Warrumbungle Shire Council
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Warrumbungle Shire Thematic History January 2019 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ Contents Page Number 1. Tracing the Evolution of the Australian Environment 9 1.1 Environment: Naturally evolved 9 2. Peopling Australia 11 2.1 Traditional Aboriginal culture - Coonabarabran 11 2.2 Aboriginal Settlement History 18 2.3 Aboriginal Traditional and Settlement History – Coolah 36 2.4 Exploration 42 2.5 Convict 42 2.6 Ethnic influences 46 2.7 Migration 51 3. Developing local Economies 3.1 Agriculture 57 3.2 Commerce 62 3.3 Communication 64 3.4 Environment - Cultural landscapes 72 3.5 Events 76 3.6 Fishing 77 3.7 Forestry 80 3.8 Health 81 3.9 Industry 86 3.10 Mining 92 3.11 Pastoralism 95 3.12 & 3.13 Science & Technology 99 3.14 Transport 100 4. Building settlements, towns and cities 110 4.1 Accommodation 110 4.2 Land Tenure 112 4.3 Towns, suburbs and villages 122 4.4 Utilities 153 4.4.2 Water 155 4.4.2 Sewerage 158 4.4.3 Electricity 159 5. Working 163 5.1 Labour 163 2 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ 6. Educating 181 6.1 Education 181 7. Governing 179 7.1 Defence 179 7.2 Government and administration 181 7.3 Law and order 185 7.4 Welfare 189 8. Developing Australian Cultural Life 192 8.1 Creative Endeavour 192 8.2 Domestic Life 193 8.3 Leisure 195 8.4 Religion 196 8.5 Social Institutions 206 8.6 Sport 208 9. Marking the Phases of Life 212 9.1 Births and Deaths 212 10 References 215 The image of the Warrumbungles Ranges on the cover page comes from of a series of images, dating from 1936-1969, used by in NSW Country Trains. Courtesy of Trove 3 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this area. The Gamilaraay, Wiradjuri and Wayilwan and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present. Introduction This thematic history was undertaken as part of the Community Heritage Study for the Warrumbungle Shire in 2017-2018. The aim of a thematic history is not to focus on individuals or events but places as we aim to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the heritage that has survived into the present era. The guidelines for Community Based Heritage Studies says the following: „A heritage study investigates the history of a local government area. It identifies then assesses items and places of heritage significance that demonstrate this history. The study explains why the items are significant and recommends ways to manage and conserve this significance.‟ A thematic history provides a context in which heritage can be better understood. This is the second generation of this kind of study, the first Community Heritage studies were undertaken around 2007-2008. Where appropriate the first generation of thematic history has been incorporated into this one to enable the focus of this study to amalgamating the three shires that form the basis of the Warrumbungle Shire. The three previous shires which now comprise Warrumbungle Shire were historically Coonabarabran Shire, Coolah Shire, Cobborah Shire and part of Ulan Shire. The Warrumbungle Shire is made up of a series of towns all of which have their own individual identities and characteristics. Unlike many other shires this area is not one large regional town surrounded by a series of satellite towns. It is a series of towns all of which were largely based around pastoralism and agriculture. Many of the towns in the area had to, due to the marginal nature of farming in the area broadly, develop other economies existing alongside farming to enable the survival of the town into the modern era. A number of these economies were based around different industries such as the railway for example, as in the case of Binnaway, forestry as with Baradine and transport networks such as Coonabarabran. Some towns did not survive as viable towns into the modern era and there are a number of reasons for this. Sometimes infrastructure, such as the railway, was introduced and effectively re- landscaped the economies of the region. Dunedoo, originally a pastoral run, did 4 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ not become an economic viability until the arrival of the railway in 1910. The impact of this on nearby Cobbora, then the administrative centre of the southern parts of the shire, was significant with the township diminishing in the following decades. There are two leading factors that can be seen almost as characters in the story of Warrumbungle Shire. Water is one and the way it moves across the landscape is a critical factor in this story. The other main character, influenced by water, is that of transport. These two features are critical to the story of the shire. Authorship This study was undertaken by Dr Ruth Longdin BAppSc MA PhD MPHA, principal of Monitor Heritage Consultants. She is both a professional historian and a registered heritage consultant with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Methodology This study has been undertaken in accordance with the processes established by the NSW Heritage Office as defined in: NSW Heritage Manual, 1999 The Burra Charter, 1999 Community Heritage Studies: A Guide 2013 The methodology for this study has included the following: Examination of documentary evidence pertaining to the area Examination of bibliographic resources pertaining to the area Meetings with the Warrumbungles Community Based Heritage Study Working group A meetings with Warrumbungle Shire Council staff and Councillors Kodi Brady and Ray Lewis Meetings with the Coonabarabran Local Aboriginal Lands Council Six fields visits over 2017-2018 Consultations with the Coonabarabran Dead Person Society and Family History Society 5 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ Limitations This is the first heritage study of this nature to include the three original shire areas that now comprise the Warrumbungle Shire. Subsequently the aim of this particular study has been to get all of the town‟s histories to the same level of detail. This has meant a considerable amount of original research for 7 towns in the area. It has also meant undertaking consultation and gaining permission to write elements of the Aboriginal history for the region. The Coonabarabran element of the Aboriginal history was undertaken with the permission of the community as represented by Coonabarabran Local Aboriginal Land Council. Sadly no permission has been given to write the Coolah element of this important story as no community in Coolah survived into the 21st century. It is hoped that this issue can be resolved in the future particularly with the imminent introduction of the Aboriginal Heritage Legislation due to be brought in in NSW by 2020. An attempt has been made to broadly outline the history of the Aboriginal people‟s story in Coolah but recognises its limitations in not being able to seek permission from the community. The decision was taken in this project to provide as transparent a study as possible ensuring that all information is referenced for the benefit of future studies. It focussed on providing as much information regarding the history, the provision of infrastructure and development of the towns in the region as it could. For this reason the focus has not been on people or on the private properties throughout the shire. Recommendations regarding areas for future research are included below. Acknowledgements A study such as this is undertaken collaboratively and many people have contributed to this one. They include: Peter Duggan Ray Christison John Horne Merv Sutherland Joy Pickette Roy Cameron John Whitehead Liz Cutts Kelly Dewar Warrumbungle Community Based Heritage Study Working Group: Peter Morissey David Raynor Noel Gilbert John Horne Troy Rosenberg Roslyn Kildey John Mercer Marg Haley Cr Ray Lewis Cr Kodi Brady Helen Naef Ernest Fetch 6 Warrumbungle Thematic History January 2019 _______________________________________________________________________________ Recommendations: - It is recommended that Aboriginal heritage listed as part of this Community Based Heritage Study be jointly managed by the Aboriginal community and Warrumbungle Shire Council. It is recommended the Aboriginal community be consulted about any work being undertaken by Warrumbungle Shire Council, impacting on listed Aboriginal cultural heritage in the Shire. With the imminent introduction of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Legislation all Aboriginal cultural heritage will be managed this way starting in 2020. It is therefore recommended that this approach be adopted now in preparation for this. Both Warrumbungle Shire Council and the Coonabarabran Local Aboriginal Land Council were consulted with regarding this recommendation. Both parties have concurred that this method of managing Aboriginal cultural heritage is appropriate and are happy to proceed with this approach. - The Aboriginal history of the Coolah area is in need of further work. Because of the sensitive nature of some of this work, specifically regarding the violent deaths and dispossession of Aboriginal people in this area, it is a complex issue that can only be resolved appropriately by Aboriginal people. It is anticipated that the introduction of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Legislation, currently in its fourth round of consultation, will bring about change in the way that Aboriginal history and heritage is undertaken and managed. It is hoped that in time this history will be resolved. - There was insufficient time in this study for work on further research on the stations and smaller private agriculture and pastoral properties and holdings in the Shire. It is therefore recommended that this be addressed as a matter of priority in the next Community Based Heritage Study. - There are a number of towns that existed in the Warrumbungle Shire that did not survive into the twenty-first century.