Prospect Trust, chaired by Robert Brown, and eventually succeeded in preserving the historic church. The Trust continued its advocacy until its closure in 2022.

Mr Horne, a former teacher-librarian at Blacktown West Public School, has been involved with the Society for 19 years. He’ s at Grantham every Tuesday, curating the archives and fielding community inquiries. Thanks to members’ dedication, St Bartholomew’ s was saved – and the work hasn’ t stopped.

“ One of our members has made repeated trips there, documenting every gravestone,” Horne says. The results now fill carefully archived pages at Grantham.

However, preservation is not without its losses.

“ State Rail demolished the historic stone buildings at Blacktown Station despite strong opposition,” Horne laments.“ You could say we were railroaded.”

He notes that Bowman Hall could face a similar fate and references Jack Mundey’ s successful campaign to save The Rocks as

an example of what community activism can achieve. A local example of such activism is Wayne Olling and the Friends of Grantham, who fought to save the site. For Olling, now living in Leura, it was deeply personal – he grew up just down the road.

“ When we were kids, Graham and I and our mates would pack a lunch and explore the bushland behind the poultry research station. We loved it,” Olling once said.

Society members continue to uncover and document local gems.

“ Kevin Moore identified the site of the Battle of Vinegar Hill,” Horne notes. The 1804 uprising in Rouse Hill, led by Irish convicts, was the first major convict rebellion in Australia and was decisively quashed under martial law. Mr Horne shares countless anecdotes:“ In 1919, Sister Rawlings was appointed Blacktown’ s first district nurse. She travelled by horse and cart from Westmead to Riverstone, attending births and medical needs – and later founded Blacktown’ s first hospital.”

“ Elizabeth Macarthur managed their holdings from Bella Vista while her husband faced trouble...”

“ In the 1920s, school swimming carnivals were held in Eastern Creek...”

“ In the late 19th century, Kildare Racing Club held picnic races on a dirt track on Richmond Road...”

“ In the 1880s, a wealthy landowner hosted greyhound races at Plumpton – he’ d be a billionaire by today’ s standards...”

“ Banjo Paterson stayed at a house in Rouse Hill after a Sydney Hunt had been chasing a poor dingo...”

One of the Society’ s most valued historians, Jack Brook, will celebrate his 90th birthday this September. A Yorkshireman who moved to Seven Hills in the 1950s, he began by researching Aboriginal history in the Hawkesbury and went on to compile detailed histories of Seven Hills, both written and pictorial.

The Grantham site houses a treasure trove of books, documents, photos, and more.

Mr Horne points proudly to a row of well-worn books,“ That’ s an almost complete collection of Gregory’ s directories from the early 50s,” he says.

“ One member painstakingly collected them. The earliest editions don’ t even include maps of Blacktown – the area was considered rural back then.”

Now, the Society is embracing the digital age.

“ We’ re on Facebook and Instagram,” Horne says.

“ Last month we had 77,000 views – including international ones – and now have 6,100 followers.”

Still, despite the growing online audience, the Society is eager to attract new members.“ We’ re punching above our weight, but still only have 96 members,” he says.

Surely, one of Blacktown’ s finest organisations deserves to hit a century. And a little free plug never hurts! Enquiries: 9676 1198( leave a message) or email secretary @ blacktownhistory. org. au