Secret Suburb: Turramurra’s hidden treasures are a treat for residents and visitors
THERE are treasures hidden amid the leafy streets of Turramurra, a suburb with a rich history, colourful characters and special sites to explore, writes Jenifer Jagielski.
NSW
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THERE are treasures hidden amid the leafy streets of Turramurra, a suburb with a rich history, colourful characters and special sites to explore.
When it comes to wine and books, literary legend Rudyard Kipling said it all: you can never have too much.
This cheeky quote painted on the outside wall, hints that there is a bit more to this place than food and drinks. And like the author himself, there are stories to be told.
Refurbishing this old service station, originally built in the 1920s, owners Chris and Helen Thompson were able to keep the basic structure, much to the delight of long-time locals, including one man who had worked there as a teenager in the 1950s.
The rustic yet industrial interior has nostalgic touches, like an antique licence plate from a trip to Texas, old automotive collectibles gifted by friends and most importantly, a sentimental favourite and family talisman, a vintage copy of The Jungle Book ... by Rudyard Kipling.
A lot has changed since this shop opened in 1905.
Planes, trains and automobiles for starters but also word meanings; ”bad” can mean “good”, “sick” is “really good”.
Even the word “drapery” has evolved, where once it referred to anything made from fabric including undergarments, it’s now associated more with window dressings.
However, those who sew – and knit or crochet – know the difference and Sue Croston, proprietor of Turramurra Drapery, is there to help both the expert and novice alike.
Sue notes how the recent revival and appreciation of so-called, domestic skills is partially due to fashion design and cooking shows but more than likely, the two play off each other.
She also explains how the current generation is looking to remodel and repair things rather than replace them.
“Yes, it saves money but it’s also sustainable,” she says.
“Plus, there is a sense of pride that you have made this yourself.”
Of course, there are some of us who’ll just stick to making tea towels and cushions.
Well before GPS watches and $300 trainers, Peter Welch and a few friends set out to run the streets of Turramurra.
After every run they would log their times, a practice Peter has maintained since his first run in 1974.
Since they were training for the City to Surf, at that time a race new to Sydney, they needed to note their improvements.
“We used an actual stopwatch back then. The one with the button on top,” recalls Peter.
“We did a staggered start so the last person to leave would put it on the front seat of my car, head out and then the first one back stopped the watch.”
Forty years on, the group has seen more than 1800 people run that same sacred route – with hi-tech apparel and computerised distance trackers of course.
As work hours get longer and family commitments multiply, time saving services like pet grooming and fresh fruit deliveries have become more of a necessity than a luxury.
Even tending the yard becomes a dreaded chore.
Where some see a garden filled with bright seasonal flowers, others see a Sunday spent pruning and pulling weeds.
But before you flatten the hedges, take a leaf from a landscaper and streamline the whole thing. Be it pavers or grass, keep it to minimum and then introduce one well-shaped topiary, or as Susan Potthurst, owner of Elegant Outdoors puts it, “the Queen of the Garden”.
Visions of posh English manors aside, today’s topiaries are a short cut to formality.
Though they look really delicate, like the tiny shiny leaves of the Japanese buxus, they’re actually quite hearty and perfect for the Australian climate.
The full and manicured ones in shops have taken about five to 15 years to produce, but think of all the Saturday sports you would have missed
For a woman who lived a relatively quiet and private life in Turramurra, it’s ironic that Grace Cossington Smith is best known for her loud and bold paintings of everyday events in bustling cities, mainly Sydney.
Her first works were impressionistic, inspired by van Gogh, but it’s her modern yet very detailed paintings chronicling the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that have given her a more mainstream audience and solidifying her name as one of Australia’s best and first modern artists.
Along Cowan Creek, technically not quite Turramurra per se, is a 10km walking trail that winds in and out of bays, and up to Aboriginal engravings and rock art.
At the head of this path sits a regal sandstone Sphinx, seemingly out of place in bushland.
This nearly 90-year old sculpture is the work of World War I veteran and former stonemason, Private William Shirley.
He created it while rehabilitating in nearby Lady Davidson Hospital as homage to his fallen comrades.
At the time, due to his illness, doctors allowed him to work only a few hours each day. It took two years to complete.
Private Shirley died three years later, but this monument stands witness to the unbreakable bond of those who have served.
Armed with pressure washer, scrub brushes and litres of paint, these graffiti warriors head out to the streets and back alleys ready to take on whatever comes their way.
Paint on bricks? No problem; bring out the water blasters. Metal railings? Got them covered with a scrub brush and colourbond.
“There’s been a significant reduction in graffiti since we started this program,” says Rotary director, Roger Norman.
“We go out once a week. Rapid removal is the best deterrent.”
The Graffiti Removal Project has been such a success that at least 25 Rotary clubs in NSW have integrated the initiative into their own activities.
For his efforts, Roger has received “Outstanding Service” awards by local council, but just as important, a donated trailer and buckets of paint from supportive and appreciative businesses in the community.
If every one your child’s friends played the same sport, liked the same music, shared the same games, planning a birthday party wouldn’t be such a nightmare.
Just trying to keep up with the cartoon character du jour is a near impossibility.
That’s the point where you should just throw in the towel and outsource the angst.
Sure, you can try a party planner or, shocking, you can always go low tech and take it outside.
Geoff Spotswood’s sports birthday parties do just that.
While his background is coaching cricket, he’s also an experienced teacher who understands the importance of inclusion.
“Everyone comes here with a different background,” says Geoff.
“There is no one sport. It’s all modified sport so that no one gets left out.”
With games like beanbag tennis, the hardest bit of the party may just be keeping parents on the bench.
This leafy suburb gets its name from the Aboriginal word for “big hill”.
Prior to the rail line extending past North Sydney, the area was known as Eastern Rd but once the station was built, residents felt it appropriate to give the town an Aboriginal name, thus Turramurra.
Settled in 1822 by Thomas Hyndes, timber was the main industry but once that was depleted, orchardist arrived in the 1850s to take advantage of the rich soil to produce citrus and such that would later be sold in the Sydney markets.
Once the railway opened in 1890, the town attracted rather affluent families looking to escape the city and build their grand mansions.
Within a decade, the population nearly doubled from 788 to 1306.
Subsequent growth was steady but surged in the 1960s with more commercial development.
Follow Jenifer on Twitter @moxnixchick
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