Wollombi, NSW: Along The Old Coach Road

Wollombi, NSW, a small village in the Hunter Region, is rich in Aboriginal and early settler history.


The Awabakal, Wanaruah and Darkinjung People

The town of Wollombi sits at the junction of the lands of the Awabakal, Wanaruah and Darkinjung people. 'Wollombi' actually means 'meeting place.' 

Between 1893 and 1917, R.H. Mathews published over 170 papers on the Ceremonies, Languages, Society and Arts of Aboriginal Australia.. Matthews, while working as a surveyor in the Hunter Valley in the 1880s, formed friendships with Aboriginal people and began recording their language.

It should be noted that Matthews and another ethnologist, John Fraser, invented names for tribes and languages that did not exist (3.)

It appears that Aboriginal people from the Brisbane Water district, now called 'Guringai', and those from Lake Macquarie called 'Awabakal,' known by Mathews as Wannerawa / Wannungine, are are the same ancestral Tribe as the Wollombi tribe from along the south side of the Hunter. (4.) The Kamilaroi people expanded into Hunter Valley, causing tribal tensions (2.)

A small, temporary shelter, traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people, also called a humpy, a gunyah, wurley, wurly, wurlie, mia-mia, or wiltija, these shelters are made of bark, branches, leaves and grass

Aboriginal weapons, Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria, R H Matthews, 1907

Aborigines of Australia, R H Matthews, 1898

The Burbnng of the Darkinnng Tribes. By R. H. MATHEWS (1897)

Aboriginal cultural attributes of the Upper Hunter Valley

1790s

A smallpox epidemic swept through Aboriginal clans from 1789, and spread inland. Also affecting the Aborigines in the Hawkesbury-Hunter Ranges. Aboriginal people had no immunity at the time. (Smallpox had a devastating impact on Europe. During the 18th century it is estimated to have killed around 400,000 people annually)

1820s

The Howe exploration from the Hawkesbury to the Hunter river in 1820, was greatly assisted by Aboriginal guides, Myles, Mullaboy, Murphy, Whirle and Bandagran.

John Blaxland jnr in 1824, first found that the Aboriginal people of the area called their country 'Wallambine'. Thomas Mitchell, who was Surveyor-General of New South Wales from 1828 to his death in 1855, stated 'I will not suffer any surveyor to give to any river or place any other than the proper native names'. He instructed that the term be used as 'Wollomb' and the people called the 'Wollombi Tribe' during this period, 

During the term of Governor Darling (1825-1831), gangs of convicts were set to work to clear and build The Great North Road. Wollombi was once a thriving village on this thoroughfare, where bullock trains, mail coaches, goods and people travelled.

The Great North Road (Mount Manning to Wollombi Section) was built between 1830 and 1832 by convict road gangs, having been surveyed by Heneage Finch (1830–1831), under the leadership of Sir Thomas Mitchell.

The Great North Road at Wollombi sat at a crossroad going east to Maitland and Newcastle; or north to Singleton, the Upper Hunter and New England. The road was an engineering achievement, with the oldest known stone bridges on the Australian mainland. The section between Mt Manning and Wollombi comprises many individual elements with unique properties of design and workmanship.

Edward Payne was tried for stealing a wether sheep on 15 Mar 1824 in Maidstone, Kent, England. He was sentenced to transportation to Australia for life. He became a farmer at Payne’s Crossing near Wollombi.

1830s

In 1830, Peninsula War veteran, Thomas Budd was granted an allotment of 100 acres on the banks of the north arm of the Wollombi Creek. He was also appointed as a mounted policeman in the Hunter River area, and then as special constable and pound-keeper for the Paterson Plains district. 

Wollombi was established as the administrative centre of the district.

Wollombi is surveyed, with allotments offered for sale in 1833.

John McDougall, who was transported to Australia in 1820, was conditionally pardoned in 1836 and appointed Keeper of the Pound at Wollombi.

David Dunlop, in 1839, became a police magistrate at Wollombi village, as well as Aboriginal protector. He constructed a stone house at Wollombi. His wife, Eliza, wrote the poem 'The Aboriginal Mother' in 1838, which she composed against the Myall Creek massacre. (29 Aboriginal people were killed by eight colonists After two trials, seven perpetrators of twelve accused were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging)

1840s

The Governor Gipps Inn opened in 1840.

An iron bark slab cottage built in 1840, is now a shop.

The 1840 St Michaels Catholic Church. was destroyed by floods in 1893. The stones were taken to a new site and the church rebuilt.

David Dunlop, the Magistrate of Wollombi, organised the construction of Mulla Villa in 1840. Built in sandstone by convicts. The convict built prison cells date back to the 1840s.

Of about 12 inns between Wollombi and Millfield, at least 5 were within 1.3 miles of Millfield.

Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), Thursday 3 September 1840

Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939)

A flour mill opened in 1844. It burnt down in 1904.

Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), Friday 13 October 1944,

St John’s Anglican Church built from 1846 and designed by noted architect Edmund Blacket.

Wollombi Cemetery consecrated in 1849 by Bishop Tyrell.

1850s

Wollombi Valley's vineyards have been producing wine since the 1850s.

The Wollombi General Store was built in the 1850s .

Waugh's Australian almanac. (1858)

According to the Maitland Mercury, 18 January 1854, Aboriginal people were working in agriculture and were skilled in the 'use of the sickle' in wheatfields during harvest time. (1.)

The Maitland Wollombi road was lined with horse and bullock teams bringing the farmers' produce from Wollombi and district to Maitland markets -corn, wheat, oats, Wollombi wool, wattle bark, as the old hands used to call it.

1860s

The first school opened in 1860.

Public Hall built 1860.

Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Thursday 24 November 1864

The telegraph arrived in 1860 from Sydney to Brisbane. The office opened in a sandstone residence was built in 1855.

Black Billy, a 'half caste' bushranger was causing havoc in the Wollombi district. 

YELLOW BILL Y AGAIN Stoppage of the Wollombi MailOn Wednesday, soon after noon, the. Wollombi' máil boy was stopped by Yellow Billy, at the Twenty-one Mile Pinch. The- mail-boy, whose name is William Brennan, and who is only thirteen years old, states that Yellow Billy, whom he recognised from description, and who was armed with a gun, ordered him (Brannan) to ride into the bush with him. After riding together about half a mile from the road, the bushranger told the boy to throw the mail-bags on the ground, and to move on about ten or twelve yards ¡ he then opened the bags, and sorted and opened the letters. The bushranger seemed to the boy to get a' pretty good bundle of notes from the letters, which, after looking over carefully, he put in his pockets ; but he burnt a number of letters, and-among them, the lad thinks he burnt some cheques.The bushranger then ordered the lad to tie-up the remainder of the letters, and strap them on his saddle, and this done, Brennan was ordered to ride back again toward the road, in front of Yellow Billy. When they neared the road, the bushranger stopped the boy, and detained him there about half an hour, when he told him that there were not many people travelling ón the road, and he might go. The lad then, with the letters' thus restored by Yellow Billy,'pursued his journey to Maitland without further interruption, and gave information to the police.'Brennan says he recognised the man to be Yellow Billy by the description he had heard of him and his horse at the WolIombi township. He was riding a light chestnut horse, in very good condition, the two hind feet white. The man was a half-caste, having a dark, dirty Californian hat, a 'suit of dirty tweed clothes, long boots, and the lower part of his face covered by a dark comforter tied round his.neck; he had blankets strapped on his horse, and a double-barrelled gun..The mail between Wollombi and Maitland is a horseBell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle (NSW : 1860 - 1870), Saturday 11 August 1866

For many years the late Mr. Hickey was mail contractor between Maitland and Wollombi, and afterwards ran a passenger coach.

New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Friday 12 August 1864 

The first police station and Courthouse were built in 1866. The original Courthouse built in 1840, was of timber.

The original Wollombi Tavern opened in 1868 but it burnt down.

1870s

Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), Thursday 9 December 1875

1880s

The sandstone school and teacher’s house built in 1881.  Closed 2014.

The photo is around the time of the Wollombi Public School opening in 1881

The Family Hotel, Wollombi, NSW, owned by the Kenny family in the 1880s. Demolished 1950s.

Wollombi was the granary of the state in days gone by. It supported four hotels, several large stores, a flour mill, wheelwright and blacksmith shops, etc. It had four police, a resident Police Magistrate, a Clerk of Petty Sessions, its Court of Quarter Sessions, and District Court, and also a bank. (5.)

1890s

Wollombi General Store was built in the 1890s.

Kenny’s Folly, built in 1893, is now known as Grays Inn.

Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939), Saturday 12 January 1895

1900s

A Bullock Team Drawing Logs from Wadigan Mountain, near Wollombi, NSW. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 27 July 1901

Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 27 April 1910

In 1911 the population of the village was 406.

Wollombi general Store, NSW, 1913

Studio portrait of 371 Private (Pte) William Alexander Diplock, 1st Battalion, of Wollombi, NSW. A school teacher prior to enlistment, Pte Diplock embarked from Sydney with C Company on HMAT Afric on 18th October 1914. After transferring to the 1st Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery he was promoted to Corporal (Cpl) and on 8th October 1917 died of wounds received in action. He was buried in the Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Le Treport, France. AWM

1920s

Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Monday 3 January 1921

Bullock train passing Mulla Villa, Wollombi, NSW, no date

Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), Saturday 21 November 1925

Aboriginal trackers work with the Wollombi police throughout to the 1920s-30s. 

CATTLE STEALING CASE, which caused a stir in Wollombi district. — Top: Courthouse and the "exhibits." Bottom, Constable Taylor and a blacktracker. Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 30 January 1929

The Maitland Post Office was

established in 1829, and
that at Wollombi ten years later,
with a weekly mail service, — horse-
back. For the period between the
late twenties and the early 'thirties,
the settlers of Wollombi-Cessnock
district received their mail matter
through the Maitland Post Office.
The Convict System was in full blast
in those days, and the country roads
were regularly patrolled by soldiers,
well-mounted and heavily armed.
Their principal duty was to keep in
touch with the ticket-of -leave men—
to prevent their absconding and join
ing up with the bushranging frater
nity.

The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder 

Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), Tuesday 30 June 1931

Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), Friday 31 March 1933

Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), Friday 10 February 1933

Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), Tuesday 30 July 1935

Singleton Argus (NSW : 1880 - 1954), Friday 19 March 1937

World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), Saturday 17 December 1938

Portion of the old Sydney coach road between Awaba and Wollombi. The old furrows made by the coach wheels have been scored more deep by torrents of rainwater. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), Wednesday 14 June 1939

1940s and WWII

Reminiscences of Mrs. Amelia Sternbeck, Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW : 1888 - 1971), Friday 30 January 1942, Here

Wollombi, NSW, no date, Special Collections

Name Owen Patrick Smith
Birth Date 15 Jul. 1892
Birth Place Wollombi, New South Wales [Wollombi] 
Enlistment Date 1939-1948
Enlistment Place Cessnock, New South Wales
Military Service Branch Army, Citizen Military Forces
Service Number N288860
Next of Kin Mabel Smith
Series Description B884: Army Citizen Military Forces

 Volunteer Air Ob-server Corps, in the Newcastle district of New South Wales joined in the rescue of United States Army person-nel, who parachuted to safety before Kheir transport plane crashed while travelling from Brisbane to Sydney.Two of the 20 men carried by the plane were killed, and a lieutenant and two sergeants were admitted to Cess-nock hospital with injuries. The trans-port carried, in addition to the crew, soldiers on leave from New Guinea.Mrs. G. M. Andrews, wife of the Chief observer of the V.A.O.C., was on duty at the observation post at Wollombi, and while watching it she saw the starboard airscrew fly off, and the motor fall from the wing. The wing then began to crumble. ..the machine .-.rapidly lost height, and a number of men were seen to- make parachute jumps from it The aircraft then disappeared out of sight over a ridge.Leaving his wife to report. Mr. Andrews immediately set out in his car in search of the survivors. Five were picked up, including a number of the crew. Andrews then got- in touch with the police and went with them in his car to locate the remain-der: All were found, ? 13 perfectly safe, but the other two were casualties as a result of their parachutes failing to open on account of the low altitude at which they had jumped.Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1965), Saturday 11 March 1944

Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), Friday 20 April 1945

1950s

Wollombi, a village about 80
miles from Cessnock, on the
old Sydney-road, is completely
isolated by flood waters.

Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), Saturday 17 June 1950

1960s

Population was 151 in 1961.

Mel Jurd operated the Wollombi Tavern (called the Wollombi Wine Saloon and later the Wollombi Wine Bar) produced ‘Dr Jurd’s Jungle Juice’ which can be bought at the Wollombi Tavern or ordered on its website.

1970s

The Courthouse closed in 1970. Now a museum.

Around Wollombi

The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, Wollombi, NSW. On 30th September 1840 the Reverend John Bede Polding, first Catholic Bishop of Sydney, laid the foundation stone on land bought for £5, near Cunneen’s Bridge on the Wollombi Brook. After the great flood of 1893 the church was dismantled and, stone by stone, moved and rebuilt on its present site between the Old Post Office and the Forge

Mulla Villa Farm, built from sandstone, by convicts in 1840., was the original local Magistrate's home in the Wollombi Valley, NSW

Wollombi, NSW. The old Public Hall. Built around 1860 and used as a hall till 1920. Denisbin

Wollombi Cemetery Consecrated in 1849 by Bishop Tyrrell, NSW

Wollombi, NSW

Wollombi, NSW

Endeavour Museum The Museum is housed in the former Wollombi Court House (1866), NSW 9
Wollombi historic village steam driven winch, made in England)

Wollombi, NSW

Wollombi slab hut, NSW Robyn Jay

Things To Do and Places To Go

Historical Wollombi Village Walk

Wollombi: Place where Waters Meet

Wollombi Aboriginal Cultural Experiences: leanne@wollombiculture.com

Wollombi Endeavour Museum

Wollombi Markets

Wallaroo: SA: Historical Seaside Town

Wallaroo is located about 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Moonta and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Kadina, South Australia.

The Narungga People

The Narungga people, also spelt Narangga, are Aboriginal Australians whose traditional lands are located throughout Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. 

Narungga people have lived throughout the Point Pearce area for a great many years The area was known as Bookooyanna. Evidence of Narungga campsites can be found, mostly near water sources, along with stone tools, food and cooking fire remains.

Cloaks made of opossum or kangaroo skins are worn by these Blacks. Girls deck themselves with . necklaces made of sea shells. Of course the men formerly greased their skins when they could obtain fat of any sort. For knives they employed shells and afterwards glass ; for they relate that they used occasionally to find bottles on the beach many years before the Whites came to reside in South Australia. Their weapons were rude spears, and wooden swords five feet long and slightly curved; the boomerang and wommera were unknown amongst them. Occasionally they baked their food in temporary ovens. Polygamy was practised, and girls became wives at ten years of age.

Native coyrobbory, South Australia. Savage life and scenes in Australia and New Zealand: being an artist's impressions. Of countries and people at the Antipodes ...by Angas, George French, 1822-1886 

The males of this tribe are admitted to the privileges of men, or made young men as the term is, by being circumcised; such privileges being the right to get a wife, if one can be obtained, and the removal of a portion of the restrictions on food. When the time for the administration of this rite has come, the men seize the uncircumcised males of the proper age, and drive the women, after some show of resistance, out of the camp. The foreskin is then severed, and, it is asserted, swallowed by the youth's father. This tribe, it is related, believe in a future state, and that the dead go to the west ; to the country whence come the cool winds, and in which it is believed there is always abundance of fat fish. Kangaroo and emu are speared and also taken in nets.

Mr. Fowler relates the following as one of the modes of fishing in this tribe, witnessed by himself. A good-sized fish being roasted, and tied up in a bundle of rushes, is fastened round the neck of a strong swimmer, so that it hangs down his back. With this he swims out to sea a mile or more, and then returns to the sandy beach, the roasted fish still hanging behind him. When near the shore, the swimmer attaches the fish to a spear stuck in the sand, where the water is about three feet deep. In the meantime the men have got ready their long nets, and the shoal of fish, as soon as it arrives on the scent of this drag, is surrounded and taken, Mr. Fowler says that he saw an enormous quantity of schnapper secured in this way on one occasion. It is a mode of fishing I have not heard of before. (some parts left out)

The Australian race : its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent. by Curr, Edward Micklethwaite, 1820-1889, 1896. Here

Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 16 July 1936 Read more

1800s

Matthew Flinders was the first European to visit the area in 1802.

TUESDAY 16 MARCH 1802

We got under way at six in the morning, and the wind being from the south-eastward made a good stretch along the coast until noon. A patch of breakers then lay five miles to the south-east; but the land was ten miles distant, and some white sandy cliffs, four or five leagues from Point Riley, bore S. 52° E. The intermediate coast, as also that which extends several leagues to the north of the point, is low and sandy; but at a few miles back it rises to a level land of moderate elevation, and is not ill clothed with small trees.

A VOYAGE TO TERRA AUSTRALIS

The smallpox entirely depopulated this district, before the whites came to settle on the shores of South Australia. The natives tell us that a long time ago it came down the Murray, spreading its ravages from tribe to tribe: whole tribes were cut off by its destructive effects. Since that period, however, no contagious diseases have been known to exist within the province.

Savage life and scenes in Australia and New Zealand: being an artist's impressions. Of countries and people at the Antipodes ...by Angas, George French, 1822-1886 (1847) Here

1850s

Wallaroo was first settled in 1851, when Robert Miller took up 104 square miles of land to graze sheep. In 1857, Walter Watson Hughes, obtained the property, and one of his shepherds found copper in 1859.

Wallaroo became a smelting and harbour town, not a mining town. Wallaroo Mines were actually located at Kadina. many skilled Cornish miners and Welsh smelters arrived to work in the area.

There waa an inadequate water supply for many years. Later iron underground tanks to hold water were constructed.

When copper was found at Moonta in 1859, many hopeful people arrived in the area.

1860s

Cooroboree at Wallaroo Bay, South Australia, 1860 [picture] / W. Wyatt

The copper smelter was established in 1861. And soon after, a settlement developed at Wallaroo Bay.And was proclaimed as a government town on 29 January 1862. The smelter would also produce gold and lead, and a sulphuric acid works.

A jetty was built for ships in 1861, part of the contract to build a tramway to the Wallaroo Mine.

The first school in Wallaroo was opened in 1861.

Wallaroo railway station opened in 1862 when a horse-drawn tramway was opened between the port at Wallaroo and mines near Kadina.

Cornucopia Hotel, was built and opened in 1862

The Yorke Peninsula Aboriginal Mission committee was established in the early 1860s and Reverend W. Julius Kuhn, a Moravian missionary began teaching Nharangga children. The Point Pearce Mission Station was established 35 miles south of Wallaroo in 1868.

The town’s first post office built 1865.

The government also established ration depots from which Aboriginal people could obtain basic supplies.

The Wallaroo Times and Mining Journal, published from 1 February 1865 to 31 December 1881.

The old Courthouse built in 1866. Closed as a courthouse in 1972.

Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954)

1870s

Wallaroo Jetty with a ship moored awaiting its cargo. Rail cars can be seen filled with barrels and bales ready for loading. 1870, SLSA

View of Wallaroo, possibly of Jetty Road, showing Hughs Chimney Stack (1861) in the background. A ship moored at the jetty can also be seen. Loaded carts of grain in sacks are in the foreground. The population of Wallaroo in 1865 was 3,000. The jetty was built in 1861 for ships to bring in coal, timber, food and mining equipment. The first load of refined copper was shipped out in 1861. 1870. SLSA

Caroline Carleton (6 October 1811 – 10 July 1874), an English-born South Australian poet who is known for her prize-winning poem "Song of Australia." She is buried in Wallaroo cemetery. 

Ship Inn, Wallaroo in Alexander Street (formerly Clara Street). The name on the hotel is Slack-Cropley. He was proprietor from 1878-September 4, 1889. According to a researcher, his name was Slack. His mother's maiden name was Miss Slack. The Ship Inn is a single storey sandstone building occupying a corner position. Several men are standing outside the hotel. 1877, SLSA

Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912), Wednesday 18 July 1877

1880s

A rail connection to Adelaide was completed by 1880.

Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922), Wednesday 21 April 1886

The Kadina and Wallaroo Times was a newspaper published in Kadina, also serving nearby Wallaroo, from August 1888 to August 1966.

After the railway was constructed between Wallaroo and Kadina it was not unusual to see a locomotive on a narrow gauge railway line towing a train of coal trucks on a paralled broad gauge horse line. The engine hauled 20 trucks against five moved by horses. The coal vessels, which were sailing ships, were first discharged by a whip horse. This was followed by donkey engines and eventually by hydraulic hoists worked by a Government plant. 

Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954)

1890s

Commercial Hotel, Wallaroo existed from 1861-1984. It was also known as the Peninsula Hotel. The Bollmeyer family were proprietors of the Commercial Hotel from 1869-1914. Mrs Jane Bollmeyer was proprietor from 1878-1889. 1890, SLSA

WALLAROO: The Globe Hotel, Wallaroo; the hotel was leased to Sarah Jane Francis (formerly Nottle) from 1890-1895, she is the shortest woman standing in front of a window with her husband, William Francis, and their four daughters, left to right: Jane, Margaret, Alice, and Elizabeth (sitting). A note on the back of the photograph states "Built by W. Square (late of Gawler Town). Since building the above he has made additional alterations. The luxury of baths will be added to the establishment." This is an abstract from an advertisement in JB Austin's "Mines of South Australia", 1863. This single storey building existed from 1861 and was also known as the Globe Hotel and the Weerona Hotel. It was built by W. Square in 1861. Mrs Sarah Francis was the proprietor from 1890-1895. 1890, SLSA

Walleroo Jetty, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 2 September 1899

The Wallaroo team are the premiers of the Central Southern branch of the Rug by Union this year, having defeated the St. Patrick's team after a desperate conflict. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 2 October 1897

Mitchell's Draper Shop, Wallaroo, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 2 September 1899

1900s

Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954), Saturday 4 August 1900

Wallaroo Town Hall and War Memorial Arch. The Town Hall was built in 1902 and was gutted by fire in 1917 with only the external walls left standing. It was remodelled under the supervision of Adelaide Architect Mr. Quinton Bruce, and re-opened in late February, 1919, SLSA

Wallaroo Football Club, Senior Premiers in 1900, SA, SLSA

Wallaroo (west side), S.A. 1906, Kaye

Annual Regatta at Wallaroo, S.A. - 1906, Kaye

Globe Hotel, Wallaroo, South Australia - very early 1900s, Kaye

Globe Hotel, Wallaroo, S.A. - circa 1907, Proprietor W. Ogilvie. Information from Lins Oz: The original Globe Hotel at Wallaroo was built in 1863 - and was extensively renovated (and adding the upper floor) in 1899, by which time it was owned by the S.A. Brewing Company. William Ogilvie was licensee 1907-1910. Kaye

Post Office, Wallaroo. Postal facilities were initially operated from the general store but in 1865 the Post and Telegraph Office was opened. The new Post Office opened in 1910 is shown in this photograph 1907. SLSA

Walaroo, SAObserver (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 4 January 1908

Wheat stores and smelters, Walaroo, SAObserver (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 4 January 1908,

WALLAROO BAND CONTEST, SA, (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 27 November 1909

Drum Major Symons, of the Tramway Trust Band, and Willie Strongman, Kettle

Drummer of the Wallaroo Band (the tallest and shortest taking part in the contest. (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 27 November 1909

Wheat Stacks, Wallaroo, South Australia circa 1910, Kaye

Australia Wallaroo Mines Federal Band, SA, 1910, PD

Wallaroo showing the Cornucopia Hotel. The proprietor at this time was Mrs Elizabeth D Bryden. This hotel in Owen Terrace existed since 1862. This two storey hotel is located in the heart of Wallaroo. The flag on the hotel is at half-mast. The store of JC Hissey is also shown. 1910. SLSA

THE GOVERNOR AT THE WALLAROO SCHOOL. SA (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 15 April 1911

WALLAROO S.MELTERS-; AND PHOSPHATE WORKS. SA (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 15 April 1911

Owen Terrace, Wallaroo, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 15 April 1911

Wallaroo Rowing Club, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 15 June 1912

Members of the nursing staff, Wallaroo Hospital, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 3 February 1912

WALLAROO LADIES' HOCKEY TEAM. Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 28 September 1912

CHURCH OF CHRIST, WALLAROO, SA. Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 27 December 1913

WWI

Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Friday 7 August 1914,

Jetty, Wallaroo, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 1 August 1914

New station at Wallaroo, SA, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 23 May 1914,

Shipping at Wallaroo jetty, 1914, SLSA

B73094 Joseph Constantine South Australians of World War I : Share their story Service number 1525 Private Joseph Constantine was born at Wallaroo, South Australia, on 6 June 1876. He enlisted at Adelaide, South Australia, on 10 September 1915 and served in the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He was discharged in 1916 due to medical reasons. SLSA

The current railway station was built, in the American Art Nouveau style, in 1914 as a replacement for the older station, which was demolished in 1926.

For many years the Point Pierce Mission 'Station has been under the management of the Yorke's Peninsulas Aboriginal people. Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931)1915

Wallaroo Smelting Works: Converter plant., SA, 1916, SLSA

THE LATE PRIVATE W. RANCLAUD. Mr. and Mrs. Mark Ranclaud, of Wallaroo, have been informed that their second son, Private William Ranclaud, of the 50th Battalion, had been killed in
action on April 2. Private Ranclaud was just over 20 years of age, and was amongst the youngest recruits from Wallaroo, The late Private W. Rancload.ing the colors at the age of 19 years. He
was born in Wallaroo, and educated at the Sisters of St. Joseph school. He was in the employ of the Wallaroo and Mount Lyell Company. His brother, Private James Ranclaud, is serving in France. Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 12 May 1917

WALLAROO SWIMIMING TEAM, 1918 ,,-,J. WILLIS. E. BUCIK.F. BRADLEY. S. MAJOR. J. BIRADLEY. (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954)

Before and after teh fire at Wallaroo Town Hall, SA, Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 5 January 1918

Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954), Saturday 7 June 1919

1920s

Tennis party from Wallaroo, South Australia- circa 1920, Kaye

In 1920 the population was at 5,000.

By 1923, Wallaroo was the second biggest port in South Australia, after Adelaide. However, low copper prices forced the closure of the smelters in 1923, and they never re-opened.

Busy day at Wallaroo, SA, Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 5 April 1924

Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), Saturday 30 May 1925

Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), Tuesday 3 August 1926

1930s

] Panoramic view of Wallaroo from a high place showing shops on Owen Terrace, with other town buildings and smelters. The bay can be seen in the background. 1932, SLSA

Panoramic view of Wallaroo, showing town buildings with the Railway station in foreground. The Wallaroo Jetty and a large cargo ship can be seen in the background. 1932, SLSA

Main Street, Wallaroo is a port town and part of South Australia's Copper Triangle. This photograph depicts a prosperous country town with the main street full of parked cars and people gathering to chat in front of the various shops and businesses. The road leads to the sea which can be seen in the distance. 1933, SLSA

Recorder (Port Pirie, SA : 1919 - 1954), Monday 18 October 1937

A unique type of South Australian cricket was played – Electric Light Cricket  – invented by Alf Stone of Cowandilla and patented in 1933, the game was played at night on a small enclosed area with its own set of rules.

Wallaroo Women's Electric Light Cricket Association, SA, Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Friday 9 April 1937

1940s and WW1

Wallaroo Man, Tobruk Casualty Pte. Fred Paterson. of the A.I.F., a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Paterson. Wallaroo,' has been wounded ai Tobruk. He was a scholar of Kadina Memorial High School, and is one of four brothers who have enlisted for overseas service. Although the main body of Australians has been transferred elsewhere from Tobruk, there is still a small token force there.  (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), Saturday 6 December 1941

The Wallaroo Welsh Congregational Church, Sa, 1943 (its foundation stone was laid 3 Sep 1866 by Mrs Leyshon Jones)

Recorder (Port Pirie, SA : 1919 - 1954), Wednesday 8 March 1944

Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 9 September 1948

1950s

PICTURED here are male staff members of the Wallaroo Clothing Company. They are cutters and pressers and with them is factory manager, Mr. A. Dickson (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 10 August 1950

THE Wallaroo branch of the Country Women's Association is strongly represented by these members
who are (at back from left) Mesdames H. R. Steer, G. W. Bennett, A. M. Grillett, E. C. O'Donnell,
L. May, J. H. Dawson, (front) Mesdames J. Doyle (vice president), K. Thomas (secretary), A. G.Clarke (president). Miss J. Harbison (vice-president) and Mrs. S. Smith (conductor of choir). (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 10 August 1950

THE Wallaroo Clothing Company took over the buildings of the old WallarooHospital during Hie last
World War and as present employs more than 100 young people from Wallaroo and surrounding districts. Pictured here are girls who work in the company's trouser section. In front is Mrs. L. White
(forewoman). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 10 August 1950

HERE is another group of workers at Wallaroo-Mr. Lyeil Fertilisers Ltd. — the biggest local industry.
RIGHT — The office staff of Walloroo-Mt. Lyell Fertilisers Ltd. which includes (at back from left)
Messrs. H. McCartney, A. H. Schroder, R. L. Nottage (accountant), J. H. McCullock (works manager),
G. E. Lawson, (middle row) V. H. Bowcn, D. R. Hann, Miss M. L. Schroder, Messrs. R. L. McArthur,
G. Richards, (front) P. Errington, R. Garland, W. D. Patman (chief chemist), R. Partison, M. J. Boase,R. E. O. Diedrich (chief engineer).Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 10 August 1950

Oh Friday evening last, the body of the Wallaroo town hall was well filled with local •citizens and visitors for the Dedication and Handing-over Ceremony in connection with the recently acquired Jubilee Ambulance. Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA : 1888 - 1954), Thursday 29 May 1952

IN the A grade basketball. Point Pearce defeated Booborowie 21 goals to 1 . In a B gradematch. Port Victoria defeated Point Pearce 4 goals to 1 . Trophy winners in trie A grade matchwere Betty Oewhurst (Booborowie) and Eila Weerra (Point Pearce). B grade trophy winners were Ella Davey (Port Victoria) and Ada Newchureh (Point Pearce). (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 1 October 1953

POINT PEARCE this year won the football premiership of the YorkeValley Association.
Booborowie were also premiers in their association, but the Missionteam (above) was too good
for Booborowie (below) and defeated them 13.8 to 9.6. Point Pearce Colts defeated Booborowie
Colts 6.6 to 4.4. Trophies presented by the Minister of Lands- (Mr. Hincks) for the best players
in the main match were woi. by E. A. Wanganeen (Point Pearce) and Ron Thompson t Boo-
borowie I. Trophies for best place men were won by K. Warrior (Point Pearce) and F. Cousins Booborowie). Best players in the Colts' march were D. Chester (Point Pearce) and Ken Bruce
(Booborowie)  (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Thursday 1 October 1953

1970s

June 18, 1978, the Wallaroo Welsh Congregational Church closed.

Around Wallaroo

Wallaroo Church of Christ, SA.Foundation stone 27 Aug 1913 by Mrs E J Killmier, opened 14 Dec 1913 on corner Owen & May Sts, closed 1958, sold to Princess Royal Masonic Lodge 

The 1865 limestone building which was the town’s first post office and now museum, Wallaroo, SA

Wallaroo Town Hall and War Memorial Arch. The Town Hall was built in 1902 and was gutted by fire in 1917 with only the external walls left standing. It was remodelled under the supervision of Adelaide Architect Mr. Quinton Bruce, and re-opened in late February, 1919, Wallaroo, SA

The 1914 Wallaroo Railway Station was built in American Art Nouveau style. SA

Sonbern Lodge Motel First opened in 1915, Wallaroo, SA

This building in Owen Terrace, Wallaroo, SA, was built in 1864 and traded as "W.C. Eland's Wallaroo Bonded Stores

Building was Pentecostal church 1935, later Assemblies of God. Wallaroo SA. Since 2013, St Nicholas Greek Orthodox church

The Wallaroo Soldiers Memorial stands in front of the Town Hall, dedicated 1924, Joanna Day

Wallaroo. Yorke Peninsula. The old Police Station built in 1862. It closed as a station in 1972. Denisbin

The Cornucopia Hotel is located in the heart of Wallaroo, SA

Wallaroo, SA

Wallaroo Waterside Workers' Hall officially opened, 24 January 1908. Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

Old cells behind the police station, Wallaroo, SA

Things Top Do and Places To Go

Wallaroo Historical Town Walk

The Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival

More Info.

HERITAGE AND NAUTICAL MUSEUM

“Kernewek Lowender” (Cornish happiness) festival every second year throughout the Copper Triangle.