Welcome

There are five important sub-committees, each under the control of a separate chairperson. They are: Museum; Archives and Local History; Walker Estates; Heritage; Oral & Family History.

Our Mission

• To foster interest in and inform the community of the area’s heritage, historically and culturally.
• To promote the preservation, restoration, conservation, maintenance and use of all places, buildings, monuments, etc., of historic, architectural, cultural and environmental significance within the municipality.
• To acquire and preserve for the Society books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, etc., as may be considered to have a bearing on the history of the Municipality of Concord.
• To establish and conduct a social history museum.
• To foster interchange of information among members of the Society by lectures, readings, discussions, exhibitions of heritage, historical and archival material, and excursions.
• To affiliate and co-operate with other Societies and Institutions having objects similar to those of this Society.

Membership

Membership of the Society is open to anyone interested in preserving the history of the Concord area.

Fees are:

• Single membership $16.50
• Single Student or Pensioner $8.80
• Family membership $27.50
• Family Pensioner $13.20

The financial year runs from the 1st of July each year. Members joining after the 1st April each year will be deemed to be financial members for the following year.

The Application for Membership form should be completed and posted (or handed in) to the Society together with the appropriate membership fee.

DOWNLOAD MEMBERSHIP FORM HERE
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, use the link below)

Benefits of Membership

Members are encouraged to take part in the varied activities of the Society.

Meetings are held monthly and guest speakers are invited to address us on varied topics of interest.

A monthly newsletter, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, keeps members advised of coming speakers or activities. As well as news of the society it contains interesting articles and snippets of historical information. Back issues can be viewed here.

Regular outings and activities are planned to interest members.

We have an extensive library, which is available to members of the society. There are books and publications on general as well as local history.

A Brief History of the Area

The suburb of Concord is situated on the Parramatta River, half way between Sydney and Parramatta, and next door to the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Paralympics at Homebush Bay.

Free settlers who arrived on the "Bellona" in January 1793 received grants in the area then named Liberty Plains, part of what is now Concord. In that same year grants were made to six non-commissioned officers in a ‘district to be distinguished in future by the name of Concord’.

Soon after the establishment of the Government Farm at Rose Hill (Parramatta), around the year 1792, an area of land (now known as Waratah Park, the home of Rugby Union in Sydney) was selected as a half-way station between Sydney and Parramatta. This became known as the Longbottom Stockade. It was here that prisoners were detained for a night on their 24 kilometre trek from Sydney to Parramatta (or vice-versa).

Convict road gangs were housed in the original buildings and a small detachment of mounted police was stationed there.

In 1840 it took on a new role as the detention centre for a group of French Canadian political exiles and so acquired a unique place in Australia’s history. Between 1843 and February 1844 free pardons were awarded to all the remaining prisoners (2 had died during their exile) and eventually all but one returned to Canada.

On 11th August, 1883 Concord was proclaimed as a municipality.

In the year 2000, Concord Council combined with the Drummoyne Council to become the City of Canada Bay Council, but the suburbs keep their own identity.

Concord municipality covered the suburbs of Cabarita, Concord, Concord West, Liberty Grove, Mortlake, North Strathfield and Rhodes.

Heritage of the Area

Although there are many important heritage sites in the area, the one of most significance is the Yaralla estate, situated on the Parramatta River. This was the home of Thomas Walker and his daughter, Dame Eadith Walker, two people who played very significant roles in the history of Australia. Our society is very active in the continuing preservation of this magnificent Edwardian estate.

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