I had some spear time while in Newtown, and decided to visit the horse trough in Camperdown Park. I had seen it before, but had not realised it was a horse trough, since the actual trough part of it had been filled in with concrete.
The historic horse trough is now marked as the “Sullivan RSPCA Memorial”. As well as the horse trough, at each end are smaller troughs for dogs.
And there is a sign honouring James Sullivan.
This Memorial Website tells the sad and brave story of James Sullivan, a young groom, who tried to save his employees horse during a fire at the stables. He saved some horse but dies when he entered the stables again to rescue more. This was in 1924. Here is an old newspaper report –
It seems the original site of the tragedy was behind the old Camperdown Children’s Hospital in Pyrmont Bridge Road, and the horse trough was originally placed near the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Parramatta Road. It must have been later moved to Camperdown Park, and at some later time filled in.
I then walked up to St Steven’s Church at Newtown and looked in the historic graveyard.
One historic grave I found was that of Edmund Blacket and his wife Sarah. Edmund was a famous colonial architect. He designed the original building for many churches and Sydney University. He was the g great uncle to Patrick Blackett – the famous UK Nobel Prize winning physicist. He was also the father of Owen Blacket – who once ran an engineering business at the old Cooks River Sugar Mill building.