| Historical notes: | The original owners of the land within the Marrickville Council area were the Cadigal and Wangal clans of the coastal Eora people. They spoke Eora, which may have been a dialect of the Dharug (Darug) language, though sources differ on this point. With the establishment of the penal colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 the dispossession of the original inhabitants was begun. In 1789 a smallpox plague decimated the Aboriginal population, though descendants of the Cadigal and Wangal people still reside within the Sydney metropolitan area.
In May 1793 Captain George Johnston of the New South Wales Corps was granted 100 acres south of Parramatta Road (in the area now known as Stanmore, which became known in the late 19th century as South Annandale), which he named Annandale Farm. Adjacent to what is now Johnstons Creek, it was supplemented by two smaller grants in 1794. Johnston was granted an additional 290 acres in 1798, which extended Johnston’s land north to the shores of Sydney Harbour (covering the area now known as Annandale, known in the late 19th century as North Annandale). It is believed that Annandale House, which was built south of Parramatta Road in the vicinity of Macaulay Road, Stanmore, was constructed in about 1799. The 430 acres of Annandale Farm became the nucleus of extensive farming interests for the Johnston family, which stretched as far as the Monaro.
Annandale Farm was one of the most important sites in Australian colonial history. Captain George Johnston played key roles in the suppression of the Vinegar Hill uprising and in the Rum Rebellion. He and his family played a significant part in the development of pastoralism in Australia.
When George Johnston died in 1823 his common-law wife Esther Abrahams was left a life interest in Annandale Farm, which would ultimately be inherited by their son Robert Johnston. Esther attempted to lease the property and court proceedings taken against her in 1829 found her to be "not of sound mind". Esther moved to another family property, "Lockwood" while Robert Johnston occupied Annandale Farm, from where he superintended his extensive squatting interests.
As Sydney developed, Annandale Farm, with its stately avenue of Norfolk Island pines (the earliest avenue of Norfolk Island pines in mainland Australia (these were seedlings sent by Captain Piper to the Johnstons in 1804) and attractive gardens, was a notable landmark on Parramatta Road. Like the Macarthur’s Elizabeth Farm House at Parramatta, the Annandale Farm House was extended throughout the 19th century. By the 1870s much of the land surrounding Annandale Farm had been subdivided. In 1877 subdivision of North Annandale was commenced and shortly thereafter John Young bought the whole of North Annandale from Robert Johnston. A railway station opened at Stanmore in 1878. With Robert Johnston’s death in 1882 the way was clear for wholesale subdivision. The first subdivision, the "South Annandale Estate" was auctioned on Saturday 20 September 1884. It included the area bounded by Bruce Street, Gordon Crescent, Stanley Street and Albany Road.
The second sale at South Annandale was on Saturday 21 November 1885. It included Albany Road from Stanley Street to Charles Street, Temple Street and Stanley Street. By then the whole of Douglas Street and Gordon Crescent, from Stanley Street to Bruce Street had been sold. When the "South Annandale First Subdivision" was auctioned on 19 November 1892, it included all of the area bounded by Bruce Street, Albany Road, Percival Road and Gordon Crescent. By then most of the 1885 subdivision had sold. In 1886 Fanny Johnston, Robert Johnston’s widow, donated £3,000 for the construction of an elaborate station building at Stanmore railway station to attract purchasers to the South Annandale subdivisions.
"South Annandale Estate", the blocks south of Salisbury Road (to the north of the 2nd Subdivision West Kingston Estate) and east of Bridge Road were sold on November 30 1901. In 1902 most of the blocks between Myrtle and Temple Streets were still in the ownership of the Johnston Estate. By 1907 Joseph Boss & Son had purchased a block in this area. Boss & Son purchased two further blocks from T.F. Thompson and in 1910 they built a brick bakery and three shops on the combined site. The total value of the building works was about £3,000.
In late 1913 or early 1914 the property was purchased by the NSW Government and became the State Bakery, with Joseph Boss remaining as manager. The purchase price was £8,200 and additions to plant and vehicles brought the price to nearly £12,000. (Argus, 2 March 1916, p. 6) The State Bakery was a successful venture and in the 1915-1916 financial year made a net profit of £3,172. It joined a growing collection of state enterprises, including the State Abattoir, State Brickworks, State Timber Depot and (in 1915) State Trawlers. Though some of these enterprises had begun under conservative governments, the first NSW Labor administration of James McGowen in 1911 had accelerated this trend. The Labor Party’s aim was probably not the nationalisation of industry, but the use of State enterprises to regulate the market and prevent profiteering. A staple like bread was an obvious candidate for this kind of intervention.
It was also the subject of some controversy. There were allegations of purchases of wheat from outside the farmers’ pool, while allegations that Attorney General Hall had acted improperly were unproven. The State Bakery was used for training and testing of the 3rd Australian Field Bakery in 1916. By 1920 W.T. Wells replaced Joseph Boss as manager.
With the defeat of Labor in 1922, the future of the State Bakery was in some doubt. The State Trawlers had lost over £200,000 and were quickly disposed of. About 1925 the State Bakery was sold to Jacob Lauder Raith, who used the premises to establish the Automatic Bread Baking Company (ABBCO). Raith and ABBCO were granted several patents, from 1927 to 1930 relating to mechanisation of bread baking and wrapping. ABBCO was one of the largest independent bread bakers in Sydney for many years, though by 1943 they were operating from a premises in Leichhardt. |
