"Old Buffers"
movement commenced in the 1880's, to help preserve old
acquaintances and loyalty to the town on the part of its
St Mary's citizens who had left the area. For nigh on
half a century, St Marys enjoyed the distinction of being
the only town in Australia that for year after year, held
a reunion of past and present residents, by means of what
was known as the "Old Buffer"s Reunion &
Cricket Match. The first coming together of the
townspeople of St Marys was originally in 1856, when
"O'Connell's Square" as Victoria Park was known
at that time, was sold to James Hackett and then won back
by the people of St Marys, who celebrated by way of a
"Bullock Roast" in their beloved
"square" . This celebration was the first of
what became an annual commemoration known as the
"Bullock Roast & Sports Day". The first
cricket match held on Victoria Park was in 1890, and down
the years the fraternity continued to function, save for
a few lapses during the First World War and again in the
Depression of the 1930's and as one generation passed on,
the next took their place and in this manner, the
association continued to be rejuvenated until September
1938, when it ended through lack of interest. Pleas by
the last three survivors of the 1890 originals at this
last reunion, brought little response, and as such the
"Old Buffers" passed into history. Three
prominent townsmen who helped begin the "Old
Buffers" movement, were George T Bennett (Wagon
Builder) Andrew Thompson (Master Tanner) and William
Fleming (Brickmaker). The first match in 1890 was
described as "24 old buffers, some over 60 years of
age, hunted for the ball in dress ranging from
professional togs to moleskins and cabbage tree hats. No
one had to run very far, for there was no hard hitting
and when there was a good hit, the chances were it would
at least fall to one of the 24 scouts or else got lost in
the long grass. Besides, over the 2 rail fence - but a
short distance away, was counted as 2 runs and after 48
wickets had fallen, someone yelled 'damn the cricket,
lets go to dinner' which had been prepared at the
Commercial Hotel" . These reunions were financed by
donations, raffles and the sale of tickets for the after
dinner dance. George T Bennett was one of the three
original "Old Buffers" to play in the last
match in 1938 at the age of 85 years.The term
"buffer" was used both humorously and
disparagingly to describe an elderly man and comes from
the French word "foolish fellow" , however, it
acquired an affectionate meaning and it was in this sense
that it applied to the cricketers. (Research from
Nepean Times & the late Bert Evans)
OTHER
TANNERS OF THE DISTRICT- Thomas
Paskin- first practised the art of
tanning on the property of Edward King Cox of
"Fernhill"at Mulgoa, where he also married in
the 1820's. The hides were (cleansed, defleshed, and
dehaired) in the Nepean River, above what is now known as
"The Basin", being secured to chains stretched
across the river and tanned in pits dug beside the
stream. About 1844 he moved to St Marys, setting up his
home and tannery on the site of the Masonic Temple (Gt
Western Highway). It was here Thomas, who was a skilled
saddler and harness maker, taught his two sons Daniel and
John Henry to become skilled in both trades. Daniel would
meet the teams from over the mountains at Emu Plains to
purchase the hides. When sufficient hides of l eather
were made, they were loaded onto a spring cart and taken
to Sydney. The only way the tanners could export of
leathers was by meeting the Captains of the boats at
Sydney and induce them to take their leathers back home
to their homeland. Thomas ev entually sold his tannery in
1882 to John Herford. Thomas' son Daniel became the
licensee of the "Oddfellows Arms" - later named
the"Commercial Hotel" and John Henry settled in
Penrith as a saddler. John Henry also went into tanning
and cattle dealing to finally end up a tanner. He gave up
harness making to erect a large tannery and residence on
a site, having a good spring of water, near the Penrith
ambulance station, about opposite Castlereagh Road. He
was joined by his father and brother Daniel. John Henry
also had a butchery business in Station St, Penrith. He
also secured orders for railway sleepers which were cut
at Euroka Creek and he built a large punt to transport
them down river to Penrith. John Henry handed over his
tannery in 1894 to his two sons who became the third
generation of Paskins in the tannery business. John Henry
married at Windsor in 1862 and had 10 children. He died
in July 1910. After 2 years the brothers moved the
tannery to a property on Scotts Creek, about midway
between Kingswood & Werrington on the northern side
of the railway lines. Here they started with 20 pits, 12
spenders (these being pits where the tannery lacquers are
made) and the building of large sheds and stores equipped
with up to date machinery. To ensure a good supply of
water, they built a dam across the creek, which dried up
in the drought of 1901/02. Water was then drawn from the
water tower at Kingswood by pumping it into 200 & 400
gallon square iron ship\rquote s tanks, loaded on carts,
thus enabling them to carry on until the rains came. They
were never again troubled by a shortage of water, for
Frederick Jones, whose tannery was close by had laid down
a pipeline from the Nepean River to the yards of both
establishments. Here, the brothers traded under the name
of "Paskin Brothers" to be joined in later
years by their 5 sons, to maintain the family's tradition
of high grade leather, concentrating on quality rather
than quantity. John Henry retired in 1922 and arranged
with his brother to take over his interest a few years
later, Thomas also retired and handed over to the 5 sons
of the brothers who traded as "Paskin Brothers
Jnr" . Eventually with 3 brothers dead and the 2
remaining, they closed down the tannery in 1954. The end
came finally when the premises were destroyed by fire in
May 1957.
ABRAHAM CORNWALL
- Had a tannery about the site of the Londonderry Race
Track. Not much is known except through his dealings with
a Penrith storekeeper whose ledger reveals the following
information:- "Abraham Cornwall February 13th 1844,
Bought 2 hides at 5 shillings, 1 pigskin (credits) - 1
side leather, August 10th 1846 Debit - 5 hides, 1 calf
skin - May 10th 1848 - Debit 1 fresh hide, 1 pigskin -
Credit 1 side leather. Not much more is known except
Abraham Cornwall ended his days as a saddler and harness
maker at Bathurst at the age of 92 years.
MATHEW J CONNELL -
was born at Richmond in 1843. His parents came from
Ireland in 1839. He died at his home at Mulgoa Rd at the
age of 97 years on 24th August, 1940. At one time he was
an employee of Abraham Cornwall. Mathew started a tannery
in partnership with a Mr Ne ale of Jamistontown in 1889.
JOHN PAGE- was
an English Master tanner who established his tannery
"Saylhurst" in 1856 after acquiring several 50
acre blocks on the eastern side of South Creek, on the
banks of the creek at what is now the far end of Pages
Road, where many a later tanner learnt and benefited by
following his craftsmanship. He was regarded as the
father of the tanning industry at St Marys. He employed
50 workers on his farm and tannery, who he supplied with
morning and afternoon tea. He employed the children of
the district during the summer holidays, husking the
corncobs and at the end he would give them entertainment.
He also gave St Ma rys its first library. John's tannery
was taken over in 1871 by Robert Saddington and Sons, who
sold out later to Thomas Henry Alcock & Joseph
Davenport. After they vacated the premises it remained
idle for some time until in 1882 it was bought by
Ebenezer John White.
JAMES FARRELL-
was born 1806 in England and came to Australia a free man
in 1822. He was one of the first tanners in Victoria.
When he came to Sydney, he took up tanning at Burwood and
then he came to St Marys in September 1882 where he took
over the "Saylhurst Park" tannery. He renamed
it the "Colonial Tannery" . He was the first to
start the 8 hour system and was regarded and the working
man's champion. He died in 1894 at the age of 88 and is
buried in the St Marys General Cemetery. Shortly after
James's death, the tannery, the largest in St Marys at
that time, was closed down. The closure was a disaster
for its former employees, compelling many to leave their
families to seek work elsewhere, some to take their
families and leave St Marys for good. The tannery
remained closed for 3 years until 1897, when the
conditions became more stable on the economic front and
was restarted by William Armstrong who operated it for 3
years. In the early months of 1902 he should out to L F
Anshau & Sons.
L J ANSCHAU & SONS-
who started in the village of Luddenham in 1888 when Mr
Anshau (Snr) began to manufacture men's "Blucher
Boots" . These boots were a heavy-soled studded
working and a Cossack-type boot which was popular with
the miners. In March 1902, the father took his 3 sons and
bought the "Colonial" tannery from Mr Armstrong
who went to Botany. They converted part of the tannery to
the manufacture of boots as they had connections in
Sydney for their boots as well as their leather. This
tannery was mainly run as a family concern but they did
employ a few hands to make a total of 14 persons employed
in both trades. In June 1910, the firm shifted from St
Marys to Parramatta where they went into bootmaking only.
The Granville firm of Marsh Brothers intended to ta ke
over the tannery but this did not eventuate so this old
tannery which started with John Page in the 1840's came
to an end after a life of 66 years, when in October 1911
the buildings were demolished and the timber sold by
auction.
THOMAS HERFORD-
migrated to NSW with his family in 1843. He was engaged
as he stepped off the ship by Major James to work on his
property (the original grant to Major James Erskine,
granted in May 1818 and named "Erskine Park"
near St Marys). Thomas was a bootmaker by trade and in
his spare time, commenced the making of boots and soon,
by careful industry, was able to purchase some ground
over the western side of the creek, on the southern side
of the Great Western Road, about opposite the old
Werrington Turn off (now called Tennant Road). Here he
built a home and a small factory, calling it
"Enterprise Boot Factory" . When he was
established, he started a tannery on the site and for 48
years until 1895, he operated the two industries.
Adjacent to the boot factory stood the brick built
"Cottage of Content" hotel that had served the
Western Road travellers since the 1830's. This was later
taken over by Thomas who ran it as well as the 2
factories until about 1866, when he closed the hotel
down. The factories remained and he was assisted by his 2
sons, John and Paul and his son-in-law William Carberry.
Thomas and several other residents of St Marys formed a
syndicate and went to the gold fields of Sofala and Ophir
Creek, where they prospected for a few years with some
success, Rheumatism caused him to eventually give up this
venture and he returned to St Marys where he died in the
home of his son-in-law in October 1893. In 1848 Alexander
Simpson put down a tannery of 12 pits alongside of
Thomas's tannery and it was sold to Martin Brell in 1881.
MATTHEW WEBB -
born in 1846 in the Penrith district and when old enough
went to work in John Page\rquote s tannery. When Matt was
18 he purchased a block of ground situated behind the
present Band Club where he put down a small tannery and
water storage dam and in 1864 started his own business
which he conducted with his sons alongside that of making
boots until about 1880 when he sold it to John B
Forsythe, who sold it to Andrew Thompson in March 1891.
This tannery was known as the "little tannery"
and remained in production for only 5 or 6 years when it
closed down and was demolished and anything useable was
incorporated into the "big tannery" on
Saddington St, St Marys. Matthew died at Cootamundra aged
53 years in March 1899.
JOHN HERFORD -
was born at Rimpton, Somerset, England in 1847 and came
to Australia with his parents on the
"Birkenhead" in 1856. His father assisted in
supervising the construction of the railway to Parramatta
and died 6 months after arriving in Australia. There
family wer e then living at Smithfield and John, at 11
years of age was forced to go to work to help out the
family. His first job was the carting of wood to the
sawmills at Smithfield. Later he worked in a local
tannery to leave there and become an apprentice in the
trade in the tannery of the Anthony Brothers, where he
soon built up a reputation as the best knivesman in the
county. When a young man, he came to St Marys in 1867 to
work in the tannery of Alfred Alcock and while here he
married a local girl and t he moved to Parramatta where
most of his family were born. He moved his family back to
St Marys and took over the Paskin tannery and for the
next 8 to 9 years he worked the tannery and sold it in
1890 to the Innes Brothers. John bought the recently
deceased John Shand's tannery at Wallgrove but he sold
that to take over the "Federal Tannery" at
Botany from J R Woodland in 1899. John died at Botany on
the 8th March, 1927 at the age of 80 years and is buried
in Botany cemetery.
THE INNES BROTHERS
- George & Albert Innes were born at Emu Plains
(Albert in 1854). When a young man, George became
apprenticed to Matthew Web at his tannery (behind the
present Band club). When he completed his apprenticeship
he went to work at the trade in Brisbane & Goul burn.
In 1890 George bought the small tannery of John Herford
and he and his brother Albert, worked in partnership for
8 years where it was sold toAndrew Thompson who closed it
down. This small tannery commenced by Thomas Paskin in
1844, came to an end in 1900, where both tannery and
residence were demolished. George died in 1928 at the age
of 72 and is buried at St Marys general cemetery.
ROBERT HAMILTON-
was born at Parramatta in 1842. He came to St Marys in
1874 and established his "Parkhill" tannery in
the area then called "Bulls Bush", now called
Monfarville St and conducted his small tannery for the
next 27 years. He packed up in 1901 and left fo r Botany,
where he continued his tannery operations. Robert died in
1921 at the age of 79 years and is buried in St Marys
General Cemetery.
FREDERICK CHARLES JONES
- was born in a house in Castlereagh Street, Penrith in
1875. his father, a native of Carnarvon, Wales died when
Fred was 13 years old and he had to leave school to help
support his family. He obtained employment in a local
general store for 3 years, after whi ch he joined the
railway in the loco department and became an engine
fireman by the time he was 7 years old. Around about this
time, retrenchments in the railway department were being
made and Fred was discharged. After some time in various
jobs, some i n Queensland, he was recalled back into the
service. With only 150 pounds of borrowed money, and no
experience in the tannery business, he left the railway
and selected a block of ground on Scotts Creek, which was
between Werrington & Kingswood on the nort hern side
of the railway line and where, with the practical help of
Daniel Paskin and Bill Ransley, he put down 12 pits and
building one small shed to equip the pumping arrangement
and a wheelbarrow. A month after the completion of the
tannery he resigne d from the railway service and took up
tanning in 1897. This tannery of 5 acres was turning out
40 sides of leather a week and by 1910 it had grown into
25 acres of land, handling 1,000 hides a week. After
about 11 years of operation of his tannery, his a nnual
turnover was estimated to be 60,000 pounds. His tanning
sheds were most extensive and were a practical mixture of
old and new. One shed alone measured 120 x 50 and was
capable of holding 10,000 pounds worth of stock, while
others provided plenty of accommodation for drying,
dressing, baling and dispatching. Two rooms were set
aside for steam drying, each could hold 800 sides and
another capable of holding 2,000 sides of leather. The
drought of 1901/2 dried up his water resources of Scott's
Creek and to keep his tannery working (20 men were then
employed) he joined with the Paskin Brothers (whose
tannery was close by) in drawing water from the water
tower that was at Kingswood and was able to carry on
until the rains came. To stop this from happ en ing
again, and at his own expense, he laid down a pipeline a
distance of 25 miles from the Nepean River to the tanning
yard. This pipeline was laid just inside the railway
fence from Penrith to Werrington, then across to the
tannery. His tannery produced a good quality heavy sole
leather, which went to two leading Sydney boot and shoe
manufacturers. The light and medium was exported to South
Africa, England and Scotland. His chief source of hides
came from the Riverstone Meat Works, the rest from open m
arket. Later on they cam from his properties in
Queensland. In 1920 he and a brother bought 4,000 acres
of land at Bulga in the Gunnedah district. With other
purchases of land, they held a total of 9,000 acres which
eventually held some 10,000 sheep an d 850 head of
cattle. He also took part in meat share farming. Fred
left nothing go to waste. The extraction of tallow from
the fleshings of hides, found a good market in Sydney. He
was also "Captain of Industry" for one of his
investments in theState Book Manufacturing Company,
having a shop on the north eastern corner of High &
Station Streets, Penrith. Another, was a fish curing
venture at Lower Portland, a sawmill at Douglas Park, and
interest in a colliery at Lithgow and a gold mining
venture at Bungonia in the Goulburn district. Fred Jones
was a keen sportsman, especially in trotting and as
owner, trainer and driver, owned some of the fastest
trotting horses in NSW, and for some years, was a leading
reinsman for square trotters at Sydney courses. He was
also a keen gun shot and sporting dog enthusiast, owning
at one time 24 beagle dogs. He was also a large landowner
in the Penrith district, one of the largest being known
as "Jones Town Estate" - this property was the
original grant of John Best in 1814. The Nepean District
Hospital is built on part of his estate. He also had a
circular training track on this estate. He was well known
for his generosity and in the depression years of 1930 to
1935 he gave 20 blocks of land off his estate for homes
to unemployed homeless families. He also gave land in
High Street in Penrith for the central district
ambulance. He died at his Penrith residence in August,
1938 at the age of 64 years and is buried in the Penrith
General Cemetery in Kingswood. After his death his
tannery continued for a short while and eventually closed
down after a productive life of 41 years.
WILLIAM MILLEN -
strictly speaking, the last of the St Mary' s tanners to
close their tanneries was Martin Brell's tannery shortly
after his death in 1934, but it was William Millen who
was to be the last of the old time tanners to cease
operations in the Nepean district in 1958. Until the year
1949 when the St Marys Council amalgamated with Penrith,
his tannery in Second Avenue, Kingswood, was situated in
the St Marys municipality, who's western boundary then
being the centre of Bringelly Road. William was born at
Brewingle, near Bathurst in 1873. As a child he came with
his parents to Kingswood and after leaving school, he
joined the railway to become a fireman on the engines
that went on the old Zig Zag line over Lapstone Hill.
When he was 22 years of age he left the railway to start
up a small tannery near his home in Second Avenue and
during the years of tanning, his tannery increased in
size. The tannery remained a family business for 63
years, being managed by William, his son and lastly his
son-in-law. William died at his residence on 27th
September, 1958 at the age of 85 years and is buried in
the Penrith General Cemetery at Kingswood.
WHO MAY BE A TANNER
"Act of James 1st - No person or persons, from and
after the Feast of Saint Bartholomew next coming, may tan
any leathers or shall use, take or have any profit, gain
or commodity of, or by the sam craft of mystery of the
tanning of leather, and, except such person or persons as
have had a tanhouse at the beginning of the present
session of Parliament and did they occupy the mystery of
the tanning of leather, and except such has been or here
after shall be, brought up, instructed, or taught as,
apprentices or covenant as hired hands for that purpose
by the space of 7 years in the mystery of tanning of
leather, and except the wife or such son of sons of a
tanner as hath used the mystery of tanning of leather, by
the space of 4 years, or the son or daughter of a tanner
or such persons who shall marry such wife or daughter to
whom he hath or shall leave a tan house and fate, upon
pain of forfeiture of all such leathers by him, or so
tanned, or whereof he, or they shall receive any profit
or commodity by tanning or just value thereof" .
PENALTY FOR GASHING OR WATERING
WITH A HIDE, OR SELLING A ROTTEN HIDE -
"Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty,
the lords spiritual and temporal and commons of this
present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the
same, that from and after the feast of Saint Bartholemew,
the apostle next coming, no butcher by himself, or by any
other person, shall gash, slaughter or cut any hide of
any ox, bull, steer or cow in the flaying thereof or
otherwise whereby the same shall be impaired or hurt,
upon pain of forfeiture for every hide so gashed,
slaughtered and cut ..... 20 pence AND No butcher, shall
water any hides except only in the months of June, July
and August, nor shall offer or put to sale any hide
putrefied and rotten, upon pain of forfeiture for every
hide so watered and for every hide so putrefied and
rotten and offer or put to sale ....3 shillings & 4
pence.
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