by Cathy Jones 2026
Marion St Heritage Conservation Area is built on part of the original 1841 land grant to Joseph Hyde Potts, Secretary of Bank of NSW. The land was subdivided in 1923 and offered for sale as the ‘Crown of Strathfield’ Estate, however most houses on this estate were not built until the mid-late 1930’s. The ‘Crown of Strathfield’ subdivision includes a public recreation area, which was later dedicated as Kessell Square.
5 Marion Street, an Inter War Moderne bungalow, was built in 1939 and is built on Lot 2 of the estate and faces Kessell Square.
In May 1938 vacant land was purchased by Alfred James Marshall Irving, engineer and his wife Lily Margaret Irving for ₤240. The covenant on the land required that the main building must be built in brick and/or stone and/or concrete, that the land must not contain any factory, poultry farm, brickyard quarry hoarding or hotel.
Fred Irving came from West Yell, in the Shetland Islands, where his father was a Presbyterian minister. Early in his life Irving was with the Royal Mail Steamship Company, trading to South America, and afterwards in the City Line trading to the Far East and Australia. He settled in Australia in 1928. He became a marine engineer with Babcock & Wilcox, in Regent’s Park. In 1930 Fred married Lily Margaret Cartwright a primary school teacher from Woodbury a rural property in Sutton NSW.
An application was made in 1939 by Lily Irving to build a brick cottage of seven rooms with a tiled at an estimated cost of ₤1250. The builder was H Davies of 55 Herbert Street Rockdale. The house as originally built was a single story liver brick bungalow with a tiled hipped roof.
Fred and Lily Irving lived in the house with their three children Ann, Alasdair and Isobel until Fred’s sudden death aged 49 in 1941. After his death Lily Irving returned to work teaching at Homebush Public School. She died in July 1954. In April 1957 the house was transferred from the estate of the late Lily Irving to her children Mrs Ann Campbell, a married woman and Alasdair Irving, a student.
In August 1961, Alasdair Irving transferred his ownership to Ross Campbell, a medical practitioner and husband of Ann Campbell for £3000. Since that time the property has been altered by the addition of a garage, a carport, a swimming pool and a large upstairs bedroom.
Dr Ross Campbell died in 2015 and his widow Ann died in 2025.
Reference
NSW Land Registry, Certificate of Title v.4238 f.30
Strathfield Council Building Register Vol.5
NSW Valuer-General, Valuation Lists, Municipality of Strathfield 1939, 1943, 1948 & 1960
