COUNCIL has named a Cooroy park Fenwick Park in a tribute to a well-known local family.
The Fenwick family has a long connection with Cooroy having started the town’s first sawmill. Fred Fenwick also built many of the Cooroy buildings that are still standing, including the Memorial Hall.
Fifty family members and long-time friends gathered in the Straker Drive park for the dedication.
Senior family member Betty Sivyer cut the ribbon and her daughter Linda spoke of the family’s history with the area.
Cr Tony Wellington, who officiated the dedication, said the naming of Fenwick Park provided an ongoing reminder that “we owe our gratitude to those who came before us”.
“It is right and proper that the Fenwick family’s important contribution be recognised in this way,” he said.
The four Fenwick brothers, George, William (Bill), Fred and Charles (Walter) moved to Cooroy in the early 1900s from New South Wales. Their parents, Robert and Helen Fenwick and one of their sisters, Elizabeth McLean, arrived soon after.
The brothers purchased land and, in partnership with Robert Morrish, commenced the first sawmill in Cooroy on land now known as Mill Place.
A Fenwick family representative contacted council in the hope of seeing the family’s contribution to Cooroy, and its long history with the area, recognised with a place-naming.
