BURNS, William Joseph (1894-1954)

Third Generation of Timber Merchants

• William Joseph Burns was born at Rockdale, on 2 May, 1894, to William Burns and his wife, Bridget, nee Bourke. In adult life, he would be a timber merchant like his father, William, and  grandfather, Alexander.

   William and Bridget had eight children – Ellen Mary (1882-1932), Marion Winifred ‘Min’ (1884-1966), Anne Teresa (1886-1976), Alexander Leo (1887-1958), Mary Josephine ‘Mollie’ (1890-1920), Margaret Mary ‘Rita’ (1891-1971), William Joseph ‘Billy’ (1894-1954), Agnes Josephine (1898-1986). The family lived in Rocky Point Road, Rockdale, and from a young age, the boys worked in the nearby family owned timber yard.

   The family had a holiday cottage at Darook Park, South Cronulla and when the Cronulla Surf Club was established, in 1908, William Burns Snr. was one of the founding members and was elected as one of the Vice Presidents.  William Joseph became a member of the Cronulla club.

   Realising the potential of the area, William  purchased three acres of land at Highfield, now Caringbah, on the route of the proposed steam tram line. He built a large family home on Port Hacking Road and established  a timber yard on what is now the site of the Caringbah Inn Hotel.  When, in 1911, the tram line was opened, timber was carted from the train line at Sutherland to the yard at Caringbah. A large team of horses was also used to haul timber from the Baltic Wharf at Pyrmont.  The family members helped out with the business and William Joseph, looking after the horses, became a skilled rider. 

   After serving four years with the Militia, William Joseph enlisted in the AIF on 11 December, 1916.  Shortly after, in early 1917, he married Kathleen (Cassie) Maher in Cootamundra, NSW.  He embarked for England on 10 May 1917, and was deployed to France.  His experience in driving horses saw him assigned to the wagons carrying supplies and equipment to the front. 

   When peace came, William Joseph returned to Australia and was discharged in July 1919.  He and Cassie lived in the family home in Port Hacking Road. After the death of his father in 1923, he took over the family business at Caringbah while his brother, Alexander, ran the timber yard in Rockdale.  He later moved the yard to land he had purchased on the corner of President Avenue and the Kingsway opposite the original site and ran a very successful business there until his death in 1954.

  

   William Joseph and Cassie had seven children - William Michael (Billy) 1920-1988), John Joseph (1921-1987), Marian Patricia (Patti) (1924-2002), Peter Michael (1927-2007), Judith Anne (1932-1981), Joseph (1937-1937), and Bridget (1938- ).

   In 1948, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney purchased two acres of the Burns property fronting President Avenue.  On this property was built the Church-school-hall which was the first building of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish.  Father Charles Keller was appointed as first Parish Priest and the school was run by the Sisters of Mercy. On this site now are the Church, Church Hall and Presbytery of the Parish, the primary school and De La Salle Junior College for boys.  The original frontage on to President Avenue is occupied by commercial properties and there are lane ways giving access and exit to the buildings.  There is also access to the Parish properties from Port Hacking Road.

   William Joseph Burns died on 18 July, 1954, at his home in Port Hacking Road and was buried at Woronora Cemetery.  Cassie Burns died on 29 November, 1974, at Calvary Hospital, Kogarah, and was buried at Woronora Cemetery.

   After the death of their father, his sons sold the President Avenue/Kingsway corner site to Frank McDowell, a local Cronulla resident who had a large department store in the city.  McDowell’s opened their multi-storied, modern store in November, 1961, the first major department store in the Sutherland Shire.  The site is now occupied at street level by shops and the ANZ Bank with various businesses on the floors above.

   William Burns & Sons moved to a site on Captain Cook Drive, Caringbah, near Willarong Road where they continued to trade until the early 1990’s when the site was sold for redevelopment.

   The Peter Burns Stand at the Woolooware home ground of the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League team is named in honour of Peter Burns, youngest son of William Joseph Burns, in recognition of his  outstanding contribution during the establishment and early days of the Club in the NSW Rugby League Premiership grades and his time as a Director of the Club.  Peter Burns died in 2007 before his beloved ‘Sharks’ won their first premiership in 2016.

   Colleen M Passfield.

  First published in  Sutherland Shire, Some Early Residents, 2006, by Botany Bay Family History Society. Compiled by Maree McKinley and Sue Hewitt.    

  Click on the name BURNS, William Joseph (1894--1954) in the heading of this story. You will be taken to the database entry for William Joseph Burns and his family.

  References:

   ·         NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages

  ·         Sutherland Shire Studies No.4 – H. Hutton-Neve

  ·         Sutherland Shire Studies No.7 – A & J Midgley

  ·         Celebrating a Journey - Our Lady of Fatima Pariah

  ·         From Sails to Atoms - David R Kirkby

  ·         Sutherland Shire – a history to 1939 – Maryanne Larkin

  ·         A Pictorial History of the Shire – Joan Lawrence

  ·         The Sutherland Shire Golden Jubilee – 1906-1956 – Robert D Mackie (ed.)

  ·         Gateway to the South – Daphne Salt

  ·             Sutherland Saga –history of St Patrick’s Parish – Sister Casimar Toohey