Image right: Mintaro Estate subdivision plan, 1912. Courtesy Strathfield Local Studies
The Mintaro Estate in Strathfield was offered for auction in December 1912 by H.W. Horning & Co. on behalf of vendor and builder, Alderman Ebenezer Ford of Enfield Council. The site was known locally as Brown’s Paddock, where many football games were held.[1][2] This was land owned by blacksmith, Richard Brown who died in 1882.[3] His widow, Esther was still living on Liverpool Road between The Boulevarde and Long Street when she died in 1906.[4]
Daily Telegraph 23 November 1912 p.20 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/238726005
Later referred to as the ‘uncrowned King of Enfield,’[5] Ford settled in Enfield c.1900 where he was originally listed as a marble and slate merchant on electoral rolls.[6] This is significant and likely explains the choice of name for the estate and later, the street Mintaro Avenue. Mintaro is a historic town in the Clare Valley of South Australia and home to Mintaro Slate[7], thought to be the oldest operating quarry in Australia.[8] Ebenezer Ford was Managing Director and founder of the Enfield Park Brick Company which was established in 1912.[9] Ford was responsible for much of the development of Enfield as a suburb, assisted by the arrival of a tram service to the district.
Slate quarry at Mintaro, SA by Samuel Sweet, c.1880. Courtesy National Library of Australia
Interestingly, there was also a cargo ship, the SS Mintaro, built in 1889 in Scotland, which was involved in a collision in February 1912.[10] SS Mintaro’s career included a number of collisions and industrial disputes.[11]
SS Mintaro leaving the wharf at Woolloomooloo, 6 January 1903. Courtesy National Archives of Australia
Most of the 41 lots of the Mintaro Estate were situated in William Street between Liverpool Road and Cross Street, although six commercial lots fronted Liverpool Road and The Boulevarde, now part of the Broadway shopping strip. William Street had first developed off Homebush Road although Sands’ Street Index lists only three homes there before the Mintaro Estate was subdivided. Bungalows were built on most of the new lots between 1913 and 1920. Many of these cottages were given names which first appeared in Sands’ Street Index of 1920. These included: Byronville, Westgrove, Melrose, Woorak and Ottiwell. One new resident of the street was solicitor, Emil Ford, the son of developer, Ebenezer Ford. Some of these original bungalows remain. In 1916 William Street was renamed Mintaro Avenue, probably to avoid confusion with other nearby streets with the same name.
By J.J. MacRitchie
Local Studies Advisor
References
[1] Evening News 20 April 1894 p.2 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/114078705
[2] Evening News 21 July 1905 p.8 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/114471294
[3] New South Wales Government Gazette 25 August 1882 p.4409 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/221665760
[4] Sydney Morning Herald 19 April 1906 p.6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14766283
[5] The Sun 5 May 1929 p.25 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223961209
[6] Canterbury (Enfield Division) Electoral rolls 1903-04
[7] Mintaro Slate http://www.mintaroslate.com.au/
[8] Mintaro, South Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mintaro,_South_Australia
[9] Sydney Morning Herald 24 February 1912 p.19 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15312605
[10] The Ballarat Star 9 March 1912 p.1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/218538245
[11] The Sun 9 August 1911 p.7 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/221539488