| Historical notes: | ABORIGINAL OCCUPATION
The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).
Prior to European settlement the Millers Point area was part of the wider Cadigal territory, in which the clan fished, hunted and gathered shellfish from the nearby mudflats. Shellfish residue was deposited in middens, in the area known to the early Europeans as Cockle Bay; the middens were later utilised by the Europeans in lime kilns for building purposes. The Millers Point area was known to the Cadigal as Coodye, and Dawes Point as Tar-ra/Tarra (Sydney City Council, 2019).
With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).
Subject Site:
On 20th November 1830, David Leighton (son of John 'Jack the Miller' Leighton) sold a parcel land to newly-arrived emigrant, John Clarke. The land was described as bounded by Windmill Street to the northwest, Lower Fort Street to the southeast, on the southwest by Henry McGee's land, and on the northeast by government land. Plans of Sydney from 1825 and 1828 do not show any buildings on the site, so it is concluded that the land was vacant at the time of the sale in
1830.
A few months later, after Clarke had begun to fence the land in accordance with government requirements, the Director of Public Works instructed him to remove the fencing because the ground was dedicated government land. Clarke's appeal to be permitted to retain the land was eventually granted on the basis of his purchase in good faith; Leighton claimed that he had been entitled to sell the land which was purchased from Patrick Marmount, who was given it by Governor Macquarie as compensation for land resumed for the government windmill.
In settling the claim to the land, Clarke was instructed to divide theland with James Lucas, who had purchased an adjacent allotment with a questionable chain of title.
On 17 June 1833, Clarke obtained a Publican's Licence for a new hotel known as the Shipwright's Arms in Windmill Street and he renewed his licence annually until July 1836 which enabled him to trade as publican until July 1837. As Clarke did not own any other land on Windmill Street, nor did he hold any other hotel licences at this time, it is concluded that the licence was issued for a hotel occupying the building at 75 Windmill Street. The words 'Shipwright's Arms' were revealed to still be located on the faade of the building in the late 20thCentury.
The 'Shipwright's Arms' not only served alcohol but, in line with the regulations of the day, also provided board and lodging (refer to Section 4: Comparative Analysis for further detail). In 1835, Clarke placed a notice in the Sydney Herald stating:
'If Edward Humble, a seafaring man, (late of the Harriet), do not come forward and pay the Debt he owes me for Board, Lodging, &c., within twenty-one days from this date, the Property left in my possession will be sold and the proceeds appropriated towards the liquidation of the same. John Clarke, Windmill street, Sydney,
January 17, 1835.'
With Windmill Street being the main thoroughfare through to Millers Point proper and with direct links through to the (what is now known as) Walsh Bay wharves area and the steam ferry to the north via Pottinger Street, the intersection of Windmill Street and Lower Fort Street must have been a commercially vibrant area frequented by a range of maritime workers and merchants.
Several other public houses ('pubs') were located in Windmill Street during this period, but the Shipwright's Arms was one of the earliest. The Whalers' Arms had stood on the opposite side of Windmill Street since 1831, but in 1839 it moved to a new building on the corner of Lower Fort Street and Windmill Street. The Hit or Miss and the Live and Let Live Hotels were built after Clarke's Shipwright's Arms on adjacent allotments to the south. The Hero of Waterloo was built on the adjacent site to the east by George Paton, stonemason, between 1840 and 1845 on land which he purchased from John Clarke's son following the elder's death in 1838. The Hero of Waterloo and two Whalers' Arms hotels, as well as the front verandah of No. 75 Windmill Street are visible in John Rae's c.1845 painting 'View down Windmill Street'.
John Clarke died on 20th July 1838, leaving five sons, the eldest also John Clarke died on 20th July 1838, leaving five sons, the eldest also named John Clarke. John Clarke the younger subsequently applied for a deed of grant for the site (to be managed in trust on behalf of all five brothers) on 6th December 1839 and following an assessment by the Court of Claims, the land was granted on 18th June 1840 to John Clarke, cabinet maker. It was at this time that Clarke sold the corner portion of the land to George Paton, stone mason, who constructed the Hero of Waterloo hotel on the site.
Another of Clarke's sons, William Clarke, a cabinet-maker of Hunters Hill, received the title to the southern half of the allotment (fronting Lower Fort Street and today containing Argyle House, No. 85 Lower Fort Street) in 1844 and he constructed a single storey, 3 room, brick with shingled roof cottage with front verandah and an outbuilding.
At some stage this separate dwelling and outbuilding, together with a yard area was fenced off from No. 75 Windmill Street and a right-ofway was formed giving access from the rear of the building at 75 Windmill Street to Lower Fort Street. This right-of-way still exists between the Hero of Waterloo hotel and Argyle House.
The rates assessment books from 1845 to 1948, variously describe the building at 75 Windmill Street as being either 'stone' or 'brick', with 'brick' appearing more often in the records. A detached kitchen is also occasionally included in the description of the place.
In c.1845 the hipped roof form was altered for the construction of the Hero of Waterloo adjacent.
In 1847, the title to the land was conveyed to three of John Clarke's five sons: James Richard Clarke (cabinet-maker, Sydney), Charles George Clarke (Sydney, shoemaker), and Edward Thomas Clarke (Sydney, mastmaker) as trustees. The City of Sydney Council rate books indicate that the property was occupied in that year by Robert Guy Torr, and the structure was described as a two-storey stone building with shingled roof containing eight rooms with a back kitchen.
In 1853 the Clarke family trustees conveyed the property to Charles Stewart Quail, who in turn, nine months later, sold it to John Hordern of the well-known mercantile dynasty. After John Hordern's death in 1864, the property remained in the ownership of his trustees' until the 1880s.
Hordern never occupied the building leasing the building throughout his period of ownership, and it continued to be leased following his death. Rosa Strange had operated a school on the premises in the early 1860s and Thomas Milton, a shipwright, lived at 75 Windmill Street from c.1871 until 1882.
After this tenancy, the property became a boarding house under the management of Charles Lamb.
In 1880, Hordern's trustees advertised the property for sale: Perhaps in relation to the intended sale, F.H. Reuss surveyed the property in 1881 and produced a plan of it.
J
ulia Quinn, a widow, purchased the site in 1886. She paid less for the land in 1886 than John Hordern had in 1853, and Quinn's transaction also included land in Newtown. This may reflect the perceived 'obsolescence' of the building. During Julia Quinn's ownership, the property continued to be used as a boarding house for a number of years. It also appears that new rear outbuildings were constructed directly linking to the rear (south) elevation of the Main wing.
Resumption of No. 75 Windmill Street
In 1902, the property (at this time known as No. 65 Windmill Street) was assessed for rates by the City Council and the landlord was still listed as Mary Quinn, while the occupant was listed as John Ryan. The building was described as a dwelling house of stone with an iron roof of two floors with a total of eight rooms.
By the time of the next rates assessment in 1907, the owner of the building (still known as No. 65 Windmill Street) was listed as the 'NSW Government Rocks Resumption' with Ellen Josephson as the occupier.
Following the resumption of the property, the Sydney Harbour Trust, and subsequently the Maritime Services Board leased 75 Windmill Street to private tenants as a single dwelling house. New outbuildings appear to have been constructed by the Sydney Harbour Trust about 1915, around the same time that the demolished houses on the south side of the street were being replaced by model workers' housing.
In 1966, an application was lodged with the City Council by a Mrs L. Garroway on behalf of the Maritime Services Board, for use of the two front rooms as doctor's consulting and waiting rooms. A Dr. Geoffrey Davis occupied the front of the building until well into the 1980s.
A number of photographs of Windmill Street taken during the first half of the 20th century show No. 75 Windmill Street visible to the right of the Hero of Waterloo and the building remains largely unchanged over the decades represented by these images.
Public Housing period (1986 to date)
The ownership of the property was transferred from the Maritime Services Board to the (former) Department of Housing in 1986. By 1991 the property was vacant and in 1992, a conservation plan for the building was prepared by Howard Tanner & Associates Architects. This was followed in 1995 by comprehensive restoration and upgrading works including the construction of a new rear wing addition containing a family room, laundry and WC fitout. The rear (south) bedroom on the eastern side at first floor level was converted into a bathroom and store and the rear (south) room on the eastern side
at ground floor level was converted into a kitchen.
At this time, the Sydney Harbour Trust outbuildings were demolished. Following these works, the property was used as a residence, managedby the Department of Families and Community Services. |