Old World Charm At Gladstone
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday October 15, 1998
THE old photograph shows the romantic Federation cottage, Gladstone, which used to stand on the south-western corner of Crown Street and Gladstone Avenue, Wollongong. The cottage faced Gladstone Avenue, so that the wide bull-nosed verandahs commanded views down Crown Street to the ocean, and to Tom Thumb lagoon in the south.
Gladstone was built from Illawarra cedar, and was originally owned by William Osborne, son of Dr John Osborne. Later, the home was acquired by a Miss Tindall, who lived there until her death in 1943. Miss Tindall lived a gracious lifestyle at Gladstone, her comfort and every need being attended to by her English-born companion and housekeeper.
The housekeeper was often accompanied by her niece, Eunice North, as she went about her duties. Eunice, who still lives in Wollongong, spent many happy hours visiting her aunt. Her vivid memories of life in that beautiful rambling old house have been recorded, and allow the reader a special insight into the lives of its occupants from the 1920s through to the second world war. 1
Gladstone was a U-shaped cottage, the U at the back of the property containing a lovely courtyard with a large square well. A covered walkway surrounded the well on three sides, the white-washed stone pantry with its butter churn and rolling pins at one end of the U, and the old kitchen at the other. The housekeeper would spend much of her day walking between the two in the course of her duties.
From the front verandah, Miss Tindall could remember seeing the nightly glow of the Aborigines' fires around Tom Thumb Lagoon; by day, the Lagoon was a fisherman's paradise with bream, whiting and flathead in abundance.
The front verandah also overlooked the cobblestone driveway, which swept up to the house to encircle a white camellia at the front entrance. It was designed to allow the horse-drawn carriages to turn easily back to Gladstone Avenue.
Guests arriving at the front entrance by the camellia tree would have found themselves entering a home of elegance and refinement. From the imposing entrance hall, a door led to a beautiful drawing room, with its generously proportioned black leather lounge, dark polished table and writing desk.
It was in this room that Miss Tindall had tea in fine bone English china served to her guests, and where she would sit to read The Sydney Morning Herald and attend to her letter-writing. Another door led to the guestroom with its lace canopied bed, cedar chest of drawers and water jug and basin. The dining room, with its high backed padded chairs and huge polished table, was magnificently appointed.
The young Eunice North chose the room on the south-eastern corner of the house as her favourite. Its slatted French doors opened onto the verandah, and through them could be seen the piano, an elegant double fireplace above which hung a large painting, and a charming lovers' seat.
When Eunice North was 18, World War II broke out. From the front balcony of Gladstone then could be seen the soul-stirring sight of newly recruited young Illawarra men, marching up Crown Street and turning left into Gladstone Avenue as they headed for the railway station and places unknown.
The women left at home then moved into the jobs that had before been done by the men. They manufactured munitions at the steelworks, ploughed farms, harvested crops and drove delivery vans.
When Miss Tindall died in 1943, her housekeeper, Eunice's aunt, became a Land Army Matron and was posted to the Riverina.
Gladstone too joined the war effort, being used mostly as temporary accommodation for girls from the Land Army. Its days of elegance and grace were over. Rough masonite partitions now separated one sleeping quarter from another, and crowds of chattering strangers moved through rooms stripped of their beautiful furnishings and rich adornments.
Today, the only remnant of Gladstone is the huge figtree which once graced its fragrant garden. It can be seen in the recent photograph.
1..Eunice North, Gladstone, Voice of the Seniors, August 1996, November 1996, February 1997, May 1997.
© 1998 Illawarra Mercury
