Hurstville Museum and Gallery
Before Hurstville became a municipality, the area was originally inhabited by the Bidjigal people who lived along the shores of Botany Bay and Georges River. Middens have been found in these areas.The first land grants in the Parish of St George were to Captain John Townson – 1,950 acres, which included the present suburb of Hurstville and part of Bexley; Robert Townson got land grant covering Penshurst, Mortdale and parts of Peakhurst. John was granted a further 250 acres of land in Kingsgrove-Beverly Hills area in 1809. They were not happy with the land, as it was not suitable for wool production, and they probably never lived here.In 1812 some of the land was sold to trader Simeon Lord, and became known as ‘Lord’s Forest’. It was sparsely inhabited and used by timber getters and charcoal burners.In the 1850s, Michael Gannon bought 1,950 acres from the Lord’s Estate (for £732), and the area became known as ‘Gannon’s Forest’.Gannon also owned the toll-gate at the Cooks River. He donated land for a church, St Michael’s Church on the corner of Croydon Road.Hurstville name was first given to Hurstville School in 1876 by a school inspector who used to live at Goulburn, where there was a prominent house named ‘Hurstville’, home of a Rev Hurst. ‘Hurst’ literally means ‘wooded hill’. The centre of the village was opposite the public school.In 1884 the railway came to Hurstville, which was a crucial change, as the area was now only half an hour from the city. Land was rapidly subdivided and sold quickly. Hurstville was advertised as a healthy breezy location.The centre of town moved to the railway station and Forest Road developed into a shopping strip with department stores.Hurstville Municipal Council was formed in 1887. The population was 1,050. The first election was at the Blue Post Hotel. Population increased to more than 10,000 in 1917, and by 1934 it was nearly 23,000. Before Council amalgamation in 2016, Hurstville’ population was 77,237. The demographics of the area changed significantly in this time with significant influx of Chinese-born residents, as well as those born in Nepal, Philippines India and Greece.
HADUFS Pharmacy
Hurstville and District United Friendly Society Dispensary 17 MacMahon Street, Hurstville Opened in 1915, the Hurstville and District United Friendly Society Dispensary was a vital institution in the early 20th-century healthcare landscape of southern Sydney. Designed by local architect Charles Halstead, the building is a fine example of Federation-Edwardian architecture, featuring face brickwork in stretcher bond, white-painted roughcast walling, a hipped tiled roof, and exposed rafters, all hallmarks of the Arts and Crafts movement that influenced Australian architecture during this period (NSW State Heritage Inventory). The dispensary was more than just a pharmacy. It housed a drug-dispensary for affordable prescriptions, a lodge room for meetings of affiliated Friendly Society lodges, a residence for the dispenser, who lived above the shop. The Friendly Society operated as a non-profit mutual aid organisation, where members paid a small annual subscription to access free or low-cost prescriptions. This model was especially crucial during times of crisis. During the 1919–1920 influenza epidemic, and again throughout the Great Depression, the dispensary played a central role in maintaining public health in the district (Hurstville & Rockdale Friendly Society Ltd Overview). By 1936, the Hurstville dispensary had grown to become the second-largest in New South Wales, with: 7,000 members Eight qualified chemists Branches in Mortdale, Bexley, and Earlwood The Mortdale and Bexley branches opened simultaneously on 30 June 1928, and Earlwood followed with new premises in 1939 (Jubilee History of the Municipality of Hurstville, p.110). However, the landscape of healthcare began to shift in the mid-20th century. In 1964, the Federal Government froze membership of Friendly Societies in preparation for national health reforms (Friendly Societies Dispensaries Enabling Act 1945). The introduction of Medicare in the early 1980s made the Friendly Society model unsustainable in its original form. The Hurstville Society continued to serve existing members but sold the business side of the dispensary, retaining ownership of the historic two-storey building. The building was listed on the Register of the National Estate (Database No. 100978) for its architectural and social significance, preserving its legacy as a symbol of community care and resilience (NSW State Heritage Inventory).
Hurstville Entertainment Centre
Hurstville Civic Centre was officially opened on 2 January 1962 by the Governor of NSW, Sir Eric Woodward. It was part of the 75th anniversary of Hurstville Council. The modern building cost £320,000 to build, and the architects were Peddle, Thorp and Walker. It contained two halls with stage and lighting equipment, accommodating 1,250 people. A smaller auditorium held 480 people. There were also offices and meeting rooms, and the first Hurstville Library opened there in 1962. Today it’s known as the Hurstville Entertainment Centre and rooms can be hired by the public. In 1977, AC/DC performed at the venue. The main hall is the Marana, which means ‘place of stars’.
Moyarta
In this location was the house ‘Moyarta’, built in 1878 by Patrick MacMahon, an Irish importer. In 1883, he purchased land extending from MacMahon Street to Stoney Creek Road. Streets on the land are named after members of the MacMahon family – Dora, Patrick, Timothy, John, Heber, and Joan and Noeline. Another street, Dalcassia refers to the Irish clan from which the MacMahons descend, and Moyarta is a locality in County Clare where the family came from.Patrick MacMahon was an agitator for the railway to come to Hurstville, and read the welcoming address when the first train steamed into Hurstville in 1884. The railway led to land prices skyrocketing, and he soon subdivided his land to become very wealthy. He left the house to Timothy MacMahon, and then his son, Patrick Moore MacMahon, who lived there until 1940. Patrick Moore MacMahon was a well-known concert violinist, who was also a pioneering aviator. He flew his own plane to perform at concerts all over Australia. There is a local story that on one occasion he dropped off his house keys by dropping them from his plane wrapped in a hanky, onto the paddock at the rear of his house. In 1940 Moyarta was acquired by the Crakenthorpe family, and then in 1952 by Hurstville Council. It was demolished in 1959 to make way for the civic centre.
Commemorative Flagpole
Hurstville City Council celebrated the Centenary of Federation by dedicating a 24-metre flagpole outside Council Chambers on Australia Day 2001. Both the flagpole and Australian flag were in honour of all Australian men and women who served the country in all wars, and to their families who were left to mourn those who never returned.
Memorial Plaque
There is a plaque dedicated to two local war heroes – World War One soldier John Hamilton, VC, and World War Two nurse Lavinia Russell.Private Hamilton, a butcher from Penshurst, was awarded the VC for his bravery and disregard for personal safety at the Battle of Lone Pine in Gallipoli in 1915. He was the first Australian private, first New South Wales soldier, and at that time, aged 19, he was the youngest soldier to be awarded the VC.Lavinia Russell was born in 1909 and her family resided at 79 The Avenue, Hurstville. She was educated at St Mary’s Star of the Sea at Hurstville, and then St Vincent’s College at Potts Point. She trained as a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital, then mothercraft training at Crown Street Women’s Hospital and Tresillian at Vaucluse.She enlisted as an army nurse in 1941 and was sent to serve with the 10th AGH at Malaya. When the Japanese began attacking Singapore, nursing staff were ordered to evacuate. Nursing staff would have preferred to stay to attend to the many casualties, but on 12 February 1941 65 nurses embarked on the ship Vyner Brooke. It departed Singapore with 300 passengers on board. Two days into the journey, the ship was hit by Japanese aircraft, and sank within half an hour. Sister Russell drowned with eleven other nurses. Many of the passengers managed to get ashore at Banka Island, and surrendered to the Japanese. However, they were massacred by the Japanese, leaving only one survivor, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel.
Hurstville Fire Station
Fire Station27 MacMahon StreetSP 58395The story of fire protection in Hurstville begins in 1897[1], when the town’s first fire station was built on the corner of MacMahon and Dora Streets. It was a bold civic undertaking, with a volunteer brigade of fourteen men, one manual engine, a single horse, and 700 feet of hose. The first Captain was Thomas Wallace and the engine-keeper was J Griffin. Members of the Brigade in August 1897 were: Alderman F G Thompson, J Burnett, J Garthon, W G Drew, J Angus, J M Smith, W Paul, C King, H Blasbalk, T Wallace, J H Donahoe, Fred Brown, T Kirk, J Griffin and R Farr (secretary).[3] The memorial stone was laid by J.H. Carruthers on 20 November 1897 [2], and the station officially opened on 27 January 1898 before a crowd of over 600 people. The day was marked by a spirited tug-of-war between brigades from Rockdale, Kogarah, and Hurstville, which Hurstville won [4], and a comical greasy pig chase that went awry when the pig ate all the grease while locked inside the station.[5]The original station, a two-storey brick building with a 30-foot lookout tower, was designed by W.J. Thompson and built by John Curry and George Lee for £293. Captain Thomas Wallace led the brigade, with J. Griffin as engine-keeper. The Brigade’s ‘baptism of fire’ occurred on 21 September 1898 when it was called out to a fire at a weatherboard cottage in Ethel Street, Carlton It arrived simultaneously with the Kogarah Brigade and ten minutes before the Rockdale Brigade, but despite the efforts of the combined hoses, the cottage was completely destroyed.[6] Despite their enthusiasm, the brigade often arrived too late to save weatherboard homes, but played a vital role in protecting neighbouring properties.
Hurstville Church of Christ
The Church of Christ first started meeting in local halls, residents’ homes and tents in Hurstville, until in 1909 the purchased the land where the church was built. A school room and classrooms were added in 1915. A new chapel was built in 1959 and the stained glass windows were installed in 1960.
Former Hurstville Police Station
In 1909, Hurstville Police Station was built at 33 MacMahon Street. It had a lockup-keeper’s residence, three cells, an exercise yard, a charge room and an officer’s room. By 1910 the Hurstville force consisted of six uniformed police and one plain clothes officer. In 1930 the residence was converted into a sergeants’ room, records room, exhibit room and meals room. In 1972, an interview and fingerprint room was built on the exercise yard. By the 1980s, the building was outgrown, and premises across the road were leased. In 1993, the police moved into the emergency services building in Ormonde Parade. At that point there were 64 general duties police, 30 highway patrol officers and five civilian staff. The old police station was sold in 1993, and demolished. A cast-iron air vent topped by a royal crown was salvaged and is in the Hurstville Museum collection.The Historical marker read:"HURSTVILLE POLICE STATIONThis building, erected in 1909, has been in continuous use as a police station since that date.The first policeman was appointed to the Hurstville district in 1882."The marker was located at the police station, which was demolished in 1998.
Hurstville Civic Centre
On the corner of Dora and MacMahon Street, a dance-hall was opened in 1933, the Regent Palais. It was briefly a roller-skating rink in 1937. It had a grand re-opening in 1948 and changed its name to the Rivoli dance-hall. One lady recollected: “We would dance the night away to the band of Reg Rene – he was the best! Once a month, special nights were held and we would dress up for the special theme chosen.”In the 1950s about a thousand dancers a week would go to the Rivoli. “There were two barn dances each Saturday night, and at the end, Frank Marcy’s band would break into ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’, which would almost lift the roof of the building. The dances grew less popular by the 1970s, and Hurstville Council purchased and demolished the dance-hall in 1977. It then became the new Hurstville Library, which opened in 1982 and operated until 2001. Since 2001 it has been used as council offices.
Hurstville House, site of former Council Chambers
On this site stood the first Hurstville fire station until 1912. Hurstville Council then used the building as a council chambers. The original building was demolished in 1930 and replaced by five shops fronting Forest Road, and new Council Chambers fronting Dora and MacMahon Street, opened in 1931.These chambers served Hurstville Council until 1962, when the civic centre complex was opened. The premises were used temporarily as a bank, and then as a youth centre for the Police Citizens’ Boys’ Club. In 1973, Hurstville Council approved a project to develop the site, and in November 1975 Hurstville House, a five-storey office block, was opened. The pedestrian area in front of the building was remodelled in 2023.A statue of the author Miles Franklin (1879-1954) stood in front of the building from 2003 to 2023. She lived at Grey Street, Carlton from 1927 onwards, and occasionally rented office space in Hurstville in which to write her novels. Money from her estate funded the establishment of the literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award.
Willeth and Belbern House
Willeth House was built in 1935-36. It housed a dress shop, hairdresser, radio shop and café. It is described as “a good example of Art Deco streetscape above awning level. Original features retained include brickwork and render patterning, stepped parapet, reminiscent of a skyscraper.”
239-241 Forest Road
Built between 1921 and 1922 by local builder Frederick Rossiter, these six shops are a rare surviving example of Edwardian commercial architecture in the area. Their elegant brickwork, ornate parapets, and original detailing above the awnings still evoke the optimism and craftsmanship of the post–World War I era.Each shop tells its own story. Number 241 was constructed in 1920 for Rossiter’s uncle, Caleb Goode, who ran a bustling butcher shop here, a legacy still visible in the inscription “C Goode 1921” proudly etched on the parapet above. Next door, at number 239, a tea room and cake shop opened in 1922 for Mrs. Irene Walden, another member of the Rossiter family, offering sweet treats and a welcoming space for the local community.Together, these shops not only retain their Edwardian character but also serve as a living reminder of Hurstville’s early commercial heart, where family enterprise and architectural style went hand in hand 1 2.References: 1: NSW State Heritage Inventory, “239–241 Forest Road, Hurstville.”2: Hurstville Heritage Study, Hurstville City Council.
235 Forest Road, Hillard butcher shop
The Hillard family were pioneer butchers in the area. Tom Hillard senior had his original Hurstville Butchery on the corner of Forest Rod and Bridge Street as early as 1886. He and his brothers did slaughtering at yards in Stoney Creek Road, today’s Bexley Golf Course. He delivered meat from his horse-drawn vehicle over the Hurstville area. In 1922 he moved to this location at 235 Forest Road. His up-to-date premises were designed by well-known local architect, Charles Halstead. The entry had marble steps and flyproof swing doors. At the rear of the premises was machinery including a smoker, a sausage-maker, and a mincer. The shop was adjacent to the Post Office. Tom died in 1943, and the butchery was continued under the management of his son, Tom junior.
Diment's Way, site of former Diment's Emporium
Diment’s Lane marks the location of the produce and hardware store of Cornelius Diment. In its day it was the largest shop in Hurstville. In 1927 the business became a limited company, with Cornelius’s son, Arthur Diment as managing director. After his death in 1941, his wife Florence took over the management of the store.On former customer recollected: “Diment’s – now there was a shop for you! Santa was always there at Christmas. I remember one year they had a small camel in the store for the kids to ride. The staff were friendly and helpful too, and they served you.”
Site of former Barter's Store
Barter’s was a haberdashery emporium was established in 1921 by Charles Barter. It carried a wide range of haberdashery, manchester, fabrics, women’s and children’s wear. Its end-of-season sales attracted crowds of bargain-hunters.The staff wore black and white uniforms, and customers could expect personal service. The shop was noted for the quality of its window-dressing, with even the city buyers of Farmer’s store visiting to view them.In 1925 the Barters purchased adjacent land and built a three-storey store. It flourished until the mid-1980s, but in 1985, noting changing patterns of retail, the Hurstville store closed and the building was completely remodelled.
Hurstville Railway Station
Hurstville Railway Station was opened on 15 October 1884, as the first leg of the railway line to the Illawarra. This was the most significant development in Hurstville history, since it meant that the city was now only half an hour distant. It led to a huge land boom, with large estates and small farms being subdivided. It led to the business centre of Hurstville moving from opposite Hurstville School to the area adjacent to the station. The line was extended as far as Sutherland in 1885.In the early evening of 3 August 1920, there was a bad accident on the line, just outside Hurstville Station. A through train collided with a stationary train waiting for the signal to change. Five passengers were killed and fifteen injured. Local businessmen drove the injured to the Cottage Hospital at Kogarah.
Hurstville Supercentre
Hurstville Supercentre was the first shopping centre to be built above railway space, and it opened in 1965. It contained a Coles store, several specialty shops, and a railway booking office.
Hurstville War Memorial
The War Memorial commemorates all who have died in war from the Hurstville area. It was unveiled on 27 May 1922 by the Governor of NSW, Sir Walter Davidson. The memorial was paid for by community fundraising, which also paid for the building of the Hurstville Soldiers’ Memorial Hall (opened in 1929). It comprises a twelve-foot high Ionic column in trachyte (sourced from a quarry in Bowral), with the names of the fallen inscribed on panels around its base. The names of 173 men from the Hurstville area who gave their lives in WWI are recorded.Following WWII, a further dedication service took place on 25 November 1950, at which the names of fatalities were unveiled by the Governor of NSW, Sit John Northcott. The names of 138 men and one woman were added.
Bank of China, former Electricity House
Electricity House opened in 1939 as a branch office of the St George County Council, which at that time was the supplier of electricity to the St George area. It was built with a large showroom where you could buy electrical appliances, a demonstration theatre where cooking demonstrations were held, and a service counter. Some evidence of its former existence can be seen on the façade. It became a branch of the Bank of China.
Site of Former Jolley's Store
Bert Jolley opened a small tailor’s shop in Forest Road in 1907. He expanded into adjoining shops, and by 1927 he had department store with a total floor-space of more than 20,000 square feet, and a staff of 70 operating twenty departments. His window displays won city-wide prizes. Jolley’s had a refreshment room, and a hall used for mannequin parades and flower shows.In 1935 he built Jolley’s Arcade, containing twelve shops on either side of an arcade. Miles Franklin, the author, at one time leased office-space in the arcade to write her novels in.
Site of Former Open-Air Theatre and Hunt's Building
In 1910, Hurstville’s first cinema, the Hurstville Picture Palace opened in Crofts Avenue, on the site of the present-day Club Central. It was an open-air building, and played silent movies, accompanied by local pianist, Charles Mellier. The venue was covered by a canvas roof in 1912. One cinema-goer recalled: “Another wonderful treat for us was when our father took us to the open-air Picture Palace at the end of Diment’s Lane in Hurstville. It was three pence for each of the children, sixpence for adults, and of course we always hoped it wouldn’t rain as only half of the seating area was under cover.” In 1930 the venue became a mini-golf course, and was later redeveloped.In 1952, a Ford motor vehicle dealership opened on the site, operated by the Hunt brothers. It was a five-storey building, with the ground and first floor as showrooms, and the basement as car servicing. A feature of the business were its identically dressed women garage attendants.In 2003 the building was demolished, and the multi-storey Illawarra Catholic Club building, incorporating offices, bars and a restaurant was opened.
