Sutherland Shire Historical Society
Mindful of the Past
Focused on the Future
RESEARCH PAGE
On this page are valuable research articles on Shire history which are meant for reference only or are too long for the SSHS Bulletin. An introduction to each of these articles is followed by a downloadable PDF of the article itself. In time an index of the articles will be created for easier searching
Mindful of the Past
Focused on the Future
RESEARCH PAGE
On this page are valuable research articles on Shire history which are meant for reference only or are too long for the SSHS Bulletin. An introduction to each of these articles is followed by a downloadable PDF of the article itself. In time an index of the articles will be created for easier searching
MURDER AT ILLAWONG
STEPHANIE BAILEY
Because of the length of this article an abridged version was published in Bulletin 236, August 2025, page 28. That article describes the murder in 1920 of Martha Maud Worrell by her husband Probationary Constable Leslie Clive Worrell on a beautiful, but remote reserve on the Woronora River, now known as Illawong.
Here the full article provides the social context of post-World War I which might explain the motivation behind the killing and why the murderer did so little to cover his tracks.
STEPHANIE BAILEY
Because of the length of this article an abridged version was published in Bulletin 236, August 2025, page 28. That article describes the murder in 1920 of Martha Maud Worrell by her husband Probationary Constable Leslie Clive Worrell on a beautiful, but remote reserve on the Woronora River, now known as Illawong.
Here the full article provides the social context of post-World War I which might explain the motivation behind the killing and why the murderer did so little to cover his tracks.
The Robert Cooper Walker Report, 1868
Thomas Holt, owner of the Sutherland Estate which covered most of what is now Sutherland Shire, commissioned his attorney and overseer Robert Cooper Walker to carry out an intensive survey of his estate in 1868. It is a detailed record of the physical landscape at the time, when the Shire was mostly undeveloped.
The original handwritten report is retained in Sutherland Library, but in 2005 it was transcribed by Daphne Salt, a Sutherland Shire Historical Society member
Thomas Holt, owner of the Sutherland Estate which covered most of what is now Sutherland Shire, commissioned his attorney and overseer Robert Cooper Walker to carry out an intensive survey of his estate in 1868. It is a detailed record of the physical landscape at the time, when the Shire was mostly undeveloped.
The original handwritten report is retained in Sutherland Library, but in 2005 it was transcribed by Daphne Salt, a Sutherland Shire Historical Society member
LiDAR for Dummy Archaeologists
Greg Jackson, Dec. 2024
LiDAR is an acronym for Light Detection And Ranging. It uses laser beams to measure precise distances in the environment, and in archaeology can be used to remove the vegetation from an aerial image (eg from a drone) to give a bare earth image showing what is under trees, bushes and grass.
Using this technology historic structures have been found. This article explains how to use the data to create a vegetation free or a contour map.
Greg Jackson, Dec. 2024
LiDAR is an acronym for Light Detection And Ranging. It uses laser beams to measure precise distances in the environment, and in archaeology can be used to remove the vegetation from an aerial image (eg from a drone) to give a bare earth image showing what is under trees, bushes and grass.
Using this technology historic structures have been found. This article explains how to use the data to create a vegetation free or a contour map.
The Deeban Spit Jetty and Maianbar Boardwalks, Port Hacking NSW
George Cotis 2017
With the growing popularity of the National Park (later, Royal) and the residential/holiday villages of Bundeena and Maianbar in the late 19th and 20th centuries, access by ferry became important. However, the effects of shifting sands caused by tides and storms removed access to the wharf by the ferry. As a consequence the system of jetty and boardwalks fell into disrepair and collapsed. George Cotis traces the history of the boardwalks through remnants he discovered that had been revealed by the same storm-induced shifting sands.
George Cotis 2017
With the growing popularity of the National Park (later, Royal) and the residential/holiday villages of Bundeena and Maianbar in the late 19th and 20th centuries, access by ferry became important. However, the effects of shifting sands caused by tides and storms removed access to the wharf by the ferry. As a consequence the system of jetty and boardwalks fell into disrepair and collapsed. George Cotis traces the history of the boardwalks through remnants he discovered that had been revealed by the same storm-induced shifting sands.
Shipwrecks of Port Hacking
From Fred Matson’s ‘Memoir’, 1984
Compiled by George Cotis, November 2022
Fred Matson Junior, born in 1899, was a third generation Shire boatbuilder, whose father and grandfather established a significant boat building business, and in 1904 the Matson Pleasure Grounds at Yowie Bay (on the site of the current Camellia Gardens). Fred’s Memoir, stored in the Local Studies Collection of Sutherland Library, reveals his many interests, including researching and recording some of the shipwrecks in the local area.
Through a mutual friend George Cotis acquired a transcription of Fred’s handwritten notes on local shipwrecks, and based on this list, plus extensive research of his own, produced this detailed history of several of the ships lost in the treacherous waters of our coast.
From Fred Matson’s ‘Memoir’, 1984
Compiled by George Cotis, November 2022
Fred Matson Junior, born in 1899, was a third generation Shire boatbuilder, whose father and grandfather established a significant boat building business, and in 1904 the Matson Pleasure Grounds at Yowie Bay (on the site of the current Camellia Gardens). Fred’s Memoir, stored in the Local Studies Collection of Sutherland Library, reveals his many interests, including researching and recording some of the shipwrecks in the local area.
Through a mutual friend George Cotis acquired a transcription of Fred’s handwritten notes on local shipwrecks, and based on this list, plus extensive research of his own, produced this detailed history of several of the ships lost in the treacherous waters of our coast.