A white marble rectangle was discovered one recent morning, leaning incongruously against the brownstones at the entrance to the Blue Mountains Historical Society.
It remembered John Howie who died on October 13, 1917.
Howie, in his final five years, left his mark on Katoomba.
Born in Glasgow in 1850, he left for Canada aged 20, working in building in Montreal. He soon returned home, married Agnes in Edinburgh, and brought his family to Sydney in the late 1870s.
A builder, he eventually established his own firm.
Sydney University's Veterinary School and the YHA on the corner of Rawson Place and Pitt Street exemplify his work.
John and Agnes Howie retired to Katoomba in 1912, building their home, Cathkin Brae.
Howie was encouraged to stand for alderman in the 1914 council elections. Not only was he returned "at the top of the poll" but was elected mayor by six votes to three.
By July 1914, Alderman Howie resigned as mayor feeling he lacked the support of the aldermen. At a special meeting on Monday, July 6, he was re-nominated and re-elected for the duration of his original mayoral term.
While mayor, Howie introduced money-saving procedures.
The Blue Mountain Echo (10.12.1915) called him "the most useful man to the ratepayers that ever sat in Katoomba Council" because he "effected a saving of nearly £2500 by his worldwide experience and close scrutiny of the construction of the new wall and additional storage capacity at the Council's waterworks".
Howie also supported the young men who went from Katoomba to fight in World War I.
To encourage Mountain men to shine at the front, Howie proposed giving £500 to the first bona-fide Mountaineer to win a Victoria Cross. He donated £50 to this fund.
He actively supported fund-raising for comfort parcels for the men overseas, giving time and money to the cause.
It was the Katoomba Soldiers' Homes that saw his best efforts. He donated the land and oversaw the building of the two homes which were to be balloted to soldiers' widows or returned ex-servicemen.
In September 1917, Howie signed the homes over to the Public Trustee, causing a furore in council, which ended with his unexpected death on October 13.
On Sunday, October 28, 1917, the Congregational Church, of which he had been a Life Deacon, held a memorial service. Representatives of many organisations to which Howie belonged, including the rifle club, the bowling club and the Caledonian Society were there. A memorial tablet, suitably inscribed, was unveiled.
How did this tablet mysteriously travel from the Congregational Church, once in Katoomba Street but demolished in 1973, to Blaxland Road, Wentworth Falls today?
Robyne Ridge is publicity officer for the Blue Mountains Historical Society.
