Visitors to Wagga and locals alike, often stop to admire the tree-lined elegance of Gurwood Street, one of the city’s most distinctive and historic streetscapes. Now, those wanting to learn more about one of Wagga’s oldest streets, can discover some of Gurwood Street’s stories, and get up close to a range of artefacts which chronicle the history of this remarkable street. People & Place: Gurwood Street is a new semi-permanent exhibition on display at the Museum’s Botanic Gardens site.
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Gurwood Street, stretching 1.8 km from Fitzmaurice Street in the east, to Moorong Street in the west, was named by Surveyor General Sir Thomas Mitchell, in honour of his comrade-in-arms of the Peninsular War Colonel Thomas Gurwood.
Originally an area inhabited by the Wiradjuri people, the sand hills on which parts of Gurwood Street sit were a meeting place for corroborees and meetings. In the early 1840s, a tribal fight was documented as having taken place in the area now encompassed by Woolworth’s car park. Some historians believe that up to 1000 Wiradjuri regularly gathered for meetings here prior to permanent European settlement. Since 1849 the character of Gurwood Street has been incredibly diverse. It has been home to businesses, clubs, professional rooms, a brickworks, a library and art gallery, one hotel, an army drill hall, a primary school, a College of Music, the infamous Tichborne Claimant and one of the most ornate theatres ever built in regional NSW.
Opening in December 1931, the Capitol Theatre was one of only two theatres in Wagga (the other being the Plaza).The Capitol boasted a seating capacity of 1645, a heating and cooling system and an interior that was both elegant and ornate. Sadly, following its demolition in 1970, only memories, some photographs and a small number of remnants remain to tell the story of this grand theatre.
The museum has brought these together, so that visitors can experience a little piece of the Capitol’s charm. Chromed door handles, painted tin light fittings, and a decorative wall sconce hint at the building’s grandiose interior design. People & Place also features an incredibly rare upright decorative wall ornament. Cast in bronze, and topped with a faux candelabra, this piece is one of two that were salvaged when the theatre was demolished.
One of the best-remembered (and impressive) stores to ever grace Gurwood Street was the emporium established in 1868 by Townley Edmondson. Situated on the current Woolworth’s site, Messrs. T Edmondson and Co Ltd grew into a significant department store, famously stocking “anything from a tack to an aeroplane”. A recent donation to the museum is a unique industrial scoop, designed and manufactured at Edmondson’s.