Road Beacons

Here are two photographs from the Fairfax archive of glass negatives held in the collection of the National Library of Australia.  Both are captioned, slightly misleadingly, ‘Crowd gathered beside the Kogarah Road beacon, c1920s’.

A search through the files of the Hurstville Propeller newspaper produces an article noting that the photo was taken on Saturday 18 July 1925.  The occasion was the switching on of the road beacon which was newly-installed at the junction of Rocky Point Road and Princes Highway, Kogarah.  The article tells us that although there were already seven similar beacons in operation on the western highway to the Blue Mountains, this one was the first to be manufactured in Australia, and the first to be lit by electricity. 

The opening ceremony was performed by George Cann, Minister for Local Government.  This is probably him, literally standing on his soapbox.  The wrought-ironwork to the right of the photo we think is probably part of the old Gardener’s Arms Hotel.  By 1925, the hotel was operating as a grocer’s shop, having lost its license in 1914.

Various local Aldermen attended the ceremony, including Kogarah Aldermen Percy Tanner (the Mayor), William Jones, Edwin Birch, Tom Higgison and Louis Farr, although we are unable to fit names to faces.  Also in attendance were Alderman Frank Farrar of the County Council, suppliers of electricity, and a representative of the sponsors, Mr V Pickering of the Vacuum Oil Company, manufacturers of Plume Oil, which was advertised on the side of the beacon.  A chilly corner to stand at in the middle of July, so everyone wrapped up warmly, including the lady wife with her fur stole, who would rather be having tea and scones.

The beacon was nine feet tall, and the illuminated words ‘Cross Roads’ surrounded a flashing light which could be seen half a mile away.  It looks like one of the Aldermen has brought along his fox terrier, which no doubt fully intended to mark its territory at the first opportunity.

We don’t know how long the beacon was in situ.  It does not appear in this photo of the same corner taken in 1937 by the Department of Main Roads, possibly rendered redundant by the catenary street-light suspended over the intersection.  How peaceful it all looks.

Hurstville too had a road beacon, which was installed in 1933 at the dangerous intersection of Forest Road and Belmore Road (present-day King Georges Road).  It was of different design, being triangular, and did not advertise motor oil.  It is shown here in a photo taken for the County Council in 1937.  The grassy expanse of Penshurst Park stretches out in the background, long before the Hurstville Aquatic Centre was ever thought of.