Carss Bush Park is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

located at 74 Carwar Avenue, in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of Carss Park,

Georges River Council Georges River Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the St George (Sydney), St George region of Sydney located south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia.

History

Carss Bush Park is situated on a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

made to Jonathan Croft of on 28 January 1853. Within ten months Croft sold the land to William Barton on 17 October 1853 for

A£ The pound (Currency symbol, sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 Shilling (Australian ...

352. This land speculation was to continue for another two years with sales in June 1854 to John Chappellow, for A£538 and in September 1855 to Lewis Gordon possibly in default of a mortgage. Gordon sold the to William Carss on 7 January 1863 for A£540. Carss was one of fifty tradesmen (stonemasons and carpenters) who had been recruited in Glasgow by Dr

John Dunmore Lang John Dunmore Lang (25 August 1799 – 8 August 1878) was a Scottish-born Australian Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, politician and activist. He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian rep ...

. Carss arrived in

in 1831 accompanied by his wife Helen Turnball. A cabinet maker by trade he found work as the chief carpenter and joiner for the construction of ''Lyndhurst'' under

John Verge John Verge (1782–1861) was an English architect, builder, pioneer settler in the New South Wales, Colony of New South Wales, who migrated to Australia and pursued his career there. Verge was one of the earliest and the most important architec ...

, architect. Located within the park in the heritage-listed Carss Cottage, believed to have been built by December 1865, when Carss changed his address to the 'George's River, Kogarah'. The house is reputed to have been constructed by the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

s who had been employed in the construction of

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour), St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulbu ...

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

buildings. The stone was reported to be quarried on site from a huge rock in the vicinity of the present-day Norfolk Island pine tree. William Carss died on 26 May 1878. He was survived by his children Mary, Anne and James. There was also a housekeeper called Amelia Claggett. Carss was buried in the vault near the present day recreation centre. Carss' wife died in 1853. The property was transferred to the daughters Mary and Anne on 1 August 1878. This was subsequently amended on 3 April 1879 solely to Mary. On Mary Carss' death in 1916 the cottage was bequeathed to the Sydney Sailors' Home apparently in accordance with her father's wish. The transfer however did not eventuate until after James' death in the following year. James married the housekeeper, Amelia Claggett, on his death bed. Amelia Claggett remained in the cottage until she was forced to vacate taking most of the furniture with her. In the mid 1920s the trustees of the Sydney Sailors' Home sold the property to the Kogarah Council for A£12,000. The estate was divided into recreational and residential spaces. The portion that was reserved for park purposes was opened and dedicated on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

1924 and the remaining 374 suburban lots were offered for sale that day. In September 2019 the George River Council announced news on the progress of a contraction of an environmentally friendly seawall, made of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, that will operate as an intertidal rock platform, and a piered boardwalk and small boat ramp in the park.

References

External links

* at

* * {{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse Parks in Sydney Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Parks established in the 1920s Protected areas established in 1924 1924 establishments in Australia

History

See also

References

External links