Thursday, December 13, 2007

Ye Olde Woy Woy

Woy Woy Station & Postal Receiving Office
Annotated & embiggened versions

Woy Woy's first railway station. It was just opposite where the Railway Street/Charlton Street roundabout is now.

George Fletcher, who wrote for the Gosford Times under the name Perong, wrote in 1928 that the station master delivered the post by emptying the mail bag out onto a bench and reading out the names on the envelopes.


Woy Woy Station, Jack West store, Bayview Hotel prior to 1910
Annotated & embiggened versions

Woy Woy's first railway station with train pulled in (middle), the beautiful old Bay View Hotel (the original one, right) and a bit more of Woy Woy on the left edge, prior to 1910.

The water is Woy Woy Inlet. The current railway station is about where that long jetty is.


The Boulevard Woy Woy early 1900's
Annotated & embiggened versions

The Boulevard Woy Woy early 1900's. Looking north-north-west round the curve of The Boulevard towards the railway and the hill of Parks Bay/Koolewong across Woy Woy Inlet.

The pub on the left is still there, minus it's upper veranda. The buildings of the right hand side of the road have been replaced by other shops, a factory-now-motel and the 1929 Bay View pub.

The amount of people you can see on The Boulevard in this picture (a dozen) is not much changed.


The Boulevard Woy Woy early 1900s
Annotated & embiggened versions

The Boulevard Woy Woy early 1900s. Looking from what is now the Bay View pub corner north-north-east along The Boulevard (then called main Street).

The distant hill visible behind the trees is Saratoga/Davistown.

On the right hand edge of the photo is "Gilan's Woy Woy" which looks like a shop of some kind. To its immediate left is the old Post Office, built in 1906 to house the post when Postmistress Minard Crommelin came in 1906.

On the left hand side of the picture is another shop with "COX" and some unreadable words on its awning, then another smaller shop, then a butcher. The open ground next to the butcher is where the fish and chip shop and the Woy Woy Memorial Park (Soldiers' Park) are now. Huck Finn's, which was once a butcher shop, is still standing in about the same spot as this butcher shop.

The second Bay View Hotel is not yet built but its site is just out of frame on the left bottom. The camera is standing on the corner of The Boulevard and Brisbane Water Drive.


Bustling Downtown Woy Woy
Annotated & embiggened versions

Bustling Downtown Woy Woy


Linkage

Thanks to Michael for the links.

Railpage - trainspotter talk.

Steam train to Gosford & OSCAR trials - YouTube, shot at Tascott & Hawkesbury River/Brooklyn.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always thought the railway station was in the spot as it is now and did you draw that picture yourself?

Spike said...

So did I. The Dear Old Things talk about how you could always see the crenellations of Alecia's as the train pulled in ad so on. Only found out it was at the roundabout when I did the history walk from the library.

I did indeed draw the map myself.

Anonymous said...

you mustve drawn that a while ago did you? as it looks like you have drawn in the roundabout that used to be at the corner of blackwall road and railway street instead of the traffic lights
what the fuck is a crenellation?

Spike said...

Bugger. Ta for pointing it out.


Crenellations:
_ __ __ __
|_| |_| |_|

As seen on Alecia's Tearooms in Blackwall Road.

Anonymous said...

Ah so thats what they are - thanks