An escaped convict, George ‘The Barber’ Clarke, is believed to be the first European ‘settler’ of the area. He lived with several tribes of Aboriginal people, including the Kamilaroi, from 1826 until he was recaptured in 1831. Clarke was recaptured and told of a vast inland river called the Kindur. His descriptions aroused the curiosity of the then acting Governor of New South Wales, Colonel Patrick Lindesay, who sent Major Thomas Mitchell on an
expedition into the region to investigate the claims.
Clarke was accepted into Aboriginal society, being viewed as a re-incarnation of one of their deceased relatives. He learnt the language, and abandoned European clothing for a possum-skin cloak, while acquiring at least one wife. He became initiated, probably at the Terry Hie Hie bora ground, with his skin being marked with the customary scarifications. Read
more1830s
In 1831 Mitchell's expedition searched for a river that reputedly flowed to the north-west. He explored parts of the Namoi, Gwydir and Barwon rivers, but returned to Sydney after Aboriginals killed two of his party.
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THE MYSTERIOUS KINDUR RIVER, The story of the organization of Mitchell's first expedition makes interesting reading. Among -tile most notable convicts at that time was George Clarke, who was generally known as George the Barber. This convict managed to escape and passed beyond the bounds of tho settlement and joined a band of aborigines in tlie region of the Liverpool Plains. He remained with them for some tinie, but the natives hearing that lie was wanted by the police for cattle stealing, - brought him back to civilization, and he was lodged in Bathurst gaol. Probably with the object of escaping the' punishment in store for him, he told a remarkable story of his adventures. He stated that to the northward of the Liverpool Plains he had discovered a fine river, which the natives called "tho Gnamoi. Soon after crossing it lie came next to the Kindur. This he had followed for about 400 miles until the two streams joined. The union of the two streams formed a magnificent river, which he still followed until it led him through the heart of Australia to the North Coast, where, he asserted, lie had had a good view of the sea. |
ViolenceThere were three massacres prior to the massacre at Myall Creek: Vinegar Hill, Slaughterhouse Creek and Gravesend, committed by groups of mounted and armed stockmen.
The massacre at Anambah Station was part of an extended conflict. Two shepherds were killed at Mr Bowman's for abducting Gomeroi women. This prompted the Gravesend massacre. In response to this, Gomeroi people killed two shepherds at Cobb's Station at Anambah. Stockmen from Cobb's Station then pursued and killed Aboriginal people thought to be responsible for the murder of the shepherds.
In 1837, Missionary L.E. Threlkeld wrote of a massacre preceding the killing of two more shepherds at Anambah which is probably the Gravesend massacre: 'two shepherds of Mr Cobb's station, Anambah,' on the Gwydir River, 'who were unfortunately murdered by the Blacks, suffered it is said, in consequence of the atrocities being committed against the Blacks by the stockmen in another part of the country, which drove them towards Mr Cobb's station, where they met the two shepherds and wreaked their vengeance, in retaliation, on the unhappy sufferers.: so I am informed by one who was there at the time of the catastrophe'
On 26 January 1838, twenty six mounted police under the command of Lt Cobban and accompanied by several stockmen and settlers drove a party of Gamilaraay warriors into Snodgrass Lagoon, now known as Jews Lagoon (Waterloo Creek), and shot and killed at least forty of them. The massacre was allegedly in reprisal for the spear wound of a mounted police trooper two hours earlier.
On the 10th of September, 1838, Edward Denny Day sent a letter from the Muswellbrook Police Office to the Colonial Secretary in relation to the Myall Creek massacre. This letter described a 'war of extermination' in the area around the time of the Slaughterhouse creek massacre: 'It will be my duty in my next letter to offer with the permission of his Excellency some observation on the present lawless state of the neighbourhood of the Big River [Gwydir River]. Indeed I am almost justified in stating that a war of extermination has been carrying on there against the blacks who neglect no opportunity of retaliating by destroying the cattle of the settlers' (Day, Letter to Colonial Secretary, 10 September 1838).
The overseer of Myall Creek station on the Gwydir River was absent when, twelve horsemen galloped into the station late on Sunday afternoon 10 June 1838 and tied up 28 Wirayaraay old men, women and children and forced them to walk to an area out of sight of the station huts. The horsemen then fired at the tied up people with pistols and fowling pieces and then hacked and bludgeoned them to death with swords and cutlasses. Then they rode off and returned next day and burnt the bodies. The massacre was led by settler John Henry Fleming and eleven stockmen; John Russell, Charles Kilmeister, Edward Foley, Charles Toulouse, James Oates, William Hawkins, John Johnstone, James Parry, John Blake, Edward Palliser and William Lamb. When Hobbs returned to Myall Creek station three days later, he was told about the massacre by hut keeper Charles Anderson and after viewing the burnt bodies, Hobbs wrote a letter reporting the massacre to the Colonial Secretary in Sydney who ordered an investigation by magistrate Edward Denny Day. The ringleader, John Henry Fleming disappeared before Day arrived in the region, leaving the 11 stockmen to take the rap.
The perpertratoes were arrested and charged with murder and taken to Sydney for trial in the Supreme Court. Two trials were required before seven of them were convicted and hanged on 18 December 1838. More information: Mapping Australian history and culture
The Kamilaroi also suffered deaths from new infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity.
1850s
The establishment of a general store by James Brand in 1852.
1860s
Moree was gazetted as a town in 1862 with the town boundaries set at 530 acres and suburban boundaries at 1500 acres – the population 43 persons.
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| Sydney Stock and Station Journal (NSW : 1896 - 1924) |
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| New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Tuesday 25 February 1862 |
1870sThe Moree Show has been an annual event for the Moree district since 1874.
1880s
James Joseph Conroy came to the Moree
district in 1882, and acquired a twenty thousand acre property.
The first District Hospital with 15 beds, officially opened on April 9, 1889.
1890s
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| Neddy Baldwin," the aboriginal King of the Mehi and Big Rivers, died a few days ago in the Aloree district. He was 65 years of age, and was the sole survivor of the Myall Creek massacre an occurrence where all the male members of a tribe were surrounded and killed by Btation hands. .Glen Innes Examiner and General Advertiser (NSW : 1874 - 1908), Friday 9 June 1893 (Traditionally, Aboriginal societies did not have kings or chiefs in the sense used by English-speaking people. However, older individuals held most of the political power) |
In 1894, surveying of a rail line
linking Moree and Inverell began.
Terry-Hie-Hie Aboriginal Reserve gazetted 25/5/1895.
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| Russell Hawke General Store, Moree, NSW,Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 15 August 1896 |
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| Kirkby's Criterion Hotel, Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 15 August 1896 |
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| 1 School of Arts. 2. Bridge over. Mehi River. Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 15 August 1896 |
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| Moree Hospital, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 15 August 1896, |
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| The Lands Office, Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 15 August 1896, |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Friday 28 February 1896, |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 3 December 1898 |
1900s
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| JOE, KING OF THE MEEH1 RIVER, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 29 September 1900 |
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| Moree Hospital, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 29 September 1900 |
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| MORFE. LOOKING NORTH : VIEW COMING INTO THE TOWN FROM THE RAILWAY AFTER CROSSING MEEHI BRIDGE, MOREE, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 29 September 1900 |
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| Saturday evening at Moree Post Office, Moree, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 29 September 1900 |
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| Horse teams at the Moree Rail Yard, NSW, no date, Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection |
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| Train coming in to railway station in Moree, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Kaye |
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| East Moree, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Kaye |
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| Post Office at Moree, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Kaye |
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| Aboriginal people receiving annual blankets, Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 13 July 1901 |
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| HARVESTING AT MOREE,N.S.W.Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 13 January 1900 |
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| Smoko at Soiling's homestead, three miles from Moree. NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 13 January 1900 |
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| The Bore Baths at Moree, N.S.W. - early 1900s, Kaye |
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| MOREE PROCESSION.— FOOTBALL,WITH GOAL.First Prize, W. N. Dicker, East Moree Football Club. The boy was dressed in blue and gold, withsilver shield and sword (Roman period), signifying a challenge to other clubs.Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 24 June 1903 |
Former Reid's Emporium, built 1904 in Federation Romanesque style, was Moree's main general store.
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| Visitors to the Moree Show, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 24 May 1905 |
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| Hotel Gwydir, Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 16 May 1906 |
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| A. C. REID AND CO., LIMITED, MOREE, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 16 May 1906 |
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| C. S. MARSDEN'S ROYAL HOTEL. MOREE, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 1 May 1907 |
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| Ruins of the Bank of New South Wales in Moree, N.S.W. - 1908, Kaye |
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| Heber Street, Moree, N.S.W. - 1909, Kaye |
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| Star (Sydney, NSW : 1909 - 1910), Friday 20 August 1909 |
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| Waiting for the mail at Moree, N.S.W. - 1910, Kaye |
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| Inverell Times (NSW : 1899 - 1907, 1909 - 1954), Friday 10 February 1911 |
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| Moree Railway Station, NSW, Dated: c.1911, NSW Records |
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| Tamworth Daily Observer (NSW : 1910 - 1916), Saturday 18 March 1911 |
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| Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 30 July 1913 |
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| Reid's Emporium, built 1904 in Federation Romanesque style, Moree, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 30 July 1913 |
WWI
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| David Montague Lambert JamesRegimental number - 2479 Religion - Church of England Occupation - Bank clerk Address - Groydin Street, Moree, New South Wales Marital status - Single Age at embarkation - 18 Next of kin - Father, M James, Groydin Street, Moree, New South Wales Enlistment date - 5 July 1915 Rank on enlistment - Private Unit name - 20th Battalion, 5th Reinforcement AWM Embarkation Roll number - 23/37/2 Embarkation details - Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A75 Ballarat on 6 September 1915 Rank from Nominal Roll - Corporal Unit from Nominal Roll - 20th Battalion Recommendations (Medals and Awards) - Military Medal Recommendation date: - 7 March 1917 Fate - Returned to Australia 3 April 1918 Miscellaneous information from cemetery records - Plaque in New South Wales Garden of Remembrance Date of death - 2 October 1946, Kaye |
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| Tamworth Daily Observer (NSW : 1910 - 1916), Saturday 28 August 1915 |
By the start of the first World War, the population exceeded 3300.
The original Town Hall and School of Arts were destroyed by fire in 1917.
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| Moree school children dancing around the maypole, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 11 July 1917, |
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| School of Arts, Moree, N.S.W. - circa 1919, Kaye |
1920s
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| North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Monday 12 October 1925 |
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| The Moree Mail crash occurred on September 13, 1926, when a mail train collided with runaway goods wagons near Murulla, resulting in the deaths of 26 people. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 16 September 1926 |
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| MOREE MEMORIAL HALL AND SCHOOL OF ARTS., NSW, North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Monday 17 December 1928 |
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Moree Picnic Races, NSW. On the (Left) Com. of Police, Aid. Mellor, Mr. T. E. Keene, His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Frank Chaffey, M.L.A., Scout- Com. Tren-chard Miller. (Right) Mr. J. Y. Black, President of the Moree Picnic Race Club, and Mrs. Black at the presentation of the prizes won at the Picnic Race Meeting.
The Home : an Australian quarterly.Vol. 9 No. 8 (1 August 1928) |
A huge fire in 1928 destroyed the majority of
buildings in the Moree business district.
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| Worker (Brisbane, Qld. : 1890 - 1955), Wednesday 5 December 1928 |
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| North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Saturday 7 December 1929 |
1930s
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C. W.A. Hostel at Moree THE MOREE HOSTEL.AT Moree the Country Women's Asso-ciation has established a very fine hostel, which was opened by the State president., Mrs. Matt Sawyer. The build-ing stands in a beautiful situation, and it can accommodate twelve persons.Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 1 January 1930 |
Moree Station and Moree Mission Aboriginal School existed there around 1933.
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| Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939), Saturday 10 June 1933 |
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| Moree District Band, NSW, North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Thursday 25 October 1934 |
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| North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Monday 1 April 1935 |
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| Moree Gwydir Examiner and General Advertiser (NSW : 1901 - 1940), Thursday 1 October 1936 |
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| Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Thursday 3 February 1938 |
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| Moree, NSW, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 12 May 1939 |
1940s and WWII
OBITUARY. SAPPER R. V. GREEDY.Mrs. K. Greedy, of Moree, received word on Saturday that her son, Sapper Richard Victor Greedy (23) who en-listed 13 months ago, had been killed in action. Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser (NSW : 1886 - 1942), Friday 27 June 1941
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Moree Nurse's Adventures. Word has been received by Mr. aud Mrs. G. E. Wright, of Frome Street,' Moree, that their daughter, Sister Nnnoy Wright, who is with the Hadfield-Spears mobile surgical
unit attached to a Free Freocb Force under the leadership of Mrs. Spears, better known aB Mary Borden, the novelist, is now, or was recently, in the Middle East. The unit had been rushed up from a certain place, and, on arrival, found wounded al. ready waitiug to be attended to. An operating theatre was hastily set up and Sister Wright was plaoed in charge. Enemy planes swooped down on the hospital tent twice, and the work was carried on to the nerve racking rattle of machine-gun fire. Sister Wright was with the same nnit in France during the German invasion, and escaped after a hectic week in which the unit was reported to have been lost.The sinking of the Australian de. stroyer, Waterhen, by enemy action in the Mediterranean, has been an. nounced by, the Minister for the Navy (Mr. Hughes). The Water-hen was damaged by bombing dnr. ing recent operations and sank whilst being towed to port. There were no casualties aud all members of the personnel are safe, The Italian commander at Deb-ratabor, in Abyssinia, has agreed to surrender with 3,000 Italian and 1200 African troops, says a general Headquarters communiqueWarialda Standard and Northern Districts' Advertiser (NSW : 1900 - 1954), Monday 7 July 1941 |
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| North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Thursday 22 July 1943 See here |
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| (The Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA) was formed during the Second World War to combat rising labour shortages in the farming sector. From December 1941, when Japan entered the war, the nation's need to build up its armed forces was placed above the needs of other industries) .North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Monday 11 October 1943 |
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| North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Thursday 23 March 1944, |
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| Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Saturday 26 January 1946 |
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MISS JUDITH DOYLE of "Merewah," Boggabilla, cutting out her beast in| the Lady's Camp Draft, In which she was placed second, at the recent |Moree Show. Miss Doyle is well-known as a skilful horsewoman. Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 10 June 1949
1950s
500 new homes were built for aboriginal people at Moree at 1951. (1.)
 | Artesian Baths in Moree, N.S.W. - circa 1950s, Kaye
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North West Champion (Moree, NSW : 1915 - 1954), Thursday 23 July 1953
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By 1954 the population was 5509.
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| EXAMINING THE CATTLE EXHIBITS: Mr. Geoff. Butler, of Kanimbla, Moree, talks over the cattle and horse exhibits at the Moree show with Mr. Erial Redingham, of Kincora, Moree.Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), Friday 21 May 1954 |
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MOREE, major North-Western town, is on the junction of the Broadwater and Mehi Rivers, 413 miles by rail from Sydney, and-60 miles north of Narrabri. it is the centre of a prosperous and progressive rural district, which has a population of more than 5,000. Main products are wool, wheat, maize, and cattle. Apart from being a municipality, Moree is the headquarters of the Land Board and the Pastures Protection Board district. it is well served by road and rail transport, particularly with Queensland, via Gcondiwindi. A branch line runs to Boggabilla, on the Queensland border, from Camurra, a few miles from Moree, The town has all modern amenities and services, and its streets are well laid out ctnd planted with large shade trees. Amenities include two public baths, which draw their water from an artesian bore, and an Olympic and children's swimming pools. Moree is a big sporting centre, with its own Jockey and Picnic Race Clubs, which run several meetings and carnivals throughout the year. Facilities for cricket, football, golf, bowls, tennis and hockey are also provided through local associations, clubs and public recreation areas. Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 19 November 1954 |
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Moree District Hospital!, which feafryres a splendid 'garden in front and shade trees on the lawns. BELOW.-Moree Public School with primary school children in the grounds. The school has ex roll-call of 650 pupils, and a teaching staff of 15. The secondary school is behind the buildings shown..Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 19 November 1954, |
1960sMoree was officially proclaimed a town in 1862.
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| Title: Moree Centenary, Moree NSW. Dated: 25/02/1962. No copyright, Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection |
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| Title: Moree Centenary, Moree NSW. Dated: 25/02/1962. No copyright, Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection |
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| School children at the Moree Aboriginal Reserve, NSW, February 1965. Free to copy, Creative Commons. State Library of NSW |
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| Student Action for Aborigines protest outside Moree Town Hall and Council Chambers, February 1965 / The Tribune, State Library of New South Wales |
A council by-law prevented Aboriginal people's entry to the local swimming pool and also, pubs and clubs.
The Freedom Ride was a 15-day journey undertaken in February 1965 by a group of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians who
travelled in a bus across New South Wales, led by Charles Perkins, an Aboriginal civil rights activist.
The Freedom Riders held a picket at the Moree council chambers to protest against the exclusion of Aboriginal people (except for school children during school hours) from the Moree baths. That evening a public meeting eventually led to a the by-law segregating the pool being repealed.
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| Crowd and police outside Moree Baths, NSW, State Library of New South Wales |
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| Charles Perkins on graduation day at the University of Sydney in 1966 |
1970s
Population by 1971 was 9139 people.
Wirajarai Aboriginal Reserve gazetted 20/09/1974.
1980s
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| OTC Moree, NSWEstablished in 1946, the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) was responsible for Australian international telcommunications and was a forerunner to Telstra. The Moree Satelite Earth Station was built in 1968. It enabled satelite transmission of live radio and television in Australia. Taken 1980. RAHS |
2000s
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| Saunders Building, Moree, NSW, 2012, Mark |
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| Moree, NSW, 2012, Mark |
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| NAIDOC Week Moree, NSW, 2018 |
2020s
Taylor Oval, the proposed site for a 50-metre swimming pool complex, may have once shared land used for burials at an area known as Pioneer Cemetery.
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| Moree, NSW, The current station opened in 1904, replacing the original station located to the north that opened on 1 April 1897 (2021) |
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| One of the murals at Moree, NSW (part of an arts trail. Also featuring past and present service personnel |
Around Moree
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| The Imperial Hotel, built 1929) is a two story rendered brick building builtin the late Edwardian style, Moree, NSW |
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| Bank Art Museum Moree, NSW, 25 Frome Street Moree. 1911 Edwardian-style building and the previous home of the Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney |
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| Victoria Hotel, Moree, NSW, established in 1897 |
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The former Moree Hotel on the corner of Morton and Alice streets, opened 1914, Moree, NSW, is now
abandoned
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| Morgan's Building, Moree, NSW built 1929 (Free Classical style) |
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| Moree War Memorial Hall 36 Balo Street, Moree, NSW. The original Town Hall and School of Arts were de-stroyed by fire in 1917. The foundation stone for the new hall was laid in 1921. The building was not exactly as the architect envisaged, was opened in 1923 |
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| A.C.Reid building, built 1904. Moree, NSW |
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| The Moree Lands Office, NSW, is an example of a two-storey timber office building, designed by the colonial architect, Walter Liberty Vernon. The building is constructed of timber and corrugated iron and originally contained eight rooms with a central corridor. The design only contained the front and rear veranda. An additional veranda was contracted, connecting the two existing verandas after the building was raised in height in 1902 to 1903. |
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| Moree Tafe building, NSW (was formerly the Moree Council Chambers constructed in 1902 although litle remains of the original building. After WWII it became the services club. When the club relocated to a new premises the building was sold to the Department of Education in 1969) |
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| The former Moree Club building was built 1905 for Dr Magill who used it for his surgery and hospital until he left Moree in 1909, Moree, NSW |
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| Imperial Buildings, Moree, NSW, built 1929 |
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Moree - Lyceum Theatre (former) operated from 1929 until 1974. It closed when the
drive-in cinema on Bingara Road opened. A courtesy bus used to collect people from Gravesend and
Pallamallawaa and take them to the cinema (Gravesend is approx. 50kms from Moree and Pallamallawa 30kms). Eric Watts used to drive a bus to pick up people from the various Aboriginal missions around town. The theatre regularly drew over 1000 people on weekends. Moree, NSW |
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| At Moree's Picnic Races, NSW |
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| Royal Hotel Motel, Moree, NSW, opened 1873 |
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| Moree on a Plate Festival. One of regional Australia's premier food and wine festivals, Moree, NSW |
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| All Saints Anglican Church, Moree, NSW. Inter-War Gothic style church was opened in March 1936 |
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| St Andrews Presbyterian church, Albert Street Moree NSW (built 1957) |
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| St Francis Xavier Catholic church, Boston Street Moree NSW (built 1959 ( The first Catholic church in Moree was a small wooden building erected about 1884 in Warialda Street) |
Things To Do and Places To Go
Heritage Walk
Bank Art Museum Moree
The Moree Military Museum
