BLACKTOWN CITY HISTORY
Rooty Hill, World War I and Remembrance Day
by John Horne
Like many other places within the City of Blacktown, the coming of the railways in 1861 provided the impetus for the development of Rooty Hill. The district itself was settled by Europeans soon after the arrival of the First Fleet, when Governor King( Governor of NSW, 1800 – 1806) established a Government Stock Farm at Rooty Hill in 1802.
In 1861, Rooty Hill railway station became the terminus for the Western Line. It served the vineyards at Minchinbury and Lamb’ s Cannery at Plumpton. A public school opened in 1875, and the School of Arts( 1902) later hosted the first meeting of the Blacktown Council in 1906, following the proclamation of the Shire of Blacktown.
When the First World War began in August 1914, Rooty Hill was still a small rural community within the Shire. Its main
Rooty Hill Railway Station in 1912. It was rebuilt in the 1940s and remodelled in 2020.
Atornish Hall( south of the station) was demolished in 1978. A Commonwealth Bank was later built on the site. buildings included the railway station, the Imperial Hotel, Atornish House, and the School of Arts. Nearby were the Minchinbury Winery, Walter Lamb’ s mansion, Woodstock, and a greyhound racing track known as Plumpton. By then, Lamb’ s Cannery was in ruins.
Rooty Hill’ s first volunteers With the outbreak of war, patriotic men and women from Rooty Hill enlisted in the Australian Military Forces. The first volunteers were Ronald Mackenzie and John Moffat, who joined the Australian Military and Naval Expeditionary Force to capture German New Guinea.
After that campaign, Mackenzie whose farm, Burmac, was in Rooty Hill enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force’ s 20th Battalion. He was killed in the fierce fighting at Pozières on 30 July 1916.
John Moffat, a motor mechanic, also joined the 20th Battalion and served on the Western Front. He survived the war and returned to Australia in January 1920 after working with the Graves Registration Unit once the conflict ended.
Arnold Gorman, a labourer and another August 1914 volunteer from Rooty Hill, returned home in April 1916 after losing his right leg during the charge at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, with the 1st Battalion. Severely
injured by a Turkish bomb, he later had an artificial leg fitted and returned to Rooty Hill with his new wife. He was only twentytwo-years old when he enlisted.
The nurses of Rooty Hill Three nurses connected to Rooty Hill are commemorated on the Rooty Hill and District Roll of Honour, sisters Florrie Manson Perkins and Jessie Grace Perkins, and Edith Olive Pike. Each served in the
Australian Army Nursing Service, Australian Medical Corps, with the rank of Staff Nurse.
Staff Nurse Florrie Manson Perkins, aged 32, sailed with other medical staff aboard RMS Morea for the Middle East. In Egypt, she joined the 2nd Australian General Hospital, later transferring to France, where she cared for the wounded throughout 1916. After a long illness and hospitalisation in early 1917, she was assigned to nursing duty aboard HMAT Euripides, returning to Australia. She was discharged on 13 October 1917 as medically unfit, she had given all she could.
Staff Nurse Jessie Grace Perkins, born in Rooty Hill, was Acting Matron at Nepean District Cottage Hospital when she enlisted at 35. She was posted to the 13th Stationary Hospital in Rouen, France, before returning to Australia for home service in 1917. From early 1918, she served with the Sea Transport Section, nursing wounded soldiers aboard troop ships to and from Australia and throughout the Mediterranean.
Staff Nurse Edith Olive Pike, who grew up at Eastern Creek, trained as a nurse and enlisted in 1915 at the age of 31. She, too, served with the 2nd Australian General Hospital and returned to Australia in 1918.
Fifty one locals from Rooty Hill served in the first world war- 12 were killed or died of wounds
1916, Fromelles. Private Leslie Collier, bank clerk, killed in action at Fromelles, France, between 19 and 20 July 1916.
Pozières. Lieutenant Ronald Mackenzie, farmer, missing in action while leading a bombing raid at Pozières; later confirmed killed.
1917, Dernacourt. Private David Leighton Blyton, labourer, died of wounds near Dernacourt, France, on 14 February 1917. He was shot while his unit was being relieved from the front line.
Messines. Private Owen Wallace Baker, mechanical engineer, killed in action at Messines, Belgium, on 29 July 1917 while helping to bring in the wounded.
Bullecourt. Private William Castles, an Aboriginal Australian, died of wounds at sea on 23 October 1917 while returning home after being shot in both arms and legs.
Private Robert Cedric Dorman, clerk, died of wounds at Bullecourt, France, on 5 May 1917.
Private Percy Freeman, carter, died of shrapnel wounds near Bullecourt, France,
Rooty Hill School of Arts( south of the station) was opened in 1903.
The Imperial Hotel.
on 18 May 1917. A chaplain was with him when he died.
Private Colin Smith, clerk, killed in action at Doignes, France, on 2 April 1917 in the Third Battle of Ypres.
Bombardier Augustus Harris McNamara, farmer, died of wounds near Zillebeke, Belgium, on 31 July 1917 after his artillery position was shelled.
Gunner Alwyn Adam Thomas Pringle, grazier, killed in action near Ypres, Belgium, on 29 July 1917 when a shell exploded as he ran for cover.
Private Frederick Rowley Collier, schoolteacher, killed in action at Broodseinde, Belgium, on 13 October 1917 when a German shell struck his trench, killing all six men in his section.
1918 Battles of the Hundred Days, Corporal Edward Betts, plumber, killed in action by a sniper near Harbonnières, France, on 11 August 1918. LEST WE FORGET On Remembrance Day 2025, let us honour the men and women of Rooty Hill, and countless others, who served and sacrificed so much during the First World War.
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 56 // NOVEMBER 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT