The Nari-Nari people of the Lower Murrumbidgee, and the Wiradjuri people, inhabited large areas of the central-western inland of New South Wales, including the Hay region.
Aboriginal people generally identify with country and networks of kin relations, living within defined boundaries. Totems also were integral to Aboriginal identity and determined kinship lores and marriage rules. People with the same totem couldn't marry each other.
Marriage was arranged in traditional Aboriginal societies, often between a young girl and an older man (1.).
Traditionally, women used digging sticks to collect roots and other vegetable foods, and men hunted game using spears and other weapons.
Coolamons were traditionally used by Aboriginal women to carry water, fruit, nuts, and carry babies |
Stone artefacts and scar trees (also known as a canoe tree and shield tree) may be found in the region.
On November 3, 1829, explorer Charles Sturt left Sydney with an expedition that passed along the Murrumbidgee River on horses and drays.
Sturt's diary was published in London in 1833. The Murrumbidgee River journey from Wagga to Hay was slow: "The plains were open to the horizon. Views as boundless as the ocean. No timber but here and there a stunted gum or a gloomy cypress. Neither bird nor beast inhabited these lonely regions over which the silence of the grave seemed to reign." But there were a few Aboriginals living along the river: in fact, tribes varying in number and disposition were met throughout the whole journey. There was no real trouble. Sturt was confident on his present line he would meet the Darling River. "I had no doubt," he wrote, "that ultimately I would reach the coast."
Sturt's Marked Tree (4 km east on Mid Western Highway).
Sturt's Marked Tree (4 km east on Mid Western Highway).
Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, |
1830s
Pastoral runs were established west along the Murrumbidgee River, onto the Hay plains and beyond from 1832. Shepherds, stockmen and labourers also arrived, many of them ex-convicts and ticket-of-leave men.
Severe drought of 1836.
1840s
A severe economic depression in the 1840s led to many runs being abandoned or sold.
John Tooth bought the "Wooloondool" run by 1844 and later purchased the leases for "Mungadal" and "Pevensey". After Tooth became bankrupt, "Mungadal" was sold to the Lang brothers and "Wooloondool" to James McEvoy.
"LANG'S CROSSING."IN THE DAYS BEFORE HAY. Dr. Thomas Lang, who was one of the owners of Mungadal |
Aboriginal peoples hunted wild animals, gathered plants and fished. They also burnt off the old grass to attract game like kangaroos and used stones to trap fish. Settlers, however, cleared land for farming and for towns, disrupting the lives and food sources of Aboriginal people.
Hay became a major transport hub, and paddlesteamers transported wool down to Echuca on the Murray River.
In 1857, a blacksmith, Thomas Simpson, arrived at Lang's Crossing-Place and established a smithy.
By 1857 Captain Francis Cadell had begun to lobby the Government of New South Wales for the establishment of a Post Office at Lang's Crossing-place. Cadell was a major pioneer in opening up Murray River trading in 1853 with the paddle steamers.Henry Leonard arrived at Lang's Crossing-place and constructed a new punt just upstream of "the main crossing place" by February 1858. Leonard also opened the Murrumbidgee Punt Hotel on 30 October 1858.
In March 1858, Alexander Dunbar stated that he occupied a tent at Lang's Crossing-place (Cadell's store). Captain Cadell also suggested Dundas as post master to the Postmaster general, but was rejected.
Surveyor Adams arrived in 1858 and located the proposed township on the eastern side of the river-bend, north of Leonard's and Simpson's buildings. Laying out the township was completed by Edward Twynam.
Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1858 - 1859; 1866; 1872 - 1874), Saturday 15 October 1859 |
A town was gazetted in 1859 and named after Sir John Hay, a local pastoralist and Member of Parliament.
A weekly mail delivery between Condobolin and Hay began from 1 April 1859.
Messrs Randell and Scott built an iron store in 1859, which became part of the Hay Cash Store Company.
Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1858 - 1859; 1866; 1872 - 1874), Saturday 21 May 1859 |
By August 1859, Dr William Leahy Echlin, had settled at Lang's Crossing. Dr Echlin, the first Medical Practitioner at Hay, died on 27 October 1861.
From 1861, the Free Selection Acts brought thousands of new settlers into the region putting further stress on land needed for Aboriginal hunting and food sources.
One Tree Hotel, built 1862, 38 km north on the road to Booligal, featured in "Banjo" Paterson's poem 'Hay, Hell and Booligal".
1860s
One Tree Hotel, built 1862, 38 km north on the road to Booligal, featured in "Banjo" Paterson's poem 'Hay, Hell and Booligal".
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Friday 11 September 1863 |
The Australian Joint Stock (AJS) Bank was the first bank established in Hay in 1864.
In April 1864, a telegraph station was opened in Hay.
The NSW Land Selection Acts of the 1860s and 1870s , allowed those with limited means to acquire land.
The first Anglican minister to regularly visit Hay was Rev R T Earl, who arrived in 1866. He visited the farms and stations to offer religious services.
1870s
Hay became a municipality in 1872.
Australia was connected to the rest of the world for the first time in 1872, by the Overland Telegraph, that ran some 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) from Adelaide through to Darwin.
The Riverine Grazier was first published in 1873.
The bridge over the Murrumbidgee opened in 1874.
Lachlan Street from Bank - Tattersall's Hotel - Hay, NSW, c 1870, SLNSW |
Australian joint Stock Bank, Hay, NSW, 1870s, SLNSW |
Lachlan Street showing Blewett's store, Bank, Court House and Telegraph Office - Hay, NSW. 1870 SLNSW |
Former Murray & Co. Store, HAY, NSW. William Murray began as a tailor in Hay in 1870, working out of rented premises. In 1874 he had this building erected for his Clothing Emporium |
Hay, NSW, c1875, SLNSW |
Lachlan Street - Hay, NSW, 1875 SLNSW |
Bullock team in Lachlan Street - Hay, NSW - 1875 |
Sunbeam Coach. Cobb & Co. coach factory operated in Hay, from 1877 until 1896.
In the 1870s, the writer Joseph Furphy, who later wrote under the name Tom Collins, best known for his novel Such Is Life (1903), lived around Hay.
1880s
The Hay Railway Station opened on 4 July 1882.
The Warangesda Aboriginal Mission operated between 1880 and 1926. Rev. John Gribble was concerned about the exploitation of Aboriginal women, in the area, and founded the mission settlement to give Aboriginal people a permanent home.
The name for the mission combined "Warang" the Wiradjuri word for "camp" and "esda", the last part of the scriptural "Bethesda" (Hebrew meaning "house of mercy").
In 1882 the railway line was extended to Hay from Narrandera, connecting Hay to Sydney. About this time, the paddle steamers began to lose their importance.
The Hay Fire Brigade was established in 1886.
Linton House Hostel for Boys was built in 1888.
Hay was developing as an important centre for the Riverina.
1890s
MURRUMBIDGEE BLACKS.— SOME OF THE CORROBOREE PARTY. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 24 April 1897 |
Hay Post Office, Hay, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 20 May 1899 |
Supreme Court, Hay, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 20 May 1899 |
LANDS AND SURVEY OFFICE, HAY, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 20 May 1899 |
1900s
Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 5 October 1900, |
Interior of Rogers and Clyde's Pharmacy in Hay, N.S.W. - 1908, Aussie Mobs |
Athenaeum Hall, Hay, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs |
Street in Hay, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs |
Superior Public School in Hay, N.S.W. - 1908, Aussie Mobs |
The Ringer Store, Hay, NSW - circa 1910, Aussie~mobs (demolished in the early 1970s) |
Group of stockmen on horses with revolvers - Hay, NSW, c1913, SLNSW |
THE ABORIGINES AT WARANGESDA STATION. The older man (Murree) is a splendid example of the men of the great Waradgery tribe.Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 18 February 1914 |
WWI
Steamer on the Murrumbidgee River NSW. c1915. Printed post card from A. O. Best in Hay |
1920s
Paragon Cafe was located on the corner of Alma and Lachlan Streets, Hay, NSW |
Hay Court House, NSW. Dated: No date. Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection |
CourtHouse, Hay, NSW, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 30 May 1924 |
Lachlan Street, Hay. NSW c.1925 |
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 9 May 1925 |
THE HAY MOTOR and ENGINEERI NG CO'S GARAGE AND SHOW ROOMS, HAY, NSW, Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 28 September 1928 |
1930s
Les Brown had the Majestic Theatre built 1931-2. Now a hardware store.
Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 13 November 1931 |
The Harrison Family have operated a store on this site, Hay, NSW, since 1882. Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 13 November 1931 |
First Motor Fire Engine in Hay, NSW, c1935, SLNSW |
Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 6 January 1939 |
1940s and WWII
On 10 July 1940, 2,542 detainees left Liverpool, UK, classified as "enemy aliens", aboard the Dunera, described as a overcrowded Hell-hole. After arriving in Australia, the detainees were transported by train to Hay. While interned in Australia, the internees established and administered their own township with Hay currency.
The 1985 Australian mini series The Dunera Boys represents these events. (included German Jewish refugees who had escaped from Nazi occupied territories and 200 Italian Prisoners of War, and 250 Nazis).
A large number of Japanese POWs were transferred to Hay after the Cowra breakout in February 1941.
Land Army Girl assists with jetting at Uardry Stud, Hay, N.S.W. Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Thursday 30 December 1943 |
HAY, NSW. 1944-01-20. THE RIVER PADDLE STEAMER, "MURRUMBIDGEE" AND A BARGE MOORED AT THE 16TH GARRISON BATTALION PRISONER OF WAR (POW) DETENTION CAMP ON THE MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER. AWM |
JAP WAR PRISONERS GO HOME (from Hay, NSW). Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 3 March 1946 |
Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 10 January 1947 |
Lachlan Street, Hay, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 20 August 1947 |
Hospital staff, including Matron R. P. Wilson, Mr R. Eager (Sec.), and Mrs J. Thompson (assist, sec.). Hay, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 20 August 1947 |
Postal staff, Hay, NSW, Hospital staff, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 20 August 1947 |
War Memorial High School. Hay, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 20 August 1947 |
1950s
An Aboriginal canoe tree was found on the Murrumbidgee at Hay, Mr Gibson's property.
Television for Hay, NSW, Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954), Friday 2 June 1950 |
1960s
1980s
Hay railway Station closed on 18 November 1989.
The Paragon Cafe was owned by the Haldezos' family.
1990s
2019
2020s
2022: Rainbow on the Plains pride festival at Hay.
Around Hay
Highway Inn, Lachlan Street, Hay, NSW, was built in 1940 |
The Witcombe Fountain. A gift from the then Mayor, Alderman John Witcombe in 1883, situated on the corner of Lachlan and Moppett St, Hay, NSW |
A display of a Cobb & Co. Coach, typical of those used to carry mail and passengers from Deniliquin to Wilcannia from 1886 to 1901, Hay, NSW |
Sunbeam Coach. Cobb & Co. operated its coach factory in Hay, from 1877 until 1896, Coach pavilion, Hay, NSW |
The Terminus Hotel, Hay, NSW, was licensed from 1882 until 1940, across from the Hay Railway Station. Falling into ruin |
Classical style bank of New South Wales building now a Westpac. It was built in 1877, Hay, NSW |
Japp’s Pharmacy was built in 1913 as a saddlery and tailor. It has been a pharmacy since the early 1930s, Hay, NSW |
The Commercial Hotel was once the site of the Bush Inn, established by William Sabine about 1865. From the mid-1870s, the Bush Inn changed name to the Commercial Hotel, Hay, NSW |
At Hay Museum, NSW |
Hay, NSW, railway station opened on 4 July 1882 and closed on 18 November 1989 |
Hay, NSW, Lands Office, built by Mr. McDonald in 1896. Shire Office, Hay, NSW, built in 1877 to be Hay’s second courthouse, which then became the Athenaeum building in1885 |
The Sisters of the Presentation Catholic Order arrived in Hay in February 1883, to start a convent school, Hay, NSW |
St Paul's Anglican Church, Hay, NSW, built in 1885. Set to be demolished |
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, built in 1872, Hay, NSW |
Things To Do and Places To Go