Note: The material for the "School History" and "History of Beverly Hills" were taken from our "School Centenary (1892 - 1992) Magazine" which can be read on-line by following the link.

School History

Hurstville West Public School – 1892

An application for the establishment of a public school at Beverly Hills (then known as Hurstville West or Dumbleton) was made on 23 July 1890 and signed by Messrs. Fredrick Thompson, J. Dowman. W. Gosling, M. Harmston and Edward Butfield. The application stated that the nearest schools were at Hurstville and Mortdale and that 51 boys and 46 girls in the locality needed educational facilities.

Inspector Skillman, after careful investigation, recommended that the application be declined because ample schooling was available in nearby suburbs. However, District Inspector Dwyer was of the opinion that a school would be required at Dumbleton in the near future. He advised that steps be taken to secure a site to meet future requirements. In October 1891, a site of almost two hectares was acquired, the land being allotment 1 of the subdivision of the Dumbleton Estate located on the corner of Stoney Creek Road and King George’s Roads.

A contract was entered into with Robert Gow for the erection of a school, the work be completed early 1892. The school opened on Monday, 25 April, under the charge of William Crawford with Miss Gertrude Rembert as teacher, In May the same year, the enrolment comprised of 35 boys and 33 girls.

At first the school was known as Hurstville West but was changed to Dumbleton in 1910 and to Beverly Hills in 1940.

The Hurstville Story by Pedr Davis

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History of Beverly Hills

The Early Years

It appears that the first land grant in the area was made to Mrs Hannah Laycock in 1804, who was granted 500 acres by Governor King, which she called "Kings Grove Farm". Later, John and Robert Townson were granted 4,000 acres by Governor Lochlan Macquarie in 1808-9 which grant included Penshurst and Hurstville districts, the largest grants being separated by the present King Georges Road.

At that time, the whole area was considered unsuitable for cultivation and grazing, as it consisted mostly of thick forest. John Townson’s Grants were sold in 1812 to Simeon Lord, an emancipist, who was troubled by trespassers on his property, as they were used for building purposes, charcoal burning and shingle splitting. As Simeon Lord was then the largest landholder in the area, his holding became known as Lord’s Forest.

Beverly Hills

The present district of Beverly Hills was included in the parish of St George which was gazetted in 1835 and the white population was quite small although a large increase occurred following the discovery of gold in the colony in 1850. Aborigines inhabited the area and the remnants of this tribe existed at Peakhurst up to the 1930’s. (The original tribe was the Giviyagal tribe).

Dumbleton

The original name of Beverly Hills was Hurstville West and this was the name of the public school built on the present site in 1891. Prior to the construction of the school building, the land formed part of an orchard named Dumbleton and it is recorded that the name of Hurstville West was changed to Dumbleton in 1915.

It may be of interest to recall that in the early part of this century, it was rumoured that the steam tramline between Arncliffe railway station and the Bexley terminus near Mimosa St would be extended along Stoney Creek Road to Dumbleton, but the proposal was put to rest finally with the decision to construct the East Hills railway line from Tempe, the line being built about 1931.

Later, following the opening of this line, the construction of homes in the area proliferated and apparently the new residents considered that the name of Dumbleton was "unpopular and inappropriate", possibly owing to it’s rural connotation. This opinion appeared to be confined to the new arrivals only, as the original members of the community seemed to quite content with the old name. However, it is possible that the move to initiate a change was sponsored by developers and real estate agents who considered that a measure of prestige would enhance sales promotion, in having the name changed to Beverly Hills.

Many original residents hint that there was an element of snobbery involved in requesting a change of name, but finally Hurstville Council supported the petition and the suburb became Beverly Hills with official approval, in 1940.

Prior to the 1920’s, Dumbleton School was the only one in this area, the nearest public schools being Peakhurst and Kingsgrove. Consequently, pupils attending Dumbleton School were drawn from the surrounding districts of Penshurst, Hurstville West, parts of Peakhurst, Lakemba and the present district of Kingsway. It is noted that two pupils with the surname of Peake attended Dumbleton School in the 1920’s and possibly, were descendants of the Peake settlers.

The Early Way Of Life

There were several small orchards in the area and as there were no fruit flies and few bulbuls existing at the time, the fruit required little attention or protection, apart from attacks from "silver eyes", the popular name for a small bird with a white edge around each eye. Blackberries proliferated on many lots of vacant land and when in fruit provided a free supply of the main ingredient for the making of jam, as well as being a toothsome delight for the pickers.

Flowers for the markets were grown by some residents and a typical example existed opposite the school. A Mr Humphreys occupied a two torey eatherboard house on the southern corner of the King Georges Road - Stoney Creek Road intersection: his property extended down to Cambridge Street and in the 1920's when he was obviously a very old man, his property still produced jonquils in coious quantities although devoid of attention for many years.

Residents in the area were, in many cases, not "well off" by modern standards and although town gas was available for street lighting purposes and domestic use, quite a number of homes continued to use kerosene lamps and candles for illumination and a fuel stove cooking requirements. Although large farms had declined, some outlying households still maintained horses for transport purposes, together with their own cows, pigs, ducks etc. and produced house hold supplies of meat, bacon, soap, candles, with wine pressed from the grapes grown around the homestead verandahs.

The busy area between Beverly Hills and Kingsgrove was frequently mentioned in the local press as having been raided by the police to arrest law breakers conducting and/or participating in a "two-up" school. The hideous game of cock fighting was also known to occur in these parts, but in all probability the organisers came from other suburbs to take advantage of this remote location.

Another activity, largely practised on Sundays, was greyhound racing which took place on flat land near Kingsgrove and was allegedly conducted as "training" exercise, but only the naive would have believed that betting did not accompany these events. The "hare" consisted of a stuffed rabbit skin mounted on a skin which was pulled by a cord attached to the specially adapted rear wheel of an upturned bicycle and when the pedal cranks were turned at high speed, the "hare" just kept ahead of the hounds, finally disappearing into a long wooden box at the end of the straight track.

The stormwater creeks in the low lying areas gouged out, in places, deep holes up to a metre or more in depth and the local boys often used these places to indulge in "skinny dipping" after school or on week-ends. Some of the local lasses also followed this practice, but less frequently. Generally speaking, in the absence of towels, getting dressed involved putting clothes on wet bodies and some mothers were quite perplexed wondering why their hopefuls arrived home with wet heads and mud stained clothes.

The average home could order and have delivered groceries, fruit, vegetables, meat, ice and grain for the poultry, in addition to wood, coal and coke for the kitchen stove and the laundry wash boiler.

There were many dairies in the area, each with their own cows, cow bails, milk separators, feed sheds, delivery cart and horse. One such dairy existed in King Georges Road opposite the school. Whilst the cow paddocks have gone, the house is still there, sideways to the road.

At the intersection of King Georges Road and Stoney Creek Road, on the western corner stood a wooden Presbyterian Mission Church for some years. However, the Elders decided that the church would be better served if the church were moved to a site in Penshurst Street, Penshurst. Accordingly the whole building was moved on wheels the building was used for a long time before being eventually demolished to allow the construction of a new brick building which on completion was opened by the Governor-General of Australia, Lord de L'lsle.