
ANDREW THOMPSON AND WINDSOR’S FIRST “BUNNINGS”
Not much is written about the buildings of the Square that face Bridge Street but this is the side of the Square that will be deeply and irrevocably impacted by the Government’s Option 1 Bridge replacement project – if it proceeds. This side of the Square is steeped in the very earliest history of Windsor being once the domain of Andrew Thompson himself and of a variety of Government buildings which formed the “Government Domain.”
In looking at the beautifully detailed watercolour c. 1809 “Settlement on the Green Hills” by G.W. Evans ...a “photograph” really...we can see just how industrious our early settlers had been since 1794.....making bricks, cutting timber and hauling by river all the tools and equipment needed to build 3 storey high structures, lay out roads with avenues of trees, create gardens,build a wharf and generally make a town. The maps of 1812,one the original Macquarie map and the other a drawing taken from it will aid in understanding where things were in and around the square at that time.
The Full Image -
Along the ridge-line from left to right is 1) the timber commandant’s house/government house, begun 1796, 2) the brick school/chapel built in 1804, 3) the brick stores building erected in 1803 and 4) the three storey building which was probably Andrew Thompson’s warehouse built facing the square beside his one-level retail store. From his stores a garden flows down to the river and a small whitewashed cottage( possibly the one he lived in for a short time while as he was still a constable of Windsor) sits beside a thatched granary. Both of these had been erected prior to 1809 and they sat on Thompson’s one acre lease. Andrew was one of only two men other than the storekeeper and those in military and other government employment who were allowed to live independently on the government precinct. The other was John Harris and they both held 14 year leases.
If we continue along the ridge we come to the famous Bell Tower which stood in the square and was used to call the convicts to their various duties and to signal the arrival of river craft to the wharf. Up until 1811 the square was known as Bell Post Square because it, the bell post, was a very tall structure and dominated the space with it’s vertical height and it’s importance as a signalling/time keeping device...a slightly more impressive, if more cumbersome version, of a mobile phone.
The Detail -
Thompson’s Store was an impressive structure and beautifully situated to make use of cool river breezes in the summer and also close to the main avenue of transport – the Hawkesbury River. Thompson himself owned several river boats, which carried his goods from Windsor to Sydney and vice-versa. Some even went to sea, trading to islands in the Pacific.
From the Sydney Gazette, Sunday 25 September 1803 - “ a strong well-built sloop, from 35 to 40 tons burthen, belonging to Mr Andrew Thompson. was on Saturday the 17 instant launched at the Green Hills, Hawkesbury. Mr Thompson has another vessel of nearly the same size now on the sticks, which will be shortly ready to launch.”
Thompson built four ships; “Nancy”, “Hope”, Hawkesbury” and “Gov. Bligh”. He purchased the “Speedwell” from John Grono.
When he Thompson died in 1810 he had another vessel in the process of being built. He had called it the “Geordie”- Thompson was a Scottish lad, himself a “Geordie.”
Thompson’s Store must have been a Mecca for all the inhabitants of Windsor and the surrounding Hawkesbury. Just as many now-days make their way to Bunnings at McGrath’s Hill to get “just about everything useful”, so they made their way to Bell Post Square for the same reason. They came by boat or horse or on foot for the necessary things to make their farm work and house keeping more efficient and comfortable.
About 10 months before his death, Thompson had so many ventures and interests in hand, that he found it too difficult to run his store. Also, his health was failing badly. So, he appears to have handed over the running, at least in part, of his store to his trusted clerk, John Howe. The following Advertisement in the Sydney Gazette, Dec. 3rd, 1809 gives us a peak into a “Bunnings”/department store of the early Hawkesbury...even some of the language is the same.......
“John Howe begs leave to inform the public that he keeps and carries on the extension house and business of Mr Andrew Thompson, at the Green Hills Hawkesbury, with every respectful attention, and has now on sale a valuable assortment of Woollen and Linen Drapery, Haberdashery, Hosiery, Stationery, Grocery, Drugs, Cutlery, Ironmongery, Saddlery, Chaise, Cart and other harness in sets or otherwise, Men and Women’s Shoes, Shoemaker’s Tools, Dressed Leather of all kinds, Salt, Pitch and Tar, Large Brass locks, Copper, Copper Pump Works, Leaden Pipes, and other Brewing Utensils, with a variety of other Goods of the best quality and at the most reduced prices, for ready payment only. All persons indebted to A. Thompson are requested to make good their payments without delay.”
After Thompson’s death in October 1810, John Howe took over Thompson’s store which was demolished some time in the 1820,s.
If you let your eyes wander back to the image of Thompson’s premises showing his store, his gardens and his cottage, you can almost imagine him, perhaps, emerging from his retail store, stopping and enjoying the sunlight, the view of the glorious river and the ship with it’s sails fluttering in the river’s breeze. Maybe it’s the “Nancy” or the “Hawkesbury” setting off with a cargo of maize, fruit and vegetables to Sydney. You can imagine him walking down the log stairs on the footpath to the river, inspecting his garden and taking in deep breathes of clean, fresh air, so good for the ailing lungs of one suffering from tuberculosis. By his side is his favourite dog which he describes in detail when he advertises him on 25 Dec 1808 as “Strayed or stolen from a farm belonging to Mr A. Thompson, at Hawkesbury, a black dog with white streak down the neck, white tip on the tail, which curls upwards in a small ring, answers to the name of Bumper. Any person restoring the dog to Mr Thompson, at Hawkesbury will receive ONE GUINEA reward; but if detailed after this notice the person will be prosecuted in whose possession he may be found.”
Together they walk through the fruit trees, down to the river where Bumper, with the white ring-tipped tail, runs and splashes, chasing sticks and retrieving them. Andrew hails the sailors on the boat and wishes them “God’s speed” before heading back up the path to his cottage in the garden.
Not much is written about the buildings of the Square that face Bridge Street but this is the side of the Square that will be deeply and irrevocably impacted by the Government’s Option 1 Bridge replacement project – if it proceeds. This side of the Square is steeped in the very earliest history of Windsor being once the domain of Andrew Thompson himself and of a variety of Government buildings which formed the “Government Domain.”
In looking at the beautifully detailed watercolour c. 1809 “Settlement on the Green Hills” by G.W. Evans ...a “photograph” really...we can see just how industrious our early settlers had been since 1794.....making bricks, cutting timber and hauling by river all the tools and equipment needed to build 3 storey high structures, lay out roads with avenues of trees, create gardens,build a wharf and generally make a town. The maps of 1812,one the original Macquarie map and the other a drawing taken from it will aid in understanding where things were in and around the square at that time.
The Full Image -
Along the ridge-line from left to right is 1) the timber commandant’s house/government house, begun 1796, 2) the brick school/chapel built in 1804, 3) the brick stores building erected in 1803 and 4) the three storey building which was probably Andrew Thompson’s warehouse built facing the square beside his one-level retail store. From his stores a garden flows down to the river and a small whitewashed cottage( possibly the one he lived in for a short time while as he was still a constable of Windsor) sits beside a thatched granary. Both of these had been erected prior to 1809 and they sat on Thompson’s one acre lease. Andrew was one of only two men other than the storekeeper and those in military and other government employment who were allowed to live independently on the government precinct. The other was John Harris and they both held 14 year leases.
If we continue along the ridge we come to the famous Bell Tower which stood in the square and was used to call the convicts to their various duties and to signal the arrival of river craft to the wharf. Up until 1811 the square was known as Bell Post Square because it, the bell post, was a very tall structure and dominated the space with it’s vertical height and it’s importance as a signalling/time keeping device...a slightly more impressive, if more cumbersome version, of a mobile phone.
The Detail -
Thompson’s Store was an impressive structure and beautifully situated to make use of cool river breezes in the summer and also close to the main avenue of transport – the Hawkesbury River. Thompson himself owned several river boats, which carried his goods from Windsor to Sydney and vice-versa. Some even went to sea, trading to islands in the Pacific.
From the Sydney Gazette, Sunday 25 September 1803 - “ a strong well-built sloop, from 35 to 40 tons burthen, belonging to Mr Andrew Thompson. was on Saturday the 17 instant launched at the Green Hills, Hawkesbury. Mr Thompson has another vessel of nearly the same size now on the sticks, which will be shortly ready to launch.”
Thompson built four ships; “Nancy”, “Hope”, Hawkesbury” and “Gov. Bligh”. He purchased the “Speedwell” from John Grono.
When he Thompson died in 1810 he had another vessel in the process of being built. He had called it the “Geordie”- Thompson was a Scottish lad, himself a “Geordie.”
Thompson’s Store must have been a Mecca for all the inhabitants of Windsor and the surrounding Hawkesbury. Just as many now-days make their way to Bunnings at McGrath’s Hill to get “just about everything useful”, so they made their way to Bell Post Square for the same reason. They came by boat or horse or on foot for the necessary things to make their farm work and house keeping more efficient and comfortable.
About 10 months before his death, Thompson had so many ventures and interests in hand, that he found it too difficult to run his store. Also, his health was failing badly. So, he appears to have handed over the running, at least in part, of his store to his trusted clerk, John Howe. The following Advertisement in the Sydney Gazette, Dec. 3rd, 1809 gives us a peak into a “Bunnings”/department store of the early Hawkesbury...even some of the language is the same.......
“John Howe begs leave to inform the public that he keeps and carries on the extension house and business of Mr Andrew Thompson, at the Green Hills Hawkesbury, with every respectful attention, and has now on sale a valuable assortment of Woollen and Linen Drapery, Haberdashery, Hosiery, Stationery, Grocery, Drugs, Cutlery, Ironmongery, Saddlery, Chaise, Cart and other harness in sets or otherwise, Men and Women’s Shoes, Shoemaker’s Tools, Dressed Leather of all kinds, Salt, Pitch and Tar, Large Brass locks, Copper, Copper Pump Works, Leaden Pipes, and other Brewing Utensils, with a variety of other Goods of the best quality and at the most reduced prices, for ready payment only. All persons indebted to A. Thompson are requested to make good their payments without delay.”
After Thompson’s death in October 1810, John Howe took over Thompson’s store which was demolished some time in the 1820,s.
If you let your eyes wander back to the image of Thompson’s premises showing his store, his gardens and his cottage, you can almost imagine him, perhaps, emerging from his retail store, stopping and enjoying the sunlight, the view of the glorious river and the ship with it’s sails fluttering in the river’s breeze. Maybe it’s the “Nancy” or the “Hawkesbury” setting off with a cargo of maize, fruit and vegetables to Sydney. You can imagine him walking down the log stairs on the footpath to the river, inspecting his garden and taking in deep breathes of clean, fresh air, so good for the ailing lungs of one suffering from tuberculosis. By his side is his favourite dog which he describes in detail when he advertises him on 25 Dec 1808 as “Strayed or stolen from a farm belonging to Mr A. Thompson, at Hawkesbury, a black dog with white streak down the neck, white tip on the tail, which curls upwards in a small ring, answers to the name of Bumper. Any person restoring the dog to Mr Thompson, at Hawkesbury will receive ONE GUINEA reward; but if detailed after this notice the person will be prosecuted in whose possession he may be found.”
Together they walk through the fruit trees, down to the river where Bumper, with the white ring-tipped tail, runs and splashes, chasing sticks and retrieving them. Andrew hails the sailors on the boat and wishes them “God’s speed” before heading back up the path to his cottage in the garden.