Author: TM Diep

Page 9

EGERIA

Buildings of the
Centre for Women’s Health

288 – 290 Queen Street: Mary Windeyer House

This building stands on the old Bradbury Park Estate subdivision. The original building is dated between 1844 and 1856. It was known as the “Railway Hotel” when the licensee was Sylvester Byrne, who rented the premises from John Doyle. After Byrne’s failure to make a profit in this hotel, John Doyle took up the licence and later Thomas James ran the hotel. The wooden coach house at the rear of the building was converted into an area for entertainment. In 1985, Daphne Kingston wrote of this theatre:
“McGuanne wrote ‘Talented young Australians amused a bush audience with jigs, hornpipes, sword and jockey dances in costume. Here the Grand John Walsh won fame with Paddy Malone and purty Molly Branagan. Here the swordsman halved a sheep with a single cut, sliced cuttings from a leg of mutton and severed an apple thrown into the air as it fell’”.
After John Doyle died, the building passed to his children. In 1896, the Railway Hotel had the greatest number of outbuildings in this section of buildings. According to sources, these outbuildings were for the operation of a coachbuilder and for the Doyle’s Brothers’ businesses of blacksmiths and undertakers. Nicolas Doyle died in 1907 and Annie Doyle, his sister, sold the property to Edwin and William Fieldhouse. In 1921, the building was bought by Cecilia and Henry Meredith who are believed to have lived in it. Mrs. Meredith eventually sold it to J.L. Froggatt in 1943.
Mr. Froggatt renamed the building “Bonito”. His father, an entomologist had seen these fish on an expedition to New Guinea. “Bonito Flats” was divided for residential accommodation.
This building was acquired by the NSW Planning and Environment Commission. After the restoration by Fisher, Jackson and Hudson in 1971, it was leased to a doctor. It was used by the Macarthur Chronicle newspaper before being bought by the Benevolent Society.
In 1995, the building was acquired by the Benevolent Society, along with Number 294 to house the services of the Centre for Women’s Health (CFWH).
The building has been named “Mary Windeyer House”. Mary Windeyer was born in England and came with her minister father and mother to New South Wales. Mary was concerned for the health and welfare of children. She was critical of large orphanages and favoured the concept of ‘boarding out’.
In addition to campaigning in her own right, she influenced her husband, William to support women’s interests. He was Solicitor-General in 1877 and 1878. He favoured divorce law reform which would include desertion. Mary sought to improve the opportunities for women to work.