The three signs are mounted in light blue painted, rectangular steel tubing surrounds, at the entry to the ALDI car park on Fitzroy Street. From left to right, they read:
Cowra Steam Laundry
A town grows
"The village of Cowra developed around a crossing of the Lachlan River located near the end of what is now Kendal Street. The construction of the Railway from Murrumburrah and Young in 1886 and the location of the railway station encouraged development at the eastern end of the town. A number of shops and houses were built along Fitzroy Street. Many of these houses became homes for railway workers.
"By the 1920's the area hosted a number of new industries, shops and many more homes. An outdoor cinema was built on the western side of Fitzroy Street. The original Cowra Steam Laundry was located on this site."
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Cleaning Cowra's dirty washing
"James O'Sullivan and his family established the Cowra Steam Laundry on the western side of Fitzroy Street in 1928. The laundry washed linen for hotels and motels, and a local nursing home. During World War II it also handled washing from the army camp at Cowra.
"In the days before electricity was connected to all areas of NSW many households relied on commercial laundries for their washing needs. Many farmers brought domestic laundry in to be cleaned and loads of washing arrived each week by road or train."
A family business
"The Cowra Steam Laundry was a family business. It was established by James and Clemence O'Sullivan with the help of their four children, Marie, Clemence, Leonie and John. After James death in 1957 John and Leonie continued to operate the laundry. John worked in the business from the age of 16 until it was sold in 1970. His mechanical abilities helped keep the laundry operating."
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James O'Sullivan 'An active and enterprising man'
"In 1928 James and Clemence moved with their family to Cowra and started the Cowra Steam Laundry. Under James' energetic guidance the business grew successfully. In the early 1950's James designed and supervised the construction of a brand new laundry building on the eastern side of Fitzroy Street with the help of his son John. This laundry was one of the largest and most modern commercial laundries in regional New South Wales at the time.
"As a young man in Ireland James was a champion dancer and cyclist. While living in Cowra he became interested in rifle shooting and bowls. An active member of the Cowra Ambulance Committee and a keen supporter of the Roman Catholic Church, James died in 1957."
James' career
"James Joseph O'Sullivan was an engineer who migrated to Australia from Ireland in 1904 to work with the engineering firm Hornsby. He was responsible for the installation of irrigation plants on the Lachlan River. James later worked for Waugh and Josephson and at the Randwick Naval Wireless station.
"He married Clemence Celestine Girot of Forbes in 1916. They lived in Forbes for some years while James ran the local water works and power station. They moved to Cowra in 1928."
[Photographs and information courtesy of the Arundel and O'Sullivan families]
* From an internet search, the newspaper, the Cowra Guardian on 9th July, 1948 stated that Cowra could boast the second largest commercial laundry in NSW with the 'Cowra Steam Laundry'. Unfortunately the
Guardian also announced in August 1978 that the 'now' Sydney-owned 'Cowra Steam Laundry' was about to close. "Politics in Place", excerpts.
Address: 125 Fitzroy Street, Cowra, NSW, 2794, Australia
Visited: 0521, Tuesday, 22 May, 2018