BLACKTOWN ’ S FINEST ... by Greg Martin
Blacktown City Council has developed a reputation for looking after its own and that reputation is further enhanced with Lord Mayor , Tony Bleasdale OAM , awarding fellow Order of Australia recipient , Bill McNamara the Key to the City .
“ Bill has been a great servant to Blacktown for over 60 years , helping transform Blacktown City into the modern metropolis it is today ,” said the mayor . “ Thanks to his knowledge and foresight , Bill led the way in the 1970s with the biggest single development in Blacktown , Westpoint Shopping Centre .
“ He was not only a businessman but a true community leader and generously gave his time to his community .
“ As Mayor of Blacktown City , it is a great honour to present the Key to the City to Bill for his unparalleled innovation and community service .”
The McNamara Group delivered many large developments that have shaped both Blacktown and Western Sydney over the past 50 years .
Bill ’ s business was responsible for WestPoint Shopping Mall at Blacktown and Marketown Shopping Centre at Riverstone , Mount Druitt High School , Riverstone Schofields Memorial Club and Blacktown Aquatic Centre .
All landmark building projects in Blacktown City !
McNamara Group also built many of the most important buildings in Parramatta - the McNamara Centre , the Octagon , the United Permanent building , the Parramatta Cultural Centre , the J . A . Fleming Stand at
Rosehill and the Riverside Theatres .
Additionally , Bill built many facilities for the Royal Australian Army , as well as the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Richmond . He served on numerous community boards , was Chair of the Economic Development Board of Greater Western Sydney for four years and served as a board member of BCC ’ s Blacktown Venue Management Limited .
This wonderful man Bill was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1984 and in 2017 was Blacktown City Council ’ s Corporate Citizen of the Year .
The Bill McNamara story begins with his parents , Harry and Olive .
Harry worked as a rabbit inspector around Nyngan and Olive grew up out at Barmedman but like many of their country cousins , the lure of The Big Smoke couldn ’ t be resisted . Harry arrived in Sydney in 1918 , quickly linked up with Olive and the pair married soon after . In 1920 Harry snared a job as a stockman and buyer at Riverstone Meatworks , thus beginning a long association between his family and abattoirs .
Harry and Olive already had Molly and Jack “ on the books ” when they arrived here and over the ensuing years added Tommy , Bill , Monica and Brian to the brood .
The family also operated a poultry farm on Carnarvon Road until Harry was tragically killed in a car accident at Bowral in 1938 , forcing Olive and the six children to sell up and move back into town where the family set-up a smaller chook business on Riverstone Road .
Olive – “ Mrs Mac ” to everyone in the community – was a tireless supporter of
Bill McNamara is the centre of attention between two ardent admirers , Blacktown Mayor , Tony Bleasdale , and Councillor Julie Griffiths . The pair had great pleasure in presenting Bill with a Key to the City . the Red Cross during World War II and imparted a passion for her town onto her sons and daughters .
Mrs Mac lived until 94 and is buried alongside her beloved Harry at Riverstone Cemetery . What a remarkable brood did Harry and Olive give us !
Molly held several positions with the Riverstone Meatworks and married a US sailor during WWII .
She moved to the US for several years before the couple returned to Riverstone where Molly re-joined the meatworks where she worked until her retirement .
Jack enlisted in the RAAF at the outbreak of WWII and after pilot training in Canada was posted to England where he flew bombers .
In 1943 , Jack was awarded the French
Croix de Guerre avec Palm for his bravery in flying dangerous missions to drop supplies to the French Underground .
Sadly , on November 28 , 1944 Jack and his six-member crew were killed when their Lancaster aircraft crashed near the little village of Sande in Norway after sustaining heavy German ground fire .
He was reported as Missing in Action and it wasn ’ t until the end of the conflict that his death was confirmed – a tortuous period for the clan back home who always hoped Jack had been a prisoner of war .
Bill took a pilgrimage to Sande in 1959 to pay his respects to Jack and his crewmen and made a second visit several years ago with three grandsons , Luke , Jason and Nathan Taggart .
Tommy was a glutton for work in
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