LOCAL LIFE
Let there be light !
You light up our lives ! Rocking up to say “ hello ” to the historic gas lamp are ( l-r ): Shane Djuric , Les and Michelle Sheather , Susan Templeman , Jill Reardon , Patrick Conolly , Gae Kelly , Grant Gerrish and Mike Kelly . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .
by Greg Martin
Did Aladdin give one thought to the lamp once the genie appeared on the scene ?
Not likely , when the genie was Aladdin ’ s road to riches – Aladdin probably put the lamp somewhere on a bottom shelf to gather dust !
Which will never happen to another “ magic ” lamp discovered recently – not in a cave , but in the backyard of a Windsor home .
The late 19th century gas lamp was “ discovered ” by passionate historian , Grant Gerrish .
Grant was strolling around the town and passing a 182 cm ( six foot ) high paling fenced when he spied the top of a lamp .
As is his want , the historian donned his sleuthing hat , tracked down the owner of the property and received permission to study the lamp to determine whether it was an original or a replica .
Grant enlisted Hawkesbury City Council councilor Shane Djuric , to display his tight-rope walking skills by sweettalking him into scaling the fence to get a gander at the top of the lamp .
Displaying the balance of Nureyev , Shane was able to take a photo of the lamp on his phone , and when he showed the snap to Grant , he was astounded at his response .
Engraved on a plaque atop the lamp were the words : W . M . EDGAR PATENTEE & MANUFACTURER BLENHEIM HOUSE HAMMERSMITH .
“ This is the Real McCoy ,” a delighted Grant exclaimed .
“ The 24 lamps lining Windsor Mall are all exact replicas of this lamp – I ’ m sure it has a story to tell .”
Unfortunately , lamps can ’ t talk , and the owner of the lamp later told Grant that he was totally unaware of its history , as the lamp was in the backyard when he purchased the property .
Was it the original lamp after which the 24 replicas were designed ?
Was it Aladdin ’ s magic lamp ? Was there ever a genie lurking inside ?
Nothing like a good-looking lamp to attract a bit of attention and several notable locals were delighted to inspect the Lord of the Lamps .
On hand Federal Member for Macquarie , Susan Templeman , Hawkesbury City mayor , Patrick Conolly , Shane Djuric , fellow councillors Jill Reardon and Les Sheather , Michelle Sheather , Grant Gerrish , and Gae and Mike Kelly .
The discovery of the historic lamp has once again reignited the call for the 24 replica gas lamps in Windsor Mall to be put back into operation .
The gas lamps were installed for the opening of the mall in 1984 and operated until 2008 when the gas was turned off .
They have stood as silent sentinels ever since , but a handful of councillors and several local community groups are pushing council to put them back into harness during the upcoming revamp of the mall .
“ Windsor is Australia ’ s third oldest town after Sydney and Parramatta and all of us are adamant that the mood lighting from the gas lamps would add to the historic vibe of the place ,” Gae Kelly said .
The first display of gas street lighting in the world was installed in the north side of London ’ s Pall Mall in 1807 to mark the birthday of Prince George , the future King George IV .
The display was a publicity stunt by eccentric German inventor Frederick Winsor to promote his new , wiz-bang gas lighting .
Winsor used his own design of gas lanterns and so impressed was Prince George by the Pall Mall display , he gave his patronage to the new lighting system . The light from the gas lamps was far superior to that of its humble predecessor , the oil lamp , so crowds in their thousands flocked to witness the new phenomenon .
As they will when Windsor Mall is again bathed in gas-lit lamp light !
FOOTNOTE : The Australian Gaslight Company , formed in 1837 , introduced gas lamp street lighting to this country in Sydney on May 24 , 1841 – 22 lamps were lit-up in the heart of Sydney Town .
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 146 // JULY 2022 11