|
The Very Cream of Austinmer, Second Subdivision
1913
coloured map; 15.5 x 25.8 cm. Maps Collection, Australian National
Library
|
|
REAL ESTATE was selling
like the proverbial hot cakes down the south coast in 1913 when
Wyewurk was built - as the ad for a sub-division in nearby Austinmer
demonstrates.
And though, alas, we don't have a poster for Thirroul,
an advertisement for Wyewurk was discovered recently in the Australian
National Library by STUART MACKENZIE who has written a delightful
article about it for The National Library Magazine (December
2009). The ad was in the real estate journal Properties and
Premises by Hardie and Gorman Pty Ltd. The date is 1919 when
the Irons family, who had built the cotttage, put it on the market
and it wss bought by Mrs Southwell.
The Real
Estate agent waxed lyrical about the cottage, which he spelt Wywurk:
‘Wywurk’ … ‘Why work’ indeed when one
has a retreat like this to tempt from the turmoil and effort of
city life to the restful murmur of the beach? … The fortunate
owner of ‘Wywurk’ can tumble out of bed on its sheltered
verandah, run down the path to the beach, and in thirty seconds
revel in the froth of the breakers. Again one asks, ‘Why
work’?
You can read Stuart's
article - and see a lot of other interesting pictures of another
seaside place which Lawrence visited in 1922 - Narrabeen. - by
clicking HERE.
STUART MACKENZIE
is a landscape architect and town planner with a passion for Sydney’s
urban heritage and bushland. He is writing a book titled ‘Absolute
Waterfrontage: A Real Estate History of Sydney’s Waterfront
Suburbs’
|
