HAMMONDVILLETHE FIRST80 YEARS1932-2012

A Celebration of Courage, Vision & Success

Brought to you by Melanie Gibbons MP, Member for Menai NOVEMBER 2012

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12One man’s vision broughthope in the tough timesAs populations grow and as timepasses, it is very easy to lose thehistory of where we live.Hammondville had a very specialstart, and on its 80th anniversary Ihope this booklet helps to keep thehistory and memories alive.

Hammondville emerged from somestrong ideals which remain in thecommunity today – courage, visionand mateship.

Back in the 1930s Australian societysuffered as The Great Depressiontightened its grip around the globe.

Sydney was hit terribly hard –particularly when work on the SydneyHarbour Bridge was completed in1932 – and many people were lefthomeless, hungry and without a job.

This year – on November 20 –Hammondville marks its 80thanniversary as a pioneer settlementwhich emerged from the gloom of theDepression.

It is a special time to reflect on theachievements of a community and onthe vision and courage of one manwho was quite literally the lifesaver ofmany destitute Sydney families allthose years ago.

The Anglican Archdeacon RBSHammond contributed his ownsavings to help others through thecreation of Hammondville. It was acharitable act and is truly a remarkablesuccess story.

I have produced this specialpublication to help mark this fantasticmilestone and to recognise the effortsand achievements of so many peoplealong the way. I thank John Jewell for

providing much of the information.

Along with some of the original localswe have residents in Hammondvillewho still have strong links with thosefamilies who first relocated in 1932 andwho are rightly proud to call this placehome.

Community spirit is alive and well inHammondville today – 80 years afterthe courage and mateship of so manycame together in a show of strength tosurvive the tough times and prosper inthe good.

I am proud to have my office inHammondville and to be part of thiscommunity. I hope you are as well.

Melanie Gibbons MPMember for Menai

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Standing tall in crisisRobert Brodribb Stewart (RBS) Hammond was a great man in the eyes andhearts of so many.

When Australia – indeed, the entire world – plunged into crisis during the years ofThe Great Depression it was people such as RBS Hammond who stood tall.

Hammond had the vision and will to dedicate much of his life to helping otherpeople. He is remembered as a genuinely good man. By the time the Depressiongripped Australia, Hammond already had in place many projects to help those lessfortunate or just down on their luck.

This time of low economic activity which left thousands of Sydney families destitutepresented Hammond with his next challenge. With thefoundations of his work in place, he expanded his services toaccommodate the needs of many, many more.

His vision was to give people a long-term solution by relocatingevicted families to new land where they could help each otherhelp themselves. It was a theory based on community spirit –and hence, Hammondville was born carrying the name of itsfounder.

The philosophy was basic: unemployed familieswith three or more children would rent-purchasemodest wooden homes on an acre of land.Settlers would aim to own their home in aboutseven years on a generous payment plan.

The scheme had its critics and received littlefinancial support – but Hammond soldiered onas hundreds of destitute families supported theconcept and applied to be involved.

Hammondville became one of the mostsuccessful land settlement schemes inAustralia’s history. Hammond’s Pioneer Homeswas a lasting testimony to one man’s courageand vision – purely to help other people in theirgreatest hour of need.

In 1937 Hammond was made an Order of theBritish Empire. RBS Hammond died on May 12,1946, one month short of his 76th birthday. Hislegacy remains today in HammondCare – ahealth care service focusing on aged care,dementia and palliative care, rehabilitation andmental health.

Great crisis produce great men andgreat deeds of courage.

– John F. Kennedy“

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Hammondville was born out of need –an overwhelming need to provide ahousing option for those lefthomeless at the height of The GreatDepression.

In 1932-33 there were 5867 court ordersfor the eviction of families in NSW unableto pay their rent.

Sydney was hit hardest with another2446 eviction orders in the metropolitanarea in the first six months of 1934. Itwas estimated 2000 families were livingin bag “humpies” at this time.

Hammondville had defied its critics andbecame a model housing solution toSydney’s growing crisis.

The Great DepressionThe Great Depression (1929–32) wasa time of extreme hardship anduncertainty.

The fallout from the Depression was stillbeing felt until the end of the SecondWorld War (1939-45).

Unemployment in Australia was alreadyat 10 per cent when the market crashedon New York’s Wall Street (stock markettrading hub).

The Wall Street crash in October 1929signalled the start of a crushingeconomic depression for theindustrialised world.

After the crash unemployment inAustralia more than doubled to 21 percent in mid-1930, and peaked in mid-1932 when almost 32 per cent ofAustralians were unemployed.

Born out of needHammond’s PioneerHomes – the early timesFEBRUARY 12, 1932

The Great Depression tightens its holdon Sydney families, leaving manydestitute and desperate. Married menare invited to a meeting at St Barnabas’Church. RBS Hammond presents hisidea of a consolidated settlement andoutlines his accommodation proposal.He receives 800 applications to beinvolved in the Pioneer Homes project.Critics of the project say it is doomedand will never last.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1932

A contract for 13 acres of land close toLiverpool is signed. Each acre cost 25pounds with money donated for thepurchase. It was upon this land – 2.5miles from Liverpool – whereHammondville started.

NOVEMBER 20, 1932

The Governor of New South Wales, SirPhilip Game, officially opensHammondville in front of a large crowd.Dignitaries included the Lord Mayor ofSydney.

EARLY 1933

Another 12.5 acres of land is purchasedwith a quarter of the parcel allocated forconstruction of a public school. Voluntarycontributions from the general public goa long way to securing the land.

NOVEMBER 14, 1933

Celebrations mark the first anniversary of

A truly great Christian caught thevision; generous people made itpossible and wise managementmade the dream come true.

– Author Bernard G Judd in his book “He That Doeth”

– the life story of RBS Hammond.

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Hammondville. Sir Philip Game returnedfor the milestone and admitted he hadreservations a year earlier about theconcept. There were now 26 projectdwellings made available to families.

DECEMBER 1934

The 50th house is completed. This wasa significant year, with Mr RR Dangardonating 3750 pounds towards thepurchase of another 150 acres.

NOVEMBER 1937

Five years into the project, 110 homeshave been built.

JUNE 1, 1940

The foundationstone at StAnne’s church islaid. A gift of3000 poundsfrom MrsConstanceGedge was madein honour of herhusband, Walter.

AUGUST 1945

World War II comes to an end and mostof the families have completed their rent-purchase payments and now own theirhomes. Of the 115 men in thesettlement, 64 had joined up and wentoff to war. Enlisted men were paid a sumof money for their service by theHammondville Trust to help pay off orimprove their properties.

The ConceptThe Pioneer Homes project providedopportunity for local men and womenwhen all hope seemed lost.

This was a married man’s chance toprovide shelter for his family during thedarkest days of The Great Depression.

To qualify …• a married couple had to have aminimum of three children;• be unemployed;• have a skill which would contribute tothe community;• have recently been evicted from aprevious residence; and• commit to growing food and crops forthe community.People were at a desperate point in theirlives, highlighted even more when 800families met the criteria and applied tobuild under the pioneer settlementscheme.

Successful applicants were asked to paybetween 5 and 7 shillings a weektowards paying off their home – 5shillings a week for the first three yearsas a rent-purchase and 7/6 a week untilpayment was finalised. It was estimatedownership would take about sevenyears. Payment was not expected untilemployment was found and the familycould afford the payments.

The payments received went towardsbuying more land and allowed thecommunity to grow.

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12Hammondville ... a

CONSTANCE JEWELL – DANCEORGANISER

A resident ofHammondvillefor nearly 50years.Constancehelped organisethe local danceand madecakes using aspecial

“Depression recipe” which was popularwith revellers. Her son, John, is still avery active member of the community.

ALFREDMORLEY –SHOPKEEPER

Alf was a realcommunity-minded man andquickly becameknown as theMayor ofHammondville.

He was a popular character around thevillage and was invited by RBSHammond to open the first groceryshop. Hammond lent him 100 pounds todo it.

Alf ran the shop while his wife ran thepost office.

He often supplied groceries on a “pay

later” basis and gave away ice-creams tothe youngsters.

His “mayoral” duties included organisingsocial functions and often he entertainedthe NSW Governor who attended someof the functions.

JIM MASTERTON – PROPERTYDEVELOPER

Millionaire builder JimMasterton was one ofthe most remarkableindividual successstories linked to theHammondvillehousing project.

He emerged from a background ofpoverty to be one of NSW’s largestcontract builders.

Jim was six years old – the eldest ofthree children – when the family movedto Hammondville in 1936. He recallsRBS Hammond giving each child in thecommunity a pair of boots and a silvershilling.

As his building empire grew, JimMasterton flew his own plane across thecountry on business. Each time he flewhis plane over Hammondville, he dippedthe wings in a mark of respect to thepeople and place which helped shapehis future.

BELOW: Successful businessman Jim Mastertonwith his private plane.

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place to call homeJOHN HATTON – POLITICIAN

John Hatton lived inHammondville withhis parents andolder siblings.

His father Harry wasworking on SydneyHarbour Bridge as arivet catcher butbecameunemployed whenconstruction was finalised. The familywas evicted from their home, unable topay the rent.

Mr Hatton grew up and was educated inHammondville but left the area in 1951 toattend Teachers’ College in Armidale.

Alf Morley – the popular “local mayor” –lent him the 400 pounds bond thecollege required.

Mr Hatton was the independent Memberfor South Coast from 1973 to 1995. Healways remained active in the communityand maintained his interest in politics.

He often paid tribute to RBS Hammondfor his great foresight.

BERNARD AND IDA JUDD –VISIONARIES

Reverend BernardJudd is creditedwith opening thesecond chapter ofthe Hammondvillestory.

Rev. Judd (pictured)and his wife Ida hada long associationwith the originalsettlement. Mrs

Judd formed the first Girl Guides unit inHammondville.

The Judds were instrumental in startingHammondville Homes for Senior Citizens

– cottages for elderly people. A nursinghome and motel-style accommodationwas also developed.

Rev. Judd wrote a book on the life storyof Archdeacon RBS Hammond, with theHammondville project a highlight of thejourney – he titled the book “He ThatDoeth”.

GEORGE CANTELLO – WAR PILOT

An American World War II pilot lost hislife at Hammondville in 1942 when hisplane crashed in the defence ofAustralia.

Lieutenant George Cantello took off fromBankstown Airfield on June 8, 1942 inresponse to reports a Japanesesubmarine was firing shells towardsSydney. He was the only pilot on duty.

Soon after getting airborne his P-39Airacobra plane clipped trees and it wentdown at Hammondville.

The pilot’s identity was unknown forseveral years until local researcher JohnJewell – just a boy at the time of thecrash – uncovered many answers in afascinating piece of Australian-Americanwar history.

Hammondville’s community unveiled amemorial in his honour in 1988 at the LtCantello Reserve.

ABOVE: US fighter pilot Lt George Cantello (left)on the wing of his plane looking at a map. INSET: A P-39 Airacobra similar to the one whichcrashed at Hammondville.

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Electorate Office: 60 Walder Road, Hammondville NSW 2170Phone: (02) 9825 3653 Fax: (02) 9825 4861Email: menai@parliament.nsw.gov.auWeb: melaniegibbons.com.au

The success of the settlement project atHammondville was the start of an ongoingcommitment to caring for people in need.

Hammondville was well established by 1940 with 110homes, a general store, post office, a school andchurch.

This growing area is now home to 3252 people livingin 1125 households. The public school currently has550 enrolled and a very active school community.

We have gone from having households that combinedtheir resources; one was a plumber, one a builder, andsome grew vegetables. Each had a skill to share and arole to play.

Today our local area still has a village atmosphere.Being so close to Holsworthy it also has strongDefence ties making this a unique area.

Planning has started to establish a Men’s Shed, whichis one way to keep the spirit of this vibrant area alive.

Should you have any ideas on ways to support ourlocal area, please feel free to contact me.

Still caring for the community

Authorised by Melanie Gibbons MP. Printed by MSS Media, 161 Lake Albert Rd, Kooringal 2650 using Parliamentary entitlements. © 2012

ContactMelanieGibbons MP