William Beard, Hardware Merchant and Author
William Beard Pty Ltd letterhead, 1940. Courtesy Strathfield Local Studies
William Beard Pty Ltd, builders’ and hardware suppliers, operated for many years on the site between Coronation Parade and Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, opposite the carpark between the old Enfield Council Chambers and the Coronation Arch. Dan Murphy’s liquor store and carpark now occupy most of this site.
William Beard and his ex-wife, Catherine Jemima Moore owned most of the land in that almost triangular shaped block by the 1920s. Catherine was the owner of several shops fronting Liverpool Road while William owned and operated his hardware business next door at 366-368 Liverpool Road, closer to Plymouth Street. In 1930 the businesses operating from Catherine’s shops included a fish shop, fruiterers and mixed business.[1] W.E. Greenwood, produce merchant operated on the corner of Plymouth Street.
William Beard Pty Ltd would be the taller building on the right hand side of this 1939 photo of Enfield. Courtesy NSW State Archives.
From Six Maps, 1943 showing the location of properties owned by Catherine and William Beard. The Enfield war memorial, former council chambers and Coronation Arch can be seen to the right of the highlighted area
A closer look from Six Maps, 1943
William and Catherine had married in 1915. Daughter, Kathleen was born in 1918 and son, William Allan was born in 1920. He was sadly killed during World War II. While William senior lived nearby in Strathfield, valuation records list Catherine’s address as Mittagong. The couple divorced in about 1934-35 and both remarried in 1935. Catherine died in late 1944, leaving her properties to daughter, Kathleen.
In 1932 William was living at Chepstowe in Albert Road, Strathfield, a once-grand house then operating as a boarding house owned by Mrs Owen. But he soon moved to his own home in Elwin Street, Strathfield where he is listed on electoral rolls as a hardware merchant. This site would now be 7 Elwin Street. Beard’s cottage was named Chanctonbury, no doubt named after the prehistoric Chanctonbury Ring hill fort in West Sussex, England.[2]
Beard also applied to Enfield Council to construct apartments on his property on the corner of Plymouth Street. He wrote again to Enfield Council in June 1940 to appeal for more time for construction owing to ‘the abnormal times.’ Wartime severely limited building supplies however the four apartments were ultimately built at 1 Coronation Parade, the block being given the name Coronation. It no longer stands.
Letter received by Enfield Council, 1940. Courtesy Strathfield Local Studies
Over the years newspapers were filled with advertisements for staff and products for William Beard Pty Ltd especially in construction publications. Wartime restrictions did not adversely affect business which seems to have expanded.
Construction 8 June 1938 p.4 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222851890
In June 1946 a truck driver had a lucky escape while parked at the rear of the business when a brick wall collapsed sending 15 tons of bricks onto his truck. Amazingly, he was rescued uninjured.
Daily Mirror 28 June 1946 p.2 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/272731293
During May 1951 the business was robbed, the brazen thieves even taking a company truck to transport the sinks, paint and mortice locks they stole.
The Sun 22 May 1951 p.8 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230764176
Among its doubtless large range of products on offer, William Beard Pty Ltd newspaper advertisements show that the business stocked garage Tiltadors[3] and Major Bros paint.[4]
By the mid-1940s however, William Beard seems to have taken up new interests as well. The business continued but he found a love of writing and Australian history. He and second wife, Muriel moved briefly to Gerringong[5] before settling in Coogee where Beard continued to write. His first novel ‘Neath Austral Skies’ was certainly penned in Strathfield before his move and may be semi-autobiographical. It recounts the story of Ralph Reynolds who sails from England to Australia to make his fortune. A William Beard arrived in Australia, aged 21, from Liverpool, England in July 1913 aboard the Argyllshire, which may have been our author, gaining firsthand experience of the voyage that he later wrote about.[6] The book is dedicated to his son, William Allan Beard – although he is not named – who was killed while serving with the 3rd Squadron of the RAAF in Egypt on 16 April 1942.[7]
The introduction begins:
‘When first I began to compile this story, after a strenuous life of struggle and achievement, I did so with but a vague idea of its ultimate publication. I wrote firstly for my own amusement, and because I dislike idle hands.’
The introduction concludes with ‘W. Beard Strathfield, 31/12/1946.’
A rare copy of this book has recently been acquired for our Local Studies collection, signed by the author in 1961.
Courtesy Strathfield Local Studies
Each chapter begins with a poem. For example, Chapter 16 starts with the following:
Come sit near the fire, and I’ll tell you a tale,
Of the days when I followed the Birdsville trail,
With a mob of sheep, and a whip in my hand,
And a pair of dogs to obey my command.
With a horse made tough with constant toil,
Kicking up dust from the powdered soil,
With a pack horse laden with water and grub,
A hundred miles from the nearest pub.
Where the dry winds blow, and the sun is hot,
And you look at the stars and learn a lot,
From Winton to Bourke, and back again,
Weary at times, but proud of the strain.
With a cobber that speaks scarce a word all day,
But at night talks all your worries away,
Where you count the miles to the waterholes,
And measure them by the overland poles.
Where drought and flood take turn about,
And teach you never to be without
A horse and a dog, and a water bag, too,
And a sense of humour which helps you through,
It’s a wonderful life; if you’re feeling frail,
Go out and live on the Birdsville Trail [8]
Among Beard’s other works are stories about Captain William Bligh, the Kelly gang, and explorers Ludwig Leichhardt, Captain Cook and George Bass.
In later years Beard served as President of the Randwick Historical Society. Both he and his wife, Muriel died in late 1970. William Beard Pty Ltd continued in business locally until at least the mid-1980s, although by then it was also known as Mitre 10. Perhaps some of our readers remember the William Beard Pty Ltd business? Dan Murphy’s now operates on this site.
By J.J. MacRitchie
Local Studies Advisor
References
[1] Sands’ Street Index, Enfield, 1930[2] ‘Chanctonbury Ring’ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanctonbury_Ring
[3] The Sun 12 March 1952 p.13 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229635714
[4] The Sun 24 September 1952 p.25 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231007558
[5] Kiama Independent 2 February 1952 p.3 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101649214
[6] Passenger lists for the Argyllshire which departed Liverpool, England on 31 May 1913 from Ancestry.com
[7] Roll of Honour: William Allan Beard. Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1706184
[8] Beard, William ‘Neath Austral Skies’. Sydney: J. Bell & Co., 1948 p.100