Major Charles William Clanan Marr of Rochester Street Homebush was commanding officer of the 1st Anzac Wireless Signal Squadron in Mesopotamia during World War I.
The Hotel Homebush
For 75 years the Hotel Homebush stood on the corner of Underwood and Parramatta Roads.
Strathfield Station c.1915
This photo shows Strathfield Station during World War I with hansom cabs waiting to take passengers home.
Thomas Henry Roberts
Retired school teacher, Thomas Roberts of Brunswick Avenue, Strathfield died in 1961. But his life began far away on the goldfields of Hill End, NSW in 1873.
Who Do You Think You Are? Jeff Fatt, the Purple Wiggle
The TV program Who Do You Think You Are? recently featured Jeff Fatt, the original Purple Wiggle, whose glamorous mother, Norma Wong Yee was born in Strathfield in 1919.
The Barefoot Bushwalker: Dorothy Butler
The ‘barefoot bushwalker’ Dorothy Butler (nee English) grew up in Homebush, where she roamed the paddocks and climbed everything, including the giant crane at the Chullora Railway Yards. She went on to climb, bushwalk and cycle all over the world. She even taught a young Edmund Hillary in New Zealand.
His Father’s Honour
In April 1943, 12 year-old Maxwell Reece of Strathfield received his father’s Distinguished Service Medal at a ceremony in Sydney. His father, Stoker Petty-Officer William Reece had earned it at the Battle for Crete on board HMAS Perth in May 1941. Nine months later the Perth was torpedoed and sunk, with Reece among the missing in action.
Suffragette, Katharine Gatty
Suffragette, Katharine Gatty died in the Loreto Convalescent Home in Albert Road in 1952. Before WWI she had been an active member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in London and had been imprisoned nine times for civil disobedience. She had also been force-fed during her hunger strikes.
Aviator, Nigel Love
In April 1920, Strathfield pilot, Nigel Love flew the first commercial passenger flight between two Australian capital cities when he took a businessman to Melbourne. The trip took nine flying hours over three days. Nigel Love was co-founder of Mascot Aerodrome and had been a pilot during WWI. He later went into the flour milling business in Enfield.
Halloween Children’s Home
Halloween Children’s Home in Albert Road, Strathfield operated between 1925 and 1935 and was supported by many local families and dignitaries through fundraising activities such as fetes and concerts. The Edward Clancy Building of the Australian Catholic University now stands on this site.