BLACKTOWN CITY HISTORY
Blacktown , the Irish and St Patrick ’ s day
by John Horne
Do you know how many Irish names exist today within the modern City of Blacktown ’ s CBD and its environs ? Patrick Street , St Patrick ’ s Primary School , St Patrick ’ s Roman Catholic Church , Fitzsimmons Walkway and Kildare Road , all spring to mind .
What have the Irish to do with modern Blacktown ?
On 25 August 2023 a Sister City Agreement between the Enniscorthy Municipal District in the Republic of Ireland and the Blacktown City Council was signed . The delegation from Blacktown City was led by Councillor Brad Bunting who represented the Mayor of Blacktown , Tony Bleasdale OAM and Blacktown City ’ s Chief Executive Officer , Kerry Robinson OAM .
A battle at a place called Vinegar Hill connects both places , so it seems appropriate to become sister cities . The original Battle of Vinegar Hill took place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British Rule . It was fought between 16,000 poorly armed Irish rebels and 13,000 soldiers with the British Government ’ s army who had modern artillery with the newly invented shrapnel shells and muskets .
It was a very bloody one-sided battle . Only about 100 British soldiers were killed and more than a thousand of the Irish rebels died .
The Battle of Vinegar Hill in Blacktown took place in 1804 when several hundred rebellious Irish convicts tried to overthrow the British administration in New South Wales but were met and defeated by a much smaller , better armed and disciplined body of troops from the New South Wales Corps and local Militias . This battle , too , was a very onesided affair .
In March this
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Maurice Charles O ’ Connell ( 1768-1848 ) from County Kerry , Ireland , arrived in 1810 ( Painting by William Nicholas - National Library of Australia ). year , we will be commemorating the Battle of Vinegar Hill at the Carisbrook Memorial Park where a memorial stands today . Representatives from Ireland will be attending .
On 17 March many people will be celebrating St Patrick ’ s Day , an Irish celebration . They will be wearing green with good luck charms like the shamrock , drinking Irish beer , watching Irish dancing , and attending the St Patrick ’ s Day Parade in Sydney .
People from Ireland have left their mark on the City of Blacktown in many ways and not just with a battle . Some were famous , others were unknown , but all in their own way made the modern City of Blacktown what it is today . The original Irish who came to the Blacktown area were either convicts , rebels , soldiers or settlers .
John Vardy ( 1755-1811 ) from Fermanagh , Ireland , arrived in New South Wales as a convict in 1790 . He was granted 14 hectares at Seven Hills in 1806 where he farmed with his partner Rosanna Reilly . After he accidentally drowned in the Hawkesbury River in 1811 , his son John continued farming at Seven Hills . Vardy ’ s Road is named for his family .
William Minchin ( 1774-1821 ) from Tipperary , Ireland , arrived in 1800 to serve with the New South Wales Corps . He had a land grant called The Minchinbury Estate , today ’ s Minchinbury .
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Maurice Charles O ’ Connell ( 1768-1848 ) from County Kerry , Ireland , arrived in 1810 with Lachlan Macquarie ’ s 73rd Regiment of Foot . He married William Bligh ’ s widowed daughter Mary Putland and they were granted land that they called Riverston , in what is today ’ s Riverstone district .
Major George Druitt ( 1775-1842 ) from Dublin , Ireland , arrived with the 48th Regiment in 1817 . He was an army engineer officer who supervised government building projects in New South Wales . His 400 hectare land grant was called Mount Druitt and parts of the modern
suburb of Mt Druitt cover it today .
Jack Donahue a bushranger ( 1806- 1830 ), from Dublin , Ireland , arrived in New South Wales in 1825 as a convicted pickpocket . He escaped from a Quakers Hill farm to become a bushranger . With two other escapees , George Kilroy and William Smith , he formed an outlaw gang called The Strippers .
They stripped wealthy landowners of their clothing , money and food . Donahue and his gang invaded homes around the Blacktown district and robbed travellers on the roads . He was killed in a shootout with soldiers in 1830 near Bringelly . Most of the other members of his gang were hanged .
Thomas Patrick Fitzsimmons ( 1803- 1893 ) was tried and sentenced in Dublin , Ireland , for stealing a cow . He arrived in New South Wales in 1835 as a convict but was soon making money running an inn in Parramatta , The Cottage of Content .
He became rich enough to purchase 200 hectares of land when the Flushcombe Estate was carved up in the middle 1800s . He built his first Blacktown hotel , the
A sketch of Jack Donohoe ’ s body in a morgue in Sydney Hospital ( State Library of NSW ).
This propaganda cartoon shows Governor William Bligh ’ s arrest in Sydney in 1808 , portraying him as a coward . Minchin was present at Bligh ’ s arrest and is the officer depicted at the right ( Mitchell Library , State Library of New South Wales ).
Blacktown Hotel or
Fitzsimmons Hotel on Richmond Road ( where today ’ s Showground Precinct is ) as early as 1862 . The Kildare Horse Racing Club was based at this hotel and many cricket matches were played near it and horse races run . By 1882 the name had changed to The Royal Hotel .
The Fitzsimmons Family lived in their residence , Kildare , which used to stand opposite the railway station , today ’ s Kildare Road is named for it . The Fitzsimmons Family donated the land where the original St Patrick ’ s Roman Catholic Church was built in Patrick Street . The site is now beneath Westpoint .
George Pearson Lalor ( 1821-1913 ), a police officer from Rathdowney , Ireland , arrived in New South Wales in 1857 . He tried his luck in the goldfields but eventually moved with his wife Kate to the Seven Hills area where they had bought 200 hectares to farm . Lalor Park is named in his family ’ s honour . His son , George Alfred Lalor was President of the Shire of Blacktown from 1920 to 1922 and from 1927 to 1928 .
There have been many other citizens from Ireland who helped to create the Blacktown we
George Pearson Lalor . all know today . Happy St Patrick ’ s Day !
Blacktown
and District Historical Society Incorporated
EMERTON VILLAGE
02 8632 3408
Great Coffee , Great Food , Great Service !
Founded in 1976 to ensure that the history of the Blacktown area would be collected and conserved for all time by tapping into documents and people ’ s memories .
You are welcome to visit our Research Centre , open Tuesdays 10.00 am to 2.00pm , or by appointment .
Grantham Heritage Park BDHS Research Centre 71 Seven Hills Road South , Seven Hills NSW 2147 PO Box 500 Blacktown NSW 2148 Phone 02 9676 1198 www . blacktownhistory . org . au
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10 ISSUE 36 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT