Liberty street, Enmore
This photograph came up months ago, and as I go past this house regularly, I recognised it straight away and salted the image away for future reference. I wasn’t sure how to start with the research for this one, and the usual sources – Sands Directory, etc. – were no help at all, given the lack of street numbers, street names, or even the streets themselves, in the early years of Enmore. I was still determined to see if I could name the mystery family in the photo, though.
I went around in circles for a long time, trying to find a possible reference to this particular house. The situation was much confused by the date of both the house (c.1860s) and the photograph (c.1870-75), its double street frontage (now Cavendish and Liberty streets), and the constant changes that occurred in the naming of streets in the area over time, as well as the construction of the streets themselves. Finally, I decided to check heritage listings in the area, and all of a sudden a wealth of information popped up – so much so that virtually no research was needed on the family.
The house was known as “Eugenie Cottage,” and was inhabited by the Cozens family from the 1860s through to the 1890s, so straight away I was pretty sure that we were looking at members of this family. Richard Willment Cozens and his wife are the first known residents of the house, and possibly it’s builders. They had five living children, including Eugenie born in 1860, for whom the house was named. By the estimated date given in the archives (c1870-75), this could possibly then be a young Eugenie, standing with her mother and younger sibling outside their home.
If this is the case, then a Mrs Mary Jane Cozens stands with her hand protectively over her stomach, at an angle which suggests that she is expecting again. Her youngest son, Percy, was born in 1871, so this could well be the circumstances. This would make the two children in the photo Eugenie aged about 9-10, and Emily, aged about 5-6.
I also entertained the possibility that the woman standing with the children was Eugenie herself, with her young brood. As the elder of the two children appears to be wearing a dress, this photograph would then have to be dated c1890-92, in order for Eugenie’s first living daughter Ruby to be around the right age. This would make the younger child in the photo a boy, Percy jnr. Furthermore, Eugenie’s last known pregnancy was in 1889, so this makes the whole scenario unlikely, if indeed the woman in the photograph is pregnant.
I am as certain as I can be, given all the evidence, that this photograph of Mary Jane Cozens and her family. As to who the figure is on the verandah, it is possible that this was a way of including a governess in the photograph – by visually separating her from the family using the fence line – or perhaps it is a family friend. I have found no evidence to suggest that either Richard or Mary Jane’s family emigrated to Australia with them, but that does not preclude a relative, either, as my search was certainly not exhaustive.
In 1865 Richard Cozens entered local council. One of his first proposals to council was that the streets within his allotment of land be formally created – namely Cavendish, Liberty and Cambridge Streets. By the time this photograph was taken, thanks to Mr Cozen’s work in local council, the streets had been created and newly signposted, and you can see both street signs on the eaves of the house (although you can read only Liberty Street due to the light).
Little Eugenie would grow up to marry Thomas Tye, a butcher with a shop on the corner of King Street and Erskineville Road. Thomas was also involved in local politics, and among other things was instrumental in the “early closing movement”, which was closely tied to the fight for the 40-hour working week, and promoted as an early form of labour health and safety. His presence was recorded at a meeting at Newtown Town Hall in 1883, at which he supported the decision to close all the local butchers’ shops in “Newtown, Enmore and Macdonaldtown” no later than 7pm, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays, and for them to remain closed on Sundays without exception. Such an action was deemed necessary by the attending businessmen for the “physical, moral and social interests of butchers and their assistants.” Many people today think of late night trading as a modern invention, however prior to the union movement, and without any WHS regulations to speak of, many businessmen worked their employees (and themselves) to the bone. Members of the public had to be exhorted to do their shopping before 7pm in order for the movement to succeed. How many of their customers protested this change in operation was not recorded at the meeting, but it was hoped that they would adapt to the change for the benefit of small businessmen.
Thomas’ family, like the Cozen’s, were heavily involved in local government. His father William Tye served on Newtown Council from 1878-82, and his Uncle Alfred was an alderman in Glebe. Thomas himself was an alderman on Newtown Council in 1888-90, representing the Enmore Ward after his father-in-law Richard. Eugenie and Thomas had eight children between 1878 and 1889, five of whom died in infancy, including, very sadly, the last four babies in a row. During this same period, Eugenie’s younger brother and sister, Emily and William, also passed away. Her father Richard followed them in 1887. To compound these tragedies, Eugenie herself died at her mother’s home, Eugenie Cottage, in 1893, at the age of 33. No one would have guessed what life had in store for her on the day this picture was taken of a young, happy Cozens family. Eugenie’s mother Mary Jane outlived all but one of her children, dying in 1902. Her grandchildren were still fighting over her £20,000 estate, including Eugenie Cottage, more than twenty years after her death. It was finally listed for sale by public trustees in 1936.
The name “R Cozens” can still be read in ornate lettering on the façade of the Victorian era terraced shop at 209 Enmore road, which formed part of the Cozen’s old allotment in Enmore. I walk past this building almost every day – if only I’d stopped to wonder who the Cozens were over the course of the years, my initial search may have been a lot easier.
[For those of you who are interested, I’ve included the link to the heritage information for this house, which goes in to far more detail than I have here about its architecture and origins.]
