William CarssPrint Page

Carss Bush Park was created on land granted to Jonathon Croft in 1853 and subsequently purchased by William Carss (cabinet maker turned publican) in 1863. Carss had a sandstone cottage built on the headland of Kogarah Bay and later acquired additional land around it. At Carss’ request, his daughter bequeathed the property after her death to the Sydney Sailors Home, from which it was purchased by Kogarah Council in 1924 in response to community pressures. The Council subdivided the estate into areas for parkland and a residential ‘garden suburb’, being the first local government in NSW to do so. The parkland contained 10 acres of bushland on the slopes and flats below the ridgetop suburb, and included the foreshores of Kogarah Bay.

Carr’s cottage, his vault and a small curtilage were heritage-listed in 1987 and protected by a PCO in 1988. However, no other elements in the park were assessed or listed. The cottage is now the headquarters of the Kogarah Historical Society.

The vault of William Carss was built following his death on 26 May 1878. One of the conditions of transfer to The Sydney Sailors’ Home after 1917 was that the vault had to be kept in thorough order and repair. An inscription in memory of Carss’ wife and two of their children was made on the vault, but they were buried at the Devonshire Street cemetery

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