Carlton

​Carlton developed from part of the land granted to Captain John Townson confirmed in 1810. For much of the nineteenth century, the area was predominantly rural, with farmers, market gardeners, charcoal burners and woodcutters among its early residents. 

The opening of Carlton Railway Station in 1887 transformed the area. Improved transport encouraged land subdivision, residential development and commercial activity, gradually changing Carlton from a rural district into a railway suburb. 

Railway Parade developed alongside this growth. By the 1920s it had become a local shopping street, and by the 1930s it was Carlton’s main commercial centre, connecting residents with shops, services and the railway. Parts of this older streetscape remain today and contribute to Carlton’s continuing village character. 

Another important local landmark developed nearby. English’s Paddock was gazetted as a public park in 1896, and in 1936 a grandstand was constructed and the park became known as Jubilee Oval. Today, Jubilee Oval is home to the St George Illawarra Dragons rugby league team. 
 

The Historical Marker reads:
Carlton
Before the railway station opened in 1887, this area was rural, with farmers, market gardeners, woodcutters and charcoal burners working the land.

Location of Historical Marker:
Corner of Railway Parade and Jubilee Avenue, Carlton.
Location on Google Maps.
 

Daphne Kingston

Daphne Kingston (1928–2019) was an artist, illustrator and historian best known for her detailed and evocative depictions of Sydney’s built heritage. Her drawings documented historic and vernacular buildings with close attention to architectural detail, creating a valuable visual record of places that were changing or disappearing. 

Kingston was an active member of the Kogarah Historical Society and contributed illustrations to its publications, combining her interests in art, architecture and local history. 

She lived in the Georges River area from the 1950s, first in Hurstville and Mortdale, before moving to Penshurst in 1964. Kingston lived and worked at 50 McRaes Avenue, Penshurst for more than fifty years and, from 1984, also taught art from her home studio. She remained there until 2016, when she moved to New Zealand, where she died in 2019. 

 

The Historical Marker reads:
Daphne Kingston 
1928–2019
An artist, illustrator and historian known for her photographic and illustrated record of Sydney's architecture. She lived and worked here from 1964.

Location of Historical Marker:
50 McRaes Avenue, Penshurst. 
On the grass verge, inset in a concrete slab adjacent to the footpath.
Location on Google Maps.
 

Edith Payne (née Robinson) 

Edith Robinson (later Payne) was an Australian track and field athlete who began running at the age of fourteen with the St George Athletics Club. In 1928, she became Australia’s first female track and field Olympian, competing in the 100 metres at the Amsterdam Olympic Games. Robinson reached the semi-final, where she placed third and recorded a personal best time. 

That same year, Robinson became a foundation member and the first captain of the Ladies’ Section of the St George District Amateur Athletic Club, which held athletics events at Hurstville Oval. The section later became the St George Women’s Amateur Athletic Club, which claimed to be Australia’s first women’s athletics club. It remained active until 1995, after 68 years, and was then the oldest and last women’s athletics club operating in New South Wales. 

Robinson continued competing at a national level and won multiple championships. She lived with her family at 3 Kingsgrove Avenue, Kingsgrove, from 1939 until her death in 2000. During the Sydney Olympic Games that year, Robinson was Australia’s oldest living Olympian and was given the honour of officially opening the Olympic Village. She died on 7 October 2000, six days after the Games concluded. 

The Historical Marker reads:
Edith Payne
(née Robinson)
1906 – 2000
Foundational member of the St George District Ladies’ Amateur Athletics Club, she was Australia's first female track and field Olympian, competing at the 1928 Amsterdam games.

Location of Historical Marker:
Hurstville Oval, Hurstville.
Location on Google Maps.
 

Olds Park Skate Park 

Built in 1976, Olds Park Skate Park is the oldest continuously used purpose-built skateboarding facility in New South Wales. It was developed in response to the rapid growth in popularity of skateboarding during the 1970s and the increasing demand for dedicated facilities in the local area. 

The original skate park featured a concrete skate bowl, with a bank flowing onto a flat area approximately the size of a tennis court. Two steel and plywood quarter pipes were added to the flat in 1987. Other skate facilities were later constructed at Gannons Park and Kempt Field, but both were demolished during the 1990s, leaving Olds Park as the remaining skate facility in the Georges River area. 

In 2023, Georges River Council opened the Olds Park Recreational and Sporting Hardscape precinct on the site of the original skate park and adjoining netball courts. The redevelopment created a contemporary skate park with a flowing street design and bowl, while incorporating steel ramps as a reference to the site's long skateboarding history. 

The precinct also features Knucker, a sculpture by artist Dillon MacEwan made from repurposed skateboards, bicycles and materials salvaged from the former skate park's steel ramps. By reusing materials from the earlier facility, the artwork maintains a tangible connection between the site's past and its continuing use by new generations of skaters.

The Historical Marker reads:
Olds Park Skate Park 
Est. 1976
The original skatepark was built on this site in 1976 and was redeveloped in 2023. It is the oldest continuously used skatepark in New South Wales.

Location of Historical Marker:
Olds Park Skatepark 
Olds Park, 624 Forest Road, Penshurst.
Location on Google Maps.
 

Thurlow House 

Thurlow House, at 9 Stuart Crescent, Blakehurst, is a rare and intact example of early Modern Movement residential architecture. Designed by influential Australian architect Harry Seidler, the house was built in 1954 for Marjorie and David Thurlow. 

The house is considered significant at a state level and is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register (SHR #01980). Its architectural design demonstrates the principles of early modernism and forms part of the important body of residential work produced by Seidler during this period. 

Thurlow House is also one of the few surviving examples of Modernist residential architecture in the Georges River Local Government Area, making it an important part of the area's architectural history.

The Historical Marker reads:
Thurlow House 
1954 
A rare example of early modernist architecture, designed and built by renowned architect Harry Seidler for Marjorie and David Thurlow.

Location of Historical Marker:
Grass verge outside Thurlow House, 
9 Stuart Crescent, Blakehurst.
Location on Google Maps.
 

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