Five Dock
Background
Originally inhabited by the Wangal people (Woollarawarre Bennelong being the most famous), the custodians of the land and water from Darling Harbour to near Parramatta, Five Dock was named for the five water worn indentations that were likened to docks. John Harris, surgeon and magistrate, was granted land in the area which he named Five Dock Farm in 1806. Dr Harris sold the land to Samuel Lyons, an ex-convict then auctioneer and businessman, who subdivided the land into 133 lots sold at auction. I wonder if he was the auctioneer?
Our first sight on the corner of Great North and Lyons Roads was the Reformers sculpture commemorating the building of the Old Great North Road by over 5000 convicts from 1826 to 1836. The Road was initiated by Governor Ralph Darling, surveyed by Sir Thomas Mitchell, linking Sydney from Parramatta Rd, Five Dock to the Hunter Valley, covering over 260 kilometres. The Five Dock to Abbotsford section of the road is the only section still retaining the original name, ‘Great North Road’. When the convicts began constructing the road, the area was incredibly rural, covered in trees and bush land. For its time the road was a significant engineering achievement and today this section of the road has UNESCO World Heritage listing. Materials for the construction of this section of the road came from the site of Five Dock Bowling Club in Five Dock Park. The park was established in 1883, the war memorial was laid in 1923. It has an off-leash area for small dogs and a skate park first established in 1979, poorly maintained and nominated as the worst three in the state by the National Skateboarders Association and then reopened in 2007 and now maintained.
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The grounds of Five Dock Bowling Club, site of the Great North Rd materials
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Five Dock Park
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Five Dock Park
We kicked off in the shopping centre, wandering from shop to shop. Five Dock had many butcher shops, it now has four stores and two favourites are the Five Dock Meat Market and Caminiti’s. The family who own the Five Dock Meat Market, Gus (Augusto, Giovanni & Wanda De Romanis) are 2nd and 3rd generation butchers, over 30 years at this site. They have been awarded best porchetta in lots of competitions. There are family members who are butchers in Italy and can’t believe the quality when they visit.
Bruno Caminiti, butcher from Sicily had operated a butcher shop since 1965, initially in Leichhardt, this store in Five Dock in 1974. Sam, the current owner is his son and focuses on the same high quality and traditional butchery methods and recipes.
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Five Dock Meat Market
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Five Dock Meat Market
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Caminiti’s
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Sam Caminiti
We walked past St Alban’s Anglican church, built in 1924 with local quarried stone.
The foundation stone of Five Dock public school was laid in the grounds of the church in 1858, with the school opening in 1861. The primary school’s claim to fame is Peter Dodds McCormick, the second headmaster of the school, who started composing Advance Australia Fair on his way home by bus from a concert in the late 1870s.
On to Fred Kelly Place, named after Frederick John Kelly (1897 - 1998) who was the last surviving New South Wales veteran of the Gallipoli war. Fred lived locally and was an accountant at the local Nestle factory. The Place also contains the monument ‘from Volcanoes We Sailed’ in the Piazza Eolie to commemorate the Italian immigrants from the Aeolis Islands near Sicily who came to live in the area from the late 19th century to the 1960’s.
We wander the back streets down to Queens Rd, passing quite a number of auto shops possibly offering different services (there seems a lot). Past a picture framers, a cleaning supplies store, a hair and beauty products supplies store and end up at Pasticceria Papa’s, famous for their cakes, particularly the ricotta cheesecake. Savatore Papa first visited Australia in 1987, saw an Italian dessert gap and returned.
Keeping to the sweet theme, we returned to Great North Rd to Pasticceria Tamborrino, opened in 2002 by husband & wife Vincenzo and Cristina Tamborrino, pastry chefs who perfected their craft in Rome.
A few doors away was the Village Sourdough Bakery with their great sourdough, delicious banh mi and yummy cherry crumbles. Lots of other tempting treats on offer as well.
Our next stop was Rainieri’s Continental Delicatessen, smelling of wonderful cured meats, cheeses and fresh bread. The shop was opened in the 80’s by Peter and Rosaria Rainieri, who immigrated to Australia from Sicily in the 50’s. Peter spent his first 20 years in Australia selling deli essentials door to door and then opened the shop. Peter and Rosaria’s son Sam now manages the family store.
Across the road was the Great North Seafood for fresh and cooked fish and other seafood.
Whilst there are a number of great parks around the area, one that stands out is Timbrell Park. It contains Livvi's Place, which was Australia's first all abilities playground, named the best play space in the country by Parks and Leisure Australia in 2010. The ground-breaking playground in Timbrell Park, Five Dock, was an initiative of the City of Canada Bay, Touched by Olivia Foundation and Leighton Contractors, and was developed to reduce the barriers experienced by those with special needs, and allow children of all abilities to play together, side-by-side. Touched by Olivia also opened its first Livvi’s Cafe at Five Dock to provide opportunities for people with disability to gain meaningful work experience.
Livvi’s Cafe, Five Dock has been operating for about 7 years now and offers people with disabilities meaningful work experience in the hospitality business.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Dock,_New_South_Wales
https://canadabayclub.com.au/blog/top-10-facts-about-five-dock-sydney/#:~:text=In%201806%2C%20Governor%20King%20granted,Russell%20Lea%20and%20Rodd%20Point.
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/national/north-road
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_North_Road_(New_South_Wales)
https://www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/news/aeolian-culture-display-city-canada-bay
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/high-five-20030812-gdh8p2.html
https://www.touchedbyolivia.com.au/
