‘Glenbrook’ (6 Union Street Erskineville) is located on the eastern side of Union street, not far from the intersection of Union Street and Erskineville Road. The following advertorial for ‘Gould’s Tiny Tonic Pills’ brings to us the story of Mrs. Messer and her six long years of illness, during which she suffered from, well, just about everything:

Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) Wednesday, 8 December 1897

Mrs. Messer’s remarkable story was repeated across many publications, with the Barrier Miner version above being the extended version. Here are a couple of extracts of variations appearing widely around the same time:

Sunday Times (Sydney) Sunday, 31 October 1897

National Advocate (Bathurst) Tuesday, 15 February 1898

The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser Friday, 1 October 1897

I think the following introduction is my favourite:

Sunday Times (Sydney) Sunday, 12 September 1897

Evening News (Sydney) Friday, 17 December 1897

The Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser Friday, 1 April 1898

Gould’s Tiny Tonic Pills were also marketed as ‘Gould’s Bile Beans for Biliousness’ -There is a wonderful illustrated feature from 1897 here, and more background and information about Bile Beans here.

The Maitland Weekly Mercury Saturday, 18 December 1897

A review of the Sands Directories  shows Henry Messer residing in Union Street from the 1886 edition onwards. Here is an extract of the of 1898 showing Henry Messer residing at number 6 Union Street:

Here is the northern end of Union Street as depicted in the Surveyor General’s map (some years earlier) published in 1894:

Sheet 9 – City of Sydney Section Erskineville – Surveyor General’s Map Published 1894