Later, Bathurst Municipal Council decided it would build a very large and, one might say, quite an impressive building on the location.

The edifice dominated the land it stood on, which was later surrounded with a timber paling fence. The council expected the venture to make money and eventually pay for itself, but this failed to happen.

Basically, there were problems from the outset concerning the building itself as well as some of the tenants. Adjacent shopkeepers and the public continually complained about the dust problem and, in particular, the smell, as there was no drainage.

Tenants often didn’t pay their rent and there were legal issues that meant Bathurst Municipal Council’s solicitors had to get involved. The barrage of complaints concerning the untidiness of the whole area raged for years.    

By the early 1890s, Bathurstians were becoming more in favour of the beautification of the site. 

In November 1894, the local National Advocate newspaper suggested that the old fence should be removed, the market area itself should be enclosed and the rest of the area cleaned up and planted with trees.

Dr Machattie preferred that the market building should be pulled down and carted away.

With councillors divided on their ideas, it was decided to hold a poll and Bathurst Municipal Council asked its ratepayers, all 900 of them, what they wanted in late October 1902. As the results show, half of them failed to even vote, however the result was 236 to 197 to get rid of the structure. 

In July 1906, Bathurst Council wrote to the NSW Minister asking for the land to be dedicated as a "public recreation ground". Another referendum was suggested and this time the result was more overwhelming, with 367 in favour and only 58 voting for it to stay. However, lots of people didn’t vote again.

The old building was demolished by 1910 and the opening of the Boer War Memorial seemed to prompt some action into fixing up the location to "beautify and illuminate" it.

Gas lamps had initially been distrusted. By 1910, however, many homes around Bathurst had by now been illuminated by this type of lamp.

Gas had replaced the old kerosene street lamps, though the one in our photo is a little more elaborate. These incandescent lights would burn the gas to produce heat, this heat causing the ceramic mantle, which encased the flame, to produce the light.

Gas lighting of buildings and streets began overseas early in the 19th century. Most streets in London were lit by gas as early as 1816, so some of our early convicts had witnessed gas lighting.

But for the next 60 years or so they were generally distrusted, and few homes were lit in England until Parliament in London was lit by gas. The King’s Parade design incorporated 20 "of the latest design gas lamps".

Bathurst Council supplied the gas for these gas lamps. The council’s gasworks history started on February 14, 1880 when Bathurst Council called for designs for its new gasworks.

Council employed a man to ride around on his horse to turn on the lamps every evening, unless it was a full moon, and to turn them off in the early hours.

The lamplighter stood on his saddle to turn on and ignite the lamp. He had a long, thin, wooden hooked stick to turn it off.

The poor man was often criticised in council for allowing lights to go out on windy nights.