Cementing Neville Dawson, and others', place in Bathurst history

He, along with five others who made significant contributions to Bathurst, will be reflected in the street names of the new housing estate in Windradyne.

Windy 1100 is currently being developed and, with the roadways carved out, the time has come for Bathurst Regional Council to give notice of its intention to adopt the names.

READ ALSO: Windy 1100 construction progressing, 50 lots to be released in early 2024

The names they have selected are Mulholland Parkway, McMillan Avenue, Neville Dawson Drive, Meranda Place, Eyre Close and Astley Close.

However, Neville Dawson Drive might be shortened to Dawson Drive, depending on the decision by the Geographical Names Board, which generally doesn't accept first names to be included in street names.

The attempt to include Mr Dawson's full name is a reflection of his impact on the Bathurst community.

Mr Dawson spent his entire 89-year life living in the Central West up until his death on November 13, 2022.

READ MORE: Neville Dawson remembered as family man with a strong sense of community

He was an active member of many community and sporting organisations, including founding the St Patrick's Sporting Club and spending more than 55 years as a member of Bathurst Rotary.

But perhaps what he is best known for is establishing Dawson's Removals and Storage, a prominent Bathurst business that is still going to this day more than 70 years later.

He was also a Living Legend and has been a recipient of the Citizen of the Year award in Bathurst.

It was councillor Robert Taylor who suggested to include the full name in the street name, an idea that was fully supported in the chamber.

"I hope council pushes hard for Neville Dawson Drive," Cr Graeme Hanger said.

The other five people set to have roads named after them made contributions to Bathurst throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s.

All of them are featured on the Pillars of Bathurst.

Mulholland Parkway - Charles (Tim) St John Mulholland (1903 to 1984)

In 1925, following study at the University of Sydney (B.Sc. 1924), Tim Mulholland joined the NSW Department of Mines as a geologist with the Geological Survey. He would remain with the department until his retirement in 1963, establishing a highly regarded reputation as a hands-on geologist. Early in his career, he successfully undertook the search for groundwater sources throughout the state. During the Great Depression, with unemployed men encouraged to try gold prospecting, Mulholland returned to the Bathurst Region to offer practical assistance. In the late 1930's, his survey of Snowy Mountains geology helped lay the groundwork for the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Away from work, Tim Mulholland was known to occasionally indulge in Charlie Chaplin impersonations.

McMillan Avenue - Donald McMillan (1856 to 1938)

Born at Evans Plains in 1856, Donald McMillan's life was dedicated to farming. He achieved recognition as one of Australia's champion wheat farmers through the crops grown on Meadow Glenn, his farm on the Orange Road. He was also an early proponent of what today is known as organic farming, as in his ingenious employment of "small black spiders" to keep his fruit trees free of insect pests. His successful use of fowls in his orchard in place of insecticide sprays drew the appreciative attention of the experts at the Bathurst Experiment Farm. Whether through his long-standing membership on the Bathurst Show Committee or by way of personal contact, Donald McMillan generously shared his practical farming wisdom and so contributed to the Bathurst Region's agricultural development.

Meranda Place - Wolla Meranda (1863 to 1951)

Wolla Meranda was the name chosen late in life by Isabella Gertrude (Gert) Ada Poyitt. Gert Poyitt was born at Sunny Corner, leaving at age eighteen to begin a teaching career. By the early 1890s, living again in Sunny Corner, Gert's life seemed assured a happy trajectory as schoolteacher, wife and mother. But a succession of personal tragedies transformed Gert into a different persona, that of Wolla Meranda, whose introspections as a poet, columnist and novelist provided insights into Australian society, notably the challenges offered women. Her literary mentor was a French poet, Julien de Sanary (1859-1929), who in 1920 came to live with her in Sunny Corner. It is likely through him that her first novel was published in France in 1922 before its 1930 English version, Poppies of the Night. Wolla Meranda achieved some literary recognition in her time, although her writings are unknown today. She was also an artist (1922 Archibald finalist) and a pioneer environmentalist, a keen opponent of pine plantations.

Eyre Close - Hal Eyre (1875 to 1946)

Born in Sofala, Henry Leo Eyre became one of Australia's leading newspaper political cartoonists. He made his public debut as a cartoonist as a Bathurst schoolboy - with a comic caricature of his schoolmaster. At age 16, Eyre went to Sydney to study art under Julian Ashton, who encouraged him to submit his work to the Bulletin. For a time, Eyre followed a freelance career, sometimes in partnership with Lionel Lindsay, selling sketches and cartoons to Australian newspapers and magazines. He worked under several aliases before settling on "Hal Eyre". In 1908, as Hal Eyre, he became the Sydney Daily Telegraph's regular political cartoonist, where his cartoons proved to be a popular and enduring feature. Eyre skilfully distilled complex situations into simple visual statements, invariably humorous and often satirical. This was especially true with the cartoons he drew for the Daily Telegraph through World War I.

Astley Close - William Astley (1855 to 1911)

Born in England, William Astley came to Australia with his family in 1859. By the age of 21, he had embarked on a life-long career as a journalist. Prior to his employment by the Bathurst Free Press in the mid-1890s, Astley had worked for many newspapers and journals, including the Bulletin. An ardent supporter of Federation and well known to key politicians of the day, Astley, as its secretary, was the key organiser of the successful People's Federal Convention held in Bathurst in November 1896. It was at the Convention the proposal for a popularly elected Senate was first raised. Following Federation, Astley worked tirelessly as an advocate for Bathurst as the site for the new nation's capital. In addition to his work as a political journalist and Federation activist, Astley is remembered, under the pseudonym of Price Warung, for his evocative stories of convict Australia.

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