Castlereagh Conference Centre
On Monday 12 September we visited the Castlereagh Conference Centre in the historic Castlereagh area. We drove to the end of Old Castlereagh Road and passed the Sydney International Regatta Centre, where the 2000 Sydney Olympics rowing events took place. We came to a lake and a circular area for cars to turn around and go back, but we noticed a road continuing on with a signpost denoting the way to the Castlereagh Conference Centre. There is a great deal of dredging and quarrying work being carried out on these rich alluvial river flats in connection with the Penrith Lakes Scheme which is making a huge impact on this historical area. It is hard to see where the township is meant to be, but we did come to a flat section of the road with buildings on either side and we stopped here to investigate further.
On one side of the road is the Castlereagh Conference Centre incorporating some historical buildings including an old Methodist Church which is now the Castlereagh Uniting Church.
This Church was built in 1847 and replaced an earlier Church which was the first Methodist Church in Australia. It bears an inscription "Erected in the place of the First Wesleyan Chapel in Australia built by John Lees 1817". The Uniting Church uses the Church and it is also used for weddings held in the Conference Centre. It appears to be in good condition. We could not go inside, but we peeped through the windows. There is a graveyard at the side of the Church containing some old headstones dating back to Colonial times.
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| Castlereagh Church |
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| Bell Tower |
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| Vertical Sundial |
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| School and War Memorial |
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| Schoolmaster's Cottage |
Behind the Church is a Bell Tower. It looks like an old historical building, but it is actually fairly new and was opened on 24 June, 2001. There are eight bells in the belfry and some of them were donated by the Kiama Anglican Church who were no longer using their bells. There is a team of bell ringers who ring the bells on various occasions and it must be magical to hear the bells ringing out across the Penrith Lakes.
On the outside North wall of the Bell Tower we noticed a vertical sundial called The Sacred Acre with a clock face and a quote attributed to John Wesley inscribed thereon:- "Do all the good you can in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can."
We picked up some brochures on the verandah outside the office for the Conference Centre advising the Centre was perfect for retreats, workshops or training days, only 4 minutes from Penrith but a world away in time and tranquility! There is a meeting room with seating up to 80 people and air-conditioned twin bed accommodation up to 48 people with dining in the historic Sunday School House (1864). There is also a Wedding Package including a ceremony in the Church with a minister or outside with a celebrant in the grounds and use of the garden and grounds with overnight guest accommodation.
On the other side of the road is the old Upper Castlereagh Public School, in poor condition and looking neglected with windows boarded over. It was built by James Evans in 1878/9 and it is on the NSW State Heritage Register. The roof is steeply pitched in corrugated iron and rusting. It is a simple rectangular hall with attached side entry porch, typical of rural public schools of the period. It is Gothic Revival in form and detailing with a Tudor arched entrance. It was hard to see the porch as it was hidden behind the overgrown garden.
In the grounds of the school and closer to the road is a simple obelisk War Memorial honouring the men from Upper Castlereagh who served during WW1. There are names on the Memorial, but the writing is very faint to read. There is an inscription, barely legible, at the base of the Memorial - "Erected in honour of the above residents who enlisted from Castlereagth Upper for active service in the Great War 1914 - 1918."
Next-door to the School is the Schoolmaster's Residence which is a simple Victorian brick cottage with a hipped corrugated iron roof and front verandah. It is surrounded by a garden, completely overgrown, but I did notice some nice original shrubs and plants amongst the weeds. The residence appears to be inhabited by a caretaker for the heritage precinct on both sides of the road. In fact, we saw a man walking along the road and heading towards the cottage and he may well have been the caretaker. We saw him walk through the front gate into the residence.
We were excited to discover this wonderful historical area, so close to our home and decided to come back another day and take more photos. On the way back we saw a little family of swans on the Lake, two black swans and three little white cygnets. Hopefully, we will discover more bird life on the Lakes, when we come back!
Acknowledgments
1. Penrith City local history site. (information about Castlereagh Methodist Church)
2. You Tube - Castlereagh Bell Tower (information about Bell Tower)
3. Wikipedia (information about Upper Castlereagh Public School)
