Historical Australian Towns: Liverpool, NSW: Sydney’s third CBD

Located in Greater Western Sydney, Liverpool is 27 kilometres southwest of the Sydney CBD, with a diverse, multicultural population.

Liverpool has many natural assets, including the Georges River and the Hawkesbury-Nepean River systems; a rich Aboriginal history, and is one of Australia's oldest British settlements.

Darug (Cabrogal Clan) and Tharawal Aboriginal People

Traditionally, Aboriginal people lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans.

Women gathered and collected plants and insects while men hunted animals.

Collingwood Precinct Aboriginal Place, Liverpool, was an important meeting place for Dharawal, Gandangara & Darug people. The high vantage point was used by Aboriginal people to view the Georges River to the east and the mountains to the west. Observations could also be made about the movements of other clans, weather, fire danger and the availability of game and vegetable growth.

Aboriginal woman by B E Minns, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938),

Aboriginal families were made up of clan groups, of "extended family". All individuals would belong to one of the two moiety groups, and all marriages had to be between members of opposite moieties.

The Darug kinship system follows patrilineal descent (through father) men would remain as part of their clan, while women would join the clan of their partner. (Mathews and Everitt, 1900)

Women would be referred to with the suffix -gul; while men would use the suffix -gal.

Most clan names begin with the first name of the man who named the clan and territory boundaries and the songlines of the particular country. Gubragal refers to the Gobragal Clan of the Darug who were from the Liverpool area.

Songlines are the paths across the land (or sky) within the animist belief systems of Australian Aboriginal people, which follow the marks on the environment and route of creator-beings during the Dreamtime.

Aboriginal people hunting wallaby

Darug totems of Western Sydney include the Goanna, Lizards' Cockatoo's. Also, the Eagle, Grasshoppers, Butterflies, Spiders and their Web, Bees, Honey Combs and even ants were considered moieties. (see here)

A man with a Goanna Totem could not marry a women from the Goanna Totem. A husband in many groups could have two or more wives. Marriages were often arranged by infant betrothal.[12]Usually between a young girl and an older man.(see here)

Roasting kangaroo

The Holsworthy area is within the Tharawal traditional area. More than 500 Aboriginal sites have been found within the Australian Army area at Holsworthy. There are drawings of wombats, macropods, fish, eels, turtles, bats, emus, birds, lizards and other animals.

Aboriginal "scarred trees" have been found in Liverpool and one is on display at the Liverpool Regional Museum.

Scars occurred on trees when Aboriginal people removed bark for various purposes such as bark canoes, shelters, weapons such as shields, tools, traps, containers (such as coolamons).

1790s

In 1795, George Bass, a British naval surgeon, and Matthew Flinders, a naval officer, sailed up the Georges River in a small boat.

1. Matthew Flinders was among the world's most accomplished navigators and hydrographers. 2. George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.

Governor Hunter named the district Bankstown and land grants began in what is now called the Parish of Holsworthy. In 1799 Bass and Flinders received large grants.

Corn, wheat and other crops were soon being grown and harvested.

In 1801, Governor King ordered soldiers to fire on Aboriginal people to keep them from settler's properties around Parramatta, the Georges River and Prospect Hill. This occurred after a period of Pemulwuy led guerrilla attacks on settlers. Read here

llustrated Adelaide Post (SA : 1867 - 1874), Thursday 23 May 1867

A tent hospital for soldiers and convicts was operating at Liverpool.

1800s

"The town itself was really founded
by Governor Macquarie about ten or eleven years
previously, for when he arrived in the colony it
seems to have been little more than a scattered collec-
tion of huts. Then a struggling little village, it was
merely a place of refuge for some settlers, whose
homesteads on George's River had been destroyed by
floods. And even in 1816 the traveller might ride
through these isolated dwellings, unconscious that
he was in a "town," but for the inscription on a
broad wooden board : "This is Liverpool." Making
rapid strides, however, when Governor Macquarie
left, it had become a thriving and busy township, and
was also a military station. And for some time it
became a place of considerable importance, being on
the main road to the districts of Airds and Appin,
as well as to lllawarra and the counties of Argyle
and Camden, while the sound of the mailman's
horn, the cracking of whips, and general excitement
that marked the departure of the stage coach, took
place three times a week, the coach being frequently
accompanied for some distance on its journey by
numbers of armed horsemen, for Jack Donohoe and
this gang were generally lurking in the vicinity of
Liverpool, and were apt to bestow rather overpower-
ing attentions on solitary travellers."
Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931)

According to historian John Connor: In 1804, an Aboriginal raiding party attacked Gilbert's farm on the George's River. After knocking Mrs Gilbert unconscious, they took practically everything except her musket. See here

In 1804 American captain Eber Bunker received a 100-hectare (250-acre) grant at Liverpool from Governor King.

Bunker had arrived in the colony as Master of the Third Fleet convict ship William and Ann in 1791. By 1814, Bunker and his second wife and two of his children were living at Collingwood Dale, where he built the historic Collingwood homestead. Bunker died at Collingwood, Birkdale Crescent, on 27 September 1836, aged 74.

Captain Eber Bunker, ca. 1810 - miniature portrait State Library of NSW

Charles Throsby was granted Glenfield in 1809, he used the area as a base for conducting exploration expeditions. Dharawal men accompanied Charles Throsby on his exploration of the Southern Highlands.

Glenfield Farm is a heritage-listed homestead at 88 Leacocks Lane, Casula, City of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1810 to 1817 by convict labour. It is associated in the 19th century with Dr Charles Throsby, an eminent colonial officer and explorer of his time (1802-1828)

The Aboriginal man, Pemulwuy, led a large number of warriors burning crops and attacking farms across western Sydney and the Georges River.

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 8 January 1814

In 1809 Thomas Moore was granted land on the east side of the Georges River. He had arrived in the colony on the Britannia in 1792 and was appointed Master Boat Builder of the colony of New South Wales in 1795. Moore built a house named Moorebank.

In November 1810, Liverpool was established and planned by Governor Macquarie. Liverpool was named it in honour of the Earl of Liverpool, then Secretary of State for the Colonies. The surveyor was James Meehan.

Thomas Moore was commissioned to build the town and was the supervisor of public works for the next decade. The suburb of Moorebank is named for him.

A track from Parramatta to Liverpool town was in use in 1810.

The original Liverpool Hospital was built in 1810, for the predominantly convict population. The building was of brick, with three-rooms and could accommodate up to 30 patients.

Liverpool's first settlers were buried at Apex Park between 1811 and 1821. The first registered burial in Liverpool was Thomas Tyrell, aged 4, on May 1811, who drowned in Georges River.

Collingwood Estate (Bunkers Farm) was built from 1811 to 1857 initially by convict labour.

In 1814 Governor Lachlan Macquarie established a school for Aboriginal children at Parramatta.

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 8 January 1814

In 1815, Governor Macquarie issued a Proclamation.

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 4 May 1816 (here)

When the Methodist, Rev. S. Leigh visited Liverpool in 1816, he described the township as a comparatively important centre, inhabited by "traders, publicans, settlers and convicts, with soldiers to guard them," but with no clergyman of any church to guide them.

Dhawaral man, Kogi, associated with Pemulwuy, lived at Voyager Point. He met Governor Macquarie at Cowpastures in 1810. Francis Barrallier, a French-born explorer of Australia, who employed Kogi as a guide in 1802, recorded that Kogi had been shunned by his clan for murder and had been involved in ritual spearing. In 1816, Macqurie gave him a "King Plate", proclaining him "King of the Georges River".

Governor Macquarie set out the Town Square and appointed the architect, former convict, Francis Greenway to design a church. The foundation stone of St Luke's was laid down in 1818.

THE REV. ROBERT CARTWRIGHT, INCUMBENT OF ST. LUKE'S, 1819-1836. LIVERPOOL, NSW

Liverpool Convict Barracks which occupies the corner of Bigge Street and Moore Street in Liverpool were built as a convict barracks in 1819.

Liverpool Courthouse at 251 Bigge Street was built during 1820, showing Liverpool's importance as a government administrative centre.

The Benevolent Society, a government-supported organisation was established by Governor Macquarie in 1820.

William Ikin was appointed Chief Constable of Liverpool in 1820. He was involved in ship-building at Liverpool where the Wasp, a 13-ton vessel was launched in January 1827. The 1828 census recorded him and his wife leasing an inn, The Ship Inn.

Liverpool's first bank building, Bank of New South Wales, located on the corner of Moore and Macquarie Street, was built in the 1820s. It was demolished in 1935.

Early settlers called the Cabrogal Clan the Liverpool Tribe.

John Drummond, a former shoemaker, was quartermaster on the Sirius, which arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

In 1822 Drummond held 710 acres in the Liverpool area by grant and purchase in the area of today's Terminus Street and Speed Streets. Drummond's Cottage was destroyed by fire in 1963.

John Lucas built a flour mill in 1822.

Ships of up to 60 tons travelled along the Georges River carrying produce to Sydney and from Drummond Wharf down near the weir.

The building of the second hospital commenced in 1822. Although Francis Greenway's plans were the original, he was dismissed from the job and his plans may have been altered. The hospital was completed in December 1829.

FRANCIS GREENWAY: a self portrait. Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)

Aboriginal woman Maria Lock became a landowner in Liverpool. She was daughter of Yarramundi, "Chief of the Richmond Tribes" and belonged to the Boorooberongal clan of the D(h)arug people. On 28 December 1814, the clan attended the inaugural annual conference hosted for the Aborigines by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Maria then attended the Native Institution to be educated.

Maria's second marriage was to a convict carpenter Robert Locke born in Norfolk, England (January 1824). The couple were given land at the Georges River in Liverpool. In her claim, Maria referred to herself as the daughter of "the Chief of the Richmond Tribes." Read here

In the 1830s, German winegrowers were first brought to the area by the Cox and Macarthur families to operate vineyards on their properties. There were numerous German families growing grapes in the Liverpool area.

The Lansdowne Bridge, which crosses George's River, between Bankstown and Liverpool. It is often referred to as Lennox Bridge, after the designer and constructor, David Lennox. The bridge, which dates from 1834, was originally flanked at each end by a couple of stone guard houses, which were destroyed many years ago, NSW

Liverpool Dam, Georges River, was built 1836, and designed by David Lennox.

In 1836 James Backhouse visited the Liverpool gaol and described it as:

A brick building of two large rooms for prisoners of common order, one for debtors, another for females, which is small: also three good cells, but all opening into one common yard, along with the dwellings of the turnkey and overseer, and the cooking-place, and other offices.

Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser (NSW : 1838 - 1841), Wednesday 26 December 1838
Aboriginal woman, Annie Castle, was born at Liverpool in 1836.

1840s

Cessation of convict transportation to NSW from 1840.

Convicts were harnessed to the plough at Leppington, NSW Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938)

Local government was introduced by Governor Gipps in 1842.

The Colonial Medical Service vacated the hospital in 1845 due to a shrinking population.

1850s

A branch of the Benevolent Society opened in the former Liverpool Hospital (2nd) in 1851, with the transfer of 240 male inmates.

The railway was connected to Liverpool in 1856 and was an early terminus of the Main South line. The first railway in NSW, the Sydney–Granville railway opened on 26 September 1855.

Wool merchant James Atkinson was the owner of the Collingwood Estate and he had an idea to turn his estate into an English industrial age model town. He built his own rail stop to transport meat from his pig farm to Sydney Town. The area became a vibrant suburb with various industries before it was absorbed into Liverpool.

The first Electric Telegraph line was from Liverpool to Sydney - a distance of 22 miles. Work commenced on 7 June and was completed in the first part of October 1857.

Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser (NSW : 1848 - 1859), Wednesday 19 May 1858

In 1857 renovations of Collingwood Estate were undertaken by William Weaver the NSW Government Architect.

In 1857, attempts were made to evict Aboriginal man, Jonathon Goggey, Kogi's grandson, from Voyager Point. Goggey sent a petition to the Governor. Aboriginal people continued to live on this land until it was resumed for a migrant hostel in 1949,

1860s

Aboriginal woman Biddy Giles in the 1860s lived near Holsworthy, operating as a guide for settlers.

St George Call (Kogarah, NSW : 1904 - 1957), Saturday 18 May 1907

Another Aboriginal woman Lucy Leane was born in 1840 at Holsworthy. After marrying an Englishman, William Leane, they bought land and built a successful farm. Two of their children married Italian born farmers.

The Australian Paper Company opened the Collingwood Paper Mill in 1868 and employed many people.

Macquarie St, Liverpool in the sixties, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 14 December 1910

1870s

Eckersley Road - 1870s, connecting Road to Liverpool.

In 1872 that the Liverpool Municipality was proclaimed and Richard Sadleir became the first Mayor.

All Saints Primary School, Liverpool, NSW, ascc.nsw.edu.au

William Francis King, who became known as The Flying Pieman, died at the Liverpool Asylum in 1873. He often wore a top hat with coloured streamers and carried a long staff decorated with ribbons as he engaged in his various outrageous walking feats. Read here

World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955)

Liverpool Weir, in 1876. Showing the Old Liverpool bridge over the Weir at Georges River. The road across the river can be seen and the Paper Mill can be seen in the top left hand corner.
Photo: State Library of NSW

Liverpool bridge over the weir at Georges River, NSW, 1876, NLAUST

Liverpool State Hospital and Asylum in 1876, NSW. Photo credit: NSW Health.

1880s

Rosebank, the home of architect Varney Parkes, on Speed Street, was built, 1882–83.

Liverpool developed in the 1880s with the subdivision of more land and the growth of housing.

Farming was still the main industry.

269 Macquarie St, Liverpool, NSW, in 1884, Cloak's Family Hotel. the Cloke family can be seen on the hotel's balcony. The J.H. Moreshead Bakery can be seen to the left of the hotel. A bullock team stopped along Macquarie Street. The Cloke Family was a prominent Liverpool family. Alfred Cloke Was the Mayor of Liverpool in 1895 .His Son William Francis Cloke was killed in action in Belgium on 30th September 1917.

Macquarie Street, Liverpool, NSW, in 1888. Western Sydney Libraries

The Liverpool Gas Works opened on Mill Road in 1890. Crowds of people flicked to see the illumination of the Town hall, Collings' Warwick Farm Racecourse Hotel, Bull's stores. Ward's store, Scrivener and Sons' stores and many more. (here)

Robert Smith's grocery store on Terminus Street, Liverpool, NSW, c1895

Ground Zero Hotel (New Commercial Hotel), on the corner Bigge and Scott Streets, was built 1896.

An old council quarry it was used to supply town water to Liverpool.

1900s

Liverpool Railway Station, NSW, c1900. Source: National Library of Australia

Liverpool, Macquarie Street, NSW, in 1900

Railway Station, Liverpool, NSW, in 1900

HORSE AND CATTLE PARADE. LIVERPOOL (NEW SOUTH WALES) AGRICULTURAL SHOW.Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 19 March 1904

Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 13 December 1905, Read here

Mr. W. A. Smith's Vineyard, Arpnfeeli, Moorebank. NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 5 July 1905

Mr. W. Retallnack's Bernera Estate. NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 5 July 1905

Messrs. H. Haigh, and Sou's Collingwood Wool Scouring, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 5 July 1905

Horningsea Park is a heritage-listed homestead at Camden Valley Way, Horningsea Park, City of Liverpool. It was designed by Joshua John Moore and built from 1830 to 1839. New South Wales, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 5 July 1905

The lamp on a trachyte base was erected by the residents of Liverpool in memory of Private A. E. Smith who died in the South African (Boer) War. See here. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 20 September 1905

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Saturday 3 October 1908

In 1909, Prime Minister Alfred Deakin invited Lord Kitchener to visit Australia to inspect the defence forces. In January 1910, Kitchener spent two days observing the 6,000 troops at Holsworthy.

Lord Kitchener stayed at a house on Moorebank Avenue, Moorebank. This house was originally an orchard and vineyard called "Arpafelie" belonging to William Smith, dating to the 1890s.

The Challenge Woollen Mill opened in 1910. However, Liverpool mostly had an agricultural economy based on poultry farming and market gardening.

Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 14 December 1910

Macquarie Street, Liverpool, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 14 December 1910,

Liverpool Courthouse, NSW, To the right is-a glimpse of thepolice station and to the left "the public school-can- be seen. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 14 December 1910

"The present population of the town is now 300, the number of houses being. 752." (1910)

A postcard showing celebrations at Liverpool for the coronation of King George V in 1911. The image shows children participating in a parade that is proceeding along Macquarie Street.

Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 14 December 1910

Light Horse Camp, Liverpool, NSW. 1. TROOPS RIDING INTO CAMP ACROSS THE LIVERPOOL BRIDGE ON SATURDAY MORNING. 2. ANOTHER WAY OF GETTING THERE; ENTHUSIASM AS THE TROOP-TRAIN STEAMED INTO LIVERPOOL STATION, NSW. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Monday 25 March 1912

Liverpool Light horse Camp, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 27 March 1912

In 1913 a large part of the Parish of Holsworthy became a permanent military encampment.

THE HECKENBERG FAMILY OF GIANTS, OF LIVERPOOL, N.S.W. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 14 June 1916 (The family bought land in the Liverpool area and some of the Heckenberg sons became well known woodchoppers)

WWI

1. PRIVATE KENNETH RANDALL. Mr. and Mrs Randall of Terminus-street Liverpool have been notified by the military authorities that their son, Private Kenneth Randall, has been killed in action. He was 20 years and 10 months old, and had been away nearly two years. Prior to enlistment he was employed at Liverpool. 2. CPL. LESLIE ALFRED RANDALL. another brave son of Mr and Mrs. A.
Randall, of Liverpool, and brother of Private Kenneth Randall. He has been wounded twice and been ill in hospital, but is now back in France. He is 23 years of age, and is married, and has one child. He has been away nearly three years.

Private Walter Fox. Private James T. Grantley. Private Grantley was killed in action just 14 days after his mate Fox. Under date September 1, 1918, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Saturday 14 December 1918

Liverpool Light horse Camp, unloading chaff, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Friday 6 November 1914

LIVERPOOL'S GKEAT PAGEANT LAST SATURDAY, NSW, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Saturday 26 June 1915

NURSES' HOME AT THE LIVERPOOL CAMP. NSW. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 6 November 1915,

Procession and Sports to Assist the Liverpool Voluntary Workers' Association. NSW. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 31 January 1917

Building the railway bridge over the Georges River next to Liverpool Station. Dated 1917. UON

German prisoners of war were held at Holsworthy.

THE HAVEN OF OLD AGE AT LIVERPOOL NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 15 May 1918

DISTRICT WARD OF THE LIVERPOOLSTATE HOSPITAL. NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 15 May 1918

Capt. Adam Houlsby died at his residence, Speed-street, Liverpool, NSW. The photograph was taken on Captain Houlsoy's 103rd birthday (he may not have been truthful about his age), January 23,1919. Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Tuesday 22 April 1919,

Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 19 October 1919

1920s

Corner of Macquarie & Scott Street’s, Liverpool, c1920. Source: State Library of NSW

Moore College opened at Liverpool, NSW in 1856. Early settler, Thomas Moore, left his estate for educational purposes.Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Wednesday 13 October 1920

State Hospital, Liverpool, NSW, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Wednesday 6 October 1920

Old Liverpool Post Office, built in 1889, NSW, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Wednesday 29 September 1920

The School of Arts, Liverpool, was built as a memorial to local soldiers who fought in WWI. The foundation stones were laid on 5 April 1924.

churches of Liverpool, NSW, in 1924

Miss Jessie Snodgrass, shooting at Liverpool, NSW, perhaps the best lady shot in the Commonwealth. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 22 October 1924

BRIDGE BUILDING RECORD. Fifty military engineers camped at Liverpool (N.S.W.) threw this pontoon bridge across the Liverpool River in thirteen minutes. The men are shown "doubling" across the bridge after its completion Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 31 December 1925

A BEVY OF LIVERPOOL'S YOUTH AND BEAUTY WATCH THE TROTTING EVENTS. NSW, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Friday 20 April 1928

THE GREEN VALLEY TOMATO EXPERT, Mr. A. G. Johnson (without hat), standing in his record crop of 15,000 staked plants. NSW. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 13 December 1928

The Woodlands Golf and Sports Club, Liverpool, was located at Woodlands, just off Copeland Street, in an area known as Mrs Bull’s Paddock in the 1920s. Mrs Edith Bull was a successful and renown horse trainer.

'Woodlands" Golf Club, Liverpool, NSW. Dr. Lovejoy (president) is on the extreme left. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Tuesday 20 November 1928

The Liverpool Asylum was operated by the Benevolent Society of New South Wales from 1851 to 1862. It was for infirm and destitute men.

"Almost every profession and calling imaginable is represented among the inmates of the asylum. An upright, scholarly-looking old gentleman - approaches and greets the doctor in cultured French. He was the headmaster of a well-known Scottish school, and can converse in Latin as you or I can in English."

An old man in a wheel-chair was interested by the camera which the photographer carried. He explained that he had given Queen Alexandra then Princess of Wales, her first lessons in photography. "I was then in the service of the Countess of Sandwich,"

"There are many Chinese among the inmates, facing the future with the calm and philosophy of the East. One of them — he is aged 95— is regarded as the neatest man in the institution.""A cheery soul is "Freddie," an aboriginal and an ex-bullock-driver. He forgets his age, but, when prompted, indignantly denies that he is very much over 60. He- likes the home. "More life here — more fun than outback," he declares, as he gratefully accepts a cigarette."

The Old Men of Liverpool Asylum, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Sunday 22 May 1927

LIVERPOOL DISTRICT AMBULANCE. An Ever Ready Service. NSW. Campbelltown News (NSW : 1920 - 1953), Friday 5 October 1928

Samuel Wood - postcard photonegatives of Liverpool, ca. 1928, SLNSW

Samuel Wood - postcard photonegatives of Liverpool, ca. 1928, SLNSW, Public School, Liverpool, NSW

Samuel Wood - postcard photonegatives of Liverpool, ca. 1928, School of Arts, Liverpool, MSW, SLNSW

Samuel Wood - postcard photonegatives of Liverpool, ca. 1928, SLNSW, Town Hall, Liverpool, NSW

In 1929, the rail line from Central to Liverpool was electrified.

1930s

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Thursday 18 September 1930

Del Rosa, at 7 Speed St Liverpool, was the house of Dr James Pirie, who treated many patients without fee, during the depression years of the 1930s.

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Thursday 23 April 1931

Biz (Fairfield, NSW : 1928 - 1972), Friday 11 March 1932

FARM HOMES FOR DISTRESSED FAMILIES. Model of one of seventeen cottages of this type, which are being erected near Liverpool under Canon Hammond's scheme for relief of unemployment. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 8 November 1932 9Thirteen acres were bought two miles from Liverpool, for a home ownership scheme, by Robert Hammond (1870 – 1946) Anglican clergyman, social reformer. Read here

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Thursday 26 January 1933

Looking South down Macquarie Street, Liverpool in the 1930s. Today the back entrance to Westfield would be straight ahead and the cemetery on the right is still there. State Archives NSW

Zoo owned by Charlie Seal, Liverpool, NSW, Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Thursday 14 December 1933

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 13 February 1934

Liverpool railway bridge back in 1935. Trains would depart from Mortuary Station (CentraL) once a week on a Saturday. The train travelled to Liverpool station, across the Georges River onto a single track line that lead to the Anzac Rifle Range. They were pulled by a small steam locomotive and would cost six pound. Today, only the concrete pylons of the old railway bridge remain. National Library of Australia

Aerial view of St. Luke's Church, Liverpool, New South Wales, ca. 1935

Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), Thursday 19 August 1937

ST. ANNE'S ORPHANAGE,LIVERPOOL. PREPARING FOR ITS GOLDEN JUBILEE. Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), Thursday 4 November 1937

Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), Thursday 2 December 1937

Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), Thursday 19 October 1939

Interior view of the Liverpool Regal Theatre's Spacious Lounge, Scott Street, Liverpool. Telephone Liverpool 8 (No extra charge) for reservations). Screenings nightly, continuously from 6.15. Matinees Saturdays and Holidays. Only the worlds' choicesi piclure entertainment is shownj in the Regal Theatre, reproduced by the most modern talkie, R.C.A. Gift nights conducted every Wednesday night. Talent Trials every Fridav night. Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), Thursday 19 October 1939

LIVERPOOL DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB, 1924, unbeaten ar- A Grade Premiers for the previous six seasons. Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), Thursday 19 October 1939

1940s and WWII

Troops wave goodbye as they head off to war from Liverpool Railway Station, NSW, in 1940. SLVIC

IN CAMP (Liverpool, NSW) with 600 Free Frenchmen from the Pacific, Private Temariiauma Taputea, 27, from Tahiti, plays his guitar while he sings with sailor Emile Rouby, 19, the famous Parisian Apache love-song, "Sous les ponts de Paris" ("Under the bridges of Paris"). Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 22 June 1941

Christopher Keating's history of Liverpool entitled On The Frontier records the claim that more than half the local Italian men in Liverpool were interned during WWII.

Biz (Fairfield, NSW : 1928 - 1972), Thursday 24 June 1943

CORPORAL JOHN HURST EDMONDSON, V.C. (25), Liverpool, first Australian to win the coveted award in World War 2.Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Wednesday 12 June 1946

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)

EMPLOYEES at a grocery shop in Macquarie Street, Liverpool, using brooms and bags to sweep out rain water which flooded the shop during a storm yesterday afternoon. They took three hours to get the water out. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Friday 14 March 1947

Biz (Fairfield, NSW : 1928 - 1972), Thursday 24 June 1948

The junction of Speed and Terminus Streets, Liverpool, NSW, 1949, NSW State Archives

North of the town of Liverpool, at Hargrave Park, there were US Army troops at a military camp which later became part of the Royal Navy.

An aerodrome was established at Hoxton Park.

Hospital Ward, Liverpool Asylum, NSW. No date. NSW State Archives

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Wednesday 1 September 1948

Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 16 May 1948 (Woodlands, just off Copeland Street, known as Mrs. Bull’s Paddock)

1950s

These young migrants seemed happy about their prospects in Australia when the liner Otranto docked in Sydney yesterday. They are some of the contingent of 40 who arrived on the ship under the auspices of the Big Brother Movement. They will go to Liverpool to karn farming. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 10 June 1950

Thirty-five interested people attended a meeting held In Liverpool Town Hall and formed the Liverpool Musical Society in 1951.

Liverpool, once a satellite town, was becoming an outer suburb of metropolitan Sydney.

A divorce raid on the old Liverpool Cemetery. Prior to the 1975 Family Law Act, there had to be proven grounds for divorce. The spouse wanting a divorce had to prove that the other spouse was “at fault” for something to have the divorce approved. Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 14 June 1953

Biz (Fairfield, NSW : 1928 - 1972), Wednesday 18 July 1956

HOLDEN'S SENSATIONAL NEW STATION SEDAN The versatility of ' t»e sensational new Holden station sedan Is demonstrated . in this picture -by Mr. Terry Florence, chief salesman at A. C McGrath Ltd., Holden dealers of Macauarie St., Liverpool. Longer and. more strongly constructed than its famous counterpart, the Holden utility, this grand new design in car comfort and commercial. productlvity, the Holden Station sedan gives real car riding performance and still returns amazing petrol consumption figures. Its powerful engine and finely finished interior make" this station sedan the complete answer to the family who -want a commercial vehicle ui which they can travel around the countryside or so to a function. A call to A. C. MC- Grath Ltd. (UB 7661) and all the information you desire on this beauty will be gladly given, or you may drop in at the showrooms, 141 Macquarie St., Liverpool, and see this glamorous automobile on display. Biz (Fairfield, NSW : 1928 - 1972), Wednesday 3 April 1957

Woolworths store at Macquarie St Liverpool opened in 1958.

The East Hills Migrant Hostel consisted of Nissan Huts. Around 1972, most of the "tin huts" were demolished and replaced by brick flats.

1960s

By July 1961, the old Liverpool Hospital was converted into the Tafe College.

Dimarco Bros. Department Store on George Street opened in 1961.

A new ultra-modern Post Office, costing more than £40,000, was to be erected at Liverpool in 1963, to replace the 1889 building.

In 1968 the train-track between Liverpool and Campbelltown was electrified.

Green Valley, a collection of suburbs that includes Busby, Cartwright, Miller and Sadleir, was developed by the NSW Housing Commission during the affordable housing crisis in the 1960s. Here

Peter Miller, was an early landholder in Green Valley and the suburb is named after him. The Miiler housing estate was the largest ever built in NSW, with about 7,500 dwellings. By the time the Estate was completed, 25,000 people lived there.

The Green Valley Hotel was constructed in 1965.

Liverpool Speedway was officially opened by the Oliveri Family on 14 May 1967.

1970s

The headstones were removed at old Liverpool Cemetery in 1970 to make way for Pioneer Park.

Liverpool Golf Club opened at Lansvale in 1971.

Sydney's Liverpool Speedway 1974, Liverpool Speedway, NSW, in Sydney after the changeover to bitumen, Ken Hodge

Liverpool Courthouse, built 1970s, NSW, SLNSW

1980s

Liverpool Speedway closed suddenly in 1989.

Late night shopping on Macquarie St Liverpool NSW 1980, SLNSW

Around Liverpool

Old Liverpool Courthouse, NSW, built c1820s, It served as a working court house until 1972

Liverpool Scout Hall, NSW, opened 1930

The Georges River pylons, all that is left of the railway bridge on the former branchline that linked Holsworthy Army Barracks to Liverpool Station, NSW. The line opened on January twenty first 1918, having been built by the New South Wales Government Railways.