Truly, the place looked deserted and miserable, no one to be seen but poor old Murphy and his double team dragging a barrow load of coal through the yielding sands into which the wheels of his dray....were sinking almost to the axle.[2]
These were just some of the challenges facing Hamilton’s first Municipal Council in 1872.
An election had been held on 9 February, 1872. From a field of 12 candidates, six Aldermen were elected. Readers who know the streets and landmarks of Hamilton will recognise these names:
- Robert Cherry
- George Donald
- David Murray
- Thomas Tudor
- Thomas Swain
- Edward Turnbull.
George Donald became the first Mayor of Hamilton.
George Donald, first Mayor of Hamilton Municipal Council, 1872-1876
Photograph courtesy of Newcastle Region Library
Photograph courtesy of Newcastle Region Library
Communities like Hamilton sought incorporation and the right
to levy rates on landholders. This had become possible under new NSW laws
passed in 1858 and 1867.
Incorporation was the beginning of a civic pride movement
that saw citizens look for ways and means of improving the environment and
circumstances in which they lived.
Incorporation of the mining settlements as a municipality
offered a way to collectively address the terrible state of roads and
footpaths, provide sanitation, garbage disposal, drainage and a clean water
supply. All the things we take for granted today.
There is more about the conditions in which miners lived in
the post How Hamilton got its Name.
The six Aldermen were already making their mark as leaders in
the community. They had been instrumental in achieving incorporation for what
would now no longer be three mining settlements of Pit Town, Borehole and Happy
Flat but the township of Hamilton.
A place to meet
The immediate tasks facing the first Council were fairly
pedestrian. First, they needed a place to meet. The Hamilton Mechanics' Institute,
where elections and the first couple of meetings had been
conducted, was in a poor state. David Murray offered temporary accommodation in
his cottage at 70 James Street, for a rental of three shillings per week.
This was the first Hamilton Council Chambers.
The first Hamilton Council Chambers, 70 James Street, Hamilton,
home of David Murray (1834-1908)
Photograph courtesy of Newcastle Region Library
The Aldermen needed someone to 'do the work.' They decided a
Council Clerk would be employed, at a salary of 40 pounds per annum. James Ray
was selected, initially to work very
part-time for 2 hours per week.
Funds and assets were an early consideration. A finance
committee was set up; estimates of expenditure prepared, and a 100 pound
overdraft obtained from the Bank of Australasia. Later, a Municipal grant of
1500 pounds ensured Council would be able to start work on its priorities.
Arrangements were made to survey and value Council property.
Abundance of water
Local historian Peter Murray [3]
has analysed early Council records. He has noticed what a huge problem the over
abundance of water was for the Council – the most pressing problem was in
Denison Street (then the main thoroughfare).
In an interesting example, Peter Murray describes how a
candidate for the position of pupil-teacher at Hamilton School was ruled out because
she lived at Lambton. The Schools’ Inspector considered the candidate would
often be unable to reach the school because the area between Lambton and
Hamilton would frequently be under water.
An early priority was the kerbing, guttering and metalling
of the major streets in Hamilton. Of course there were complaints about the order
of improvements, and who would benefit most, and quickly. Bridges over the
watercourses, and the building of culverts and drains, were also challenges. The
Styx Creek was a repeat offender.
In his blog Hamilton North, Mark McLean revives and
continues Hamilton’s watery conversations. Mark chronicles the defiant, never
to be defeated Styx Creek, even though it has been captured and confined in a
concrete straitjacket.
Wattle blossoms form patterns on the surface of Styx Creek, along with clusters of discarded bottles (2013)
Photograph courtesy of Mark McLean
A start had to be made somewhere, and although the first Aldermen
were inexperienced, they learned on the job. We have much to thank them for. In
fact, there is a permanent thank you to them on the
gates of Gregson Park.
Memorial gates at
Gregson Park
Memorial Gates at the Tudor Street entrance to Gregson Park, Hamilton (2013)
The memorial gates were opened to great fanfare in November, 1912. One side
lists the first 6 Aldermen; the other side lists the donors – Henry Latham, Edward
Broom, .E. G. Yeomans, William Hutchison, David Smith, Andrew Adams, W.R.
Alexander and the families of the first Aldermen.
The Donald family donated a stone drinking fountain in
memory of
Hamilton's first Mayor, George Donald.
Opening of the Donald Fountain, Gregson Park, Hamilton, 29 January 1908
Photograph courtesy of Newcastle Region Library
Elections were held regularly, and some of Hamilton’s prominent
Mayors were:
George Donald First
Mayor 1872-1876
David Murray Mayor
1876-1880
Francis W Reay Mayor
1887
William Rees Alexander Mayor
1889-1900, 1911-1912, 1920
Gordon Richard Skelton Mayor
1929-1930
Samuel Don Mayor
1885, 1886, 1901
Francis Reay was a medical herbalist who built the Hamilton
Turkish Baths – read the story here.
Samdon Street in Hamilton is named for Sam Don. A sculpture of
his head can still be seen above the entrance of the former fire station in
James Street – that story is here.
The Hamilton clock tower was named the W R Alexander Clock Tower, in honour of Mr Alexander's services as Alderman.
Bigger and better
As the population of Hamilton grew, so did its
administration.
In December 1873 E C Merewether, Superintendent of the AA
Company, wrote to Council dedicating land at the corner of Beaumont and James
Street for a new Council Chambers.
When the first Council Chambers was built several years
later, in 1880, Councillors and the administration were able to move out of
their leased premises. Following the Murray cottage, Mrs Hinkle’s rooms in
Beaumont Street had been rented for 4 shillings per week.
1880 Council Chambers building
Photograph by Ralph Snowball, held in the Norm Barney
Photographic Collection, courtesy of Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle, Australia
Just 12 years later, in 1892, a second Municipal Chambers
was built to replace the first.
Hamilton Municipal Chambers (n.d.)
Note the established tree, gas lamp, and wooden shed housing
fire brigade equipment on the left
Photograph by Ralph Snowball, held in the Norm Barney Photographic Collection, courtesy of
Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle,
Over time, the population of Hamilton grew from around 4,000
in 1891 to 14,000 in 1920. By 1919, more aldermen were needed to represent the
diverse community - the original 6 Aldermen increased to 9, and later, to 12 –
and yet another building was required to accommodate staff who took on diverse
roles. Despite its impressive exterior, the old Chambers was considered
insanitary and inadequate. [4]
Four shops added in 1920 provided a revenue stream for the Council.
Hamilton Municipal Building and Clock Tower in Beaumont Street, 12 February 1936
Photograph courtesy of Greg and Sylvia Ray
.jpg)
The Council would not
go on to bigger and better things. Success and growth meant others were eyeing
off Hamilton’s prosperity. Change was ahead.
From the 1890s, several state and civic leaders had
championed expanding the boundaries and influence of the Newcastle Council.
Finally, in 1938 these efforts were successful and the City of Greater Newcastle
came into being. The Greater Newcastle Act of 1937 saw the City swallow up 11 surrounding suburban municipalities - including
Hamilton.
The history of how local government came to Newcastle is
explained simply by University of Newcastle Archivist Gionni di Gravio – read more
here.
The final meeting of the Hamilton Municipal Council
was held on 31 March, 1938.
The fine building owned by the Hamilton Council and
appropriate to its role, would now be rented out, along with its ground floor shops.
The Council had begun as a tenant, and now, stripped of its role, would be
simply a landlord.
Another shock to come
Beaumont Street, Hamilton was the epicentre of the 1989
earthquake that struck Newcastle.
.jpg)
Shops on Beaumont Street damaged by the 1989 earthquake
Photograph Courtesy of Newcastle Region Library - Earthquake Database
The fine clock tower which had become a Hamilton landmark
cracked.
Hamilton Municipal Building - crack in clock tower
Photograph by Gordon Finn, courtesy of Newcastle Region Library
The Municipal building was substantially rebuilt. Local historian Mrs Mavis Ebbott recalls that when the clock tower was replaced, something was different. It was not as high as it was before.
Perhaps the earthquake was a wake-up call not just for
Newcastle City Councillors, but also for Hamilton business people.
Soon steps were
being taken to rebalance the control exercised by the City Council. Vigorous
commercial centres like Hamilton wanted to have more say over their own destiny,
and the City was prepared to loosen the reins a little.
Under Newcastle’s
Mainstreet Program, Newcastle
City Council began collecting a special levy from businesses in a small number
of commercial centres including Hamilton. The funds could be pooled for projects
such as street beautification and community events, and were administered by a locally
based Committee of Council.
Partnership Now
In 2011, the partnership
was taken to another level. Independent Business Improvement Associations
(BIA), governed by a Constitution, were established. Council continues to
collect the special benefit rate on Hamilton’s behalf. Suburbs like Hamilton,
Mayfield and Wallsend can now initiate and administer a budget for projects
that strengthen their commercial centres as well as the community.
Each year a business
plan is presented by the Hamilton BIA to Newcastle Council for
its approval. This provides a series of initiatives on which the two organisations
can work together.
.JPG)
Clock Tower Markets were held regularly and enlivened Beaumont Street
until closure as a result of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic (2013)
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