Welcome to the website of Hornsby Shire Historical Society Inc.
The objectives of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society are to encourage the study of the history of Hornsby Shire, to foster an interest in the history of Hornsby Shire, to compile authentic records, and to collect, preserve and exhibit objects which have affected, and will continue to affect, the lifestyle and occupations of the residents of Hornsby Shire, both past and present.
Members’ meetings, to which all interested local residents are welcome, are held at the museum (Joseph Collingridge Hall, Kenley Rd. Normanhurst), on the third Sunday of each month (except December), commencing at 2:00pm. The meetings include a short HSHS general business meeting, followed by a guest speaker. A variety of historical subjects are covered throughout the year. Visitors are invited to stay for afternoon tea at the conclusion of the meeting. See below for upcoming meetings.
Please note that membership fees are due in June.
Meetings
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday 21st June. Guests are welcome. Our speaker will be Michael Bell, the President of the Dural and District Historical Society, who will talk to us about the history of Galston Gorge and the importance of the McDonald truss bridge.
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday 19th July. Guests are welcome. Our speaker will be John Brock on how the name of Great South Land was changed to Australia.
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday August 16th. Guests are welcome. Carol Liston will speak on Convict Women in Parramatta.
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday 20th September. Guests are welcome. Our speaker will be Anni Turnbull, talking about the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday 18th October. Guests are welcome. Our speaker, Paul Ashton, will speak on the Planning of Sydney from Go to Woe.
HSHS Meeting – 2pm on Sunday November 15th. Guests are welcome. Liz Roberts will talk about the Great North Road.
HSHS DUPLICATE BOOKS FOR SALE.
We have a number of duplicate books in our library that are for sale. The price is for pickup at our museum in Kenley Park, Normanhurst on the days on which we open. Postage can be arranged at cost price. Please click HERE to view the books we have for sale.
Community members, railway enthusiasts and history fans are invited to discover the mysteries of the Thornleigh Zig Zag Railway on a guided tour on Sunday November 9th. This walk will be led by the local historian and author of Zig Zag Away, Tim Sowden, on behalf of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society and will be the last such walk this year. Attendees will trace the route from Thornleigh Station, along local streets towards Zig Zag Creek, and to the site of a quarry which operated in the late 19th Century, before passing the site of Hall’s Camp, a temporary workers’ township now long forgotten. Built a few years after the well-known Zig Zag railways in the Blue Mountains, the Thornleigh Zig Zag was a temporary quarry line that played a small but vital role in building the Great Northern Railway. The line was designed to bring crushed sandstone up from a nearby quarry to use as track ballast.
Upcoming walks are:-
Saturday 6 June, 9-11am
Sunday 7 June, 2-4pm
Saturday 25 July, 9-11am
Sunday 26 July, 2-4pm
The cost is $15 per person or $30 with the book on the Thornleigh railway included. Children under 16 or members of the Hornsby Shire Historical Society are free.
To book a place, call Tim on 0422 99 33 73.
New Book Releases
NEW BOOK ON THE SHIRE’S ROADS
Pathways to Freeways, a history of the main roads in the Hornsby Shire, is the latest publication from the Hornsby Shire Historical Society. Collated over several years, this book details the mains roads right across the Hornsby Shire and includes many quality historical photos from the recently released Transport for NSW archives.
Roads covered in detail include Old Northern Road, New Line Road, Beecroft Road, Pennant Hills Road, Comenarra Parkway, Galston Road, the Pacific Highway and Brooklyn Road. Also included are the M1, M2 and NorthConnex Tunnels. Other sections of the book detail Thompsons Corner, Pearces Corner, Hookhams Corner, Duffy Avenue, Somerville Road, Pretoria Parade and much more.
Enquiries regarding the purchase of the Pathways to Freeways book for $50 can be made by contacting Nathan at nathan.tilbury@bigpond.com or 0403 227 560 with free delivery to anyone in the Hornsby Shire. For outside the Hornsby Shire postage is available for a fee.
Robert Green has recently published a three-volume, 650-page book set for the Society on the history of the suburb of Hornsby Heights, covering the area north from Hookhams Corner through to Galston Gorge and Crosslands. Although not officially named until 1939, the settlement of the present-day suburb of Hornsby Heights dates back to 1917. The area north of Hookhams Corner to present-day Sutton Street off Galston Road was subdivided and progressively sold from 1886, while land
at Crosslands was purchased in 1831.
This comprehensive history took four years to research. The first and second printings have sold out. Should we get enough people interested in obtaining a hard copy of the book, we may consider a third printing. As an alternatively, a single-volume 650 page digital (pdf) file is available on a USB stick for $40. The advantage of a digital copy is the ability to do specific word searches. This history contains 20 chapters covering specific areas of interest within the suburb, viz., Hookhams Corner, Galston Gorge, Crosslands, the Hopeville Settlement, creeks, businesses, utilities and services, schools, parks and playgrounds, churches, heritage-listed houses and places, sporting and community organisations, people of note, accidents, incidents and bushfires, a history of all the street names north of Hookhams Corner, plans of all the first land titles and names and details of the first landowners for the entire area.
Hornsby Shire Historical Society Inc. 