When my irrigation system comes on there is no pressure. What should I do?

Find the reticulation connection to the water mains. You will find a solenoid valve that has isolated the system from the mains. The valve has failed internally and is not opening fully. We recommend hiring an expert to replace it. If you have a bore, the pump or bore needs to be fixed by an expert.

What is better for a retaining wall, timber sleepers or blocks?

Treated timber is approved for in ground use and has a reasonable service life, however block retaining walls and concrete sleeper retaining walls are more durable having a greater life expectancy. This is based on suitable footings & good drainage. Both Blocks and concrete sleepers come in a wide range of colours, sizes and styles to create a more aesthetic landscape. Common styles of retainers walls to consider are timber sleep retaining walls, link wall or link block retaining walls and concrete sleeper walls

Should I pave or concrete?

While concrete certainly has its benefits, pavers give a more aesthetic finish to a landscape area. Pavers area available in range of colours, texture, styles and sizes. Larger format, 400mm and 500mm pavers have become increasingly popular with modern and contemporary landscape designs. Pavers are also commonly used for garden borders and edges for their straight line finish which is widely desired in modern landscape construction.

How do I maintain artificial grass?

Very little maintenance is required. Just sweep off any leaves or gently use a leaf blower. You can hose off any spills or pet messes. For pet solids, you just scoop up in the traditional way. You can hose or wipe down with cold water if required. To lift the fibres just use a broom to sweep in the opposite direction to your view point.

Do I need landscape design plans before I get a construction quote?

Yes. A landscape design will allow us to discuss the project with enough detail to allow for an accurate price estimate. This design process will also determine whether council approvals are required, which can impact cost and timing.

Gardener Chatswood

Seeking a skilled gardener in Chatswood? All Green Gardening and Landscaping is one stop for all your gardening and landscaping needs. We provide services ranging from mulching, weeding, garden maintenance, and turfing to rubbish removal. In your local vicinity, our top-rated services make us one of the premier gardening contractors nearby.

Our garden services are executed by seasoned experts. We pride ourselves on our meticulous approach, always delivering outstanding gardening solutions.

Call 0410 196 069

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Best Gardening Services Chatswood Wide

We believe in clarity; get a no-obligation estimate for Chatswood gardening services before we begin. We typically inspect the garden first to give an accurate price estimate. This approach ensures a detailed garden evaluation, allowing customised service suggestions and competitive pricing.

If you’re in doubt or your garden’s unruly, we’ll intervene with a well-thought-out execution strategy. We’re fee-free for call-outs, and you only settle the bill when you’re content with our work. We bill you solely for hours worked, with no time-padding to match the estimate.

Our Chatswood team, fully trained and well-prepared, can assist with all your garden care queries. The All Green Gardening and Landscaping team understands these intricacies and is available for a second opinion or extra help if required.

Looking for a Gardener Near Me in Chatswood?

Online search for a dependable local gardener? Unveil best-in-class services for a splendid outdoor transformation. For service variety and flexibility, book with us; no garden’s too challenging. For small garden touch-ups or grand lawn renewals, rely on us. If your outdoor space is lacklustre, we’re the solution.

Preferring other tasks over garden maintenance? Call All Green Gardening and Landscaping. We love maintaining gardens for commercial and residential clients. It’s our passion to ensure gardens are green, neat, and spotless!

Professional Gardener Services in Chatswood

When designing a garden, it’s useful to know what plants will enjoy the soil and climate conditions, what width and height they will grow to, what water and nutrient needs they have, how much sun they will need, what pests will show up and how to deal with them if/when they do, bird and insect attraction, etc.

Our expertise lies in creating gardens perfectly matched to your vision. Subsequently, we’ll present a design showcasing mature plant forms. Every service reflects our keen attention to design details for your assurance. Our legacy of experience ensures trust from clients, year in and out. For all garden care needs in Chatswood, give us a ring or drop a message.

Garden Care Chatswood

Endless dedication crafts the most vibrant and beautiful gardens. Consistent upkeep is crucial for achieving that ideal appearance. From mowing to soil enhancement, consistent care yields the best garden results. Today, this is a prevalent problem among many homeowners. For many, the garden dream is there, but time commitment isn’t.

What started out as a labor of love soon turns into an obligation you just don’t have time to fulfill. And the longer you postpone taking care of a garden or lawn, the more time you will have to spend fixing it up. This is a vicious cycle that prevents people from making the most out of their outdoor space. Our Chatswood gardening brigade, with its extensive experience, understands the trade. From creating splendid gardens to pest combat, All Green Gardening and Landscaping approaches with a smile. From garden design to pest control, our expertise meets your garden’s needs.

Garden Maintenance Chatswood

Beautiful gardens don’t just stay lovely without effort. The process demands frequent care, hard work, and a time investment not all can offer. Every garden is special, so we carry out a bespoke gardening service for every single one of our clients. We try to make the most out of your garden’s natural assets and that is why our services are not overpriced. All of the technicians we work with are fully equipped with the right tools and machines to complete the job.

Our experienced team understands how best to care for Chatswood, NSW 2067 different types of grasses. Commercial mowing, acreage care, or grass slashing, we’re equipped with the best tools and know-how.

Frequently Asked Questions

Locate where the reticulation meets the mains. The solenoid valve isn’t fully opening due to an internal malfunction. For any bore-related concerns, trust only expert solutions.

For longer-lasting results, concrete and block walls outperform treated timber. A broad spectrum of colours and sizes in blocks and sleepers ensures beautiful landscapes. Common styles of retainer walls to consider are timber sleep retaining walls, link wall or link block retaining walls and concrete sleeper walls.

While concrete holds merits, pavers shine in aesthetic appeal.

Maintenance is a breeze; just a sweep or using a leaf blower will suffice. You can hose off any spills or pet messes. For pet solids, you just scoop up in the traditional way. For an upright fiber appearance, sweep in the opposite direction of your viewpoint with a broom.

Indeed. A landscape design enables a comprehensive project discussion, guaranteeing an accurate quote. Our design process also evaluates if council approvals are necessary, affecting both cost and timing.

Current Job Postings

If you aspire to be part of the All Green Gardening & Landscaping Team, send us your Job Interest. We’re recruiting local landscapers and gardeners in Sydney, and these positions are available right away.

jobs@allgreen-gardening-landscaping.com.au

Night Service in Chatswood
Chatswood NSW.

Victoria Ave
Chatswood NSW. Quite the contrast to today's Chatswood which renders this scene unrecognisable.

Sweet Morinda (Gynochthodes jasminoides)
A long established plant, growing as an epiphyte, in a fork of a planted Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). This species is usually seen as a climbing plant in eastern Australia. A member of the huge botanical family Rubiaceae, known as the coffee family.

interval at a classical concert
Ten years ago my wife Jenny & I listened to the Canadian pianist Avan Lu at the Sydney International Piano Competition. After hearing his performance of the 17th concerto by Mozart, I predicted he would be the winner. Yesterday we heard him again in Sydney. The man is a wizard, a phenomenal player. He's also a good raconteur and speaker, when introducing the items to be played. All items are old chestnuts, old favourites, warhorses that are regularly performed. The first was the Fingal's Cave overture by Mendelssohn. It's a musical description of a famous cave off the coast of Scotland. If you've been to the island of Staffa on a sunny calm day you are very lucky indeed. To my ear it was in c-minor, but the "perfect pitch" was off by a semitone, it's in b-minor. Not my choice of music, but a popular piece. The composer Brahms was a champion of this overture. Next on the list was concerto 20 by Mozart. I've heard this literally hundreds of times. It was just about the only concerto of Mozart's played in the 19th century. Brahms and Beethoven played it and wrote cadenzas for their performance. I think Avan Lu played the Beethoven cadenza in the first movement. One of only two Mozart concertos in a minor key. This concerto is a powerhouse, a dynamic heavy hitter. Full of tension, aggression, anger and triumphant resolution. Concert pianists love this concerto as it is so satisfying to perform. It's a showpiece for the virtuosic skill of the soloist, and being replete with beauty and passion. The pianist mentioned the similarities to the opera Don Giovanni, which I wasn't aware of. The orchestra played well in this concerto, I liked the strings who had some sweet moments in the high register. There's a crescendo in the early part of the concerto, a huge build-up of emotion and tension. This is then resolved by the soloist hitting big chords in the low register after particularly difficult piano passages. The trumpets and drums combine to make really loud sounds. I love it when Mozart writes for full deafening sounds. Another favourite moment is in the finale, where the key changes to the major. The trumpets signal a repeated downward call, heralding the concerto to a triumphant finish. Like so much of Mozart, this is a dazzling example of perfection in the classical form. The next pieces were Beethoven. I've got mixed reactions to Beethoven. But some pieces I adore and can't criticise. Such as the concerto number one. I prefer this to most of his other concertos, It's better than the more famous "Emperor". Concerto one is just a load of fun. Great entertainment, bright and sunny. The great 20th century pianist Sviatoslav Richter said it was his favourite concerto to play. And why not? Great tunes, fabulous virtuosity and humour. There's also great beauty here and there too. On his day, Beethoven was the wittiest and funniest composer. Jenny mentioned how I regularly laughed out loud at this performance yesterday. It's true. A couple of funny moments were the huge orchestral lead up to the cadenza in the first movement. As if Beethoven is making fun of himself in the almost overdone, pompous way. But it works so well. Another memorable moment is the minor key diversions in the finale. Utterly clever and unexpected. The finale is non stop brilliance. A lucid race to the finish line with flags flying and the crowd cheering. The main theme is catchy and satisfying to hear. This is one of my favourite pieces of Beethoven. There's no self indulgent emotional rubbish here, no victory seized from the jaws of defeat. It's the great man at full throttle, with wonderful entertainment. After terrific and well deserved applause, the encore was the slow movement of the Pathetique, by the same composer. Another famous piece, and well appreciated by the crowd.

Chatswood Railway Station
Chatswood NSW.

City buildings with the Brush Cherry (Syzygium australe)
This area is near the Pacific Highway & Victoria avenue Chatswood, in suburban Sydney. The area would have been Blackbutt forest 250 years ago. None of the original species exist in this area. But there are dozens of Skeleton Fork Ferns growing in the pots housing the Brush Cherry trees. They're also growing in cracks in the ground. Psilotum nudum is a widespread distributed fern, often occurring on rocks, and sometimes in rainforest. A species local to Sydney and many places throughout the world. They've made a good living here in a city environment.

Capturing Love Stories: Ocampo Weddings - Engagement Photography in Chatswood, Sydney, NSW
Welcome to Ocampo Weddings, your premier destination for exquisite engagement photography in the heart of Chatswood, New South Wales, Sydney. Our talented team of photographers specializes in capturing the raw emotions, love, and connection between couples as they embark on this beautiful journey towards marriage.

Doughwood (Melicope micrococca)
The Doughwood is a common rainforest tree in moist areas of New South Wales near the coast and ranges. It's in the Citrus family; known as Melicope micrococca. Sydney is not a rainforest stronghold with poor soils and an abundance of fire. However, it's great to see this plant growing near the golf course at Chatswood. One of only a handful of natural occurrences in the city. This tree is around ten metres tall. Stunted in size due to growing on shallow soil above sandstone. A mature individual, probably of considerable age. There are juveniles coming up nearby. The leaves in threes are easily noticed, making identification straight forward. There's a curious population here of a north coast rainforest myrtle. I counted six plum myrtles (Pilidostigma glabrum). One of which was in fruit, another 3 metres tall. There's another population of them about 500 metres upstream. Probably not planted, perhaps originating from a nearby cultivated plant and spread by birds. Nearby are two other native rainforest trees in the citrus family, Acronychia oblongifolia. Also seldom seen in the metropolitan area.

Scotts Creek
Chatswood NSW.

Beauchamp Park
Chatswood NSW.

Archer St
Chatswood NSW.

Garden of Remembrance, Chatswood NSW
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Dg Mono (D15-67) 1976-04-21 Greyhound (69) (PFM069) Dg (183) & 6V71 in Chatswood-NSW - Ian Lynas
photo by Ian Lynas Heavily laden with freight as well as passengers, Greyhound 69 powers through the Sydney north shore suburb of Chatswood on 21 April 1976 on an afternoon and overnight journey to Brisbane.

Wisteria Flowers at Muston Park, Sydney
Wisteria, planted in 1952 at Muston Park, Sydney

Happy Chatty
Chatswood, NSW, Australia

Former Fire Station, 767 Pacific Highway, Chatswood, NSW
Surviving amongst the modern commercial buildings and high-rise apartments in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood, stands a quaint old former fire station which had opened in 1900. As early as 1883 there was concern about the absence of water in the Willoughby district to extinguish fires. The following year, on the 14th February, 1884, the Fire Brigades Act established the Fire Brigades' Board of Sydney, which took over from the old insurance company brigades. Volunteer brigades were registered and worked in collaboration with the new permanent brigades, and the Board established its headquarters in Bathurst Street, Sydney, later moving to its present home in Castlereagh Street in 1888. The year before the Board was established, Willoughby aldermen had petitioned the NSW Parliament on the 15th December, 1883, against being included in the Schedule to the Fire Brigades Bill, on the grounds that there was no water available in the Municipality to extinguish fires and anyway, its buildings were sparsely scattered. Nevertheless, the Bill went through and Willoughby was included in the Schedule. This meant that Council had to pay an annual levy of 60 pounds 2 shillings and 7 pence despite having no brigade, no fire station nor any reticulated water! The Municipality was not provided with water until 1892 when it was piped across from Ryde Pumping Station. By the 1890s local residents and council soon agitated for construction of a fire station not only to have something to show for their payments, but to protect Willoughby properties from fire. Eventually, the Metropolitan Fire Brigades' Board acquired land from David Wilkins on the eastern side of Lane Cove Road (now the Pacific Highway), opposite Centennial Avenue, Chatswood. By this time the area of Willoughby was 9 square miles, it had 51 miles of streets and about 900 houses. Construction of the volunteer fire brigade station was begun on the 17th July, 1899, by Henry Dengate, a Chatswood builder, to plans prepared by Joshua Percy Josephson of Sydney who also supervised its construction. It was built of brick and iron with a terracotta decorative band above the entrance door and window. Below the station's name, 'Willoughby Fire Station' in Art Nouveau style, a sandstone shield was carved with the initials 'F.B.B.' and the date '1899'. This can still be seen today. In the north-western corner of the building a squat tower was constructed. It was pierced by round windows and topped with a truncated pyramidal roof surmounted by a decorative iron enclosure, similar to a widow's walk. Access to this lookout was via a trapdoor in the roof. Since the fire station is located on a high ridge the tower, 35 ft (10.7 m) in height, would have afforded excellent views of the Municipality, and allow fires to be easily seen. The interior was divided into an engine room (for the firefighting appliance), watch room, single men's room, lavatory, stables for two horses, and store. It was well ventilated, lighted and connected with the telephone. The station's equipment comprised a manual horse-drawn fire engine pump, a hose and reel. It was staffed by eleven volunteer firemen with W. Dobson as first captain and Peter Melvin as second captain. A two-storey house adjoining the station was occupied by the captain of the brigade. Exactly sixteen years to the day after the Fire Brigades' Board was established, the Willoughby Fire Station was officially opened on the 14th February, 1900, by the first Chairman of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades' Board, Charles Brown JP, who handed over the keys to Captain Dobson. A banquet at nearby Sharland's Hotel followed the opening with appropriate speeches. However, the station had been called to its first fire only hours before. Just after midnight, a shed belonging to Willie Way Lee's, probably a local market gardener, in McClelland Street, Willoughby, was on fire. The shed had been used to store three tons of onions and was ablaze when the brigade arrived. The fire was extinguished but the onions were noted in the local press as being 'severely damaged'. With the formation of the Willoughby brigade, the council's annual levy to the Board increased to 109 pounds, 18 shillings and 9 pence. During its first year the station was called out to six fires. Following representations from Willoughby Municipal Council, the name of Willoughby Fire Station was changed to Chatswood Fire Station to prevent confusion from the second brigade operating in the district known as East Willoughby. The East Willoughby Fire Station had opened in a converted cottage in Laurel Street, Willoughby, in 1905, though a new station was built in 1915. After 1917, the East Willoughby brigade was known as Willoughby and Willoughby Fire Station on the Pacific Highway was called Chatswood Fire Station. As the population of the Municipality increased, so too did the need for fire services. The Chatswood station changed from being staffed by voluntary firemen to being permanently staffed in 1912. Engine-keeper Chappell was appointed a Second-Class Fireman in the station's first permanent brigade and later promoted to a Sub-Station Officer at Willoughby Fire Station (in Willoughby) until his retirement in 1933. In 1922 a Garford motor-driven fire engine was attached to the station at Chatswood, capable of delivering 200 gallons (909.2 litres) of water a minute. During a heat wave in January 1940, tragedy struck when the Chatswood brigade was rushing to attend a fire. The fire engine was racing down Tambourine Bay Road, Lane Cove, when it overturned and landed on its side. Four firemen were hurled from the engine sustaining injuries while a fifth was pinned under the engine's running board. The latter was 42-year-old Station Officer Walter Maxwell Plumbe of Chatswood. He was badly injured and later died in hospital. His ensuing funeral procession comprised two hundred firemen in full uniform led by the Fire Brigades' Band, the Deputy-Chief Officer, police officers and a motorcycle contingent. A fire engine transported his coffin from Chatswood to Rookwood Cemetery for burial. It was draped in a Union Jack with Plumbe's helmet, belt and axe poignantly placed on top. From 1910 until 1928 the permanent staff of the brigades operated under the 'continuous system', with firemen being accommodated in or near the fire station. A two-platoon system was introduced in 1928, which saw men on duty for an exhausting 84 hours a week. In 1945, the Board of Fire Commissioners then reorganised the operation of stations with a reduction in weekly hours to 56 and removing the two-platoon system and instigating a three-platoon one. Because the intake of recruits for the new regime had not been rapid enough to staff all existing stations, 23 metropolitan fire stations had to be 'temporarily' closed. No doubt the shortage of applicants at that time was due to the Second World War with Chatswood Fire Station being one of those affected. Despite Chatswood Progress Association's lobbying to Willoughby Council with a petition signed by 1500 concerned citizens, the station closed on the 15th September,1945, and never reopened. Its staff was transferred to nearby stations. The old Chatswood fire station survives today (2022) though its tower was demolished years ago. The arched doorway for the fire engine and adjacent window have been converted to display windows for use as a shop. Before the 1970s, Grahams Tiles occupied the building and from about 1971 it was used as a billiard retail outlet. The current lease holders are Abbott & Doyle Billiards who have occupied the fire station as their showroom since 1982. The building adds an intriguing historical dimension to Chatswood's highly developed modern commercial centre while the building's original use is still quite evident today. Major References Leplastrier, Claude. 'Willoughby's Fifty Years: A Retrospect of the Jubilee Period of the Muncipality of Willoughby for the years 1865 to 1915'. The Council of the Municipality of Willoughby, 1915. (facsimile edition, Willoughby Library, 1988). Leslie, Esther and Jean Michaelides. 'Willoughby: the Suburb and its People'. Management Development Publishers Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988. 'North Shore Times', 17 February, 1900.

'Ashley House', formerly 'Scarness', 97 Ashley Street, Chatswood, NSW
The large two-storey Federation house in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood, later called 'Ashley House', was built in 1910 for William Neville Harding (1854-1935), an expert in State and Federal taxation law, and his wife, Agnes, (1854-1920). When it was constructed, the street address of the house was the corner of Ashley and Darling Streets, Chatswood. William Harding was born in London and began his career with Huntington Brothers in Paris in 1870. He was a member of the Civic Guard in that city when it was under siege during the Franco-Prussian War. After Paris, Harding travelled to New Zealand where he joined a private customs and excise firm in Christchurch, later establishing his own business as a shipping and commission agent. Next stop was Sydney where he married Agnes Sandy in 1882. He devoted much time to political study and eventually helped to frame the nation's first Federal taxation act. In 1907 the Hardings purchased land at Chatswood. On their block they had constructed a grand brick house with a slate roof in Federation Queen Anne style. It features a variety of roof shapes, wide verandahs with ornamental curvilinear valences, turned timber posts, terracotta ridge ornamentation and gable end accessories on the roof, together with windows containing multi-paned upper sashes. Most telling of all indicating the style is the delightful representation of a kookaburra on the tower indicating the growing use of Australian flora and fauna as decorative motifs in architecture and design. The house was also known for its grand staircase, kitchen and cellar. The Hardings named their house 'Scarness', and over the next few years enlarged the block by purchasing its adjoining properties. They employed three gardeners to landscape the estate. The head gardener was said to have been a Frenchman by the name of Monsieur Gaston. As well as a large orchard, there was a coach house and stables and a cow was kept for milk. The house was the venue for meetings of the Women's Horticultural and Home Industries' Society, as domestic fruit and vegetable growing on Sydney's North Shore was undertaken by many households at the time. Members of the Society "received instruction in horticultural work" at the Society's gardens at 'Scarness' including how to manage seedling beds, vegetable gardens and strawberry plots, which had been laid out especially for tuition by the professional gardener. William and Agnes raised a family of ten children of whom two did not survive to adulthood. After Agnes passed away in 1920 from cancer, 'Scarness' was converted to a convalescent hospital. The Scarness Estate was subsequently subdivided into nine suburban lots with the lots and house auctioned on 10th April, 1926, by Mr R.T. Forsyth. The lots were advertised at the time as being "the finest residential sites in the district" which were ideally situated in regards to transport as "motor buses pass the estate, the tram is within 5 minutes and the train 10 minutes". Over the years the house passed through several owners, being purchased in 1944 by Y.C. McConnochie, and by W. Underwood in 1963. The house appears to have continued to be used as a convalescent home during this time. In 1968 'Scarness' was purchased by Yangooran Pty Ltd who renamed it 'Ashley House' after the street on which it is located. Since then it had been used as a nursing home operated by several owners, including the Thomas Holt Memorial Village from 1973 to 1975, then the Ashley House Nursing Home Pty Ltd to 1978, and Coline Pty Ltd to 1985 when it was acquired by Bayview Gardens. In 1988 additional buildings providing accommodation for more residents were added to the block. Later known as Ashely House Lodge, the facility was closed in 2021 and was sold at auction on 18th December, 2021, for $8,100,000. At this time, it was described as having 15 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and room for 8 cars. Major References Egan, Vince, 'The Heritage of East Chatswood', Management Development Publishers Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, pp. 67-70. Obituary - MR. WILLIAM HARDING. (1935, November 28).'The Sydney Morning Herald' (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 16. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from

Moon rocket play equipment, Muston Park, Penshurst Street, Chatswood, NSW
Nestled amongst the trees of the playground in Muston Park, Chatswood, on Sydney's North Shore, is a rare surviving example of a moon rocket. It's one of about 37 similar rockets installed in playgrounds around Australia from the early 1960s through to the 1970s. The 10 metre high rocket, resting on its four red fins, looks like it's waiting to take off from its launch pad. It's accessible by an external ladder then two internal ladders enabling adventurous would-be astronauts to climb up three levels. The top one curiously has a mounted automotive-style steering wheel where children could 'fly' the rocket. On the middle level a quick exit or 'splashdown' could be made via the 'escape hatch' and down the slippery dip. Plans for the rockets first came to Australia at the height of the space race and Cold War frenzy, when the Chief Engineer of Sydney City Council returned from the USA in the late 1950s. Two rockets were ultimately planned in 1965 for the park on the corner of Flora and Knight Streets, Erskineville. Much more well-known and faster to get a rocket built was the Blue Mountains City Council's engineer, John Yeaman, who also brought back a plan from the USA in 1961. The first Yeaman rocket, only 20 ft (6.1 m) in height, is said to have been constructed under Yeaman's supervision in council's Albion Street works. It was installed in the Soldiers' Memorial Park at Blackheath. Over the years this park became quite famous after Yeaman's rocket was joined by a series of whimsical tubular-steel climbing frames designed and made by a local Blackheath metal fabricator, Dick West. These included representations of a Gemini space capsule, Tiger Moth aircraft, Old Woman’s Shoe, Cobb and Co. coach, elephant slippery dip, vintage car, 'Endeavour' sailing ship, submarine, dinosaur and a clown. Many of them were sponsored by the Blackheath Rotary Club and made their first public appearances in the town's Rhododendron Festival parade before being installed in the park. Richard (Dick) West (1932-2017) had been born in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba and worked in the Blue Mountains as a fettler in the 1950s on the electrification of the railway line to Lithgow. He moved to Blackheath in 1956 with his wife, Betty, and apparently was largely self-taught in the trades of blacksmithing, fabricating and welding. In 1959 he opened his own business, R.J. West Engineering, on the corner of Railway Street and Station Avenue, Blackheath. Initially, he made boat and car trailers and produced decorative wrought-iron gates. Dick was friends with John Yeaman, and after John gave Dick a copy of his US-designed rocket plan dated 19 May 1962, Dick produced the first of about 37 rockets in 1963. His business manufacturing playground rockets enabled children all over Australia to play in rockets just like those installed in American places such as Wichita, Kansas; Richardson, Texas; or Miami, Oklahoma; and even in the Soviet Union. Yeaman's rocket drawing still survives and provides a good description of the rocket's components including: a 31 ft (9.45 m) centre support post of 5½ in. (14 cm) diameter galvanised pipe; a 16 ft (4.9 m) slide of 18 gauge stainless steel with 5 in. (13 cm) sides; 44 upright flat steel ribs ⅜ in. (1 cm) x 1 in. (2.5 cm), totalling 970 feet in all; four 'H'-section fins of 12 gauge steel; ladders of galvanised-iron pipe; 6 handrails of galvanised-iron pipe; floors of black steel sheet; a nose cone of 18 gauge steel; a control column of 16 gauge steel; a steering wheel of 1 in. (2.5 cm) steel rod; and a gear stick and two gear lever stops of ½ in. (1.24 cm) steel rods. Dick West's rockets were installed in parks elsewhere in Australia but mainly in New South Wales. They were not only provided for children in Sydney suburbs, but were trucked out to country towns as far away Taree, Moree, Quirindi and Broken Hill, which ordered two! Their cost was often provided by local service and community clubs such as Rotary and Lions Clubs. In many instances parks where a rocket was located became colloquially known as 'the rocket park'. For some 30 years children enjoyed these rockets. I personally experienced climbing the one in Tania Park, on Dobroyd Point at Balgowlah Heights, not far from Manly, placed there in 1965. However, things changed in the 1990s. Following a child’s fall in a playground in Warrnambool, Victoria, Standards Australia was prompted to change its guidelines. This in turn precipitated reviews of tubular steel play equipment in parks around Australia including climbing frames, swings, see-saw and rockets. With no thought to being modified, they were subsequently removed and replaced with 'safe' plastic modular equipment of a low height. Some of the rockets did survive, though they were sealed and their access ladders removed, serving out their days as ornamental sculptures in flower beds. Predictably, community protest erupted. At some places thousands signed petitions to keep their rockets. The residents of the Willoughby local government area were outraged at the removal of their much-loved rocket from Muston Park, Chatswood, in 1994. However, in 2009 when council began canvasing residents about what they would like to have included in the upgrade of the park, the community spoke out and wanted their rocket back! Amazingly, council was able to pull a rocket out of a hat and in 2012 purchased one second-hand at Blackheath. It had originally been erected at the Weroona Boys' Home at Woodford, in the Blue Mountains, operated by the Department of Child Welfare for primary school aged boys. The home closed in 1984 and its rocket was purchased by Blackheath caravan park owner, Geoff Bates, and installed in his Lakeview Holiday Park and Cabins at 63 Prince Edwards Street as a static sculpture. Willoughby City Council purchased Bates' rocket and spent some $90,000 refurbishing and reconfiguring it so it complied with the latest safety standards. The original galvanised steel slippery dip was replaced with a yellow plastic enclosed slide and it was officially relaunched for children in June 2015. References: Gladstone, Nigel, 'Rocket park playground will open for school holidays in Chatswood with slippery dip and swings', in 'North Shore Times', 15 June 2015. Jackson-Stepowski, Susan, 'PLAYGROUND ‘ROCKETS’ REFLECT THE SPACE RACE ERA' in 'Blue Mountains History Journal', Issue 8, Feb 2018, pp.49-65.

Former Seymour's Service Station, 989 Pacific Highway, Chatswood, NSW
On the eastern side of the Pacific Highway, between the Sydney suburbs of Chatswood and Roseville, stand two buildings constructed in Inter-War Spanish Mission style as a petrol station and showroom. The buildings were originally part of Seymour's Service Station established by two Queensland brothers, Roland and Harold (Harry) Seymour. The structure on the northern side of the William Street intersection was erected in 1929 as the service station while one was built on the southern side in 1936 as a car showroom. It is thought they were both designed by Virgil D. Cizzio, a local Roseville architect. Inter-War Spanish Mission style developed from the 1880s in the southern regions of the United States of America from an appreciation of late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century Spanish colonial architecture in that country. In California and Florida, the Spanish Mission style became popular for domestic architecture from the 1920s onwards and the style crossed the Pacific to Australia under the influence of Hollywood. Seymour's Service Station shows the most common features of the Inter-War Spanish Mission style in Australia including textured stuccoed wall surfaces, the use of triple arches, twisted chevron-decorated columns and ornamental ceramic tile capping. The front façade of the original service station, facing the Pacific Highway, called Lane Cove Road when the station was erected, was dominated by a triple-arched porte-cochere. The arches were later enclosed, but the green ceramic tiles and 'barley twisted' concrete columns with Corinthian capitals are clearly evident. Between the arches are decoratively raised rosettes and Spanish Mission style electric wall lamps with matching 'barley twist' frames (shown here). A row of decorative pan-tiled coping sits above the arches, broken by a curved pediment above the central arch. The name 'Seymours' is in large slightly-raised capital letters on the front and side of the building. Cars drove through the porte-cochere to access the service station to purchase fuel, oil and other motoring requisites. Initially, it was fitted with six manually-operated petrol pumps but were replaced in about 1937 with a row of automatic bowsers. These were of varying styles and colours, each supplying a different brand of petrol. This was a prominent feature of the garage, which made it a landmark on Sydney's North Shore. By the early 1980s the old multiple-brand pumps had been replaced with two, BP-brand only pumps. In 1936 the architect, Cizzio, was engaged to design an additional building on the southern side of William Street, for a car showroom, car laundry and spare parts facility. This building was designed in a similar style to the service station. From 1960 Seymour's dealt in the sales and service of Renault and later Peugeot cars. However, by 1982 increasing competition from large dealerships and self-service petrol stations made it impractical for Seymour's business to continue and it was put up for sale by the proprietor, Donald Seymour, son of the founder. The site was auctioned on 19th August, 1982. The old service station served numerous uses as a carpet store, saddlery and horse-riding outfitters, and a site office for the Chatswood to Epping railway and later the Metro line. Recently it has been incorporated into the Seymours Residences with an adjoining multi-storey apartment complex. The former showroom building was also renovated but retained its association with car sales. It opened as Chatswood Classic Cars, agents for Alfa Romeo, Audi and Volkswagen and used BMW's, Jaguars, Maserati, Mercedes, Porches and Range Rovers. Later, the showroom and its associated car yard on the southern side sold Toyota Lexus cars only. Large 'Lexus' signs now cover the original 'Seymours' signs.

Former Seymour's Service Station Showroom, 985 Pacific Highway, Chatswood, NSW
On the eastern side of the Pacific Highway, between the Sydney suburbs of Chatswood and Roseville stand two buildings, constructed in Inter-War Spanish Mission style, as petrol station and showroom The buildings were originally part of Seymour's Service Station established by two Queensland brothers, Roland and Harold (Harry) Seymour. The structure on the northern side of the William Street intersection was erected in 1929 as the service station while one was built on the southern side in 1936 as a car showroom. It is thought they were both designed by Virgil D. Cizzio, a local Roseville architect. Inter-War Spanish Mission style developed from the 1880s in the southern regions of the United States of America from an appreciation of late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century Spanish colonial architecture in that country. In California and Florida, the Spanish Mission style became popular for domestic architecture from the 1920s onwards and the style crossed the Pacific to Australia under the influence of Hollywood. Seymour's Service Station shows the most common features of the Inter-War Spanish Mission style in Australia including textured stuccoed wall surfaces, the use of triple arches, twisted chevron-decorated columns and ornamental ceramic tile capping. The front façade of the original service station, facing the Pacific Highway, called Lane Cove Road when the station was erected, was dominated by a triple-arched porte-cochere. The arches were later enclosed, but the green ceramic tiles and 'barley twisted' concrete columns with Corinthian capitals are clearly evident. Between the arches are decoratively raised rosettes and Spanish Mission style electric wall lamps with matching 'barley twist' frames. A row of decorative pan-tiled coping sits above the arches, broken by a curved pediment above the central arch. The name 'Seymours' is in large slightly-raised capital letters on the front and side of the building. Cars drove through the porte-cochere to access the service station to purchase fuel, oil and other motoring requisites. Initially, it was fitted with six manually-operated petrol pumps but were replaced in about 1937 with a row of automatic bowsers. These were of varying styles and colours, each supplying a different brand of petrol. This was a prominent feature of the garage, which made it a landmark on Sydney's North Shore. By the early 1980s the old multiple-brand pumps had been replaced with two, BP-brand only pumps. In 1936 the architect, Cizzio, was engaged to design an additional building on the southern side of William Street, for a car showroom, car laundry and spare parts facility. This building was designed in a similar style to the service station. From 1960 Seymour's dealt in the sales and service of Renault and later Peugeot cars. However, by 1982 increasing competition from large dealerships and self-service petrol stations made it impractical for Seymour's business to continue and it was put up for sale by the proprietor, Donald Seymour, son of the founder. The site was auctioned on 19th August, 1982. The old service station served numerous uses as a carpet store, saddlery and horse-riding outfitters, and a site office for the Chatswood to Epping railway and later the Metro line. Recently it has been incorporated into the Seymours Residences with an adjoining multi-storey apartment complex. The former showroom building (shown here) was also renovated but retained its association with car sales. It opened as Chatswood Classic Cars, agents for Alfa Romeo, Audi and Volkswagen and used BMW's, Jaguars, Maserati, Mercedes, Porches and Range Rovers. Later, the showroom and its associated car yard on the southern side sold Toyota Lexus cars only. Large 'Lexus' signs now cover the original 'Seymours' signs.

unmasked
Candid eye contact Chatswood NSW December, 2021

Gully rainforest with Lilly Pilly (Acmena smithii)
A few days ago I walked here with a school friend. He first came here 50 years ago, and we hid coins in the rock pool just downstream of here. He didn't remember it, which is understandable. We're still friends, and nothing seems to have changed much. This is my home forest, I've been here many hundreds of times. And in this exact area I've found three new species of mushrooms (still waiting to be described by the scientists). Botanists may call this area warm temperate rainforest, dominated by Coachwood, Lilly Pilly and Ironwood. Ferns are abundant here, hence the name of the reserve. Mosses and liverworts are also evident. Those one and two cent pieces are probably still in the rock pools, and we have no intention of searching for them.

for hungry people (explored)
The stomach becomes the soul when one is hungry. These cooks worked hard in the heat too serve up some delicious yakitori to hungry customers. Candid Street Photography Chatswood, NSW December, 2021

Filmy Fern (Hymenophyllum cupressiforme)
An excellent fern site, off-track in the lower north shore of Sydney. Many species here, growing on and near rocks in a moist south facing habitat. Particularly outstanding is one of the largest colonies of hare's foot fern I've seen in the rainforests of New South Wales. In this shot, there's the one-cell thick filmy fern, and a small spleenwort, known as the Necklace Fern ((Asplenium flabellifolium). There's at least 42 types of ferns in this reseve. The lichen in shot is one of the Cladonia group.