Fire Destroys Blackett Family History

With the destruction by fire in September 2014 of the Furniture One Building on the corner of Clarke and Lovell Streets a large piece of Young’s history disappeared. This building was associated with the Blackett family for many years. The road previously known as Chance Gully Road was renamed in honour of the family and is now Blackett Avenue.

The Blackett’s built many buildings in Young and surrounding towns including the School of Arts (Library), St. Pauls Presbyterian Church and the Memorial Rotunda in Carrington Park.

Hugh Robert Blackett was born in Woodland, County Durham, England in 1863. He and his wife, Margaret Ann Nixon, migrated to Australia aboard the “Austral” with their two eldest children in 1889.

The family arrived in Young after travelling overland and Hugh, or Bob as he was known, set up a Joinery business in one of the shops in the Empire Hotel building. Hugh traded as the A&E Shop, which was the abbreviation of  Anything and Everything, on this site for a couple of years before moving to Lovell Street next to the Young Foundry.

In the early 1900’s a brick works was established on the Kingsvale Road but this did not have a long life as there was a shortage  of suitable clay. In 1935 the bricks were used to build the Sacred Heart Hospital Convent. Also in the early 1900’s the Blackett’s  established an undertaking business.

Ralph Blackett, Hugh’s son, was apprenticed to the family business in 1904, was married in 1919 and had three children. The business trading as H.R. Blackett moved to the corner of Lovell and Clarke Streets in 1927, changing the name to H.R. Blackett and Son in 1930.

A retail outlet was opened in the Albion Hotel in Main Street, now the site of IGA, but as business grew a new site was selected in Boorowa Street where Stewarts Jewellery was later located ,and then in 1932 to where the Newsagency opposite the Great Eastern Hotel is now.

Stanley Blackett, Ralph’s son, the third generation, joined the family business in 1941 in the timber and joinery section.

In due course Stan became manager of the Clarke and Lovell Street operation. The Boorowa Street store was sold to the Young District Producers Co-Operative Society in 1947. In 1949 the firm diversified into House building and Contracting.

The two storied brick building was then erected on the corner of Clarke and Lovell Street to house a hardware department. In 1956 the Blackett Undertaking business was also located in this building.

A modern cabinet making and joinery business was established and operated until 1963 when it was closed to make way for more timber yard products.

A house nearby was removed to make way for a farm supply section which opened in 1965. Ralph Blackett passed away in 1967.

Stanley joined the Mitre10 organization in December 1969 with many alterations and extension to the premises.

The Blackett family had been in service at Young for almost ninety years when they ceased trading in May 1978

Sourced from,”  Young 120 Years of Local Government, by Margaret Hall and Maree Lamb.”