IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Stories from 14 MacMahon Street – MacMahon’s Manor

14 MacMahon Street transformed into MacMahon’s Manor – a fine dining and theatre restaurant – in 1983 after being sold by the St George Rugby Union Club to John & Annette Ibbitson. After renovating, restoring and redecorating the venue for six months, MacMahon’s Manor became a very popular venue playing host to theatre productions, numerous weddings and various special events.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

The first room on the right as you enter the property was a fine dining area with an open log fireplace, a small grand piano and lace tablecloths set with “real true silverware and crystal glassware.” The second room along was the cocktail bar – the bar itself was rescued from an old ferry that was in the process of being dismantled!

In what is today the main gallery space of Hurstville Museum & Gallery, was the theatre restaurant, with a small stage that held big costumes! A new show was put on every three months, with at least a dozen changes of costumes for an audience of approximately 150 people 6 nights a week. The shows became so popular they were booked out 3 months in advance, and every show had a corresponding themed menu and signature cocktail.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

Bruce Scott, costume designer and choreographer for the stage shows at MacMahon’s Manor, describes  the recipe for a successful night of entertainment at ‘The Manor’ as “variety and comedy that’s it, there's no ifs or buts that’s all you do in theatre restaurant.  You’ve got to entertain the masses when they're eating and drinking and so if you’ve got colour and movement on stage and you've got comedy that’s success, that’s it.”

See some of the original costumes worn on stage at MacMahon’s Manor on display today in the IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK exhibition.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

These are just some of the stories of 14 MacMahon Street. Come and visit the multisensory exhibition IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK to find out more about the building’s past.

Exhibition proudly sponsored by

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Stories from 14 MacMahon Street – Dr Crakanthorp’s home & practice

14 MacMahon Street, now known as Hurstville Museum & Gallery, was built in 1929 by Dr John Crakanthorp, as his family home and doctor’s practice. Together with his wife Valerie, two daughters Rosemary and Philippa and his dog Thrifty, he lived and worked in the house for over 30 years.

Courtesy of Philippa Williams.

At the front of the house on the right, as you enter the property was the Crakanthorp’s lounge room, with a cosy fireplace and double-doors which led out onto a side garden. The gardens were well known in the area and people would travel just to see the magnificent azaleas in bloom. Dr Crakanthorp's healing hands also had a green thumb, growing orchids in orchid houses he built on the property and selling them overseas.

Courtesy of the Crakanthorp family. 

The dining room led off the lounge room, featuring a sunroom and Valerie’s writing desk, where Philippa remembers her mother sitting on many occasions. Upstairs were the bedrooms and main bathrooms and a balcony which overlooked the side garden.

However these areas were never seen by the patients of Dr Crakanthorp. The surgery had its own separate side entrance which led into a small waiting room. In those days, doctors did everything – they delivered babies, fixed broken arms and removed infected tonsils. Several people recall having a tonsillectomy done by Dr Crakanthorp, however they didn’t always go according to plan. Pam Taylor remembers the doctor visiting her at home as she began haemorrhaging after the operation.

Some antique tonsillectomy equipment is on currently on display at the Museum & Gallery as part of the exhibition. It is truly scary stuff!

But one of the most harrowing things to happen to 14 MacMahon Street was a lightning strike. On 12 February 1949 the roof gable at the back of the house, above Philippa’s bedroom, was sheared off by a bolt of lightning. A newspaper article reporting the “violent thunderstorms” stated that “tiles were hurled from the roof” and Philippa remembers tiles littering the lawn of their neighbours yard and debris from the strike which had fallen onto her bed.

Courtesy of the Crakanthorp family. 

These are just some of the stories of 14 MacMahon Street. Come and visit the multisensory exhibition IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK to find out more about the building’s past.

Exhibition proudly sponsored by

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Stories from 14 MacMahon Street – How it all began

The land where our Museum & Gallery is located today was part of a large block of land, owned by the MacMahon family. Irish migrant Patrick MacMahon and his wife Dora McDonough purchased it in the 1880s, with the boundaries being today MacMahon, Dora and Patrick Streets and Stoney Creek Road. The estate was gradually subdivided between the late 19th century and 1939.

In the late 1920s, young doctor John Saxon Crakanthorp, residing at 1 Butler Street in Hurstville, was looking for a place to build his new family home and doctor’s practice. He bought parts of the MacMahon’s estate. The doctor chose the location well to establish a doctor’s practice – just across the road of Hurstville and District United Friendly Society Pharmacy. The dispensary has been located at 17 MacMahon Street since 1915.

The image below was taken in 1923, depicting the candidates for the Hospital and Ambulance Queen Competition parading through MacMahon Street. The background reveals the pharmacy building.

Courtesy of Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection

These are just some of the stories of 14 MacMahon Street. Come and visit the multisensory exhibition IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK to find out more about the building’s past.

Exhibition is proudly sponsored by

Home front: wartime Sydney 1939–45 exhibition now on at Museum of Sydney

Home front: wartime Sydney 1939–45 is an exciting exhibition which will be on display at the Museum of Sydney until 9 September 2012. This exhibition explores the experiences of Sydneysiders living on the home front during World War II and how they coped with the uncertainty, loneliness, fear and excitement of war to their changing city. These stories aretold through text, drawings, photographs, objects, film, costume and personal memorabilia. As part of this exhibition, objects were selected by Museum of Sydney staff from Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery’s war collection to form part of this exciting new exhibition. Stay tuned for updates...

‘Why not check out some more of our war collections in our exhibition, 'Living on the Water’s Edge: Stories of St George’. 

Image caption: 'Change over to a victory job' (detail), artist unknown, 1943. Australian War Memorial ARTV01060.

Was the Titanic doomed to sink? Find out more with Gale History Resource Centre Database.

This week marks the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The Titanic sank at 2.20 a.m. on the 15th April, 2012. 1,514 of the 2,22o passengers perished in the early hours of the morning.

Recent research indicates that even if the 'unsinkable' Titanic had not struck an iceberg on that fateful morning, it still would have been doomed to sink. Experts studying previously undiscovered portions of the keel found structural flaws, which they concluded would have made the Titanic vulnerable in the event of rough seas.

Want to find out more? Log into the History Resource Centre Database (Gale) from home or in the library, by using the barcode number of your library card. Rayyan.

Source Citation:

"Not unsinkable." History Today 57.8 (2007): 8. Gale World History In Context. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

A Centenary of Rugby League, 1908-2008

Yes, I know it's now more than a century. But in honour of the 2012 National Rugby League season kicking off tonight, you could do worse than this magnificent record of this history of the great game. Full of photo's, facts and figures (including the infamous Super League war) and the 100 greatest players of all time (from Dally Messenger to Darren Lockyer),  A Centenary of Rugby League, 1908-2008 is the final word on the subject... until 2108 at least!

EAT HISTORY at Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery

This years History Week is on NOW and the theme is EAT HISTORY! To celebrate Hurstville City Library, Museum & Gallery is hosting three wonderful events:

Sugary Delights: Sugar Art and Cake Traditions on display at Hurstville City Library, Local Studies Room

On display now is a unique collection of cakes and sugar art including sugar art instruction books and booklets, tools and associated utensils. Take the time to look at the intricate details of each cake and observe techniques not commonly practiced today. On display until 11 September 2011.

Eat History: High Tea at Hurstville City Museum & Gallery
To celebrate the theme of Eat History, Hurstville City Museum & Gallery is hosting a high tea! Whilst enjoying some scrumptious high tea goodies, Marian Jones, President of the Cake Decorators Association of NSW, will be hosting a cake decorating and sugar art demonstration.

Wednesday 7 September 2011
Session 1: 10am - 11.30am
Session 2: 2pm - 3.30pm
$10 per person
Hurry spots are limited! Call the Museum & Gallery on 9330 6444 today!

Something Sweet Kids Program at Hurstville City Museum & Gallery
This fun 90 minute workshop is designed to teach the basics of cupcake decorating. Our aim is to encourage kids to explore thier imagination, whilst learning techniques from a bygone era. Materials and tools provided.

Thursday 8 September 2011
4pm - 5.30pm
$5 per child
7 -12 years
Please call to today to secure your spot on 9330 6444! Limited spaces!

Batavia

The events that happened aboard the Dutch East India Company's Batavia in 1629 off the coast of Western Australia is sadly one of the lesser known events of early Australia history. While it takes place over 150 years before Phillip and the First Fleet landed, it is the earliest know landing of Europeans.

But that's only a (very) small part of the story. And what a story it is! Peter Fitzsimons described it as being "a true Adults Only version of Lord of the Flies meeting Nightmare on Elm Street." A slight exaggeration perhaps, but the shipwreck of the Batavia (especially in Fitzsimons rollicking style) tells the tale of the birth of the world's corporation, the brutality of colonisation, the battle of good versus evil, sea-faring adventure, mutiny, shipwreck, love, lust, blood-lust, fascist dictatorship, a reign of terror, murder most foul, sexual slavery, survival, retribution, rescue, first contact with native peoples and much, much more (phew!). No wonder there's talk of turning this book into a movie.

Let Me Entertain You Curator Floor Talks

Join Hurstville City Museum & Gallery's curators and translator to explore this wonderful exhibition. Talks are also translated into Mandarin.

Sunday 21 August 2011:

2pm - 3pm (English)

3pm - 4pm (Mandarin)

Thursday 22 September 2011:

6pm - 7pm (English)

7pm - 8pm (Mandarin)

Free event. Refreshments avaliable. Bookings essential.

Hurstville City Museum & Gallery

14 MacMahon St, Hurstville

phone: 9330 6444

email: museumgallery@hurstville.nsw.gov.au

Family History Week - Past, Present & Future

Celebrate Family History Week (29-July - 7 August) with Hurstville City library, Museum & Gallery buy attending our FREE family History week seminar.

This seminar focuses on the value of photographs in your family history and will allow for participants to learn about the importance of correctly storing and labeling photographs. Discover how to store images from your past for future generations.

Guest Speaker: Alan Murrin from Joy Murrin Family History Services

Wednesday 3 August 2011

10am - 12pm, morning tea provided

Library Exhibition Area, Hurstville City Library

For bookings please call 9330 6444 or email museumgallery@hurstville.nsw.gov.au

Family History Session - Seniors Week 2011

Finding Margaret: Lessions in tracing a family history

As part of the LMG's Seniors Week events Lorraine Purcell, researcher and family historian, will guide seniors through the steps involved in tracing and preserving a family history.

Friday 25 March 2011

10am - 12pm

Hurstville City Museum & Gallery

14 MacMahon Street, Hurstville

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Morning tea provided

Please call 9330 6444