Camden Dreamtime

The Camden Progress Association and a search for a utopia

Camden is like many country towns across Australia. The civic fathers from the town's foundation in 1840 sought progress and development for the community. There was a desire for constant improvement.

The Camden News had numerous references to the town's progress, and the civic fathers founded the Camden Progress Association.  The association held the first meeting in November 1896 with the aim of town improvements. The association was still active in the early 20th century.

The notion of progress assumes that you are going somewhere or working towards some type of endpoint, a goal. What were the Camden's civic fathers working towards in the 1890s? 

One view of the Camden Progress Association was that they searched for a desired or perfect state of their world. It could be argued that they were in search of mythical utopia where everything was in a perfect or desired state.

Nepean River at Camden at a spot called Little Sandy. (CIPP)

This view of the world dates from the time of the Enlightenment and assumes that time is linear and irreversible. Ancients thought differently about the world. The Ancient Greeks and others thought the time was cyclical based around decay and rebirth.

The Camden civic fathers were from a British cultural tradition that viewed time as a linear progression. In what became known as the Whig interpretation of history, especially in the Victorian and Edwardian times,  human history was seen as the progress from savagery and ignorance toward peace, prosperity, and science.

Wikipedia states:

Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents the past as an inevitable progression towards ever greater liberty and enlightenment, culminating in modern forms of liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy. In general, Whig historians emphasize the rise of constitutional government, personal freedoms and scientific progress.

Underpinning these notions was an accompanying cultural tradition that that world was constructed in terms of binary oppositions, for example, good/evil, black/white, big/small, dark/light, on/off, hot/cold, ugly/beautiful, right/wrong, chaos/order, life/death, love/hate, male/female, hero/coward, young/old, confinement/freedom, and others. 

One of the first to argue over life in this fashion was ancient Greek philosopher Plato and much later in the 19th-century German philosopher GWF Hegel. Here is the concept was called dialectics.

All cultures have some version of binary opposition and in Chinese philosophy and religion yin is represented by negative, dark, feminine and yang by positive, bright, masculine. 

American historian Christopher Lasch that the ideological twin of progress was nostalgia. Nostalgia involves 'the pastoral' is an idea dating from the Ancient Greeks and in literature is relates to the idyll of rural life and usually involves shepherds herding flocks of sheep in open paddocks.

In his book Hunters and Collectors, Australian historian Tom Griffiths argues there have been nostalgia wave in Australia in the 1850s, 1890s, 1930s, 1970s prompted by 'loss, depression or disruption'. In each of these waves of nostalgia, people were searching for a past.

characterised by popular yearnings for the intimate world of early colonial beginnings for lost rural places.  (Griffiths: p.197

In the 1930s the Camden community searched for the Englishness of their past, as they were in the 1840s and 1890s. Nostalgia re-appeared in Camden in the 1980s when increased urbanisation sent the Camden community in search of their own lost rural Arcadia. 

 'A Country Town Idyll' at Camden

Sydney’s urban expansion into the local area has challenged the community’s identity and threatened to suffocate Camden’s sense of place. In the face of this onslaught, many in Camden yearn for a lost past when Sydney was further away, times were simpler, and life was slower. A type of rural Arcadia, which I have called ‘a country town idyll’.

Camden John Street with a view of St John Church in the 1890s. This view was taken by Charles Kerry (CIPP)

 The ‘country town idyll’ is an idealised version of a country town from an imagined past that uses history to construct imagery based on Camden’s heritage buildings and other material fabric.


At the heart of the idyll is the view that Camden should retain its iconic imagery of a picturesque country town with the church on the hill, surrounded by a rustic rural landscape made up of the landed estates of the colonial gentry.


Its supporters created the idyll to isolate Camden, like an island, in the sea of urbanisation and development that has enveloped the town.





Curran's Hill housing development in the 1990s (Camden Images)

 These are the values that the supporters of Camden’s ‘country town idyll’ have encouraged and then expressed in the language they used to describe it.


They talk about retaining Camden’s ‘country town atmosphere’, or retaining ‘Camden’s country charm’, or ‘country town character’. They describe the town as being ‘picturesque’, or having ‘charming cottages’.


Camden is a working country town’, or is simply ‘my country town’. These elements evoke an emotional attachment to a place that existed in the past when Camden was a small quiet country town that relied on farming for its existence.



Argyle Street Camden 1938 (Camden Images)

The origins of the ‘country town idyll’ are to be found in the rural ethos that is drawn from within the nineteenth-century rural traditions brought from Great Britain, where there was a romantic view of the country, that had an ordered, stable, comfortable organic small community in harmony with the natural surroundings.


Elements of this rural culture have been variously described as 'countrymindedness', 'rural ideology', 'rural ethos', 'ruralism', and a 'rural idyll'. They have been a preoccupation of many scholars, including contemporary writers, like the Australian poet Les Murray.


Within this tradition, there is an Arcadian notion of a romantic view of rural life. There is a distinction drawn between the metropolis and the village, commonly known as the town/country divide.


This was the essence of pre-war Camden (a town of around 2000) where rural culture provided the stability of a closed community that was suspicious of outsiders, especially those from the city, with life ordered by social rank, personal contacts familial links. It was confined by conservatism, patriarchy and an Anglo-centric view of the world.

Updated 17 January 2021. Originally posted 18 November 2013.

Jacarandas Removed in Central Camden

Protesters from the Camden Community Alliance express their objection to the removal of jacarandas in Argyle Street Camden on 12 August 2015. Members of the Alliance have ramped up their protests in recent weeks. The protesters are standing on the corner of Oxley and Argyle Streets. This is one of several street protests that the Alliance members have conducted in recent weeks.

Camden Council contractors removing the jacarandas at the intersection of Oxley and Argyle Streets in Camden. These works are part of the Town Centre Improvements that the council approved in 2014. The Camden Community Alliance has requested meetings with council and they have been declined. One of the principle objections mounted by the Alliance is the lack of engagement by council over these matters.

The Camden Community Alliance members protested this week over the removal of Jacaranda trees in Argyle Street to make way for traffic lights at the intersection with Oxley Street. 

Earlier the week Alliance members made their presence felt at the meeting of Camden Council. They were expressing their increasing frustration when council staff took questions on notice at the meeting. Mayor Symkowiak adjourned the meeting for 5 minutes, hoping the meeting could be continued, according to the Macarthur Chronicle report.

Later in the meeting local residents called out from the public gallery and the council meeting was adjourned on two more occasions.

A post of the Camden Community Alliance Facebook page maintained that it was 'impossible' for members 'to contain their voices any longer'. The post said that it was sad that it had all come to this and Alliance members looked quite radical over these matters.

The council meeting ended with cries of 'shame' from the gallery.

See Camden Community Alliance Facebook page

Camden Aesthetic

Fun with Flowers

Azaleas add fun with flowers.

Flowers can be uplifting and provide a bright spot in a dull. The local area is in full bloom with street trees, in private gardens and in other locations.

Flowers offer a sense of the new and bright perspective on a dull place—a sense of a new dawn, a new awakening. Flowers give inspiration when you are feeling down in the dumps. Try walking around the streets of Camden and Elderslie and feel inspired and uplifted.

Spring is Sprung

Flowering Plum in Macarthur Road Elderslie (I Willis)

A casual walk through Elderslie at the moment reveals the wonder of the early spring blooms that you get in the local area. The air has been crystal clear after recent rain with no haze. The light has an intensity that any keen photographer would notice and results in great images. The Sydney Basin is usually enveloped in a haze, and it is pleasant to witness the strength of colour that occasionally happens after rain. The crisp morning air just after dawn is invigorating for the soul when joggers and dog walkers are out in force taking in the fresh air.

Voices Soar on High

The first concert of A Maiden Chorus, the St John’s Camden Ladies Choir, was held at the St John’s Church Hall on Saturday night 24 May 2014. Under the direction of talented conductor Genesa Lane, the women put their hearts into several splendid a cappella arrangements drawing on influences from African, Latin, Gospel, contemporary and traditional. The angelic voice of Anneleise opened the 2nd set with a solo, and later numbers were supported by an all-male band composed of keyboard, bass and drums.

Acapella singing traces its influences to the religious music of  Medieval period drawing on  Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. Some sources claim the origins of a capella are found in the absence of instrumentation is founded in early forms of worship that were without musical accompaniment.

The night’s programme was lifted with talented local cellist Jonathan Bekes who performed several pieces. Jonathan will tour Italy and Norway with the Estivo Piano Trio in 2014 and will also perform in Verona. 

The concert by A Maiden Chorus was a fundraiser for the Hooper family who are undertaking mission work teaching in Tanzania later in 2014.

A Maiden Chorus is a community-based women’s only choir whose members are from a variety of backgrounds and ages. The current choir has 27 members and started in September 2013 amongst women from St John’s church.  The choir rehearse on Monday nights at the St John’s church hall at 7.30pm. 

Community singing provides distinct benefits for health and well-being. VicHealth commissioned a report called Benefits of group singing for health and well-being conducted by the Wellness Promotion Unit from Victoria University. The reports state that group singing promotes social capital which has positive impacts on physical and psychological well-being. Benefits for individuals can include increased social connectedness, increased sense of belonging, physical and emotional benefits and reduced personal stress.

Read more about the benefits of community singing here.

The Doings of the Platypus 

Camden Council held a platypus information night on Wednesday 21 May 2014 at Narellan Library for residents of Camden, Wollondilly and Campbelltown areas. 

Camden Council’s Natural Resource Projects Officer Tracey Poulter introduced  Dr David Phalen from the University of Sydney to 45 keen residents who listened attentively to a very informative presentation.

Dr Phalen outlined the life cycle of the platypus, feeding characteristics, its habits, its characteristics, local sightings, risks to its well-being and habitat. He explained the territorial nature of the platypus and described the movement of platypus in river systems and how they can move between catchments. 

Dr Phalen reported that over the past 50 years, there have been a host of sightings in the Georges River, Nepean River, Shoalhaven River, Wollondilly River Catchment areas. Platypus was recently sighted in the Georges River catchment, with one specimen caught in fishing line. He concluded that the platypus is not threatened and is quite adaptable to changes in its environment. 

Members of the audience reported their sightings of platypus in the Georges River and the Werriberri Creek. 

Nepean River at Little Sandy Bridge Camden (I Willis)

A tranquil water view

The Nepean River has provided poetic inspiration to many people.

While the river has provided inspiration for paintings, sketches and storytelling for other folks.

The river has been at the heart of Camden’s identity for over a century. The river is an integral part of the social heritage of the history of the district. 

The Nepean River is one element of the area’s intangible cultural heritage. Unfortunately, Australia is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. (Paris, 17 October 2003)

The geography of the Nepean River and its floodplain has shaped the landscape of the area.

The river floodplain is the site of many community celebrations, traditions and rituals and some of the most important is the Camden Show and Anzac Day.

Read more on the Camden Show here. 

Read more on Camden’s intangible cultural heritage and the country town here.

Read more on Camden’s charm as a country town.

Read more of the importance of the Nepean River in the area’s cultural heritage.

A moment in Exeter Street, Camden NSW (I Willis)

The essence of a moment

What have you noticed while out and about? Our local community is such a pretty place. We really are privileged to capture it sometimes. Just take a deep breath and soak up the moment. You look around, and there is a glimpse of something special. A moment when the sun catches the branches of a tree. A moment when a shadow crosses your path. 

One such moment occurred in Exeter Street on the Nepean River floodplain next to the Town Farm. Just another moment in one of Camden streetscapes that visitors come to our community to soak up. These visitors add to the tourism of the area and create jobs in the local businesses that serve them. 

Just as day-trippers have done to Camden for nearly 100 years from the Sydney area. The essence of the day-tripper was the experience of the tourists who visited our community in the 1920s and 1930s—the inter-war period when Camden’s Englishness was its attraction.

Read more about Interwar Camden. 

Attractive flower bed in Oxley Street Camden (I Willis)

Flowers and things

What a wonder a bit of colour does for a drab streetscape. The aesthetic beauty of flowers and green things are a soothing effect on people’s hectic lives. A bright spot in the day. A hit of happiness. A flourish of fun. A corner of quietness.

If you have a moment, have a look in Oxley Street outside Butterflies Florist. The florist, Angela,   has taken time out to plant flowers and different types of greenery in the flower beds opposite her shop. The colour and greenery provide a freshness, a vitality to the otherwise drab urban environment. It generates happiness. Angela said ‘I have planted roses, lavender, sweet william, geraniums, salvia, gazanias, vincas and marigolds’. She has added a burst of sunlight and brightened up a rather dull part of the streetscape in Oxley Street. We need more of it.

This novel and the attractive process has beautified an otherwise colourless streetscape of tarmac and bare brick walls. The flowers make people feel happier, and they smile at you as you walk past them. Butterflies Florist has created a comfortable zone in Oxley Street precinct.

This complements the greenery in other parts of the Camden central business area. The greenery provides a counterpoint to the rush, rush, rush of daily life. Green is a natural colour that has a soothing effect on people’s outlook. By just slowing down a little as you walk past the greenery of a  Camden streetscape, you might lower your stress levels a little.

Other green gems include the shrubbery outside Camden Council’s John Street Entrance which softens an otherwise plain streetscape and heritage office frontage. The greenery provides a pleasant entry to the council chambers adjacent to historic Macaria.

There are also the garden beds along the busy thoroughfare of Argyle Street. The flowers and shrubbery are a touch of authenticity in our ever-increasing artificial environment—a flourish of colour and a bit of nature. A back to basics approaches that there needs to be more of.

Plants are suitable for the soul. They have a calming effect on people. People smile when there are pretty flowers around them. They provide a moment of relief—a moment when people might reflect on other matters. Flowers and greenery can create a tiny therapy space so that they can have a moment of reflection.

There are health and well-being benefits from having plants around people. Plants have a positive effect on people’s outlook and disposition.

The flowers and greenery around the business centre of the town is part of the Camden aesthetic. It is part of the charm and character of the community. It means many things to many people.

Historically it is the desire by some in the community to retain the country town atmosphere based around the ‘country town idyll’ in the face of Sydney’s urban encroachment in and around the town area.

An extension of the ‘country town idyll’ is a desire by some who want to retain the rural atmosphere in the community.

It is reflected in the open space, the urban parks, the rural vistas, the bucolic countryside and the desire of many newcomers to find a spot where ‘the country looks like the country’.

Read more about the ‘country town idyll’.

Read more about the charming town of Camden.

Read about the Camden Dreamtime

Originally posted 30 January 2015. Updated 31 July 2020.

Kirkham



Camelot (formerly Kirkham) (Camden Images)

Kirkham is a picturesque, semi-rural locality on Sydney's rural-urban fringe between the historic township of Camden, with its inter-war and colonial heritage and the bustling commercial centre of Narellan.

Sydney rural-urban fringe

The arrival of the rural-urban fringe at Kirkham in recent decades has created a contested site of tension and constant change, resulting in an ever-evolving landscape. Successive waves of occupants have created their own stories, heroes and icons through a reinterpretation of history and heritage.

Rural aesthetic

The most recent newcomers have taken ownership of Kirkham's identity, assisted by developer-created exclusivity and the locality's rural aesthetic. The physical landscape of Kirkham is dominated by a bucolic scene provided by the valley of Narellan Creek.

Colonial heritage

John Oxley (1784–1828) was granted 1,000 acres by Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson, which he had to surrender in 1810. Governor Macquarie subsequently granted Oxley 600 acres, which was increased to 1,000 acres in 1815. The grant was named Kirkham after Oxley's birthplace, Kirkham Abbey in Yorkshire, and had frontages on the Great Southern Road and the Nepean River.There are two heritage icons from the colonial period: Kirkham Stables and Kirkham homestead (Camelot).

Main road

The main road passing through Kirkham is the Camden Valley Way which was known as the Great South Road until 1928 when it was renamed the Hume Highway.



Pansy, Camden-Campbelltown train (Camden Images)

Pansy, the Camden tram

 The route of the railway ran alongside the Great South Road through Kirkham between Camden and Narellan and was a prominent cultural feature on the landscape. Kirkham Railway Station, which was one of nine stations located on the railway.

Yamba Cottage, Kirkham c 1920 (Camden Images)

Yamba cottage

Historic Yamba cottage fronts Camden Valley Way (formerly the Hume Highway) and has been a contested as a site of significant local heritage. The building, a Federation style weatherboard cottage, became a touchstone and cause celebre around the preservation and conservation of local domestic architecture.

Read more @ http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/kirkham