15th May 2020 Edition One. In this edition: President's Message, Newsletter from Julian Leeser MP.,
Letter from Hornsby Councillor Emma Heyde, Suburban Anzac Day Services, The Great North Epping Art Trail,
Proposed Child Care Centre in Cheltenham,
The Spanish Flu Epidemic 100 years ago, Recent Development Applications.
Latest Police Reports.
Message from the President I
hope everyone is coping with the current situation. While restrictions
are finally being relaxed, I still can’t see a light at the end of the
tunnel. While due to the lockdown, my Trust workload has over the
past 3 months to some extent diminished, it has created other problems
centring on communication. We have the technology to assist but it isn’t
the same as a good face to face meeting.
As promised previously I have published below the feedback I received on
the Spanish Flu epidemic that reached NSW after WW1. Also below, I have
reminded you about the proposed development for a child care centre at
the corner of Beecroft and Cheltenham Roads. Normally I don’t repeat
notices about commercial developments but I believe this proposal
warrants further publicity. This proposed development is inconsistent
with our heritage precinct. The house is an excellent example of inter
war housing and the current heritage listing of the front garden
provides insufficient protection for the rest of the property. I
encourage you to look at the property, visualise what the proposed
development will look like, and, if you agree with me, send an objection
to Hornsby Council.
Pictures of the interior of this property can be viewed on the "realestate.com.au" website. CLICK HERE.
Finally, please keep up the required physical distancing and regularly wash your hands.
Julian Leeser MP. Newsletter dated May 12th 2020 The Trust's policy is that we will publish submitted newsletters from any of our elected representatives. CLICK HERE
Councillor Emma Heyde's Report dated May 13th 2020 The Trust's policy is that we will publish submitted newsletters from any of our elected representatives. CLICK HERE
Library Service Hornsby Shire Council has announced a Pick and Drop library service. CLICK HERE for more details.
Anzac Day Celebrations Many Beecroft and Cheltenham residents celebrated Anzac Day from the bottom of their driveways at 6AM on Saturday the 25th April. The occasion was deemed to be so successful that driveway services look set to be repeated for future Anzac Days. Chapman Ave Beecroft
The Great North Epping Art Trail – Saturday 23rd May 2020
Proposed Child Care Centre in Cheltenham - update Hornsby
Council has so far received sufficient objections for this DA to be
determined by the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP), as
opposed to being determined under delegated authority by staff. Even
though the exhibition period has ended, Hornsby Council is still obliged
to accept objections.
This Development Application (DA259/2020), lodged with Hornsby Council,
proposes to convert the property known as 181-183 Beecroft Road, at the
corner of Cheltenham Road, into a child care centre. To view the various
documents CLICK HERE.
This property is of exceptional quality that contributes to the Beecroft
Cheltenham Conservation Area. The DA proposes altering the existing
house and constructing an additional structure between the rear of the
house and the adjoining heritage listed former church at 179 Beecroft
Road, which is currently being converted into another child care centre.
The Trust has objected to the DA on heritage grounds and has also
requested an Interim Heritage Order to be placed on the property. CLICK HERE and then CLICK HERE to access the Trust’s correspondence to Council.
If you wish to make a submission to Council, CLICK HERE
Dear Mr Walker,
I write at the urging of my friend Lee Owens, who has suggested that I
(as a historian of world epidemics) might add something to your thoughts
on the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. What I have understood has centered
on Sydney and its traffic with New Zealand. The second wave of the flu
(the most devastating for much of the world) touched on Sydney through
the troopship "Medic" [wonderful name!] that reached Sydney after
picking up troops in NZ. New Zealand had by then experienced the
flu pandemic (as Australia had not) and some 200 troops picked up in
Wellington carried flu with them back to Sydney. The resultant infection
at the North Head quarantine was apparently contained in December, but
by January the quarantine station was overwhelmed by the numbers of
returning troops from Europe, and somehow--I assume--the quarantine that
had kept the "second wave" out of Australia then broke down In January,
when what's conventionally called the third wave of the pandemic then
reached Australia.
This may make some place for your memory of the renegade AWOL
from barracks in Victoria; maybe as good a story as any other. Or
did some of those quarantined at North Head just escape? Who can
say? Will we ever know? I don't.
I hope this helps.
Jo Hays [from Chicago]
Dear Ross,
I liked your account of the homesick WW1 soldier who left the Victorian
Barracks for Sydney, inadvertently spreading Spanish Flu, so I did a
quick search. It seems that a soldier travelling by ship from Melbourne
to Sydney might have been infected by a fellow passenger. Seven other
soldiers were also admitted with symptoms around the same time. One of
these might have been the AWOL soldier you described, but it seems
unlikely that he would not have been the only source of Spanish Flue
infection in Sydney.
The New South Wales Government claimed that it was thanks in part to the
precautionary measures and planning it had developed (including
state-wide free inoculation),7 that the State remained free of pneumonic influenza cases up to the end of 1918.8 By late January 1919, however, at least 326 cases and 49 deaths, had been reported at the quarantine station.9
Then, on 24 January 1919, a “suspicious case of illness” of a soldier at
No. 4 Military General Hospital at Randwick, was reported to the NSW
Department of Health. The soldier, identified only as ‘S.L.’, had
travelled from Melbourne by ship four days before, sharing a compartment
with a civilian who was “very ill with aches and pains and a high
temperature”.10 S.L. became ill himself on 22 January
and was admitted to hospital. Within forty-eight hours three nurses
treating him at the hospital also became ill, and during this time,
seven other soldiers who had travelled to Sydney from Melbourne were
admitted with the same symptoms. The Director-General of Public Health,
Dr Robert Thomas Paton, along with other medical experts, visited the
patients on 27 January and formally diagnosed the cases as pneumonic
influenza.
Regards,
Trevor Case
Recent Development Applications The
Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust's Web Site now has links to recently
submitted Development Applications in the 2119 postcode area. This
page will be updated with every eNews publication. CLICK HERE To access them.
Latest Police Reports CLICK HERE
for the latest reports. Just a reminder that these reports are
regularly provided by the Ryde Police Area Command which includes the
entire suburbs of Beecroft & Cheltenham.
Annual Memberships for 2020 became due in March... CLICK HERE
Keep our two suburbs strong and informed by being a member!
To support or join the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust, please visit our website. CLICK HERE.The
eNews has become our main method for disseminating information to the
community. Currently we have over 1090 email addresses. We
encourage residents who receive the eNews to tell their neighbours and
friends. The eNews letter is available to all who subscribe.
Trust Membership is not a requirement.
The eNews archives are available HERE. To subscribe to the eNews: CLICK HERE.The Trust has always had an unwritten policy to assist any resident regardless of their membership status.
