the jetty was washed away and mining in the area came to a halt.

Ships also brought new settlers, cargo and supplies in and out of the area. For example the locomotives for use on the Kiama-Clifton run were transported by ship to Wollongong Harbour. (Wollongong History Highlights, 1983; Gray, 1994)