SANITATION

1877 - CLOSETS AND CESSPITS

Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 16th April, 1877. 

BOROUGH OF GULGONG. By-laws.

THE following By-laws made by the Council of the Borough of Gulgong, under the "Nuisances Prevention Act, 1875," having been confirmed by His Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, are published in accordance with the requirements of that Act.

HENRY PARKES.

Municipality of Gulgong.

By-laws for the Municipality of Gulgong, for carrying into effect the provisions of the "Nuisances Prevention Act of 1875."

1. Every person about to erect a closet or form a cesspit shall, before he shall commence any such work, give to the Council Clerk seven days notice in writing of his intention, and of the proposed position of such closet or cesspit and in default thereof, or in case of his commencing such work without such notice, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one pound.

2. No closet shall be erected or cesspit formed except in such position as shall be approved of by the Council, or by the Inspector of Nuisances or other officer appointed by the Council.

3. Closets hereafter to be constructed shall be built with cesspit not less than three feet in diameter and five feet in depth, to be lined with brick, stone, or slabs, and to be built watertight, and to the satisfaction of the Inspector of Nuisances or such other officer appointed by the Council.

4. Every closet to be provided with a door and other appliances necessary for privacy, and is to be constructed to the approval of the Inspector of Nuisances or such other officer appointed by the Council.

5. All closets shall be built over one half of the cesspit, and the remaining portion outside shall be securely fastened with slabs of not less than two inches in thickness, and to be made air-tight.

6. A separate closet shall be provided for the use of every tenement.

7. That for the removal of night-soil, the night-carts shall be properly constructed and made watertight. That the work of removal shall be by contract or as the Council may deem most expedient, and the hours of removal shall be between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. each day, Sundays excepted.

8. The place of deposit shall be in such locality as may be from time to time determined by the Council.

9. The Inspector shall have power to visit and inspect any premises on all days, except Sundays, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

10. Any person desirous of having their cesspits emptied shall give at least twenty-four hours notice thereof to the Inspector of Nuisances, who shall give written authority to the contractor for carrying out the same.

11. It shall be the duty of the Inspector of Nuisances to report without delay the existence of any nuisance arising from dead animals of any kind or species within the municipality, and to give notice to the owner or owners thereof to remove and destroy the same (if very offensive) within a period of six hours, and if not removed or destroyed within that period to cause the removal and destruction of the said nuisance without delay; and the owner or owners in default and on conviction thereof before any two Justices of the Peace, in each case shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding five pounds, in addition to all legal and other expenses incurred in the proceedings and in the removal and destruction of the said nuisance.

12. Any person allowing night-soil from any closet to fall into any street, right-of-way, water-channel, gutter, creek, river, or reservoir, or in any other public place, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five pounds nor less than one pound.

13. The Council may recover in any Court of competent jurisdiction such sums for the emptying of cesspits as may be decided upon from time to time by resolution of the Council.

Form of Notice for Removal of Nuisance.
To Mr. ________, ______________ street, Gulgong.
I, ___________________, Inspector of Nuisances for the Municipality of Gulgong, do hereby give you notice to remove _____________________ such being a nuisance and endangering the public health, and in default of removal of said nuisance within the space of _______________ proceedings will be taken against you for breach of the "Nuisances Prevention Act of 1875," and the By-laws made in accordance therewith.

Inspector of Nuisances.
Date of service, ______. ________ 187_ .

Passed by the Municipal Council of Gulgong, 12th January, 1877.
(l.b.) R. N. COLLINS, Chairman.
Samuel T. Bishop, Council Clerk.

WATER

 

TIPPINGS DAM

Source: 1887 Parish Map

WATER

Turning-on Ceremony, 1933

Source: The New Gulgong Advertiser, 21 April 1933

 

ELECTRICITY

1891

Mr. Young's new roller mill at Gulgong, with electric light attached, is now in full swing, working splendidly.

Source: The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909) Wed 28 Oct 1891 Page 5

1892 - A SENSATION AT GULGONG

At the Police Court, Gulgong, last week, Alfred Davis, a machine fitter, was charged with maliciously destroying machinery in connection with the electric light in C. R. Young's roller mill. The evidence showed that in February last, it was discovered that about four inches had been cut out of the 'Shunt' wire conducting the electric light.

Mr. Young offered £160 reward for the discovery of the perpetrator, and this was the offence with which the accused was now charged. The peculiar feature of the case was the evidence of James Brunelle Beard, a marine engineer, who alleged that he and accused, Davis, had been working at Mr. Young's mill for Mr. Rhodes the contractor, and he was dismissed without any reason being given. He then went to Mr. Young and told him that the machinery supplied by Mr. Young was defective. After some talk between them, Mr. Young offered him (Beard) £150 and authorised him to promise accused (Davis) £70 if they would prove that the machinery was defective, and that Rhodes and Davis knew it at the time. This was done, and Rhodes supplied a new engine and dismissed Davis. Mr. Young then gave Beard £5 and a £2 cheque, and refused to give him any more, but told they could sue him if they had any further claim. They then consulted about taking revenge, and Davis said he "would do the Forbes trick" the same as he served old "Goggle Eyes"— Paul Collett, explaining that he would nip the shunt wire out of the electric lighting apparatus. Beard objected that he (Beard) would get the blame and be "lumbered" for it, but eventually, lent Davis some clothes which would not show in the moonlight and some tools. In about 20 minutes Davis returned, showing a piece of wire which he said was piece of the shunt wire. The next day Davis told Beard it was "all up" as "the girl" felt the nippers in his pocket and had "rucked" on him, and he offered Beard £20 to "square it " so as to take the blame off him (Davis) and to clear out. Beard took the money and "cleared out," but did not square it as agreed. He received from Mr. Young through Mr. Rhodes, a written offer to pay him (Beard) £75 in the event of Davis being convicted on the present charge. (Mr. Young admitted making the offer). Several other witnesses gave evidence of threats made by Beard against Young, and other matters indirectly bearing on the case, and Davis was committed for trial.

Source: Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932) Fri 23 Sep 1892 Page 3

Medley Street

The building on the left (above) was the original power house supplying electricity to Gulgong. It was operated by Les Norris. It produced power from 6am till midnight.

Source: Colin Evans

In the 1970s the building was known as the Phonograph Parlour and housed a collection of phonograph players and a small collection of silent movies.

Tricia and Colin Bromley, Christmas Day, 1967

Source: David Bromley

David, Jennie, Colin and Tricia Bromley. Margaret and  Muriel (mother) are in the background. 

Christmas Day, 1967

Source: David Bromley

The Bromley family arrived in Gulgong from London at the end of May 1967. They moved into 53 Mayne Street Gulgong after spending a few weeks at the Commercial Hotel because the house was still under construction.

The house at 53 was built and owned by the Ulan County Council, the providers of electricity to the region. It cost $13,000 which was more than double the value of most houses in Gulgong at the time. It was opened to the public on one occasion to show what could be done with electricity. It had a heated towel rail, electric oven (most people had a wood stove at the time) and indirect lighting in the lounge. Florescent lights were located behind a reflector and aimed at the ceiling in the lounge. The house had a Westinghouse air conditioner on the side. This was a noisy unit and it vibrated so much the house shook and it was unusable. It was soon installed away from the house with two canvas ducts connecting it to the air vents on the inside wall so the house didn't shake.