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Henry KendallPrint Page Print this page

Kendall Plaque : June 2014
Kendall Plaque : June 2014

Photographs supplied by Peter F Williams

The park commemorates the Australian poet, Henry Kendall (1839-1882) who worked in this area from 1876 to 1881. Kendall was named in honour of the poet.  While in Camden Haven (Kendall) , Henry Kendall wrote to the Post-Master General lending support to the villagers’ request for a post office and, when it was later established, the name of the village was changed, posthumously, to Kendall in his honour on 1 October 1891.

Despite critical success with his poetry, Kendall was troubled by poverty, depression, family problems and alcoholism in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The Fagan family of Gosford then took him under their wing and, in 1876, he was sent to work in their store at what was then Camden Heads. There his wife rejoined him and he returned to physical and mental health. While in Camden Heads he composed topical and political skits for the press and, in 1879, wrote the words for the cantata to be sung at the Sydney International Exhibition. 

Kendall`s third volume of verse, Songs From the Mountains (1880) was his first financial success, selling a record number of copies in the first two months. The following year he left Kendall as Henry Parkes obtained for him an inspectorship of State Forests but the work proved damaging to his health and he collapsed and soon died in 1882.

Location

Address:Comboyne & Graham Streets, Henry Kendall Memorial Park, Kendall, 2439
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -31.632383
Long: 152.706058
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Park
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Arts
Monument Manufacturer:Mr J Duffy (Landscaping)
Link:http://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Wednesday 18th April, 1973
Front Inscription

HENRY KENDALL  MEMORIAL PARK

Plaque : 

HENRY KENDALL 
MEMORIAL PARK 
OFFICIALLY OPENED BY  
LADY PERSIA GALLEGHAN
18 TH APRIL 1973

LANDSCAPE BY MR J DUFFY
CERAMIC MURAL BY MR & MRS J.HOPE
WITH VALUABLE HELP GIVEN BY 
ROTARY, C.W.A., APEX 
AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY

Source: MA, ADB
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au