HAWKESBURY HISTORY
with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
Richmond ’ s Great Square
The town of Richmond is dominated by a large green space which has long been a focal point for the community . Originally established as “ the great square ” in the locality officially named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810 . It was surveyed in 1811 , by James Meehan , when the grid pattern of streets was ascertained , and space set aside for a chapel , school and burial ground .
The section reserved for the town square , also referred to as the market square , was located in the centre of Richmond , bounded by Windsor and March Streets as well as East Market and West Market Streets . It is shown as the ‘ Government Reserve for Market Place ’ in an early plan of Richmond , prepared in 1827 . Around this time , the reserve was about 3.23 hectares in size . Later , some of the reserve was marked with the intention of building a watch-house , court building , post office and other buildings .
A watch-house , where people who had been arrested were held , was constructed in 1821 on the corner of Windsor and West Market Streets . It was later replaced with the Court House and Police Station . On the southern side , on the corner of March and West Market Streets , a pound was established 1820 for stray animals .
During the 1820s and 1830s it is recorded that the park was used for markets where produce was traded but by the 1840s , the main use was for recreation and sports . At this time , most of the reserve had been cleared , a few of the original trees and fallen logs and stumps remained . However , the ground was uneven and rain brought pools of water . Eventually the grounds were filled and evened out and a sight to be seen was the Guy Fawkes celebration , with an effigy on top of a pile of wood , set on fire .
Richmond inhabitants were keen on sports with a cricket pitch laid , and matches recorded in the 1850s . In 1857 Parramatta and Liverpool played Windsor
Richmond Park , 1879 . Courtesy State Library of NSW .
and Richmond in the Market Square , with £ 100 prize winnings . At a game in 1860 , the “ Richmond folk turned out ” in large numbers , particularly the women . Richmond easily won against Sydney and then everyone headed to Young ’ s hotel to celebrate . Athletic days were also popular . One of the earliest was held in 1874 with foot races as well as a circus . In the midtwentieth century , local schools combined for athletic days .
In 1861 , a reception was held in Richmond with Governor and Lady Young attending . Small flags were strung across the street , with a “ magnificent triumphal arch about forty feet in height , covered with evergreens , and decorated with waratahs and palms … erected on the Market-square . However just an hour before the arrival of the official party , the structure disappointingly toppled over .
A School of Arts officially opened in 1866 , funded by the Richmond Literary Institute , complimenting the adjacent Presbyterian School dating from the 1840s . In 1860 , it became the National School but was sold to the Masonic organisation in 1929 .
Another important date in the town ’ s history was the extension of the railway from Blacktown to Richmond in 1864 with the station bordering the eastern side of the park . The line was extended to Kurrajong in 1926 and cut across the edge of the park before following March Street over the bridge to North Richmond and onto Kurrajong . The line closed in 1952 due to damage caused by a landslide .
The square was officially dedicated as a reserve for public recreation in 1868 and three trustees were appointed to take responsibility for the park . By 1871 it was noted there were some enhancements with “ fine trees , which will afford shade to the inhabitants in a few years ”. Richmond ’ s progress was particularly evident on the streets surrounding the park , with more housing and shops
Richmond Town Plan by GB White [ 1827 ] Crown Plan 469 .
constructed .
The following year , Richmond Borough Council was established and improvements to Richmond were more noticeable . Richmond Council were appointed as trustees in 1873 and appointed a Committee to look after its development .
Growth in the town included the construction of the single-storey Richmond Post Office in 1875 , ( a second storey was added in 1888 ) with the Court House and Police Station built in 1877 . Council resolved in 1879 to undertake tree and shrub planting , including “ natives and exotic species ” to improve the appearance of the park .
When events were held in the park , tents as well as refreshment stalls were erected but there were no permanent structures in the park until the 1880s . In 1882 Richmond Council decided to build a timber grandstand , overlooking the cricket grounds . The concept was selected as a result of a competition , where architects were invited to submit an anonymous design for “ a structure , costing no more than £ 300 , to seat about 300 persons , building to be of wood on brick piers , to have also a small room for the use of athletes and cricketers , to be covered with iron and to face east .”
The design by George Matcham Pitt junior from
Pavilion , Richmond Park , 1908 . Courtesy National Maritime Museum .
North Richmond was selected . It was constructed by Samuel Boughton , a local builder , an alderman with the Council . Known as The Pavilion , it was completed in early 1884 , not 1883 as inscribed in stone . The new structure also provided space for refreshment rooms . The Pavilion was damaged in 1980 and in 1994 but was restored to its earlier glory . In 1999 , it was renamed the McConville Grandstand , after Rod McConville .
The Governor of NSW , Lord Jersey and his wife , visited Richmond in 1892 , to switch on the water supply . The Council erected a cast-iron fountain in the park
which consisted of three iron statues of a winged cherub with a mermaid ’ s tail on a plinth . Sadly , the fountain was vandalised over the years but in 2012 it was replaced with a replica fountain .
Over the years , the park has been used for a range of functions . As it was a large open space , and close to the railway station , it was ideal for large gatherings including the Randwick Children ’ s Asylum visit in 1867 . Over six hundred impoverished children enjoyed a picnic in the park . In 1901 , about 2,000 workers with their families from the NSW Railway Department caught special trains from the city , for a picnic .
In 1903 the Australian Government offered councils disused military hardware for commemorative purposes . Richmond Council accepted two cannons in 1905 and they were placed near the grandstand , in memory of the soldiers who died in the Boer War .
In the 1930s they were considered to be irrelevant and were buried onsite . In the 1970s , residents became interested in the story of the buried cannons and they were eventually rediscovered in 1985 with the use of a metal detector . After restoration they were rehoused near the War Memorial . Following the First World War a granite war memorial was erected opposite the railway station in memory of the soldiers of the Richmond district . It was unveiled in 1921 in front of a large crowd .
In 1930 Richmond Council organised a beautification scheme for the park . The Botanical Gardens donated 53 trees and 150 shrubs . Council resolved to prepare the site but engaged the community to assist with tree plantings .
In later years , the site is still evolving . A street stall was built on the edge of the park for the Richmond CWA in the 1950s and a rotunda added in 2002 . Richmond Park was listed in 2010 in the iconic NSW State Heritage Register .
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10 ISSUE 167 // APRIL 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT