Stanford

DESCRIPTION

NameStanfordDescriptionWilliam Stanford was born in Sydney in 1884 to Agnes. No father is listed on William’s birth or death record.

In 1911, he married Janet Reid at Berrima.

Janet was born at Joadja 28 August 1879, to Andrew and Christina Reid. The Reid family later moved to Berrima where they lived for many years, before Janet left home to work as a dressmaker in Helensburgh.

William and Janet Stanford had two children;

William b.1912
Dorothy Christina b.1914 (married Albert Ralph Armstrong, died 1987, Kiama)

The family arrived at Oak Flats in 1919, taking up residence at the Oak Flats railway crossing gatehouse. William Stanford had been a fettler on the railway since 1913, and his wife Janet took up the role of gatekeeper of the railway crossing; a position she held until 1931.

Gatekeeper was a 24-hour a day job for Janet; opening and closing the railway gates whenever a vehicle wished to cross the railway line, day or night. William and Janet's son, Bill, remembered living in the gatehouse as a boy, and the windows positioned so that trains coming along the line in either direction could be seen.

The Stanford’s later moved to Central Avenue, Oak Flats, where Janet operated a store and a post office for many years. Janet also arranged the first church service in Oak Flats at a small hall in Central Avenue where she played hymns on her pedal organ, brought from the Stanford home to the hall, by her son Bill.

William passed away in 1959 and Janet in 1974 at the age of 94.

When the new Oak Flats Railway Station was officially opened, Shellharbour City Council called for submissions for naming of an entrance road to the station. The Tongarra Heritage Society suggested the road to be called Janet Stanford Drive. The road was named Stanford Drive, in memory of the Stanford family of Oak Flats.

External LinkChurch Garden Party at Oak Flats Home 1952Correspondence 1927Shot by Youths and Left 1953Albion Park News 1951

William and Janet Stanford outside their home in Kingston Street, Oak Flats, c.1920.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionFamiliesLocalityOak FlatsPersonStanford, William (Bill)PlaceOak Flats Railway StationOak Flats Post Office StoreRelated ItemJanet StanfordWilliam Stanford snr and ganger, Frank Croft, outside Oak Flats railway gate houseWilliam and Janet Stanford outside their house in Kingston Street, Oak FlatsStandford, William (Bill)

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Stanford