Ashfield & District Historical Society

Walking tour of the historic Federal Fyle Heritage Conservation Area
2026-03-22 14:00 - 16:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Bruce Street Reserve, Cnr Elizabeth Street and Liverpool Road, Ashfield, NSW, 2131, Australia
Exactly half-way between Summer Hill & Ashfield Stations.

Start location = The Bruce Street Reserve at the corner of Elizabeth St and Liverpool Road.

This event for March 22 has been fully booked but we will be repeating the walk on April 12.. Please register for this event.

Members, especially those who attended Kerry’s presentation at the AGM of her book “Early Settlers, Speculators and Houses” will have the opportunity of visiting this fascinating small Heritage Conservation Area under guidance of the author, a resident and passionate advocate of its history. Blocks from the sale of part of the Canterbury Estate in 1841 were eagerly bought up by a mix of characters, many with interesting pasts, several with significant futures. Erected on these blocks were some of the earliest houses, over a decade before the railway was constructed.

The buildings remaining from this early activity are complemented by a mostly harmonious group of well-designed and built properties, some sympathetically maintained by proud owners.

A fascinating enclave in the middle of bustling modern Ashfield.

Repeat Walking tour of the historic Federal Fyle Heritage Conservation Area
2026-04-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Bruce Street Reserve, Cnr Elizabeth Street and Liverpool Road, Ashfield, NSW, 2131, Australia
Start location = The Bruce Street Reserve at the corner of Elizabeth St and Liverpool Road.

Many members were disappointed at missing out on the first walking tour so Kerry has agreed to repeat of the March 22 walk. Please register for this event.

Members, especially those who attended Kerry’s presentation at the AGM of her book “Early Settlers, Speculators and Houses” will have the opportunity of visiting this fascinating small Heritage Conservation Area under guidance of the author, a resident and passionate advocate of its history. Blocks from the sale of part of the Canterbury Estate in 1841 were eagerly bought up by a mix of characters, many with interesting pasts, several with significant futures. Erected on these blocks were some of the earliest houses, over a decade before the railway was constructed.

The buildings remaining from this early activity are complemented by a mostly harmonious group of well-designed and built properties, some sympathetically maintained by proud owners.

A fascinating enclave in the middle of bustling modern Ashfield.

$5 Cash only on the day

The GreenWay and Long Cove Creek - A Guided Walk uncovering Layers of Change #1.
2026-04-19 13:00 - 15:00 | Johnson Park Dulwich Hill, Rocket Street Library, Dulwich Hill, NSW, 2203, Australia
The newly connectedGreenWay path passes through an extraordinary urban landscape with dense local history. It is an ecological corridor as well as an active transport route and outdoor classroom. Join us on this tour exploring the complex relationships between our society, the biodiversity corridor, the often hidden Long Cove Creek, and the surrounding built environment.

Meeting: 1pm at the rocket at the Eastern end of Johnson Park, Dulwich Hill (beside Arlington Light Rail stop on the L1 line).Choice of two Dates (the same tour will be repeated): Sunday 19th April or Sunday 17th May 2026Tour End: Parramatta Road (beside Taverners Hill Light Rail stop)Duration: Approximately 2 hours (with option to extend for those who wish to continue to Iron Cove).

Your Tour Leaders:Alex Lofts – former Ashfield Councillor and Chair of the GreenWay Community ForumMark Sabolch – author of the “Hawthorne Canal, The History of Long Cove Creek” and member of first IWEG bushcare group

Mark Matheson – read all the records of the former Petersham Municipal Council and produced the booklet “Victorian Villas” which won the National Trust Heritage Award of that year.

Susan Thompson – Professor of Planning at UNSW; Educator using the GreenWay as an outdoor classroom (read more here).

Copies of the book “Hawthorne Canal, The History of Long Cove Creek” and “Victorian Villas” will be available to purchase.

Register: Click on the Register Button above..

Bring / Wear: A water bottle; wear closed-in walking shoes and sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen)

The GreenWay and Long Cove Creek – A Guided Walk uncovering Layers of Change. #2
2026-05-17 13:00 - 15:00 | Johnson Park Dulwich Hill, Rocket Street Library, Dulwich Hill, NSW, 2203, Australia
The newly connected GreenWay path passes through an extraordinary urban landscape with dense local history. It is an ecological corridor as well as an active transport route and outdoor classroom. Join us on this tour exploring the complex relationships between our society, the biodiversity corridor, the often hidden Long Cove Creek, and the surrounding built environment.

Meeting: 1pm at the rocket at the Eastern end of Johnson Park, Dulwich Hill (beside Arlington Light Rail stop on the L1 line).Choice of two Dates (the same tour will be repeated): Sunday 19th April or Sunday 17th May 2026Tour End: Parramatta Road (beside Taverners Hill Light Rail stop)Duration: Approximately 2 hours (with option to extend for those who wish to continue to Iron Cove).

Your Tour Leaders:Alex Lofts – former Ashfield Councillor and Chair of the GreenWay Community ForumMark Sabolch – author of the “Hawthorne Canal, The History of Long Cove Creek” and member of first IWEG bushcare group

Mark Matheson – read all the records of the former Petersham Municipal Council and produced the booklet “Victorian Villas” which won the National Trust Heritage Award of that year.

Susan Thompson – Professor of Planning at UNSW; Educator using the GreenWay as an outdoor classroom (read more here).

Copies of the book “Hawthorne Canal, The History of Long Cove Creek” and “Victorian Villas” will be available to purchase.

Register: Sign up details (ADHS website).

Bring / Wear: A water bottle; wear closed-in walking shoes and sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen)

The mysterious world of Land Surveying, the meaning of the survey marks, presented by Heritage Land Surveyor Kevin Song
2026-06-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Summer Hill Community Centre, 131 Smith Street, Summer Hill, NSW
Heritage Land Surveyor Kevin Song will lead us in to the mysterious world of Land Surveying, the meaning of the survey marks we see in odd places, and the arcane process of land identification.

The connection between Ashfield, Summer Hill, the rabbit plagues, and the Australian Steel Industry
2026-07-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Summer Hill Community Centre, 131 Smith Street, Summer Hill, NSW
Ashfield, Summer Hill, and the Rabbit Plague

For over 100 years, the Lysaght Wire Mill at Chiswick produced most of Australia’s fencing materials, significantly the wire netting of which thousands of Kilometres was used in rabbit-control fencing, in a never-quite-successful attempt to eradicate these cute, fluffy introduced creatures which were determined to destroy our farming industry.Ashfield and Summer Hill, perhaps surprisingly, played a part in the battle to control the burgeoning population of these pests, being heavily involved in the distribution of Lysaght’s products throughout Australia during much of last century.Much of engineer Brian Gray’s working life was spent in this industry, and his travels and experiences facilitating effective use of these products in the unending pursuit of the pesky rabbits provide him with much to tell us about this phase of our local history.

History Week: The Evolution of the Federation Style
2026-09-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Summer Hill Community Centre, 131 Smith Street, Summer Hill, NSW
Mark Sabolch will explore the cultural trends that enabled the Federation style to replace the formerly popular Victorian Italianate

Tour of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd Sisters at Glentworth, Ashfield.
2026-10-04 14:00 - 16:00 | Chapel of the Good Shepherd Sisters, 137 Victoria Street, Ashfield, New South Wales
Daf Hewson, a Society member,will lead guided viewing of accessible parts of Glentwoth House and the Cardinal Freeman Village, followed by Choral Vespers in the magnificent Chapel afterwards. Meeting point to be advised..

This stunning Romanesque Revival Chapel was built by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1942. Glentworth is one of Ashfield’s largest old mansions and is a heritage listed property. It was built in 1886 for Frederick Clissold, who was a member of the first Ashfield Council and owned much vacant land in the municipality.

House Inspection; Caroline Stott’s remarkable Federation house in Tintern Road
2026-10-18 14:00 - 16:00 | NSW
A close view of Caroline Stott’s remarkable Federation house in Tintern Road. Mark Sabolch and Caroline will collaborate in explaining significant features of the style

Address in Tintern Road will be emailed to participants

"How and why did the Burra Charter come into existence in 1979?". The Writing of the Burra Charter; Bronwyn Hanna
2026-11-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Summer Hill Community Centre, 131 Smith Street, Summer Hill, NSW
This presentation aims to explain why the Burra Charter has been so influential on the way heritage is conceived and practised across the globe and also offers insights into the broader history of heritage practice in Australia.

The Burra Charter was the result of two weekends of concentrated discussion in 1979 by a small committee of Australia ICOMOS experts. Subsequent revisions were made by ICOMOS members in 1999 and 2013.

Dr Bronwyn Hanna is a heritage consultant who trained as an Australianarchitectural historian at the University of Sydney, completed a PhD on the history of women architects in NSW in 1999 at UNSW, and co-authored two books on the topic. She has worked for government, industry and community groups on many heritage places including the Sydney Opera House, the Parramatta Female Factory and the Brewarrina Fish Traps.
