Author(s): Bob McKillop

AUSTRALIANA

Celebrating the 150th birthday of Willoughby and covering the suburbs of Artarmon, Castle Cove, Castlecrag, Chatswood, Middle Cove, Naremburn, Northbridge, St Leonards and Willoughby, this new book has over 300 black and white photos covering the history of the area. This year Willoughby is enjoying its 150th birthday. To celebrate, Willoughby Council have assisted in the production of Pictorial History Willoughby. The first people living in the Willoughby area were the Cammeraygal who mainly fished for survival. Like most of the North Shore, Willoughby became a timber getting area, supplying material for industry and building. Rugged and wild, it remained largely unsettled until the 1860s. Chinese market gardeners grew vegetables around Sugarloaf and Scotts Creeks. The sandstone of the district was used to build early schools and churches. By 1865 residents petitioned for the incorporation of their area as a municipality. Early industries were potteries and tanneries. By the 1890s the North Shore railway line was pushing south to Milsons Point. Concurrently the tramway system expanded reaching Chatswood railway station in 1908. Shopping strips mushroomed along the tramline. The Northbridge suspension bridge was in use by the early 1900s, opening this rocky landscape to residential development. As settlement expanded, the Royal North Shore Hospital was built, Gore Hill cemetery beside it and the population grew as people were drawn to employment at the brickworks around Gore Hill and Artarmon. Mashman's Potteries were in full-scale production in Chatswood by the 1880s. With trams and trains, Chatswood emerged as the commercial centre for Willoughby. The jewels in Willoughby's crown are the Castlecrag and Castle Haven Estates, the vision of Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin. Inspired architecture using local sandstone set in bushland is internationally recognised. Post WWII saw a new age of industrialisation in Artarmon with specialised factories, and also the rise of television. Migration changed the demographics of Willoughby. Armenians migrated in the early 1960s and Asian migration expanded in the 1980s. Today Chatswood exists as a North Shore CBD. Willoughby is a council with respect for its architectural heritage and the natural heritage of its beautiful setting.