Ingleside

Background

Once inhabited by the Awabakal and Guringal people, Ingleside is one of the leafy and semi rural suburbs in northern Sydney. The name of the suburb comes from a mansion called Ingleside House, built in the 1880’s by Baron Von Beirenm, an industrial chemist of Dutch and American background.

Public transport and walking from sight/site to sight/site isn’t a sensible option, nearly two hours by bus to get there and everything is two kilometres from everything else, so we kicked off with a car envoy.

Ingleside Market

We met at Ingleside Market, 307 Powderworks Rd, great coffee and a good stop for fresh fruit and vegetables. They also offer a subscription delivery service for locals, the F & V looks fresh.

Monika’s Doggie Rescue

Our first stop was Monika’s Doggie Rescue, 2 McGowan Rd, a couple of kilometres from our coffee stop. As we neared the shelter a huge Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota) was slithering across the road and into the bush. One of the gang took a photo, assuring us its prey is small mammals and lizards and not people, although they can inflict a painful bite. No one got too close.

One of the volunteers gave us a great overview of the Rescue shelter. Monika Biernacki, the founder has been rescuing dogs for 35 years and registered as a charity in 2001. In that time 13,300 dogs have been saved. There are currently 80 dogs on site and 40 fostered out. She shares her passion for the dogs with a team of volunteers. There are very stringent requirements for dogs to be adopted, fostered or even walked.

In one instance potential adopters were asked to visit the shelter 3 - 4 times a week for 3 - 4 months. Many dogs are not rehoused due to the requirements and stay at the shelter. The process polarises potential adopters, reviews are glowing and disparaging. The cost of the shelter is over $1 million per annum and an example was provided of a dog with kidney issues being operated on - unsuccessfully - to the value of $15,000. I couldn’t help wonder what other needs could be met with that money. An interesting place.

The snake

The Baha’i Temple

Our next stop was the beautiful Baha’i Temple, which most of us had driven past and never been in before. Now was the chance! Baha’is believe in the unity of the human race under one God and the essential unity of the world’s religions. Like all Baha’i temples, the building has nine sides and nine entrances, symbolically representing unity, including the unity of religion - the principle that there is a common foundation underpinning humanity’s great spiritual traditions. The Baha’i Faith has its origins in the teachings of the Founder, Baha’u’llah (1817 - 92) whose name means ‘The Glory of God’. The Faith teaches the purpose of life is to know and worship God, to acquire virtues and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilisation. Once we die our soul progresses to the afterlife where it continues to develop spiritually. The world centre of the Baha’i Faith is located in Haifa, Israel.

The temple was opened in 1961. It stands 39.6 metres from the base to the peak of the dome. There is seating for 600 people on the ground level. Two structural firsts in Australia were:

1. a dome of such dimensions had never been built before;

2. a helicopter was used for the first time to place the prefabricated lantern structure on top of the dome.

A service open to the public is held every Sunday at 11:00 with readings from the holy writings of the major world religions and prayers sung in harmony. There are no priests or other leaders because there are no rituals and no clergy in the Baha’i Faith. Annually elected councils of women and men run the administration at a local and national level.

The beautiful gardens with a wide variety of plants covers over 9 hectares and the public is welcome to picnic. The Visitor Information Centre is a wealth of information as well, supported by volunteer guides.

The Baha’i Temple, standing 39.6 metres tall
The inscription translates to ‘O Glory of the All Glorious’
Prayer books in many languages
Looking back through the main door
And through this window…
…and this one

The gang’s (nearly) all here….

Next up a complete change of focus, we found the gates to the Smoky Dawson ranch, on Mona Vale Rd near Chiltern Rd (thanks J & A). Born Herbert Henry Brown (19 March 1913 to 13 February 2008), Smoky Dawson, an Australian country western and folk performer, entertainer, radio star and double-headed axe and knife thrower, rose to fame in the 1940s as an entertainer for American troops based in Australia during WWII. He released his first single in 1941 and his last album in 2005, aged 92. Smoky and his wife Dot (an elocutionist, radio actress and presenter) founded the ranch in 1957 as a venue to host country music shows, a horse riding school and a holiday camp for children. The ranch was purchased by Dot and gifted to Smoky on his 40th birthday. It was destroyed by a bush fire in 1979.

The ranch gates stand on land now owned by the Galstaun College, which purchased the land from the Dawsons.

Around the corner is the Hamazkaine Arshak and Sophie Galstaun College, a co-educational, Armenian Christian college with over 320 students. It offers a bi-lingual Armenian education from Kindergarten to Year 12 and opened in 1991 on this site (founded in Terry Hills in 1986). The school includes the Smoky Dawson multi-purpose hall, opening the college facilities to the wider community.

As recommended by the local Hunter Estate Agents, we headed off to look at the best houses in the best streets of Ingleside. Many of the properties and the houses on them were huge.

An added bonus were the gnomes and kookaburra.

Kookaburra sits on the fence

Ingleside House, built in 1885, for which the suburb was named, is at 1 Manor Rd. According to the real estate blurb it ‘combines the beauty of the Southern Highlands with European sophistication and a relaxed northern beaches lifestyle’. It was last sold in November 2020 for $3,550,000. Originally built by Baron (dubious) Carl Clinton Hiram Wallbridge von Bieren. He was the founder of a factory called the Australian Gunpowder and Explosives Manufacturing Company, not surprisingly supposed to specialise in gunpowder and explosives. Powderworks Road takes its name from the factory. At the time Australia imported all its gunpowder so influential people were keen for him to succeed. In 1884 the Governor, Treasurer, Attorney General and an entourage of 100 others travelled to the factory to witness the testing of explosives. Lunch was served first and fortunately, the charges exploded before the party could get to the site as a few of the workers were injured and damages would have been much more extensive.

Apparently Von Baron was a shady character and died in prison after being convicted of fraudulent bankruptcy.

As a girl who loves a fireman, a quick stop at the Ingleside Rural Fire Brigade in King Rd was a must. The voluntary service has been provided since 1952. Sadly it wasn’t open and no one was around.

We had planned a walk from the Chiltern North trail, a 1 kilometre feeder trail into Ku-ring-gai National Park but heat and rumbly tummies changed that to lunch at Hills Taste Buds Cafe and Flower Market. A great lunch and gorgeous flowers.