In 2025 there will be a grand celebration of the Castlefield Estate.

Originally a farm owned by Solicitor and Lay preacher Matthew Smith much of the Castlefield land was compulsorily acquired for soldier settlement housing after the First world war. After the death of Mathew Smith’s last surviving daughter, the grand house and the remaining land, was sold for the establishment of Haileybury College.

Over the years volunteers from the  Sandringham and District Historical Society (SDHS) have  undertaken an enormous amount of research on the original settlers of Castlefield.

On this page there is

• A detailed article regarding the establishment of the estate.
• Lists, by street, of the original settlers. (On these lists the settlers who were soldiers are indicated by ***. Sometimes there will be a ? to indicate that more work is continuing.)
• A list by names of the original settlers
• Some photos of the area

A note on the research:

• The research continues. What has already been completed is being uploaded in the hope it will increase interest. There may be errors that SDHS will be happy to fix.
• The volunteers undertaking the research have had to make suppositions where abbreviations have been used in the official records.
• There are a number of abbreviations in the notes in particular those relating to enlistment and ranks. RTA refers to returned to Australia.
• This research uses the 1935 rate books as well as those a decade earlier. In 1925 house were still being constructed, however, by 1935, some of the original soldier settlers had either died or moved. This was still the depression era so some may have moved for work and either sold or let out their houses. Thus not all the entries are for soldiers.

Volunteers from the SDHS  would welcome any information or queries about Castlefield.

Email: sandringhamhistorical@gmail.com