Local News 2011

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Army Captain killed by booby trap

IN September 1971 the Star reported the sad news that an army officer was killed trying to dismantle a booby trap bomb planted outside the Orange Hall at Castlerobin near Dunmurry.

The Officer who died was Captain David Anthony Stewardson, RAOC, 29 of South Queensferry, West Lothian. Captain Stewardson, who was married had only been in the Province 10 days. The Officer had been working with the bomb for a matter of minutes when it went off in his face.

A number of people were standing about, some 40 yards off.

The sunniest spot in the United Kingdom

ALDERGROVE proved to be one of the sunniest spots in Britain over a weekend in September 1971.

It topped the charts with 12.6 hours of sunshine. Hillsborough too proved to be a delightful place with 11.8 hours of sunshine and temperatures in the upper sixties.

A meteorologist office spokesman said: "For a four day September period (last week) proved the sunniest and warmest of many years."

The mean average in the UK was 3.6 so at 12.2 Hillsborough had something to cheer about.

10,000 flock to festival in park

LOCAL police recorded that there may have been as many as 10,000 people In Wallace Park to watch the magnificent fireworks display which proved a fitting climax to the Lisburn Chamber of Commerce festival fair.

Throughout the day some 8,000 people mingled around the side shows and at the special attractions. What the vast crowd who watched the display didn't know was that it was very nearly not taking place because the fireworks had been impounded by customs and released only shortly before.

Past Times

Looking back at news from Lisburn's past

9 September 2011

Leafing through the past at Ballymacash - Ulster Star way

Stud Farm, Ballymacash, once the home of the Main family, was replaced In the 197Os by a housing development. It is now known as Rathvarna Drive

WITH the internet and all other facets of modern technology you never really know where your photo or details may turn up these days.

There is a plethora of material now online, including up-to-date images and those which have been taken from older sources including newspapers. Stories and pictures from the past are now appearing online preserving them for future generations.

I was searching through old copies of the Ulster Star recently looking for material relating to the north Lisburn area between the years 1960-1970. I managed to locate in excess of one thousand items relating to the area. Births, deaths and marriages pertaining to the people of that area were only a small part of every-day events which had been captured in print. Thanks to the detail of the reporting we can now chart the development of the area in both word and picture.

Council wanted houses to get piped
water

HILLSBOROUGH Rural Council in 1958 was to adhere to its Sanitary officer's recommendations regarding notice served on the Irish Sailors and Soldiers Land Trust in respect of the installation of a water supply and the provision of water closets at the Trust's 9 ex-servicemen's cottages at Carnreagh, Hillsborough.

The Council was also to inform the Trust that it had spent some £1,760 on extending water pipes and sewers to serve the cottages.

The Trust in a letter read at a Council meeting said that the matter was receiving attention.

In view of rising costs the Trust was finding it difficult to meet all the demands made on it for the upkeep of its cottages.

In the case, it was estimated that the cost of providing a drainage system with water closets at the cottages would be £600 and in view of the Trust's difficulties it wondered if the Council would be prepared to maker some contributions towards the cost of converting the earth closets at the closets in to water closets.

Mr Fred Johnston said he would like it to be made clear to the tenants that the Trust was responsible for the provision of water and water closets. He said he thought it was time the Council made a move in the matter because the Trust was going to dilly dally.

The builder Isaac Lyons was in the process of selling his newly built "superior semi-villas" at Beechdene Drive in 1960. At that time other semi-detached villas on the Ballymacash Road were being built by Mayers & Shannon and were on sale for £1825. Haven't times changed?

I became confused recently when I was talking to a former Ballymacash resident and she was relating to people and places on what she referred to as "the Antrim Road." It took me some time to figure out that she was in fact talking about the Ballymacash Road.

This ad has been reproduced from our edition on September 13, 1958.
It was a bargain for the ladies at 6 shillings and 11 old pence from Johnston's Pharmacy.

Her ancestors and their neighbours would not have referred to the road only as the Antrim Road. She had been brought up in the area in an era when there were very few homesteads on either the Antrim or Ballymacash roads.

The area continues to expand and some former homes and buildings have been redeveloped to make way for more housing. Laurel Grove now occupies the grounds of the old Killowen Hospital, Old Church Place stands on the site of the former Free Presbyterian Church and there is now a development of housing called Weaver's Mews.

I did note however that a number of houses on the Ballymacash Road had house-names displayed alongside house numbers. Rosedene, Braemar, Shimna, Cherry Lodge and Brackenhill were some of those that I noted.

The names Beech-wood and Shangara also appear on properties along the roadside.

Looking back through the property sections of the Ulster Star we find that Beech-wood was up for sale in May 1969 and September 1971. Shangara, described in 1966 as a semi detached rural villa was also for sale.

Many other homes with housenames on the Ballymacash Road changed hands during the 1960/1970 period. Ashville, Fairlea, Heraldine, Kantara, Laurelbank, Lingula, Marmont, Mourne View, The Croft, White Cottage and Wilmount were some of the names that appeared for sale during that period.

During the early 1970 period vesting of land took place to allow further development of the area, the building of schools and the widening of roads. There were a number of protests and petitions reported, but progress was unhindered.

Protests and petitions were also raised from another group of residents in the mid 1960's. They complained about the noise of dance bands that were regularly appearing in the Pond Park Hall. In 1965 it was reported that 64 people had signed petition and protested against the use of the hall in this manner as it caused a number of problems including damage to property, indiscriminate parking, indecent behaviour and noise pollution.

The debate was still in the headlines in 1971 and the council was still receiving complaints. The police took the complaints seriously and in March 1971 eight motorists ended up with a conditional discharge for 12 months when prosecuted for illegal parking.

The dances at the hall attracted those from near and far. Showbands appearing there included The Hilton, the Avengers, Jimmy Johnston, Broadway, the Cherokees, Flamingoes, the Graduates and the Majestic.

On the 12th of October 1964, 32 year old international sensation Little Richard made an appearance at the ballroom. Several weeks later, at a Halloween ball held in the hall on the 31st October, the famous Julie Rogers appeared just after she had a massive hit with her song "The Wedding." She appeared again in the Pond Park Hall in April 1966.

The Troggs, who had a number of hits in the pop-charts in the 1960's, also visited the hall in May 1969. You just never know who has passed through your area in former times.

Extracts from the Ulster Star (1960 - 1980) relating to the north Lisburn area wrll be on display for perusal at St. Marks Flower festival and historical exhibition, St. Mark's Church, Ballymacash Road, Lisburn during the weekend Friday 7th October to Sunday 9th October 2011.

I would welcome anyone with memories to share, photographs or autographs of those who appeared in the Pond Park Hall to get in touch.

The Digger can be contacted via The Ulster Star Office or by email - diggerarticle@hotmail.com

Harmony Hill Church Hall dedicated

IN September 1971a spacious new Church Hall was dedicated at a special service in Harmony Hill, Presbyterian Church, Lambeg.

The service was led by the minister of the Church, the Rev. D.H.A Watson and the Act of Dedication was led by the very Rev. Dr. W.Boyd, Lisburn.

The sermon was preached by the General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church, the Rev. A. J Weir.

Ulster Star
09/09/2011

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