CLICK WENT THE SHEARS

A social history of Boolcoomatta Station, 1857 to 2020

Judy D. Johnson Editor: Eva Finzel

Collated and written by Judy Johnson 2019 Edited version by Eva Finzel 2021

We acknowledge the People and Wilyakali People as the Traditional Owners of what we know as Boolcoomatta. We recognise and respect the enduring relationship they have with their lands and waters, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.

Front page map based on Pastoral Run Sheet 5, 1936-1964, (163-0031) Courtesy of the State Library of

Bush Heritage Australia Level 1, 395 Collins Street | PO Box 329 Flinders Lane Melbourne, VIC 8009 T: (03) 8610 9100 T: 1300 628 873 (1300 NATURE) F: (03) 8610 9199 E: [email protected] W: www.bushheritage.org.au

Content

Author’s note and acknowledgements viii Editor’s note ix Timeline, 1830 to 2020 x Conversions xiv Abbreviations xiv

An introduction to Boolcoomatta 1 The Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People 4 The European history of Boolcoomatta 6 European settlement 6 From station to a place of conservation 8 Notes 9

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859 10 Early European exploration and settlement 10 Goyder’s discoveries and Line 11 Settlement during the 1800s 13 The and the top hats The Tapley family, 1857 to 1858 14 The 15 The top hats 16 The Tapleys’ short lease of Boolcoomatta 16 Thomas and John E Tapley's life after the sale of Boolcoomatta 17 Boolcoomatta’s neighbours in 1857 18 The timber cutter and the stone mason, Stanway and Frith, 1858 to 20 1859 The timber cutter 20 The stonemason 21 The industry in the late 1850s 21 Notes 23

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866 25 Hall, Beck, Levi and Watts 25 Isaac Palmer Hall (1813 - 1867) 25 John Beck (1825 - 1903) 27 Philip Levi (1822 – 1898) 28 Adolphus Alfred Shaw Watts (1814 – 1884) 29 Life at Boolcoomatta 29 The long drought 31

Trying to cope 33 Daily life and working at Boolcoomatta 37 Notes 41

The optimist, 1866 to 1874 43 John Beck (1825 - 1903) 43 Managers of Boolcoomatta Station under John Beck 45 Working on Boolcoomatta Station 47 People in the Outback 51 Aboriginal people on Boolcoomatta. 55 Links to the outside world 57 An influx of people 59 Listed for sale 60 Notes 62

Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 65 Alexander McCulloch (1809 – 1890) 65 Life and work at Boolcoomatta 69 Ward’s Folly: The Mannahill experimental farm 80 From pets to pests—coping with feral animals 81 Mining on and around Boolcoomatta 86 Keeping it in the family 88 Notes 89

Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885 92

The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953 118 Duncan McCulloch, Tyndall and Co 118 Partners and managers 118 Changes in Boolcoomatta leases 122 Life and work on Boolcoomatta Station 126 Workers on Boolcoomatta 133 Neighbours and townships around Boolcoomatta 149 Mining on and around Boolcoomatta 153 Changes on Boolcoomatta 156 Notes 159

The last 53 years as a , 1953 to 2006 163 Percival Puckridge 163 Life and work on Boolcoomatta Station 165 Mining 171

Workers on Boolcoomatta 172 Kalkaroo and Boolcoomatta, Genevieve Badger, 1986 to 2006 178 The Lord family 178 Life and work at Boolcoomatta 181 Sale of Boolcoomatta to 185 Notes 189

Bush Heritage Australia, since 2006 191 Bush Heritage Australia 191 The acquisition of Boolcoomatta 192 Life and work at Boolcoomatta 194 Scientists at Boolcoomatta 207 Volunteers—essential for success 210 Visitors on the reserve 213 Conclusion 214 Notes 217

Index 220

Author’s note and acknowledgements

Click Went The Shears was intended as a chronicle of happenings on and around Boolcoomatta Station from 1857 to 2018. Due to the loss of Boolcoomatta Station records in the 1970s, it was a self-challenge to re-create the history as a volunteer with Bush Heritage Australia since 2006. This research covered a complex range of topics. One thing that never changed was the unpredictable drops of rain and the fear of drought. The two most exciting primary resources found were Dr. Isaac Hall’s letters to England, describing life on Boolcoomatta Station 1859-1866 during a harsh drought, and the field notes and sketches created by surveyor George Woodroofe Goyder in 1885. Newspaper articles, mapping and a great deal of further research occupied five years of work on this project which I donate to Bush Heritage Australia, for a better understanding of the past and our part in Australia’s heritage. Judith D Johnson, Mannum, South Australia, June 2021. Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the National Library of Australia for digitising old newspapers. Janet Fuller and Bradley Slape, in Land Services, , helped generously with archival maps. Posthumous thanks to GW Goyder's detailed Assessment Sketches of 1885. The State Library of South Australia and State Records, where Dr Hall's diaries and letters were found, thanks. On the eastern research, appreciation goes to the helpful people at the Library and History section. To Genny and Langdon Badger, a sincere thanks for all your help, also to the Noonan family, who have allowed us to include the diary stories of Mr Con Noonan with his life as a young lad, working on Boolcoomatta in the early 1900s, and the descendants of the Meehan family. To Max Thompson, Rosemary and Matthew Roberts and the Library, thank you for your contributions to the Puckridge era on Boolcoomatta. Of the many journalists who have covered stories of the North-East Pastoral area, few managed to get to the human stories like the pseudonymous Vox who wrote a column Out Among the People. Special thank you to Eva Finzel for taking on the task of editing this work from the original. If you the reader find a better understanding of a small part of the rural past within this story, I thank you for taking the time to read it. There may be a whole lot more to come from others who read these pages and have themselves spent time and life experiences on Boolcoomatta. Your additional notes will be most welcome. Aiming for accuracy can still result in mistakes, for which I apologise in advance. Judith D Johnson, Mannum, South Australia. 2019.

viii Editor’s note

The aim of this comprehensively edited version of Click Went The Shears is to bring Judy Johnson’s chronological collation of resources with interspersed text into a format that complies with Bush Heritage standards. I have nearly always retained her division into chapters of one per leaseholder and re-ordered her document into themes. I have fully researched and written the final section of chapter 8, Sale of Boolcoomatta to Bush Heritage Australia, and chapter 9, From sheep graziers to nature farmers. Boolcoomatta, and some other places, have been spelled differently at times, and some had different names. I have used the current spelling and names as far as possible to avoid confusion. In old documents the terms ‘run’ and ‘station’ were applied interchangeably for lease holdings. It appears that ‘run’ applied to larger properties without adequate buildings and infrastructure. When John Beck took over the leasehold of Boolcoomatta, various buildings, including a shearing shed, had been erected, and the term ‘station’ was used. In most instances I have converted the original measurements to current ones. I thank Judy for allowing me to make substantial changes to her work, for being such a diligent keeper of records and references which made it easy for me to find the original sources and add the current website reference where needed, for so patiently answering all my questions if something was unclear to me, and for checking my final edited version for accuracy. Above all I thank her for doing all the hard research work and filling this gap in our knowledge about the social history of Boolcoomatta Reserve. I thank Michelle Stook, Bush Heritage Volunteer Coordinator, for asking me to do this for me interesting work, and Glen Norris, Healthy Landscape Manager, and Kurt Tschirner, Reserve Manager, for supervising it. I take full responsibility for any mistakes I made in this edited version. Eva Finzel, Melbourne, July 2021

ix Timeline, 1830 to 2020

Prior to The Wilyakali People were custodians of the land and country on 1830 which Boolcoomatta sits, and its landscape, flora and fauna. 1830 Charles Sturt travelled through the region to the south of what became Boolcoomatta. 1836 South Australia was proclaimed a colony and the first European settlers arrived. 1851 Pastoral Leases were introduced in South Australia, replacing the Occupational Licence system from the 1840s. 1853 Almost half of the able-bodied men left South Australia to work on the Victorian goldfields. 1857 Thomas and John Tapley took up Lease 572, the earliest section of Boolcoomatta, which was 16,317 hectares (63 square miles). There had been no significant rain since 1856. Jan 1858 The Tapley family registered their Pastoral Lease. Mar 1858 Boolcoomatta Lease 572 and 603 sold to John Stanway and Moses Frith. It was 17,094 hectares (66 square miles) in size and included 2500 sheep. Nov 1859 Boolcoomatta was sold to Dr Isaac Palmer Hall, John Beck, Philip Levi and Alfred Watts. Hall became resident manager. The ongoing devastating and long drought was widespread. 1863 The size of the station increased to 207,199 hectares, with new land leased in the hope to keep the sheep alive during the drought. 1864 to Sheep numbers fluctuated throughout the drought, and the size of the 1866 property was reduced to 194,249 hectares. 1866 Hall was declared insolvent in April. In August John Beck took over the lease of the whole property, shortly before the rain came and the drought finally broke. With the adjoining land he had acquired on his own, Boolcoomatta was 275,834 hectares and had 17,000 sheep. Beck appointed a succession of three managers of the station. 1872 Shares in the Boolcoomatta Copper Mining and Smelting Company were advertised after copper had been found. 1874 Alexander McCulloch purchased Boolcoomatta Station. It was 279,719 hectares in size and running 28,000 sheep. 1874 Arthur Tyndall became a partner and long-term manager. 1883 Rabbits appeared in Silverton, east of Boolcoomatta in New South Wales, after the silver mine had started there.

x 1885 Broken Hill was established when large silver, lead and zinc lodes were found there. 1885 George Goyder, a surveyor for Government, assessed the infrastructure on Boolcoomatta and created detailed sketches. 1886 The South Australian Government established the Land Board, including the Central Land Board and the Pastoral Board. Pastoral lands were divided in 1888 and 1893. 1888 The railway line from Broken Hill to opened, passing through the southern part of Boolcoomatta. After the lease reform large leases were divided into smaller ones. 1890 Duncan McCulloch took over Boolcoomatta after the death of his father Alexander McCulloch. The property was 233,099 hectares in size and continued to be run by managers. 1892 Mingary, Boolcoomatta’s closest railway access point, was proclaimed a town. Australia experienced an economic crash, with banks closing their doors. Gold finds in Western Australia rescued the nation. The first unions were established. 1893 Second division of South Australian Pastoral Leases into smaller ones. 1896 Old Boolcoomatta was taken up by R Salmon. It was 41,440 hectares. 1897 The Pastoral Commission of the South Australian Government visited Boolcoomatta and other stations in the north-east to review the consequences of the 1888 lease reform. 1901 Angora goats were introduced to Boolcoomatta for their fibre. 1905 Douglas Mawson was appointed as a lecturer in mineralogy and petrology at the University of Adelaide and started to investigate the occurrence of minerals on Boolcoomatta and the surrounding area. 1908 Daniel Meehan became manager of Boolcoomatta until the early 1920s, replacing Arthur Tyndall. 1910 Invitation for tenders to build a forty-mile-long vermin proof fence on the boundary with Bimbowrie. 1911 The telephone line reached the station. 1913 A union organiser visited Boolcoomatta during shearing time. 1914 Boolcoomatta had a school room. 1920 Several leases in the southern and south-eastern sections of the station were sold by the McCulloch family, totalling 64,750 hectares. 1922 Keith Marsh took over as manager until 1953. Eleven shearers ceased work and went on strike on Boolcoomatta.

xi 1925 The leaseholders advertised a total of 112,405 hectares of Boolcoomatta’s northern section for sale in several lots. 1928 The first plane of the Flying Doctor Service started to fly. One year later people on outback stations could speak to a doctor via radio. 1929 Members of Parliament visited the north-east pastoral country to gather firsthand knowledge about lease conditions. 1937 The central operations section of the Royal Flying Doctor Service for South Australia operated from Broken Hill. 1951 The first official lessons of the School of the Air were sent from the base in Alice Springs to children at remote homesteads. 1953 Percival Puckridge purchased Boolcoomatta Station from Duncan McCulloch’s estate. It was 62,937 hectares in size. 1954 The Radium Hill Mine for uranium oxide was established at , south-west of Boolcoomatta. 1956 The School of the Air opened in Broken Hill, servicing children living in Southern Queensland, South Australia, including Boolcoomatta, and more than half of New South Wales. 1959 The Barrier Highway was officially named. Its last stretch was sealed with bitumen in 1972. 1974 Percival Puckridge died, and his estate was administered by his second wife Thelma who continued to employ managers for Boolcoomatta. 1975 Matthew Roberts managed Boolcoomatta as overseer, together with his wife Rosemary. The manager, Bevern Roberts, resided on Bulloo Creek, an adjoining property belonging to the Puckridge family. 1986 Genevieve (Genny) and Langdon Badger bought Boolcoomatta. Their son Langdon junior and his wife Heather managed the property. Mar 2006 Bush Heritage Australia bought Boolcoomatta for inclusion into the National Reserve System and management for conservation. The first managers were Paul and Bec O’Leary. Mar 2007 The first management planning meeting was held on the reserve. 2008 Peter Ashton was appointed as reserve manager and moved to the property with his wife Emma and two children. Nov 2010 A second management planning workshop was held to start developing the first five year management plan. 2010 The first Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby since 1924 was sighted. 2013 Glen Norris was appointed as manager. 2014 White cypress‑pine was discovered which previously had not been recorded on the reserve. 2015 Alistair Dermer was appointed reserve manager. He lived on the reserve with his wife Karen and three children.

xii 2016 The management plan was revised. Mar 2016 Bush Heritage celebrated the ten year anniversary of custodianship of the reserve. 2017 Kurt Tschirner was appointed as manager, supported by his wife Andrea, who works as a Bush Heritage volunteer, and two daughters. December The National Native Title Tribunal determined that the 2018 Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Boolcoomatta is located. April 2019 Female Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby with a large joey was spotted on Eagle Rock. 2019 Volunteers worked for 3829 hours, or 438 full days, on Boolcoomatta.

xiii Conversions

Weights

Old measurements, Old Current measurement abbreviation measurement 1 oz. 1 ounce 28.35 grams 1 lb. 1 pound 453.59 grams 1 ton 1 ton 1.016 tonnes (1016 kg)

Measurements

Old measurements Current measurements 1 Mile 1.609 kilometres 1 Acre 0.405 hectares 1 Square Mile 640 acres 259 hectares 1 Chain 22 yards 20.108 metres 1 Yard 3 feet 0.915 metres 1 Foot 30.5 centimetres 1 Inch 2.54 centimetres 1 Gallon 4.546 litres

Currency

Abbreviations and terms pre 1964 2020 value £ / s/ d pounds, shillings, pence £1 1 pound, slang: one quid $28.76 10/- ten shillings $14.38 12 d 12 pence, slang: one bob $1 44 1d 1 penny 0.12 cents 1 Guinea 1 pound and 1 shilling $30.20

Abbreviations

NLA National Library of Australia. SLSA State Library of South Australia. RFDS Royal Flying Doctor Service NRS National Reserve System IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

xiv An introduction to Boolcoomatta

An introduction to Boolcoomatta

Boolcoomatta is located in South Australia, approximately 400 kilometers north-east of Adelaide, 52 km north of Cockburn by road, and 100 km west of Broken Hill in New South Wales.

Location of Boolcoomatta Bush Heritage Australia, 2010

Boolcoomatta has been a sheep station from 1857 to 2006 and first appeared on a map in 1866. The map below was drawn before trigonometrical points for surveying and more accurate locations were established. Mapping of Lake Blanche, now , north of Boolcoomatta, and of Lake Torrens to the north-west, has changed completely since the 1860s.

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An introduction to Boolcoomatta

Robert P. Whitworth, 1866 Gazetteer map of South Australia In Bailliere’s South Australian Gazetteer and Road Guide,1867.

2

An introduction to Boolcoomatta

The size of Boolcoomatta changed over the years, in particular during the early leases when new land was needed to provide enough feed for the sheep during times of drought. The map below was drawn in preparation for a review of leases in 1888. It shows Boolcoomatta on the south-west corner of the property, south of Triangle Hill. Boolcommata Hill is located near the centre and Benowrie in the north-east, close to Oonartra Creek. In 1864 Benowrie became the new location for the station homestead. After a government review of leases and changes in legislation, pastoral lands were divided in 1888 and 1893, and the size of Boolcoomatta changed again.

State Library of South Australia, 1888. Pastoral Lease Field Diagram-Vol 1, p 22.

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An introduction to Boolcoomatta

The original Boolcoomatta lease, taken up in 1857, was 16,317 hectares. This lease was relinquished in 1888 and Benowrie became established as the ‘new’ Boolcoomatta. When Bush Heritage purchased Boolcoomatta in 2006 the lease was 63,000 hectares. The early European settlers spelt the property’s name Boolcoomata, Boolcamarta and Boolkamarta until the 1880s when it became Boolcoomatta. Outalpa adjoined Boolcoomatta to the south and later became Bindarah and Wompinie. Kalkaroo is located to the north, Bindera and Lake Dismal to the east, Mundi Mundi to the north- east and Kalabity to the north-west. The map below shows the names of the current neighbouring properties.

Boolcoomatta and neighbours, 2006 Bush Heritage Australia

The Adnyamathanha and Wilyakali People

The Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People are the joint Native Title Holders of the land on which Boolcoomatta is located. The Adnyamathanha are the Aboriginal people of the northern . Adnyamathanha means hill or rock people. It is a term now used to describe the traditional groups in the Flinders Ranges who share a common identity based on the Yura Muda, the culture and language of their descendants, and who derive all understanding from the land.1 The Wilyakali People

4

An introduction to Boolcoomatta were the earliest inhabitants of Boolcoomatta, which is an Aboriginal word meaning kangaroo people.2 Alternative names for them include Wiljakali, Wiljali and Wiljagali.3 According to Tindale, beyond the western boundary of the Wilyakali language and kin group, Men’s ceremony was practiced. Before the mid 1850s the Wilyakali People retreated southwards to resist the Ngadjuri People who wanted them to adopt their Ceremonial rites.4

Area covered by the Wiljakali. Boolcoomatta is located in the north-west. Adapted from Norman Tindale, 1974.

Aboriginal groups all over Australia had established travelling routes for trading goods and to fulfil ceremonial obligations. The routes had “song places” and were prescribed by ancestral beings.5 The Adnyamathanha People had ceremonial and exchange links with groups in central Australia, the Cooper and Lake Eyre Basin and some people living in the Nullabor Plain.6 The Wilyakali People would have travelled over similar tracks crossing the country to trade stones, ochres, tools, ceremonial items and other resources that were not available to them. Trade helped to establish good relationships between people from different areas and different cultures. People were able to meet to discuss Cultural obligation and lore and share gifts of respect which was as important as the trading.7

5

An introduction to Boolcoomatta

Travelling over large areas and through Boolcoomatta may have been supported by the presence of Gnamma holes on the granite formations which held water for a long time. Gnamma is the Aboriginal name for a rock hole that was formed by the weathering of the rock. It was covered with a capping stone to prevent evaporation, and animals from falling into the water. Boolcoomatta has a Gnamma hole that holds an estimated 200 litres of water.8 Uncovering a Gnamma hole at Boolcoomatta. Life for the Adnyamathanha and Wilyakali People started to change when European explorers and settlers arrived in the early 19th century. One example for this were the breast plates given out by government authorities and settlers to recognise those they perceived as leaders who could act as intermediaries between settlers and local Aboriginal people. This disregarded the Aboriginal culture of seeing people in a clan as equal rather than hierarchical.9

The pictured Brass Breast Plate was engraved with “Dan, Chief of the Aboriginal breast plate. National Museum of Australia. Wiljakali”, with a kangaroo on either side and two crossed spears below.10 The European history of Boolcoomatta

The Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People were custodians of the land and country on which Boolcoomatta sits, and its landscape, flora and fauna. This was a concept that was little understood by the European explorers and settlers who came into contact with it. European settlement

The story of Boolcoomatta’s European history starts with Captain Charles Sturt who was in 1830 the first European to explore the region to the south and east of Boolcoomatta. In 1844 he named the Stanley Range, which later became the Barrier Ranges. For the early European settlers who arrived from the Northern Hemisphere Boolcoomatta was a parcel of land in the pastoral area in the far east of South Australia on which they could grow sheep and wool to make a living. They gave it a name, a fixed boundary, a monetary value, and they had an ownership document for it. In their countries of origin they had not known water shortages and extremely high temperatures. Now they had to learn how to deal with these conditions.

6

An introduction to Boolcoomatta

South Australia was a colony, and the leases held by settlers were Crown Land with different classifications, depending on their location. The Boolcoomatta area was classed as out of districts and was pastoral country, or Crown Waste Lands. The government specified that a minimum of 100 sheep and a maximum of 240 sheep per square mile could be run. The classification of pastoral land was based on George Goyder’s observations, who first was Assistant Surveyor General and later Surveyor General of the South Australian Government. He saw during his travels native vegetation that indicated that land beyond a line he devised was not suitable for cropping because it would receive too little rain to make cropping viable. The Tapley family took up the first lease of Boolcoomatta in 1857 and sold it one year later to Stanway and Frith. It must have been difficult to make a living with running sheep on the unfenced land, in particular as they lived through a period of drought. In November 1859 Hall, Beck, Levi and Watts bought the run, and Dr Isaac Hall became the manager. He wrote many letters back to England which are a rich source of information about life at Boolcoomatta during this time and the experiences of those early settlers. The Aboriginal people had suffered under the European settlement and were supported by the South Australian Government. Isaac Hall was appointed as the Guardian of the Aboriginal stores depot and was responsible for distributing the goods supplied by the government to Aboriginal people in the area. Some of these people worked on Boolcoomatta while Hall was the manager. Despite the help they received, Hall was concerned about the death rate of Aboriginal people during the drought, often because of lack of food. During the drought the size of Boolcoomatta had increased considerably with the need to get more feed for the sheep. Like so many other settlers at this time, Hall could not cope with the financial impacts of the drought and was declared insolvent in 1866. John Beck took over the full lease just as the drought broke. Under his ownership several managers ran the station. With an influx of people living and working on Boolcoomatta, it became a small village. Alexander McCulloch bought the property in 1874, and a stable period of lease ownership started. After Alexander’s death in 1890, his son Duncan took over the lease, and it remained in the family until 1953. By that time it had become a well-established sheep station, and life had changed beyond recognition to what it had been when the Tapley family first settled in this remote north-east region of South Australia. The next owner of the Boolcoomatta lease was Percy Puckridge. He lived in Port Lincoln, and the station continued to be run by managers. After his death his wife Thelma administered his estate, including Boolcoomatta. She once visited Boolcoomatta to attend to business, and staff members later remembered that she burned piles of old station records. This meant that little original information is available about the station’s business, the staff members who were employed over the years, and the life they led. Genevieve Badger and her husband Langdon Badger were living in Adelaide when they bought Boolcoomatta in 1986. The property was managed by their son Langdon Eric Badger (junior) and his wife Heather until it was sold to Bush Heritage Australia in 2006. It was then transformed from a sheep station to a nature conservation reserve.

7

An introduction to Boolcoomatta

The stories in this history of Boolcoomatta are of people who lived under very different circumstances to those we all experience today. They are part of the heritage of the bush and of Outback living. From sheep station to a place of conservation

In 2008, two years after Bush Heritage acquired the lease, Boolcoomatta became a Private for Nature Conservation, to be included into the National Reserve System, and protected in perpetuity. Initial work concentrated on the restoration of ecosystems with the aim of rebuilding habitat and increasing the number of native species. Ten years later the vision for the reserve was to “effectively manage the natural and cultural values of Boolcoomatta in this unique arid landscape whilst being proactive in the community”.11 Bush Heritage aspires to work with the Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People, the Native Title holders of the land, and acknowledges their connection to and interest in the land on which Boolcoomatta is located. The land is full of physical and spiritual values for Aboriginal people and others who come into contact with it. With the restoration of Boolcoomatta to a natural landscape and the protection of its Aboriginal and European heritage these can be preserved for all. People who now come to Boolcoomatta see an endless horizon to the east, with rocky hills and ranges, and old mine shafts in every other direction. They can explore diverse vegetation communities and, if they are lucky, will catch a glimpse of a Plains Wanderer or a Thick-billed Grass Wren, both birds listed as threatened. They can admire an ancient landscape of glacial days with events of uplifting, molten rocks and shifting strata of long-laid down earth, and enjoy the rich history of the reserve.

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An introduction to Boolcoomatta

Notes

1 Bush Heritage Australia (2016). Boolcoomatta Reserve management plan, Version 2.74. Internal document. 2 Dix (1883) in Judith Bonell (2006), Boolcoomatta Reserve preliminary heritage survey 2006, p. 3. Bush Heritage Australia: Internal document. 3 South Australian Museum (n.d.). Wiljakali (NSW). https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives/language_groups/wiljakali. Accessed 4 January 2021. 4 Tindale, N.B. (1974). Aboriginal tribes of Australia. Canberra: Australian National University Press, p. 200. 5 McBryde, I. (2011). Travellers in storied landscapes: A case study in exchanges and heritage. Aboriginal History, 24, p. 153. 6 Ibid, p. 152. 7 Indigenous Australia (n.d.). Aboriginal trade routes. http://www.indigenousaustralia.info/culture/trade-routes.html. Accessed 5 January 2021. 8 Alistair Dermer, Layers of the land. Bushie Blog, 18 January 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/layers-of-the-land. Accessed 5 January 2021. 9 National Museum of Australia. Dan, Chief of the Wiljakali (image). Copyright National Museum of Australia/CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/74299. Accessed 8 January 2021. 10 Ibid. 11 Bush Heritage Australia (2016). Boolcoomatta Reserve Management Plan, Version 2.74. Internal document, p. 13.

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Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Explorers travelled through South Australia’s north-east region before it was proclaimed a colony in 1836 and settlement by Europeans started. Some of the early explorers were later appointed as surveyors and continued their explorations of South Australia’s remote regions. When the Tapley family arrived in 1857 on Boolcoomatta, it was located in new and uncharted country close to the not clearly defined border between New South Wales and South Australia. Early European exploration and settlement

Captain Charles Sturt was the first to travel through the region to the south and east of Boolcoomatta in 1830. He also went by whale boat along the and found the Darling River junction. During 1839 he served as Surveyor General of South Australia. In 1844 he named the Stanley Range to the east of Boolcoomatta which later became the Barrier Ranges. Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney crossed the country south of Boolcoomatta in 1838, taking livestock overland from New South Wales to South Australia.

Capt. Charles Sturt SLSA [B 3854] Sturt's exploration: View from Stanley Range (Barrier Range), S T Gill, c.1846, SLSA A47 #R346

In 1843 General Edward Charles Frome identified Mount Victor, located west of Boolcoomatta, which was later renamed Mount Victoria. He also visited Lake Frome to the north/north-west of Boolcoomatta which later was named after him.1 Frome had arrived in Adelaide in September 1839. He was a Royal Engineer and served as Surveyor General for ten years.

10

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Gen. Edward Charles Frome Joseph Hawdon Charles Bonney (1802-1890) (1813-1871) (1813-1897) SLSA [B] SLSA [B 7389]. SLSA [B 7390]

Back in England Edward G Wakefield had developed a scheme of systematic colonisation of South Australia, proposing the sale of land at a fixed price. This was introduced, and the first official settlement was established at Glenelg in December 1836. Large numbers of immigrants were attracted, but the arrangements were complicated and ambiguous, contributing to a disastrous financial crisis in 1841-1842. In 1841 the South Australian public revenue was £25,329 and public expenditure £89,999. In the same year 776 people migrated to the colony.2 Three years later the economy had returned to a pattern of growth. Wool started to be exported and rich copper deposits were discovered first at Kapunda, 70 km north-east of Adelaide, and later at Burra, approximately 250 km south-west of Boolcoomatta, which led to a mining boom.3 Both General Frome and Captain Sturt disapproved of the Special Survey scheme initiated by the South Australian Government which entitled buyers to pick large sections of land throughout South Australia, including outside the designated settlement areas.4 Groups with enough finance were able to settle along all the available water resources before others could get to those best areas5, and the colonial government was unable stop the spreading of squatters.

Goyder’s discoveries and Line

George Woodroofe Goyder joined the South Australian Department of Lands as chief clerk in January 1853 and rose in quick stages from second assistant to Assistant Surveyor General and eventually Surveyor General in 1861. He had a large influence on settlements and later the redistribution of pastoral leases. He travelled widely through the pastoral area and explored the country to the north of existing settlements. In 1856/57 he found Lake Torrens full of fresh water and its eastern surroundings not like a desert at all. George W. Goyder around 1868-1870 Goyder’s discovery of fresh water in Lake Torrens raised SLSA [B 11348/17] some excitement. An article in the Mount Alexander Mail

11

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859 on 10 July 1857 reported the “probable existence of well watered country in the northern to north-western interior” and described what Goyder saw from the southern margin of Lake Torrens. He had a view of it, extending thirty miles east and west. There was a water horizon to the north-west, but the east wing appeared to be skirted with banks on the opposite sides. The southern banks are very gently undulating. … He noticed several islands about five miles distant, measuring one to two miles in length, with perpendicular sides, indicating … a considerable depth. … As regards the general character of the country, … vegetation is rich in the valleys of the creek, which vary in width, … from two to three miles between their cliffs. The plains are, for the most part, sterile and stony.6 By the time Surveyor General Captain Arthur Freeling went to the area in September hot winds had killed the vegetation and turned the lake into a bed of mud. Goyder was criticised for mistaking a flood for permanent water and misjudging the value of the northern country. Two years later, in 1859, Goyder led survey parties to triangulate the country between Lakes Torrens and Eyre and to sink wells. When Freeling resigned Goyder was recalled from the north to become surveyor-general on 19 January 1861.7 Goyder had developed a theory of rainfall according to the vegetation he saw. He concluded that where saltbush grew, rainfall was reliably low, averaging under 12” (304mm) per year, and therefore the land was not suitable for cropping. Based on this theory he mapped in the mid 1860s an arid land delineation beyond which cropping should not proceed. This later became known as Goyder’s Line. Small farmers had already settled and built their homes beyond this line and they protested against Goyder’s recommendation. Within a few years, most of those settlers had to abandon their land as years of drought had ruined them financially. The 1860s drought in South Australia’s and Victoria’s pastoral lands was reported in many pastoralists’ stories, but no records of rainfall were kept for the whole area. Research indicates that America experienced a devastating dry period at the same time as the south of Australia, and it is now believed this was caused by an El Niño event.8 In the 1870s Charles Todd developed a meteorological system of weather recording. He later became famous for establishing line from Adelaide to Darwin. Goyder was known for his methodical system of sketching, measuring and recording his details into notebooks, said to be the most accurate in all the Australian colonies.9 His field books from 1885 included the sketches of improvements on the pastoral runs, including Boolcoomatta. The assessments were in preparation for splitting up large runs after the lease reform in 1888. Some of his drawings relating to Boolcoomatta and the surrounding area are reproduced in Chapter 6.

12

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Settlement during the 1800s

The first Europeans started to settle in South Australia in 1836. From the 1840s on land was taken up by Occupation Licences which were replaced in 1851 by Pastoral Leases. A Depasturing Licence allowed for having animals grazing without a fixed place.

Map of parts of South Australia, 1861 Shaded areas indicate the limit of settlement in the north east. W G Harris, Lands Titles office, South Australia.

The Boolcoomatta area was classed as out of districts and was pastoral country or Crown Waste Lands. In 1858 the Assessment of Stock Act fixed prices of renting a Pastoral Lease at 10 shillings per square mile. The government specified that a minimum of 100 sheep and a maximum of 240 sheep per square mile could be run.10 Often this was unsustainable because of variations in annual rainfall, soil types and native vegetation. People used to the fertile lands in the high rainfall systems of the northern hemisphere had to learn how to cope with these conditions. Large stations were generally not fenced and creeks, ranges or any suitable natural barrier served as boundaries. Shepherds kept their flocks under control and grazed daily in new areas of grass or herbage. The first Australian paddle steamer industry on the Murray river system, at Mannum in South Australia, began in 1853 when William Randell built his small steamboat, the Mary Ann. This was used to transport wool from the inland of pastoral New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to the sea at Port Elliot. From there it was shipped to England. During the 1860s, imported camels, the only transport system to reach the most remote parts of Australia. They carried loads out to the remote pastoral homesteads, including pianos and furniture, and returned with wool.

13

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

The Victorian gold rush of the early 1850s had severe consequences for South Australia. Many men left to seek their fortune on the goldfields, leaving women and children behind, and leading to an acute labour shortage. Shepherds were hard to find and sometimes Aboriginal people were employed to look after the sheep. Many grocers, bakers, butchers and other tradesmen also had left, and it became difficult to feed a family. The poverty of those left behind became so bad that the South Australian Government eventually had to provide at least some support.11 The effect of the gold rush on the economy was severe as currency drained from South Australia. Alexander Tolmer, a police officer who came from England to Adelaide in 1840, reversed this drain. He suggested to establish an overland gold escort service from Victoria to South Australia to bring in revenue. This was Alexander Tolmer highly successful. He had risen quickly in the South Australian (1815-1890) SLSA [B 6851] police force and became commissioner in January 1852.12 The colony continued to develop. Settlement proceeded during the 1870s as land management needs changed. The government introduced various legislative Acts and established in 1886 the Land Board, including the Central Land Board and the Pastoral Board. Pastoral lands were divided in 1888 and 1893. The shepherd and the top hats The Tapley family, 1857 to 1858

In 1857 Thomas, the hands-on shepherd, and John E Tapley, the top hat wearing accountant, took up grazing land on the extreme eastern country of the far north, as it was called then. This was six years after Pastoral Leases were introduced in South Australia. Wool prices were high and induced new wool growers to lease land in previously unsettled areas. Located south-west of Boolcoomatta was Burra, at the time the largest inland town in Australia with a population of 5,000, where copper mining was booming.13 To the east of Boolcoomatta, the Victorian Gold Rush had passed its peak, and men were returning to South Australia. Goyder had recently returned to Adelaide from north of Lake Frome, talking about its beauty and water. The Tapley family took on Lease 572 which is shown in the map on the following page within the orange-coloured border. Later this was part of Old Boolcoomatta. When the lease was extended to the east this new section became the location of the homestead of New Boolcoomatta. The Pastoral Run Sheet is the earliest pastoral map found and shows the lease boundaries in the north-east of South Australia.

14

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Pastoral Run Sheet 5, D 24, Plan 6, 1859-1864, Land Services and Lands Titles office

The shepherds

Thomas Tapley was a 41 year old farmer and publican from Black Springs, located south of Burra. He owned farmland on the main track to Adelaide which adjoined that of his wife Jane's family. Jane's brother, Edmund Bowman, was subdividing land to develop the new town of Emuville14, which adjoined Black Springs. Thomas and John Tapley had owned the Emu Inn, and Thomas had been the licensee from 1848 to 185515. John Stanway then bought the inn, and later also bought the Boolcoomatta Lease from Thomas and John. The inn was advertised by Stanway for sale in 1858 and described as a fine twelve-roomed Stone House with Stables, Outhouses &c; Garden, one of the best Stockyards between Adelaide and the Burra, with 70 acres of Land. Good Run for cattle. On the mail road, 16 miles from Kooringa. Doing a very good business.16 Thomas also had a blacksmith workshop at Emuville. He had seen harsh times, worked hard, and shepherding had been part of his life. His wife Jane died in November 1855 after she had born six children of whom four survived. In 1845 copper mining had started in earnest at the Burra mines, and in the 1850s, “1200 teamsters and 8000 bullocks were hauling ore from Burra to Port Adelaide and 17 back-loading supplies.” They passed through Black Springs and Emuville. Thomas would have learnt a great deal about the land and its potential to grow wool from his chats across his Emuville Inn’s bar with the passing bullockies, miners and stockmen. He transferred the inn licence to John Stanway on 24 March 1855, who bought the Boolcoomatta license from him in 1859. The shepherds took care of the flocks of sheep, sometimes as many as a thousand. They led a solitary life. A small hut and a water source were their comforts, with a horse as a companion. They sometimes met Aboriginal people, developed friendships and learned

15

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859 from them about the country they traversed. Many of Australia’s best shepherds had come from Scotland. Their endurance and natural skills seemed to suit their position, and they adapted to the harsh dry climate. They observed and learned how to manage both their flock and the potential of the country. Many of these Scottish shepherds became the forebears of today’s largest pastoral property owners. Curious shepherds often discovered minerals. Boundary fences had not yet been constructed and the landmarks serving as boundary markers provided limited barriers for sheep. It was the job of the shepherds to prevent stock from wandering onto the neighbour’s land. Shepherds’ huts and the overnight yards in which they held the sheep were dotted across the large properties. Until the lands were surveyed and mapped, stock was allowed to wander up to three miles outside of the unmarked boundary. Thomas’s son, also named Thomas, was a farmer near Port Lincoln. At one time he managed Bon Bon Station, which now is another Bush Heritage reserve. Percy Puckridge, who purchased Boolcoomatta in 1953, was connected to the Tapley Thomas Tapley junior SLSA [B 8507/10] family through his mother's side. He also had held Bon Bon Station at one time. The top hats

Some of the early lessees were top-hatted gentlemen, who had heard from relatives or friends of the sheep and wool growing potential in this new land. They often had not been in such a harsh landscape before they bought a lease. John Edward Tapley, a nephew of Thomas Tapley senior, became a partner in the first Boolcoomatta lease. He was nineteen years old and working in Adelaide as an accountant for his father, an insurance agent. John’s grandfather, also named Thomas Tapley, was a farmer and Innkeeper. Tapley’s Hill to the south of Adelaide was named after him. The Tapleys’ short lease of Boolcoomatta

Thomas and John Tapley took up the Boolcoomatta run in 1857 and registered its pastoral lease on 1 January 1858. Two months later it was advertised for sale. The reason for the sale is unknown. It could have been a business decision to establish a sheep station and turn it over quickly for profit, or it turned out to be a dream that was difficult to realise. The venue for the sale was the Exchange Auction Mart building in Adelaide. The same auction venue was used later in other sales of the property and for wool sales. The painting shows Hindley Street from the corner of King William Street looking west. The auction house is the white building with the columns on the right.

16

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

The Exchange Auction Mart building , 1847 Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia. B 15276/41

The Tapleys sold their pastoral lease to Frith and Stanway on 18 March 1858. They advertised The Boolcoomata Run of 63 square miles 2,500 sheep, 8 bullocks and a Dray, 2 Mares & 1 Yearling Colt, Spring Cart and harness. The Run had a 14 year pastoral lease unexpired. The station was ‘complete’, had good water and clean sheep. The full length of 14 years remained on the lease, with only two months expired.18 Newspapers stated at the time that this country was “about 40 miles from the Burra”. No one knew how far it really was. Kooringa, a village within the Burra mines area, where the nearest post office was located, was about 200 miles away. Years later a postal agency was opened at Outalpa station, north-west of Boolcoomatta. Thomas and John E Tapley's life after the sale of Boolcoomatta

Thomas Tapley had lost his wife Jane in 1855 and had four children to care for. In January 1857, before he took on the Boolcoomatta Lease, he married Anne Helmore. In 1858, when Anne was living at Enfield, north of Adelaide, their child Olive was born. 19 Anne also raised Jane’s four surviving children Mary (14), Thomas jun. (11), Jane (9) and Susanna (7). Thomas and John Tapley continued to be property traders. They were also licensed storekeepers and agents for various rural products. In 1858 their business premises were in Weymouth Street in Adelaide, most likely combined with those of John’s father Richard.20 Thomas Tapley died aged 45 on 3 July 1862. He had been living at Kadina and running a wholesale and retail butchering business at Kadina and Wallaroo, the new copper mining centres.21 Even though lessees were to occupy their properties under the lease rules, it is doubtful that the nineteen year old John E Tapley did so, or even spent any the

17

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Boolcoomatta Run. He later married and had two children. He travelled overseas but failed to return, leaving his wife and two children in Adelaide. He had started a new life as H Clarton in India, married again illegally and had more children. Sometime after 1863 he gained a position with the Bengal Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce. Bengal cotton production became his specialty field. 22 Boolcoomatta’s neighbours in 1857

Boolcoomatta had several neighbours on adjoining or close-by stations. Stephen King owned Outalpa, to the south, and another neighbouring lease was taken up by John and William Jacob. This was later a part of King’s leases. Other neighbours were JW Tyler who held Bimbowrie Station, or Bimbaourie as it was called then. When he purchased it in 1863 it was 756 square miles. Sprigg and Levi owned Oulnina, to the south-west of Boolcoomatta, and R Jones had Lease 571 which was immediately to the east of Boolcoomatta and taken up at the same time.

Stephen King Stephen King (1806-1882) was born in Lincolnshire, England. He arrived in South Australia in 1838 with fellow passengers Murray and Reid, who took out a large land holding in the current Gawler area. Alexander McCulloch was working as a shepherd for Reid and became a large pastoralist and the owner of Boolcoomatta in 1874. Stephen King, and others, joined Murray and Reid in the Gawler land holdings. In 1840 Stephen King had a flock of 3250 sheep, which was very large for the time. His property Kingsford was located near Gawler. He built a flour mill, was generally successful and decided to expand into the pastoral country in the north-east of South Australia. In the early 1850s he took up the Outalpa Run, adjoining Boolcoomatta, and Weekeroo. Like many other lease holders King was financially ruined by the long drought during the 1860s. He lost his home farm near Gawler and his pastoral lands. Duffield and Harold took over King’s north-east pastoral runs of 468 square miles. King’s son, also named Stephen, ventured into the Northern Territory on Finniss’s Exploration Stephen King party.23 He later became a notable explorer in his own right. John and William Jacob William Jacob (1815-1902) arrived in South Australia in 1836 on board the Rapid. He had been appointed as assistant surveyor to Colonel Light, Surveyor General of South Australia, who came on the same ship.24 John Jacob (1816-1910) followed him in 1838. After William had surveyed the town of Gawler, north of Adelaide, he took up land at the junction of the Gawler River and Jacob’s Creek, in what is now known as the Barossa Valley, where he established his farm Moorooroo. Eventually his brother joined him there. William later planted vineyards and, with partners, established Chateau Tanunda. Jacob's Creek was named in his honour, and later became the brand name of the wine grown there.25

18

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

John and William Jacob

After William married, John found his own land in the Clare Valley where he developed his cattle farm Woodlands with 140 milking cows and a large garden. The brothers combined their livestock interests, and in 1855 John took up Lease No 402, which was part of Outalpa. Later he left Outalpa to take his cattle to the far north of South Australia, and finally settled on Paralana Station, where he too was wiped out by the severe drought of the 1860s. John returned to Mintaro in the Clare Valley and became an agent. He died aged 94 on 29 August 1910.

19

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

The timber cutter and the stone mason, Stanway and Frith, 1858 to 1859

Boolcoomatta Station was auctioned on 18 March 1858 in Adelaide in two blocks, Pastoral Lease numbers 572 and 603, indicated on the map below. The new lessees, John Stanway and Moses Frith, called the property Boolcoomarta, and it also was called Boolcamarta. Stanway and Frith sold their lease again in 1859.

Pastoral Run Sheet 5, D 24, Plan 6, 1859-1864, Land Services and Lands Titles office, South Australia.

The timber cutter

John Stanway (1822-1899) arrived in South Australia in 1842 26 and took various occupations. Most of Stanway’s activities took place in Burra which was a thriving town. Between 1845 and 1877 the Burra mine produced 50 000 tons of copper, with the peak of production during the early 1860s.27 Stanway lived as a market gardener at Spring Garden, Kooringa, which now is part of Burra.28 He also had a timber cutter license29. Timber was needed to fuel steam engines in the copper mine and many other industries. In 1854 Stanway was advertising blocks of land for sale near Burra. Later he took over Thomas Tapley’s license of the Emu Inn at Emuville and held it from March 1855 to 14 June 1858.30 At the same time he had the blacksmith and wheelwright’s businesses in the township. In 1857 he gained a slaughtering license. In March 1858 he and Moses Frith took over Boolcoomatta Station from the Tapley family and leased it until November 1858. For a short period of time Stanway had a further 16 square miles. After the sale of Boolcoomatta, John Stanway held another lease

20

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859 close by from November 1859. Later he lived with his family at Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The stonemason

Moses Frith was a stonemason and knowledgeable builder. He made comments in newspaper editorials regarding the construction proposals of public bridges and viaducts, which indicated his stone building knowledge and experience.31 He would have built some of the very early stone buildings on the Old Boolcoomatta site. Stone cottages were generally built according to the length of timber available to construct the roof trusses in a triangular form. Corrugated iron for roofing and guttering was available by 1858. From those solid roofs rainwater could be collected into tanks for household purposes. Frith and Stanway’s lease was 66 square miles (17,094 ha), stocked with around 2500 sheep to make a shared living. They needed good livestock management skills and favourable circumstances for grazing sheep to make a success of their investment. Life must have been difficult as 1858 has been recorded as a dry period for pastoralism in South Australia. Frith had some land on which he advertised for sale in 1858, some months after purchasing Boolcoomatta. It was 14 square miles and was £7 per square mile rent.32 A conflict between the two partners arose in 1859. Stanway sold, and was paid for, a mob of 200 sheep. Frith took this mob away from the new owners without their permission, alleging that Stanway owed him a debt. He was caught near Black Springs.33 When the Boolcoomatta Run was advertised again in November 1859 the partners were about to dissolve the partnership. Later it was reported that they were involved in a court case and had to sell their pastoral lease. In the sale from the Tapleys to Frith and Stanway 2500 sheep were included, but in the sale by Frith and Stanway, this was reduced to 2100 sheep. It is known that at least 200 sheep had been sold prior to the sale, but it is unknown what happened to the rest of the sheep. Drought had affected the Eastern Plains in 1858-59, and it might have been necessary to sell because of financial difficulties, including high interest rates, and a lack of sheep management skills. The sales advertisement stated that Boolcoomatta was located 170 miles (273 km) north/ north-east of Burra. In 1861 Moses Frith was the first licensee of the MacDonnell Bay Hotel in the far south-east of South Australia. It is most likely that he built the hotel, as he held this license only for three months.34 Other newspaper reports indicate that Frith was often charged for being drunk and disorderly. The wool industry in the late 1850s

By August 1858 pastoralists had taken up around 19,975 square miles. Interest rates on borrowings ranged from 15-25%. By October 1859, rent for the leases was a little over 10 shillings per square mile as well as a surcharge per animal. Several newspapers mentioned a dry period in the north-east region in 1858-59 which would have made sheep grazing more difficult.

21

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Fortnightly wool sales began in 1858 and cash advances for the wool clip could be made 48 hours after the sale. Commission charges and freight were 1.5 per cent, and the stored wool was fully insured against fire. The inter-colonial telegraph was made available to help sales, and demand from England was strong. However, wool sales were affected when bullock drivers and shearers left for gold mining. Ongoing drought added to the supply problems. The dryness of the season has been severely felt on many of the runs, feed being exceedingly scanty and many sheep and cattle having perished. The rains that have fallen have been very partial, but it is to be hoped that the summer will not set in before the much needed supplies are granted.35 Under these conditions Boolcoomatta was sold in 1859 to a partnership of four men, Hall, Beck, Levi and Watts.

22

Early explorers, surveyors and settlers, 1830 to 1859

Notes

1 Jones, P. (2020). Exploration. South Australia History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/subjects/exploration-0. Accessed 10 November 2020. 2 The Pioneers Association of South Australia Inc (2020). Early South Australian history. https://www.pioneerssa.org.au/early_sa_history.html. Accessed 10 November 2020. 3 Cooper, B.J. (2011). Geologists and the Burra copper boom, South Australia, 1845-1851. In J. E. Ortiz, O. Puche, I. Rábano & L. F. Mazadiego (eds.) History of research in mineral resources. Cuadernos del Museo Geominero, 13, pp. 193-200. 4 Newland, N.C. (1966). Frome, Edward Charles (1802-1890). In Australian dictionary of biography, Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/frome-edward-charles-2070. Accessed 12 November 2020. 5 Cumming, D.A. & Moxham, G. (1986). They built South Australia: Engineers, technicians, manufacturers, contractors and their work. Underdale, South Australia: Gillingham Printers, p.66. 6 Important discoveries in the north. Mount Alexander Mail (Vic.) 10 July 1857, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197084640/21593828. Accessed 8 December 2020. 7 Australian Dictionary of Biography (1972). Goyder, George Woodroffe (1826–1898). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goyder-george- woodroffe-3647/text5683. Accessed 20 December 2019. 8 Garden, D. (2009). Drought, cyclones and floods: El Ninos that shaped our colonial past. Australian Scholarly Publishing. 9 McArthur, A. (Ed) (c. 2007). Through the eyes of Goyder master planner: transcripts of the Surveyor- General's 1864-5 detailed valuations of 79 pastoral runs in the south east of South Australia, Mount Gambier: Kanawinka Writers and Historians. 10 Bowes, K.R. (1962). Land settlement in South Australia 1857-1890. Australian National University, Thesis (PhD). https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/15839. 23 December 2019. 11 Flinders Ranges Research (2020). The effect of the Victorian gold rush on South Australia. https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/vicgold.htm. Accessed 11 November 2020. 12 Mayo, J. (1976), Tolmer, Alexander (1815–1890), In Australian dictionary of biography, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tolmer-alexander-4728/text7845. Accessed 11 November 2020. 13 Auhl, I. & Burra (SA) Council (1986). The story of the 'Monster Mine': the Burra Burra mine and its townships, 1845-1877. District Council of Burra Burra, Burra, South Australia. 14 Manning, G.H. (2010). The place names of our land: a South Australian anthology. Modbury, South Australia : Gould Genealogy & History, p. 107. 15 Hoad, J.L. (1999). Hotels and publicans in South Australia 1836—March 1993. McLaren Vale, South Australia: C.R. Hoad, p. 151. 16 Advertisement, Adelaide Observer, 3 April 1858, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158121524/18795685. Accessed 12 November 2020. 17 O’Byrne, D. (2007). Isolation is no barrier. Outback magazine, Issue 52, April/May 2007, pp. 136. 18 Advertisement, Adelaide Observer, 6- March 1858, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158119738. Accessed 12 November 2020. 19 South Australian Births (1988). Registrations 1842—1906. South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc & Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd, 2 CDs. 20 Burra—Opening of a new fellows’ lodge. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 18 September 1858, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88819746. Accessed 12 November 2020. 21 Birth, marriages and death, South Australian Register, 23 July 1862, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50163154/3919819. Accessed 12 November 2020. 22 Johnson, J. (2018). Tapley Family story. Personal Notes. 23 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications, Vol 2. 24 Flnders Ranges Reserch (2020). Colonel William Light. https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/collight.htm. Accessed 12 Novemer 2020. 25 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A: Lynton Publications, Vol 1.

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26 South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Soc. Inc (1986). Biographical index of South Australians, 1836-1885, Vol 1-4. Vol.4, p. 1534. 27 Auhl, I. & Burra (SA) Council (1986). The story of the 'Monster Mine': the Burra Burra mine and its townships, 1845-1877. District Council of Burra Burra, Burra, South Australia. 28 Adelaide and Burra railway. Preliminary report on Adelaide and Burra Railway, from Gawler town northwards. Adelaide Times, 22 September 1854, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207018047. Accessed 13 November 2020. 29 Timber Licences. Colonial Secretary's Office, August 28, 1849. South Australian Register, 1 September 1849, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50246491. Accessed 13 November 2020. 30 Hoad, J.L. (1999). Hotels and publicans in South Australia 1836—March 1993. McLaren Vale, South Australia: C.R. Hoad, p. 151. 31 Advertising. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 2 March 1867, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91265863. Accessed 13 November 2020. 32 Advertising. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 9 October 1858, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88819070. Accessed 13 November 2020. 33 Disputed Ownership. Adelaide Observer, 13 August 1859, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158129094. Accessed 13 November 2020. 34 Hoad, J.L. (1999). Hotels and publicans in South Australia 1836—March 1993. McLaren Vale, South Australia: C.R. Hoad, p. 272. 35 Trade and commerce. The South Australian Advertiser, 18 October 1859, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1198243. Accessed 13 November 2020.

24

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Hall, Beck, Levi and Watts

Isaac Palmer Hall was an English doctor who partnered with his brother-in-law John Beck to lease the Boolcoomatta run. Beck's family were some of the first people to invest in the mercantile, shipping and mining industries in South Australia. Philip Levi was another partner and major investor in widespread pastoral pursuits in the colony. Alfred Watts, first accountant with the South Australia Company and at the time Postmaster General in Adelaide, became an employee and accountant partner with Philip Levi. Isaac Palmer Hall (1813 - 1867)

Isaac Hall was born in 1813 into a family of firebrick makers. He was 13 years old when his father died. When he was 15 he entered an apprenticeship with Dr Hawkins of Brierly Hill in Stourbridge. He qualified as a medical and surgical practitioner at Guy’s Hospital in London at the age of 22 and as a pharmacist a couple of years later. Brierly eventually became the name of Isaac and Annie Hall’s family home at Glenelg in South Australia. Isaac’s family was involved in iron businesses in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, in England, which were located near a canal for industrial trade and well known for manufacturing glass and steel. One of the largest factories in the area was the Round Oak Steelworks, which Hall mentioned in a letter when he requested that his brother Henry send sheets of iron out to South Australia.1 In 1844 Isaac married Mary Ann Beck (1818-1860), the sister of John Beck, who became one of the partners of the Boolcoomatta Lease. They had no children, and it seems Mary Ann suffered from some form of mental illness. Isaac left on his own for Australia and waited for Mary Ann to immigrate but she chose not to and instead travelled extensively during their separation. He arrived in Melbourne on 13 June 1858 and left for Adelaide on 17 June on- board the Burra Burra, a merchandise vessel belonging to the Beck brothers. By 10 July he was working in Beck’s Office in Adelaide, and in September he visited the Burra mines2, run by the South Australian Mining Company in which Charles Beck 1858 view of Adelaide S T Gill, SLSA had major interests.

25

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Isaac thought about buying a share in the Boolcoomatta Run. He wrote to his mother in October 1859 that he had returned from a three week trip looking at a sheep station in the extreme north-east of South Australia, 230 miles from Adelaide. This was Boolcoomatta, which was for sale in November, with a carrying capacity of ten to twenty thousand sheep and worth over £2,0003. Isaac sold his part of the iron business in England, imported some iron to Boolcoomatta and used the remaining proceeds to pay for his share in the purchase. He and his partners developed and expanded the property and spent £14,000 on stock, land, wells and other improvements. However, because of the ongoing drought during the 1860s, hundreds of sheep were dying per week during the worst times, and the 15,000 sheep they started with were reduced to 7,000. Isaac retained his positive attitude to his new life despite the extreme change in his lifestyle when he settled on Boolcoomatta and the challenges of the drought. He continued to write regularly to his mother in England and occasionally to his brother Henry, describing his new life. His letters were preserved and given by the family to the State Archives of South Australia. In 1860 he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace and as the Guardian of the Aboriginal Stores Depot, which the government had established on some runs. Boolcoomatta’s store was closed in July 1866, when Isaac left. Mary Ann Hall, Isaac’s estranged wife in England, died in November 1860. Letters to notify of Mary Ann’s death probably took months to reach Boolcoomatta. One month after Mary’s death, her father Charles Beck senior also died. He had left a large estate to his children, and there had not been time to alter his will to exclude Mary Ann Hall, nor her next of kin. Isaac met his second wife Annie Elizabeth Dix in Kooringa. She had his child John Palmer Hall Dix, at Mendilea in Burra on 19 April 1860. It is likely that by 19 May 1862 Annie Dix and their two year old son John were living at least temporarily with Isaac at Boolcoomatta. Daughter Susan Mary Hall was born on 19 April 1863 at Boolcoomatta. Isaac and Annie were married on 23 July 1863 in Adelaide. Annie’s age was declared as 24 years, and so too was Isaac’s even though he was born in 1813.4 Isaac wrote to his mother about his visit to Adelaide but failed to mention that he got married while there. On 13 December 1865 Annie gave birth at Boolcoomatta to a third child, Caroline Ellen. Isaac Hall was declared insolvent on 30 April 1866 after a long battle to keep the Boolcoomatta Run going despite the devastating drought. An article in the South Australian Chronicle provided details of the insolvency. J.P. Hall, squatter, appeared on his final hearing. He had been ruined by the drought, and a station on which £15,000 had been expended had been sold for £4,200, the happy purchaser being blessed soon after with rains which converted the station again into valuable property. The insolvent was awarded a first-class certificate, all parties interested speaking so favourably of his conduct that it was impossible, without enquiry to tell which counsel appeared for the insolvent and which for the estate.5 The first-class certificate meant that the insolvency was caused by the severe drought which was beyond Hall’s control rather than bad management. John Beck purchased the Run outright, with around 7000 sheep.

26

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

On 26 July Isaac Hall started work as a medical practitioner in Glenelg which is now a suburb of Adelaide. The family lived at Brierly in Partridge Street, Glenelg. The children were christened here as that had been impossible before because of the distances involved. In November 1866 Isaac recorded for the first time that he experienced pain in his chest. The pain continued periodically, and Isaac died at Glenelg on 11 November 1867. Annie was pregnant with their fourth child Isaac Palmer, who was born on 13 March 1868. At the time Annie was a 27 year old widow, mother of four children under the age of seven, and bankrupt. The South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail wrote about Isaac’s death. Dr. Hall, of Glenelg, died very suddenly, not much more than an hour elapsing from the beginning to the conclusion of his attack, which proved fatal. He had long been suffering from disease of the heart, and had often told his friends that his death would be sudden. On the evening of his decease he had been conversing as usual when he [had] a fit of coughing, and fell back into the hands of Mr John Dunn. After a short time as he did not seem to recover, his friends pressed him to let them send for medical assistance, but he told them it would be wholly unavailing, as he knew he could not live till the return of a doctor from Adelaide. He died shortly afterwards, passing away so gently that Mr Dunn, on whose arm he was reclining, did not know when he died.6 No record of Isaac’s burial is available, but it is most likely that he was buried at St Jude’s Cemetery, Brighton near Glenelg, probably in a pauper's grave. It is unknown whether Annie married again later. John Beck (1825 - 1903)

John’s older brother Charles arrived in South Australia long before his brother. He established himself as a merchant, in wharf storage, including Government supplies, and in mining with the South Australian Mining Company. He was an original investor in and director of the Burra copper mines. Another brother, Frederick John Beck, migrated later and ran the business with Charles from their Grenfell Street office in Adelaide. John Beck, a younger brother, eventually also came to South Australia and decided to become a wool grower. He formed a partnership with two brothers-in-law, Isaac Palmer Hall and Philip Levi, and Levi’s accountant Adolphus Watts. The story of John Beck’s life is told in the following chapter.

27

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Philip Levi (1822 – 1898)

Phillip Levi was born at Brixton Hill in Surrey, England. He arrived with his parents in South Australia in 1838 when he was 16 years old, coming on the same ship as Charles Beck. The family set up as merchants. In 1842 Philip married Elizabeth Symes. Because Hebrew births, deaths and marriages were recorded differently many records listed him as a single man. The couple had eleven children, and their home, Vale House, is now the site of the Levi Caravan Park in Adelaide. At the age of 21, he had a small patch of land with four horses near John Walker’s village, which later became Walkerville, a suburb of Adelaide. He also grazed sheep at Prospect which now is another suburb of Adelaide.7 Philip Levi SLSA B[6912/J6] Phillip Levi followed Hawdon and Bonney who had started in 1838 to take stock overland from New South Wales to South Australia. He brought sheep to South Australia and was involved in a conflict with Aboriginal people on the Rufus River. His pastoral operations were “on a colossal scale”, and he was one of a few people holding large numbers of leases in South Australia.8 He spread his risks by taking up shares in properties in a wide area over the colony, reasoning that if one had a dry year, the other lands would counteract this.9 He also owned a wharf at Port Adelaide.

Levi’s Wharf, Port Adelaide, built in 1864 A D Edwardes Collection SLSA [PRG 1373/38/22]

Prior to his partnership in the Boolcoomatta Run Levi held 820 square miles in 25 leases in partnership with HL Sprigg on the nearby Oulnina Run. By 1866 he had parts in leases of fifteen pastoral stations, Oulnina, Parnaroo, Peaked Hill, Booleroo, Coffin’s Bay, Dawson’s Hill, Mangalow and Poodnow (Franklin Harbour), Mount Margaret, Mount Eyre, Oratunga and , Wanilla, Warraweena and Welcome Springs.10 In the aftermath of the 1860s drought, and with the effect the American Civil War had on his trade, his debt was enormous. Isaac Hall reported that Levi and Co were stopped from trading with a debt of £400,000. This is a staggering amount, considering that Hall was declared bankrupt with a debt of £3,573.11 Philip Levi died 1896 in

28

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Walkerville and was buried in the Jewish section of the West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide. His father had been the first person to be buried there. Adolphus Alfred Shaw Watts (1814 – 1884)

Alfred Watts was born in Gloucestershire, England. He was the accountant of the South Australian Mining Company and became Postmaster General in Adelaide in 1838. Four years later he married Jane Isabella Giles, daughter of William Giles, who was involved in the South Australian Mining Company. They lived at Leabrook and Hazelwood and did not have children.12 Jane Isabella, also known as Minnie, was the author of a book Family Life in South Australia. In 1855 Alfred was elected as a member of parliament to the Legislative Council. He joined Levi and Co as a 43 year old in 1857 and two years later became a partner in the Boolcoomatta Run. In later years he formed the company Watts and Wells, importers and exporters, and also tendered for the construction of lighthouses Isabella and Alfred Watts and jetties. Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, in the south-east of SLSA [B 7966] South Australia, was the first he built. Life at Boolcoomatta

Isaac Hall was equal proprietor and the paid manager of Boolcoomatta, and the lease was recorded in his name for all partners. His annual salary was £120. Hall reported that during the drought in the 1860s Levi and Co tried to sell their part of the run by auction but were unsuccessful. John Beck felt more optimistic and leased large tracts of land on his own, taking out the adjoining Mingary in 1863. The closest supply town for general merchandise was Kooringa which became part of Burra when five private towns around this copper mining centre were amalgamated. During the early days of mining in the mid 1840s the Drew brothers had started their general merchandise trade in Kooringa. Later, one Drew son joined with Mr Crewes to continue the business as Drew and Crewes Pty Ltd. They carted supplies to the far north-east, later named the Eastern Plains, which included the Boolcoomatta Run. Supplies were ordered for one year, and a trip to town to do the banking and other business included camping for several nights. The closest postal service also was at Kooringa until 1864 when an agency was established at Outalpa Station, or Outa-alpa as it was called at the time. The mail came fortnightly by train from Adelaide to Kapunda and a Rounsevell’s coach brought it to the far eastern stations, including Outalpa, and collected the mail that was to be posted.

29

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Inside the Drew and Crewe Store, 1926 Everything you need in a one-stop-shop.

Drew & Crewe's Pty. Ltd, Kooringa. Still standing in 2015, c. 1929. SLSA) [B 3149] in the centre of Burra

Until the early 1860s Boolcoomatta and the neighbouring runs had not been surveyed. According to Hall it was located “30 miles east of Mt Victor”. During 1861 and 1862 James Brooks started to survey the Eastern Plains by fixing points for pastoral leases. He commenced at Black Rock near Orroroo and progressed to the eastern boundary of the province using a network of triangles, covering an area of 8600 square miles.13 The border between South Australia and New South Wales moved from 132 degrees East to 129 degrees East. This is apparent in later maps which show long and narrow north to south blocks of land for lease. In 1864 Hall wrote that Boolcoomatta’s home station was “40 miles from the Eastern boundary … and 15 miles from the border.”14 Settlements on the other side of the border, in the far west of New South Wales, were as close as those nearby in South Australia.

30

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Some of these early settlers ended up by chance on a particular run as the story of Irish born Abraham Wallace and his English born wife Matilda Hill showed. Abraham had been a hawker on the Victorian Gold fields and returned to settle in the Mount Gambier area in the south east of South Australia. Later he and Matilda wanted to go to Queensland along the river transport system, but Abraham found out that he was unable to take stock across the state border without permits, and floods along the Darling River caused additional difficulties. He then wanted to divert to Adelaide with his stock and in 1863 came close to the current day Mingary on the southern side of Old Boolcoomatta. By Christmas they had explored the country to the north of Mingary and then left with 25 horses, 1400 sheep and nine months of stores. They probably went north along the border area between South Australia and New South Wales and settled in early January 1864 on country in New South Wales to the north east of Boolcoomatta. Their later home was Sturt’s Meadows, north of Broken Hill. Matilda did not have a home until 1872. Matilda shepherded the sheep to prevent wild dog attacks and wore out seven pairs of leather shoes in the harsh country. She later replaced her shoes with some hard cattle hide leather tanned by Abraham. She also drank brackish water until she was quite ill.15 During those early years, Australia had many canneries, and canned beef was being sold to America. In 1859 a load of cans with Australian mess beef arrived in San Francisco and turned out to be pickled kangaroo. Miners in Australia also ate the tinned meat and left the tins behind in many camps. The long drought

During the late 1850s and 1860s a severe and widespread drought affected many parts of Australia. According to a report in the Weekly Chronicle no rain had fallen on the Eastern Plains from 1856-58.16 This could perhaps explain the first two short leases of Boolcoomatta.

In his letters to England Isaac Hall wrote repeatedly about the drought, and the weather in general, with its impact on humans and animals. On 24 January 1861 he recorded 119F/ 48C in the shade. Three people had perished on the run. Birds were found dead, fowls and dogs sheltered in huts from the extreme heat. In March it was dry and dusty, very little water was available and no vegetables were growing. On 19 May he wrote, “Country very dry”. By December he had realised that he “started at an unlucky time, … with a succession of dry years”. With long distances to the markets, it was impossible to move stock out as there was no feed or water along the route. Wool, the sole and annual income, did not go out, nor did supplies come in because bullockies were unable to travel without grass or water on the track for the bullocks.

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A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Richard Minchin, who worked from 1859 to 1869 as a draftsman in South Australia’s Land Titles Registration Department, provided a visual impression of the drought.

Richard E Minchin, The Drought SLSA [B 62341] Australia.

Hall reported that heavy rain fell on 24 February 1864 and again in July, causing a flood, but by Christmas there was very little water left and no vegetables in the garden. The following year began badly as the drought continued. Hall measured 103F/ 39C “in the cool corner of the hut” and 127F/ 53C outside.17 In May, Mr Duffield on Outalpa was killing lambs as they were born because there was not enough feed for them. In July “2000 sheep were sent off”. All sheep runs north of Burra had sent sheep away by December. Hall wrote, “Boolcoomatta sent away 4,000, but in 1864, they would have been valued at 14 to 15 shillings, now 4 shillings and 6 pence.”18 It was not only the animals which suffered. Hall and his family had difficulties to sustain their existence on Boolcoomatta. Once horses and bullocks died, people too were in danger of dying from dehydration. Supplies were scarce, and it was impossible to get any to the remaining shepherds as no one could deliver them without having enough water. Aboriginal people were also affected by the drought. Isaac Hall wrote about his concerns in 1865. We have had several deaths lately in the neighbourhood of Boolcoomata, which I attribute to the difficulty of procuring nourishment. Several aged blacks have been left near the Springs by their tribes without any visible means of subsistence; and I regret to say that child murder has been very much more frequent since the prevalence of the dry weather and scarcity of game, than formerly.19 Nomadic Aboriginal people would have needed to be healthy enough to walk very long distances to survive, especially as their normal water resources were affected by the large number of livestock belonging to the white settlers. The long drought wiped out many pastoralists financially, including Isaac Hall, and decimated livestock numbers. He wrote on 7 February 1864 that he was heavily in debt. The runs affected by the drought covered a vast area of South Australia, and pastoralists

32

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866 requested assistance from the government. A report on the runs in the far north was submitted to Parliament on 10 May 1865 which made the following points, Pastoralists had suffered unparalleled losses during the past 12 months due to drought. Even permanent water sources had dried up. If any cartage was available at all, its cost had quadrupled. No supplies could reach the distant stations. Wool could not get carted out to be sold. Pastoralists had no income, but fees had to be paid.20 In response to the appeal the government offered those in the two most deprived areas rent free leases for the next two years, and a further extended fourteen year lease under certain terms. This help came too late for many of the most affected pastoralists who were eventually declared insolvent, including Isaac Hall and Levi and Co. The Pastoral Pioneers reported some of the losses sustained. On all the runs affected 235,152 sheep perished out of a total stocking of 827,706, and 28,850 head of cattle were lost out of a total of 53,355, these figures not including the last year's increase of lambs and calves, practically all of which succumbed.21 On Oulnina the losses to Levi and Sprigg were huge. Levi himself lost 50,000 sheep, exclusive of lambs, besides 10,000 cattle. He [Sprigg] and Mr. Levi had paid 10/ a mile for the vast area of country they held in the north-east, and they had the mortification of seeing their flocks repeatedly scattered and mauled by wild dogs. Mr. Sprigg lost everything he had.22 Trying to cope

Isaac Hall and other settlers tried to cope with the drought by taking on additional leases to gain more feed for their livestock and by sinking wells. The Boolcoomatta area extended from 66 square miles at the time of purchase by Hall and Partners in 1859 to 1065 square miles when Hall was declared bankrupt in 1866 and Beck took over the lease. The partners coped in different ways with the ongoing drought.

33

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

The need for more land When Hall and Partners bought Boolcoomatta from Stanway and Frith it consisted of two leases, those numbered 1 and 2 on the map below. The site of Benowrie was number 3. This is today the Boolcoomatta homestead complex. The blocks numbered 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 were purchased to feed stock during the drought from 1860 to 1865. The numbers represent the sequence in which the leases had been taken up.

Boolcoomatta and surrounds pastoral map, Pastoral Run Sheet 5, D 24, Plan 6, 1859-1864 Land Services and Lands Titles office, South Australia.

Levi and Beck wanted to clear the stores of wool after the good season in 1860 because they were keen to sell Boolcoomatta. They must have tried to sell for over a year as in March 1862 a prospective purchaser had declined to buy. In 1863 Hall wrote that the offers for the run were not high enough and that there was a possibility of establishing a new main station nearer the post office in Outalpa. Land acquisition continued during these years though, with 20 square miles purchased in 1862 for ten Guineas, around $300 at today’s monetary value. On 17 December 1862 Hall wrote to England that Boolcoomatta had 200 square miles, 6,000 sheep, 200 horned cattle, 9 station work horses, 2 teams of bullocks (16) and the goat herd had increased from 10 to 70, as well as 60-70 head of poultry, 3 cats and 12 dogs. Of workers there were 8 men and thankfully none of their women, who have made trouble in the past. By the end of December 1862 an extra “80 square miles of new country”, blocks 3 to 9 on the map above, had been taken up, and in June 1863 Beck leased an additional 500 square miles, called Mingary. The total of the partners’ runs now was 800 square miles.

34

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Isaac Hall wanted to name the new station Openinga, but the partners decided on Benowrie as the name of their new central base to the accumulated landholdings. This is today the location of the Boolcoomatta homestead precinct. An overseer was employed to manage the new station. In August 1864 Hall wrote, Shearing at the new station. … only 10-12 mile through the hills to Post Office. … Valuable shallow well at the new station. According to Hall the station was located “15 miles from the border” which indicates it was further east than Old Boolcoomatta and therefore must have been Benowrie.

The need for well sinking With all the new Boolcoomatta leases that were taken up it was essential to drill wells to have enough water for stock. Work started in 1860, with Benjamin Burrows contracted as a well sinker and Robert Johnson Rogers working with him. The work did not progress smoothly though as the two were dismissed after a couple of incidents. Their campsite had been around two miles away from Hall’s cottage. One day Hall missed a vice and handle which he found in the tent of Burrows. Burrows had offered the vice to Mr Tyler of Bimbowrie who recognised it and must have told Hall. Burrows claimed Hall did not adequately provide for him and Rogers. In another incident, Rogers borrowed Hall’s dray to go to Burra, stole the axle and two wheels, which he used for his own dray and then sold it in Burra. He was sentenced to six months prison with hard labour. Bobby Hardy wrote about Hall’s well sinking, Isaac Palmer Hall was extending the Boolcoomata run by sinking wells on the dry plains towards the undefined NSW border, and one evening in 1862, he camped so close to the Barrier Ranges that he could see the campfires of the Aborigines in the hills. 23 Well sinking continued over the years, always in the hope of finding new, drinkable water. It was very expensive, and less than half had a water yield. The water coming out of many others was brackish, and it must have been a relief to get the “valuable shallow well” Hall reported from Benowrie. The 2000 sheep that now were on the run needed 3000 gallons (13,638 litres) of water every second day. The South Australian government was also involved in sinking wells on trading routes on the Eastern Plains for people to use while they were travelling and were too far away from other water sources. There was some public discussion about the plans for this project. Sir—Mr. Duffield’s motion for a certain amount of money to be spent in sinking wells on the Eastern Plains being under consideration, a few words from one who has lately visited that locality may not be out of place. … It is almost impossible for drays of any sort to cross the Plains with stores or wool, as from the neighborhood of Boolcamata—the only place where a crossing can now be effected—50 miles have to be travelled without a drop of water. … Many instances have occurred lately which prove travelling over the Plains to be quite unsafe and impracticable during the summer months. … As there is no way at present by which to get the produce into market from the Barrier Ranges, it becomes an immediate question whether it is easier and safer to obtain stores from, and send wool to, Menindee or Adelaide, which must be by the way of the Eastern Plains. The one road is

35

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

supposed to be as good as the other, but Menindee is not more than 100 miles from the western side of the Barrier, and Adelaide is 300 miles. Water can be readily obtained on the Menindee-road, but not on the Plains— the road to Adelaide; and it is not at all likely that water will be got by private enterprise on the Plains for some years, unless the Government do so forth- with, the road to Menindee will be established, and the Adelaide market will be entirely cut off. The wool having been taken to Menindee would be ready for shipment and as there are stores there the drays would load back. … I think we are … entitled to the supply of such as are necessary to be used on South Australian territory. … We may calculate on South Australia and New South Wales each supplying its fair share of labour, but men on leaving the stations will make to the nearest township by the best and safest road, where they will spend their money and probably find a home, so that a few wells would tend to draw money and labour into this colony from New South Wales. … Water obtained on the Eastern Plains would be the means of converting a vast desert now let for a mere “bagatelle” into a valuable sheep country, which would be immediately occupied for pastoral purposes at a sufficient rental to realize in the course of two years any amount required for sinking. … Yours &c., L. Adelaide, March 1, 1865.24 The government decided to secure a permanent trade route that was independent of the river Darling, connecting Adelaide with the Upper Darling. The track would connect with a route the “New South Wales Government have pledged themselves” to establish. Therefore the South Australian … Commissioner of Crown Lands has consented to sink a well on the track from Menindie to Boolcoomatta; and the Postmaster-General has also agreed to include in the next tender for the inland mail service a postal service from Outalpa to Menindie. At present there is a good dray track from Menindie, River Darling, to Boolcomatta Station (Mr. Beck's), N.E. of Kooringa, which will be available at all seasons when this well is sunk, breaking a stage of 46 miles, now without permanent water.25 This newspaper article was published two months after Isaac Hall had been declared insolvent and two months before John Beck took over the full lease of Boolcoomatta on 27 August 1866. In 1859, when the partners took over the lease, Hall’s share had been £964/8/6. His total debt in 1866 was calculated to be £3573/13/10. 26 Even without conversion to current monetary value it is obvious that his debt would have been huge. Levi and Co stopped trading on 29 September 1866, with a reported amount of debt of £400,000.

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A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Daily life and work at Boolcoomatta

The letters Isaac Hall wrote home to his family in England gave a picture of the various people who lived on or close to Boolcoomatta, their life and experiences, and the work on the run.

Arriving at Boolcoomatta After his first trip to Boolcoomatta, Isaac Hall wrote on 17 October 1859, Returned from 3 week trip in bush – Sheep Station 230 miles from town. Boolcoomata sale on 15th [November] – over £2,000, capable of 10,000 to 20,000 sheep. Extreme NE district; long rides. Reason- partners ‘gone to law’. On 16 December he wrote to his mother, “New active life. Start out tomorrow.” He left from Adelaide on a bullock wagon with a man, his wife and small child for the long trip to Boolcoomatta. December would have been a hot start to this journey and Christmas was spent along the track. It could be that the couple were Henry and Ann Widdicombe. Henry (1837-1920) was working on ‘Boolkamata’ when he registered the birth of his baby daughter Mary, born on 19th January 1860.27 If this was indeed the couple travelling with Hall, Ann would have been in the last stages of her pregnancy during this trip. Hall wrote on 26 August 1862 that a couple was leaving Boolcoomatta. They may have been the Widdicombes. Henry Widdicombe was born in Devon, England, and was 21 years old when he arrived in South Australia. He moved with his family from Boolcoomatta to Moonta where he was both a labourer and copper miner. The family settled around Kadina, and Henry and Ann leased their own farmland on Green’s Plains. Both he and Ann, who died in 1917, were buried in the Kadina Cemetery.28

Buildings on Boolcoomatta In a letter to his friend Henwood, dated 17 December 1862, Isaac Hall described the hut where he was living. The building is about 45 ft long x 16 wide thick structured & built with mud instead of mortar. The roof is low & composed of the Bark of the Gum tree which grow here to a great size in the dry water course or creek, the walls are barely six ft high – the door frame of rough round sticks with … the bark and …. taken off is 5 ft the Door made of palings nailed to …. [pieces of packing] cases – plenty of ventilation & so there is from the roof but not too much for this climate – the principal use of door & roof is to keep out the glare of the sun & some of the layers of the dust – my own apartment is 18 ft of the west end – separated by a thick stone wall from the east end which is used as a Kitchen for the station and part separated as a sort of Harness room. I have a partition in mind the old Black & white rug I had in London nailed to the crop piece of the beam- behind this my little iron bedstead & horse hair mattress, chest of drawers, ships wash basin, box for a seat and another to hold the candlestick in windy weather. Two bags on the dirt floor, a piece of my old London bedroom carpet hung up at the foot of bed over the …Beam leaving a space of 10 or 12 inches between that & edge for an entrance. Another tie beam across the head of the bed with nails covered with Books, Coats, Trousers, Shirts etc. On the drawers - a Revolver.

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A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

There also were two windows, with “one looking south on the front.”29 By May 1864 one new timber and two stone buildings had been built, and the woolshed was under construction and completed by August when, according to Hall, shearing commenced at the new station. The three new buildings would have provided accommodation for three staff. Because Benowrie was more centrally located than Old Boolcoomatta, it later became the station headquarters. Goyder, who worked as a surveyor for the South Australian Government, drew plans of many buildings on Boolcoomatta in 1885 (see Chapter 6). Isaac Hall’s description of his home in 1862 fitted with these drawings. Many of the buildings drawn by Goyder would have existed already or been built when Hall was running the station, some would have been added and some improved later.

The ups and downs of pastoralism Like so many other landholders in Australia at the time, Isaac Hall experienced losses, “drays stuck in mud” and, in July 1860 “the worst winter for 8-9 years”. On 25 November he wrote home about the excellent lambing and the splendid season. He reported that Mr Tyler on neighbouring Bunboorie [Bimbowrie] had 350 square miles of property. The wages were 20 shillings per week with board and keep for a labourer, 10 shillings per week for a female servant, while a miner could earn 20-40 shillings per week. In 1861 Hall wrote, “Wells and Toonga with 2000 lambs”. These were either paddock or well names on Old Boolcoomatta. In 1861 Hall recorded a wool yield of “45 bales of wool at 4 hundredweight” each. In 1862 Hall lost 200 sheep to wild dogs. By the end of November shearing was finished, sheep were sorted and drafted, and 5000 to be taken east. Five months later Hall wrote there were 1500 new lambs and the second flock were starting lambing 15 miles away. The third flock were 15 miles in the opposite direction. Lambing continued with an additional 2000 born in May 1863. By the end of that year Boolcoomatta had a saddler, which was essential for extensive work on horseback. The area around Boolcoomatta was thought to be part of the yearly north to south trading route of Aboriginal people which explains why Hall saw “not many aboriginals until recently” but about “150 from the Barrier Range” in the vicinity of Boolcoomatta in April. Hall was interested in the nature around him. On various mustering trips he observed parrots and cockatoos. On another bush trip with an Aboriginal guide and two dogs Hall noted the sand ridges and saw Sturt peas. He collected some seeds to send to England. In November Hall wrote that Calcaroo Ponds, in the northern part of the property, had peppermint trees.

Living and working with others Isaac Hall often wrote in his letters about the people who lived and worked with him on Boolcoomatta. He found that his medical knowledge was a nuisance as he had to provide services and medicine to many people. Apparently “the whole neighbourhood” came to him for medicine. Hall was concerned about the welfare of his neighbour, Mrs Ann Hawkins, because she and her child spent a lot of time on their own in a very

38

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866 isolated place. Mrs Hawkins had asked Hall to be the sponsor of her child, but he felt unable to fulfil this obligation. His own eyesight was failing, he had “twinges” and, at one time, a loose front tooth. The problems he had with his eyes might have been sandy blight (Trachoma) which often is caused by dust and sand particles and the lack of water to wash face and hands. Working with sheep during the drought increased raised dust particles, and many shepherds and drovers were eventually blinded. In 1862 Hall had twelve Aboriginal people working on Boolcoomatta and enjoyed taking trips with them to the north and east, taking his dog Dandy. Tommy was a 20 year old Aboriginal man who had been working for Hall for two years. Together they went on a ten day trip on horses to move sheep. They camped out, had damper and saw kangaroos, emus, cranes and wild turkey. Relationships with Aboriginal people were not always positive though. Hall reported about an “affair with Blacks 300 miles north”. Some months later there was trouble among the Aboriginal people. The “Blacks [were] superstitious”, and later “two Blacks [were] killed 70 miles from Boolcoomatta”. Hall was appointed as the coroner investigating the deaths. Aboriginal people were in some ways supported by the state. The Crown Commissioner of Lands, under guidance of the Sub-Protector of Aborigines, sent Government supplies to certain pastoral stations to be distributed to Aboriginal people. On Boolcoomatta, Hall was appointed as the Guardian of the Aboriginal stores depot. In 1863 he received for the store 250 pounds of sugar, 44 pounds of tea, 15 pounds of tobacco and 1 bale of 25 single blankets. On 16th July 1865 he received 1 ton of flour, 250 pounds of sugar, 44 pounds of tea, 1 dozen quart pots and 2 dozen Pannikins [enamel mugs].30 In 1866 John Buttfield was appointed Sub-Protector of Aborigines. On each round of visits to the northern pastoral and the Eastern Plains area, including Boolcoomatta, to assess the needs of the people he travelled over 600 miles. In his 1867 report he wrote, There has been a great amount of sickness but little mortality among the natives, … I always carry in my wagonette medicine and medical comforts and thus have been enabled to render needful assistance to many poor sufferers. ... The almost total absence of native animals, and the failure of other resources, have placed a large number of Aborigines in most trying circumstances and dependent upon the government's generosity....They are for the most part patient, peaceable and well disposed, occasionally an unprotected hut is robbed of stores and there have been one or two instances of crimes of a more aggravated nature.31 By the following year the situation had not improved. I can note no appreciable increase of native animals. For years to come the Aborigines will remain more or less dependent upon the government for support, a contingency which would not have arisen but for the flocks and herds of the invader during the long and disastrous drought.32 Some years later he reported that the Aboriginal people had endured great hardships and many had died from “sheer want”. Hall too was concerned about the decreasing number of Aboriginal people. In 1869 Buttfield was appointed as Special and Stipendiary Magistrate in addition to his other role. As coroner he was often required to travel to nearby settlements or stations. His many duties could involve long absences from his home and, mindful of the

39

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866 responsibilities as a widower with a large family, he married again on 3 September 1868.33 There must have been ongoing changes in the people working for Hall. He described a couple, that is man of all work and she cooked & washed for me. I gave them £70 a year but they, or rather she was uneasy as soon as she had 50 or 60 coming & wanted to go to town……so I sent them off and have now, only a man & at present get on first rate – only with the washing – but not much worse with that – than lately for the dirt was always left in - & I dare not hint at an improvement. Hall wrote about workmen who were troublesome when a yard and hut had to be moved and he prepared for lambing. Later, a head workman had left while Hall was preparing for shearing, and he had to manage on his own. The shearing costs at the time were twenty shillings per hundred sheep. In 1861 over 1000 lambs were born, and the following year between 13,000 and 15,000 sheep had to be shorn. In May 1864 Hall went to Adelaide to engage an overseer who was dismissed after nine months on the job. Hall again mentioned trouble with workmen. Hall had contact with some neighbours. JW Tyler lived on Bimbowrie and had ten to fifteen people working for him in 1861. In 1864 the run was taken over by John Taylor and Mr Gifford as manager who left a year later. Duffield held the lease for the run to the south of Boolcoomatta, what had been called Outalpa and had been leased by Stephen King. His water drawer committed suicide in 1864 and Hall was called upon as the Coroner of the case. He wrote of another death, a “Mr Wait“, who had been his neighbour and drowned on the Pandappa Run. This might have been James Waite, brother of Peter Waite, who was on Pandappa Station near Terowie. Apart from all the work and the problems with people working for him, Hall continued to notice and enjoy what he saw in the landscape. He wrote about emu nests to the north at Colcaroo [Kalkaroo] and mulga scrub at Mullarooroo [Moolooloo], north of Kalkaroo. At home he observed ducks, spoonbills, divers, geese, swans and moorhens which may have come to drink the water available at the homestead. He enjoyed using his Dollan’s portable Dollan’s telescope telescope. It must have been hard for Hall to leave Boolcoomatta once he was declared bankrupt and start a new life as a general practitioner at Glenelg. For Boolcoomatta a new phase started with the drought finally breaking and John Beck taking on the full lease in 1866.

40

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

Notes

1 Johnson, J. (n.d.). Hall family history research notes. 2 The Burra mines were at Kooringa, a township owned by the mining company and today part of Burra. 3 Letter of Dr. Isaac Palmer Hall, SLSA: D 4005. Dated 17 Oct 1859. 4 Johnson, J. (n.d.). Hall family history research notes. 5 Topics of the week. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 9 June1866, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94741923. Accessed 19 November 2020. 6 News of the week. Supplement to the South Australian Chronicle and Mail. South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, 16 November 1867, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8388896. Accessed 19 November 2020. 7 Allen, J., Twining, S. & Twining, A. (1992). South Australian land returns for 1843. Kogarah, N.S.W: A. & S. Twining 8 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications. Vol 1, p. 29. 9 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications. Vol 1 and 2. 10 Whitworth, R.P. (1866). Bailliere's South Australian gazetteer and road guide: containing the most recent and accurate information as to every place in the colony. Adelaide: F.F. Bailliere. 11 Letter of Dr. Isaac Palmer Hall, SLSA: D 4005. Dated 29 Sep 1866. 12 The South Australian Advertiser, 1 December 1884, p. 4, column 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2215236. Accessed 20 November 2020. 13 House of Assembly Report, September 11. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 15 September 1860, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90249863. Accessed 16 November 2020. 14 Letter of Dr. Isaac Palmer Hall, SLSA: D 4005. 15 Adams, C. (2008). Way out west: Pastoral stories of western New South Wales. Joondalup, W.A.: Ocean Pub. 16 South Australian Parliament, House of Assembly Report. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 18 September 1858, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88819775/8356110#P8356111. Accessed 16 November 2020. 17 Letter of Dr. Isaac Palmer Hall, SLSA: D 4005. 18 Ibid. 19 Crooks, A. (29th September 2014). Squaring the circle of Aboriginal identity, In Quadrant online. https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/bennelong-papers/2014/09/squaring-circle-aboriginal-identity/. Accessed 16 November 2020. 20 Parliamentary Paper. The runs in the far north. The South Australian Advertiser, Thursday 11 May 1865, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31849497/2413140. Accessed 16 November 2020. 21 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications. Vol 1, p. 115 22 Ibid, p. 29. 23 Hardy, B. (1977). West of the Darling. Adelaide: Rigby, p. 135. 24 Wells on the Eastern Plains. Letter to the Editor. South Australian Register, 6 March 1865, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39117749/3915172. Accessed 16 November 2020. 25 Land communication with New South Wales. South Australian Register, 19 June 1866, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41026373. Accessed 20 November 2020. 26 Law Courts. Insolvency Court. The South Australian Advertiser, Wednesday 6 June 1866, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2423803. Accessed 16 November 2020. 27 South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. & Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd. (1988). South Australian Births, Registrations 1842-1906. 28 Statton, J. & South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society (1986). Biographical index of South Australians 1836 - 1885. Marden, SA: South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society. 29 Letter of Dr Isaac Palmer Hall. SLSA: D 4005, pp. 218. 30 Lane, J. & South Australian Government (2012). Protector of Aborigines. Out Letter-Book. May 16, 1866 to December 31, 1870. 31 Flinders Ranges Research (2020). The Buttlfield family. http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/buttfield.htm. Accessed 16 November 2020.

41

A surgeon goes bush, 1859 to 1866

32 Ibid. 33 Ibid.

42

The optimist, 1866 to 1874

The optimist, 1866 to 1874

John Beck took over the whole lease of Boolcoomatta in 1866, after Isaac Hall had been declared insolvent, and kept it until 1874. The severe drought which had affected so many landholders was ongoing, even though it had been raining in February. He was able to continue holding the property until rain fell, when he could recoup his losses. John Beck (1825 - 1903)

John Beck was born in December 1825 in England, as the fifth child and fourth son of Charles (1792-1860) and Mary Ann Beck, from Woolwich near London, close to the river Thames. When he was 15 years old, his father was a publican at Bermondsey near Woolwich. John followed two of his older brothers to Australia. Charles Beck junior had come on the same voyage as the Levi family, and Frederick John Beck worked with older brother Charles in their Grenfell Street office in Adelaide. Back in England, their sister Mary Ann Beck had married Dr Isaac Palmer Hall.1 John Beck arrived in August 1844 in South Australia from Sydney. He was 19 years old at the time and initially employed in his brothers’ business. He spent time in San Francisco in 1850 as a commission merchant and agent for his brother Charles’ shipping fleet.2 Nine years later he joined Isaac Hall, Philip Levi and Alfred Watts as a partner in the Boolcoomatta lease. His brother Charles was a major shareholder and director of the South Australian Mining Company, the operators of the Burra copper mine.3 This position was later taken up by John Beck. He became a Justice of the Peace in September 1868, and late in 1870 he was appointed Vice-Consul for the Kingdom of Denmark in Adelaide. By then he apparently lived mostly in Adelaide. He married the widowed Martha Campbell (nee Levi) in 1873. Her first husband Charles Campbell had died aged 48. The couple had four sons, Philip, Frederick, Edmund and William, who were born between 1851 and 1857.4 Campbell had joined Hawdon and Bonney in 1838 in the first overland stock trek from New South Wales to South Australia. He was influential in the establishment of Australian Rules Football in 1850, and Campbelltown, a suburb of Adelaide, was named after him. Martha Campbell was a sister of Philip Levi, and the Campbell family had been good friends with the Beck brothers before she married John. John and Martha Beck left for England in 1882, eight years after selling Boolcoomatta to Alexander McCulloch. Beck died in England in 1903, three years after Martha’s death. The Adelaide Observer gave in its obituary a short outline of his life. Our London correspondent telegraphs the announcement of the death of Mr John Beck, merchant, formerly of Adelaide. The deceased gentleman was an old colonist of South Australia, and with his brothers, Charles and Frederick J Beck, carried on business as a general merchant in the comparatively early days in Adelaide. The brothers acquired considerable city property, and were well-to-do. Charles Beck left South Australia about 40 years ago, but Frederick died in South Australia. They were all in close association with Messrs Philip and Edmund Levi, and the late gentleman married their sister, Mrs Campbell. Mr Beck was successful in squatting pursuits, and 20 years

43 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

ago sold Boolcomatta Station for a large sum to the late Mr Alexander Mc Culloch, the well-known pastoralist, father in-law of Mr Justice Boucaut. He suffered a severe reverse in connection with the Commercial Bank of South Australia, in which he was the largest shareholder, at the time of its collapse.5 Beck had individually expanded to the south of Boolcoomatta and taken up the Mingary Run in 1863.6 He advertised Boolcoomatta for sale on 22 May 1867 but the sale never went ahead. The lease was then 1,065 square miles. It had been extended from the original 66 square miles by one set of nine leases, totalling 200 square miles, and an additional nine leases of 799 square miles.7 The following map shows Boolcoomatta Station during John Beck’s ownership. It included Old Boolcoomatta Station in the west with its homestead and Benowrie, or New Boolcoomatta, to the east with the new homestead. Kalkaroo was to the north, the Bimbowrie Hill on the western edge of Old Boolcoomatta and Outalpa on the south- west corner. The Mingary lease taken up by John Beck extended the southern border of the Boolcoomatta lease. Mingary House was located on Lake Dismal land, close to the eastern border of Boolcoomatta. During this time Boolcoomatta included leases which later became separate stations again.

Adapted from the North-East Pastoral Map of South Australia, Undated [c. 1940s] SLSA.

44 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

Managers of Boolcoomatta Station under John Beck

After John Beck had taken over Boolcoomatta the long-lasting, devastating drought finally broke. With the rain came prosperity, and it was possible to build up the property again. Beck employed several managers to run the station.

John Finlay Duff John Finlay Duff was appointed in July 1866 as the first manager. He was 23 years old at the time and stayed for two years. He later became a stock agent and then Manager of Coles and Goodchild in Burra. That company was subsequently taken over by Elder, Smith and Co, the nation’s largest stock and station agency.8 John Duff’s father, Captain JF Duff, had been a ship captain in Charles Beck’s shipping fleet.

Walter Ifould Walter Ifould was the manager in October 1868 when letters were written to him on behalf of the Crown Commissioner of Lands regarding Aboriginal supplies, which were transferred to Bimbowrie Station after Isaac Hall’s departure. He stayed until February 1871. Ifould was born in 1835 in Hampshire, England. He was classified as a servant when he arrived in South Australia aboard the ship Epimandos at the peak of the Victorian gold rush days in 1853. Later he served for several years on the Pastoral Board of South Australia and played an important role in the 1893 Act of the Pastoral Board in securing fixed tenures for pastoralists.

Richard Dewdney Richard Dewdney worked as manager on Boolcoomatta from early 1871 to 1876, first for John Beck and then for Alexander McCulloch. He was born in 1843 and died in 1924. He was married to Jane Annie, nee Jones (1848-1934) and they had four daughters and three sons. A daughter and a son died during infancy and may have been buried on Old Boolcoomatta.9 Jane’s workload must have been considerable, in particular as meals for the workmen also had to be prepared each day. In June 1874 Richard advertised for home help to support her with the children and in the house. In August 1871 Dewdney was in North Adelaide to advertise sheep to be sold or exchanged.10 In May 1872, he warned against stock roaming on Boolcoomatta and Mingary stations.11 Two years later he took Nicholas Budd to court for leaving his job as a shepherd and “knockabout hand” at Boolcoomatta without permission or notice. Eighteen months after Beck sold Boolcoomatta to Alexander McCulloch in 1874, Richard Dewdney went to manage Wonoka Station. Dewdney expressed his views on various issues in many letters to different South Australian newspapers. He continued to write to newspapers into his senior years about pastoral land management and government policy of the day. In an article published in 1895 he was described as a colonist of thirty years' standing, most of that time having been spent in the country, and what he does not know on the pastoral question, now attracting so much attention, is certainly not worth learning. Some of his letters to the

45 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

press have been the means of inducing many amendments in the Bill now before Parliament, such amendments benefitting the squatters to a great extent. Dick, as he is familiarly known by his friends, is a regular Jack Blunt in his way. Being accosted the other day by an acquaintance with, “Well, Dewdney, how much are you getting for those letters to the Register?” he replied, “Not a dashed cent old man. You and the squatters can go to Coolgardie. I am a practical man, and express my views, not particularly for the benefit of the squatters, but for the blooming country in which I have brought up my kids. If the squatters like to recognise my efforts – well, come and have a drink.12 In a letter to the Editor of the South Australian Chronicle, published in 1887, Richard Dewdney addressed the conditions of lease renewal which was debated at the time. He described the issues pastoralists in the north-east country faced when he was manager on Boolcoomatta and the north-east country as it is, and as it was some 15 years ago. Then it was a fairly well to do pastoral country, but the squatters being convinced that it was necessary to improve on the old system were just settling down with good heart to fence in and extensively improve their run, past experience having shown them that their only chance of profitably carrying on was the investment of capital in largely improving, increasing the water-supply, and running their flocks in paddocks, thereby being in a somewhat better position to withstand the disastrous results of a repetition of the years 1864 and 1865, and at the same time relying on the Government acting fairly at the expiration of their leases, so as to allow sufficient time to repay them for the very heavy expenditure they were about to incur. … The holder of such country must make up his mind to wait patiently for at least 10 years before he can hope for any actual return for his outlay. … Anyone with any knowledge of the north- eastern country will know that it is principally a saltbush country, with but little or no permanent surface water; consequently the only now reliable water is obtained by sinking wells, and some of these to a great depth. Many have resulted in only inferior stock water being obtained, and many again are too salty for any use. Besides this there is a great deal of very rough country, much of which is useless for even a large sheep farmer. In 1871 I took the management of the Boolcoomatta station. Then fencing was but young; still a good deal had been done in the lower portion. But the general system was shepherding; in fact the old easy-going hum drum style— water drawn for sheep by windlass, whip, or whim, as the case may be. But now how different. The stock run at large in paddocks, and when coming to water, instead of being driven day after day to the well over the same ground through a cloud of dust, and when at the well having to wait until the water is drawn, as in years gone by, they now run in night or day, no matter which, as the water is always there for them, and as they drink from the troughs these refill from a large stone tank kept full from the well by a steam-engine or windmill. They come to the well quietly without the cloud of dust, as they go to water so they feed, not being driven about in a flock by a shepherd to be put in and let out of a yard when he feels disposed. They now feed and water when and where they like in small lots from 50 to 1,000, feeding and camping at will all over the paddock. Does it not strike the reader as being not only more beneficial to the stock, but by far the more natural way to breed and keep them. Thus it is now, and this is the general plan adopted by

46 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

sheep-farmers, not only in the north-east but throughout the whole of the north and western country. … Dewdney then criticised the changes in lease conditions the government planned to introduce at the time of writing and went on to talk again about Boolcoomatta. I took the management of Boolcoomatta in 1871; then the run had only on it 12,000 sheep. We then did some improvements, but only in the water supply. In 1874 the run was sold with 28,000 sheep, and in 1875 the work of fencing and generally improving commenced, since which time I should not like to even hint at the amount of money that has been spent on it, as on the adjoining runs, Outalpa, Bimbowrie, Koonamore, Curnamoona and others, …13 For Dewdney and the other managers before him, the day-to-day work on the station would have provided various challenges as many people lived and worked there. Working on Boolcoomatta Station

Many different jobs needed to be done for the smooth working of a station. From the mid 1860s to the late 1870s many people were living permanently on Boolcoomatta, others came for shorter periods of time, like the shearers, and left again. They all needed supplies, and an advertisement for carters offered outward freight of wool clips, and inward freight with goods to stock up the depleted supplies in the station’s store. This would have taken several loads.

Life and roles on a pastoral station Pastoral runs were large properties generally without buildings. As their infrastructure was developed, they were called a station and became like a village. People were employed to work in many different roles, and the number of jobs depended on the size of the station. Elderly single men often had no other home than the station where they had worked for many years. They stayed on for ‘Keep and Found’, which was a small payment, free accommodation and meals. They might have worked previously as a musterer and continued in physically less demanding jobs like gardener, milker and handyman. Typical positions on larger stations were the manager, who was responsible to the owner and generally lived in what was called Government House, and the overseer who was next in line to the manager. He kept an eye on all areas of station work, but specifically the jobs that needed to be done. The bookkeeper kept track of profit and loss and was responsible for balancing the books. The income from wool was dependent on the rain, and the availability of water was the most important factor in running livestock. Dam sinkers were vital for constructing dams with scrapers and a team of horses. Bore runners checked the supply at each watering point daily or every two days, especially during the hot weather, and long distances had to be covered on horse back. The head stockman allocated horses to men and ensured that stock and their movement was taken care of. Stock had to be shifted at the right time to feed and water.

47 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

The manager, overseer and head stockman developed management plans and oversaw the breeding. The stockmen, or jackaroos as they were later called, cared for the animals, mustered, drafted and moved the sheep and cattle. They treated fly-struck sheep, ensuring that all animals were healthy. The boundary riders used horses to check the natural boundary of the station to prevent sheep from straying into neighbours’ stock. Once fencing was in place, this work, like that of the shepherds, was no longer needed. The shepherds led a lonely life in remote cottages with yards. In 1867 the station had twenty huts, and many would have been shepherd’s huts located far from the homestead. Shepherds often found Boundary riders’ hut at Mingary. the first minerals on the land and some SLSA [B 395571]. wrote poetry. Someone from the station delivered their weekly supplies. Many shepherds later became stockmen, and some became pastoralists. The horse breaker was skilled in taming horses so they could be used for riding. A new jackaroo who may have been ‘green’ or naïve was often tested on a newly trained horse to see how he handled the horse and himself. A blacksmith was needed to make the many horseshoes that were required. He also repaired any metal that needed some work. Often the blacksmith was also the farrier and fitted and placed the shoe on the horse. Their feet had to be well cared for as they had to go long distances over stony country where the shoes wore out quickly. The saddler made saddles, reins and halters and did necessary repairs. The stations often had a builder who usually worked with a carpenter and some helpers and who was responsible for constructing the infrastructure needed to accommodate the numerous people. They built the homestead, overseer’s cottage, shearers’ quarters and kitchen, and single men’s quarters. Various sheds were needed, including the essential shearing shed, a blacksmith’s workshop, sheds for the stores, the outstations, and the tanks and troughs which were made of stone. The carpenter worked on the interior of the buildings, constructing cupboards, office shelving and storage, the internal walls of the shearing shed and woolshed and the interiors of other sheds. He also did any carpentry work required in the yards. Most of the building activities during the 1860s and 1870s apparently happened on Benowrie, the newer part of what is now Boolcoomatta. Isaac Hall wrote in May 1864 that two stone and one timber building were completed, and the woolshed was under construction. Little is known about building at the old Boolcoomatta homestead area which most likely was used only as an outstation. By the mid 1880s it was very neglected. The stores on the stations supplied what people needed to sustain themselves, and a storeman controlled all the food and equipment to keep the station well supplied. He worked together with the bookkeeper, or the bookkeeper and storeman was one combined job. In the very early days some station orders only arrived once a year.

48 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

A cook provided meals for the people working on the station and the many people passing through it. The cook baked the bread in a baker’s oven, which had been built at most homesteads or shearers quarters onto one side of the main house chimney. The cooks often had a room away from the noise of other people because they needed to be up first in the morning to prepare breakfast for the working men. Bread would be rising and left-over bread from the previous day would be made into sandwiches for morning tea in the bush, or the stockmen took a damper and billy for mid-morning smokos and afternoon tea. Generally, biscuits and tea were served during those breaks. Lunch was provided for all remaining at the station, and a hot meal at night for everyone. The kitchen help assisted the cook with food preparation and washed the dishes. Servants were employed to help at the homestead with various jobs, including doing the laundry. The cowboy, a boy too young for stock work, or an elderly retired stockman did odd jobs, like milking the cows or goats to keep the station in milk and butter, killing sheep for meat and working in the vegetable garden. The stations sometimes had a governess whose role it was to teach all children living there. If there were many they had a separate school room. The mail man was invaluable as he connected the people on the station to the outside world and brought mail and small supplies. The bullock wagon freight operator was important for the supply of goods. The stock agent arranged wool sales and transport as well as purchases, sales and selection of the rams and other livestock. He helped with breeding suggestions to improve the flock and fleece quality. Land sales were handled by an agent, and finance was often credited in advance, with the wool as security because this was the only main income for the year. Shearing was an annual event and on Boolcoomatta was done in spring. Shearers either just arrived or were found through advertisements. Once the railway line went through Mingary in 1888, many shearers caught the train, then walked or rode their bicycle from Mingary railway siding to Boolcoomatta. A wool classer was appointed for the grading of wool and the presser compressed the wool into bales. Several rouseabouts collected the fleeces from the shearers, threw them on the table for cleaning off the dirty and rough edges and then brought it to the classer for grading. Sweeping the floor also was part of their job. A shed hand kept the pens full of sheep for the shearers. The expert sharpened combs and cutters so they had a good cutting edge.

Workers on Boolcoomatta As the station records of Boolcoomatta were destroyed in the 1970s, stories of some of the workers and people travelling through had to be pieced together from other records, mostly from newspapers. William Lillywhite was the carpenter from around 1865 to 1869. He and his wife Kate, nee Farrell, had thirteen children and Kate, the sixth child, was born at Boolcoomatta. She was on her first journey away from the station when she was five years old and her life ended in August 1870. The family were travelling to Kooringa and then to Port Wakefield. They camped overnight at Parnaroo near Terowie, and the next morning six children went to gather wild peaches [quandongs] from the bushes of the scrub in the midst of which they were camped. The children only proceeded about 30 yards from the tent and returned in a quarter of an hour, but without their

49 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

sister … Directly she was missed a cold wind and bitterly cold rain began. This continued without intermission two days and nights. A search was started by those in the camp. They were joined by many others, including two “aboriginal natives [who] were fetched from Gottlieb’s Well” and police troopers Dix and Finnis. After two weeks the search was given up after no trace of Kate had been found.14 William Nehemiah Irlam and his wife, Elizabeth (nee Boscence) were working on Bimbowrie in 1864 when their first child was born. Their third child Hannah was born in 1869 on “Boolcomattta North East”. Seven years later the Irlams were living at World’s End Station, east of Burra, where they eventually had their own farm and where the family grew to nine children.15 During the time Beck owned Boolcoomatta suicides, accidents and other deaths occurred. William Prince had been employed on Boolcoomatta and in 1870 stayed at the Burra Hotel when he overdosed on Laudanum, the opium-based pain relief drug of the time. George Crockett was another man who possibly worked on Boolcoomatta when he died in Adelaide in 1873 at the age of 34. He was recorded as living at “Boolcanatin”. Earlier he had been working at Kapunda as a labourer. He was a Londoner who had arrived in South Australia on board the ship City of Bristol.16 William Truran was 45 years old while at Boolcoomatta and died in 1873. It is likely that he was the man killed accidentally by the down-swinging pump at Bundera Well. Between 1873 and 1878, four infants between the ages of 14 days and 11 months died at Boolcoomatta, including two of the Dewdney children. The risk of death was always high when infants had high fevers and no medical help was available. These deaths could also have been caused by childhood diseases recorded in the Darling River area at the time. In 1872 Mr Glendinning at Mingary was shooting ducks for a meal when his shot gun barrel exploded and severely injured him. It was reported at the time that he was still recovering from a cut to his foot that had him out of action for quite some time. He may have been working for John Beck at Mingary. Watkin Lewis worked on Boolcoomatta from 1872 to 1873 and died in 1874.17 W Symonds and Richard Ellery were sinking dams on Boolcoomatta. Ellery had been working in several mines, including in Burra, before he established his dam sinking business with Symonds, started to work on Boolcoomatta and then throughout the north-east. He eventually settled on land six miles from Orroroo where he died in 1917.18

50 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

People in the Outback

The stories of settlers on properties close to Boolcoomatta and people travelling through the area add to the picture of the lives of those earlier settlers. Women played an essential role in Outback life but rarely were mentioned in any public documents. Sometimes they had a particularly hard life.

Women of the Outback Little is known about the women who lived on the Outback stations at the time. But there were many outstanding women who made their mark during the early European settlement period in Australia. Many of their stories are captured in the Australian Women's Archives Project, 2009, including that of Clara Harrod who wrote a personal memoir about her and her sister Emma’s life on such a station.19 Clara, Emma, William and Charles Harrod (junior) were the children of Charles Harrod and Elizabeth Stayte. The family came from England and arrived in Melbourne in September 1852. In 1859 they were living in . Father Charles Harrod was consistently in financial strife and offered Emma's hand in marriage to Swan Hill’s publican Henry Raines in exchange for land. Raines was a partner in Cobb and Co, a carting company, and owned several tracts of land around the colony of Port Phillip. He did marry Emma, adopted Clara and paid for her education at Kyneton. In 1867 Raines had settled at Umberumberka, later named Silverton, and Emma and Clara set out on the 400 mile journey by horse to the Barrier Ranges in New South Wales to join him, encountering several hazards on the way. They were parched and exhausted when they finally arrived after a journey in hot weather. Their new home was a cave cut into a hill, and their welcome from Emma’s husband was not what they had hoped for. Henry was a heavy drinker and became violent and abusive. Later in that year Clara Harrod laid the foundation stone for Raines’ hotel, the Small Thorns Hotel, which later became the Mt Gipps Hotel. Raines then bought a property close to Mount Gipps and ordered Emma and Clara to load the bullock wagon with their household goods to travel from Umberumberka, north-west of Broken Hill, to Mt Gipps, located north-east of Broken Hill.20 Raines was driving the bullocks and the two women followed on their horses. At Mt Gipps a Mr Marryat was working outside and could not believe his eyes when he saw the two women on horseback. He had never seen such a sight and was so unnerved that he retired indoors. Henry Raines died in 1873. Emma later married TG Alcock and in 1884 moved to Mitchell in Queensland. Clara married James Stewart Campbell on 11 May 1871 in Mt Gipps. They had two children and lived first at Langawirra Station, then moved to several different stations before settling at their property, Claravale, in Queensland. James Campbell died in 1908. When they both were widowed Clara and Emma lived together at Mitchell in Queensland. While Raines went out droving stock in 1868, Emma accompanied a neighbour, Mrs McLennan from near Mount Gipps, to Mingary in South Australia where she and her husband settled. Clara was left behind to look after the property. In January 1869 they heard that Mrs. McLennan was very ill. At the time water was at the lowest it had ever been in a long time in this part of the country. Henry Raines and Clara travelled to

51 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

Mingary to help in any way they could. After their long journey across the great Eastern Plains Raines found out there was only a bucket with enough drinking water for one person and none for their horses, or for Clara and him. After spending a little time with Mrs McLennan and making sure she was well enough, they had a sip of the precious water and then returned home.

The Crozier family on Bimbowrie John Crozier came to Sydney in 1838. A few years later he joined George Rutherford, the founder of a famous New Zealand family, in big squatting interests. This led him to Kulnine Station on the Murray river in New South Wales which he bought and managed. Later he moved to Adelaide to become a Member of the Legislative Council. In an interview one son, Elliot, described years later how he drove overland from Kulnine to Adelaide in the 1860’s. He stayed at the York Hotel until the rest of the family landed on Glenelg jetty on a paddle steamer and then settled on historic Oaklands Estate, between Glenelg and Brighton.21 Crozier’s wife might have been a sister of John Taylor, the owner of Bimbowrie who sold the property to the Crozier’s. She and John Taylor were born a few Oaklands, now in the City of Marion. years apart in the same town in Scotland. The SLSA [B 71052] Croziers had eight sons and two daughters.

Bimbowrie, the station adjoining Boolcoomatta in the west, was advertised for sale in October 1871, after the death of John Taylor. Mr John Crozier bought it at auction for his three sons Edwin, Elliot and Walter, better known as Wattie. It was 842 square miles, had about 29,000 mixed sheep and lambs, to be delivered after shearing, and several improvements. New Wool Store and Woolshed, Yard and Pens complete, Stock and Drafting Yards , Six roomed House with Verandah, etc, Stone Smithy, Men’s Kitchen, Huts, Cartsheds, etc, 23 Outstations, with Yards attached.22 The three brothers went to start their life at Bimbowrie in 1872. My brother Walter drove from Burra, the rail terminus, behind a pair of horses, camped out at night and landed at Bimbowrie on 17th Dec 1872. … There were only six horses and a team of six bullocks on the 600 square mile run. We eventually increased the area to 1800 miles and when we left in 1898 there were 175 paddocks inside the dog-proof fence. You can imagine how much wire we used…The most sheep we ever shore were 75,000. … While we were there, we used to make a dam, 100 by 100 yards, and 20 to 22 ft. deep, make a drain for 10 to 15 miles, and put down another dam and so on. One would feed the other. We made about 400 miles of drains altogether. It was a very expensive job because the drift sand would fill up the drains, and the scoop was continuously at work.23 A few months after they arrived a violent thunderstorm passed over Bimbowrie., The hail, which fell for nearly an hour, and varied in size from that of a hazelnut to walnuts, covered

52 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

the country with a layer as thick and white as snow. The lower parts of the neighbourhood were flooded. Palings and other articles were born by the wind for miles, and a wooden, portable house with its contents was blown into the creek, and nothing but fragments were seen afterwards. The [storm] was the fiercest that had ever been known in the district.24 Elliot cut the existing road from Bimbowrie to Olary with four horses and a buggy. Before that they got their rations from Burra once a year. A list of supplies purchased for the year included several bolts of cloth, of a colour most practical for all purposes. It is difficult to imagine how much would have to be ordered for one year ahead to cover all possibilities, including an unknown number of visitors who would come and stay for an unknown number of days. The Bimbowrie homestead had two large dams for the garden where vegetables were grown. Rabbits may have been a problem. Elliot remembered that the Aboriginal people wondered what the rabbits were when they appeared first. Years later he saw 3000 of them trapped in a night in a netted yard at a dam.25

The Dickens family Alfred Dickens was another settler who ended up near the border between South Australia and New South Wales. He was the son of Charles Dickens, the English author, who had a family of ten children. Father Charles took an interest in Australia after meeting Caroline Chisholm in London in 1850. Two of his seven sons migrated to Australia, Alfred arrived in Melbourne in 1865 seeking a new life, and Edward arrived in 1868 at the age of 16 because his father had sent him. Charles had written to Alfred, that Edward “could ride, do a little carpentering and make a horse shoe”, but he “raised doubts about whether he would take to life in the bush”.26 A few weeks later they both left for the bush. Alfred settled as manager on Corona Station, north of the Barrier Ranges, but not very far from Boolcoomatta as the crow flies. It is now located around 74 km north-west of Broken Hill and 27 most likely was at the time much larger than it is today. In 1874 Alfred moved to Hamilton in western Victoria as a Alfred Dickens station agent and member of the firm of Bree, Dickens, and Co.28 He married Augusta Jessie Devlin, and they had two daughters. Jessie died in 1878 after being thrown from her carriage, and he moved to Melbourne. His brother Edward persuaded him to start up a stock and station agency together. Alfred re-married in 1888. He spent 45 years in Australia and then lectured on his father's writings in England and America. He died in 1912 in New York where he also was buried.29

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George McGillivray’s journey George McGillivray was born in Scotland and arrived with his wife Janet in Victoria in 1852. From there they moved to various sheep properties, where McGillivray was employed. He ventured into Queensland and established himself on a pastoral station. When he travelled he kept a diary in which he described what he saw and experienced on his way. On one of his journeys he came through Boolcoomatta. He had left Eddington Station, located near Julia Creek, east of Cloncurry in the far north-west of Queenlsand’s Burke district. He was accompanied by his “black boy Jerry”, and wanted to travel south to the Darling River at Wilcannia.30 George McGillivray, n.d. McGillivray got lost when he went off the road to catch some horses he saw which he wanted to take home. What followed was a tale of survival in the harsh and dry Australian inland. Their journey took them to the south-west of Queensland, through the Channel Country and into South Australia. The bush skills of his Aboriginal boy, who became a guide and friend during this journey, most likely saved his life. The two men were suffering from thirst and hunger multiple times, and after nearly dying of thirst they came to a waterhole and a couple of days later to a shallow lake. There we noticed what seemed to be the course of a creek amongst the sandhills in rain times and we tried to follow it up, and after a while came to a fine little hole of water with a number of the native orange trees so beautiful and green growing on a little flat along the eastern bank of the waterhole. Jerry went hunting for food and came back with a leg of a dingo. The next day they reached the main channel of Cooper’s Creek. They entered sandhill country, and walking became difficult again. The waterless days returned, and McGillivray was so worn out that he fell off his horse and remained where he fell. He wanted to give up but Jerry was determined to fight the battle for life to the very end, endeavoring to make me do the same. They camped at what later became Farina on the Oodnadatta track when they saw birds flying over, and knew that they flew in the direction of water. They followed them and reached the water with the last reserves they had left. After a drink and two possums for dinner they moved on along the creek they had found. They came across a few more waterholes and eventually they found two log huts and a small stock yard which had been deserted some years previously. A few days later they saw in the distance the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. They had to cross some partially dry and crusted salt lakes with undrinkable salty water. Once they had crossed this, they came to an old deserted cattle station with large stock yards, in places quite blown over with sand, and some stone-built huts with clay roofs on them. McGillivray and Jerry had to walk through more inhospitable country and eventually were saved by the horses who smelled water in some sand. The two men dug into the sand and got enough water for themselves and the horses. They found berries which were “quite palatable”, and Jerry hunted for meat. The next day they travelled on and

54 The optimist, 1866 to 1874 faced more starvation. Again they had to camp without water but found some the following day and saw a mob of quiet station horses. They “started to drive them to see which way they would go to water” and were led along a track. They all at once came to a hard beaten dray road, which to all appearances had been used for 20 years previously. We pulled up and stood on the road. They were excited to finally see some signs of a road but still had to find water. They continued to follow the track the horses had made, following a stony creek into a rocky gorge, and on turning another point of rocks we found ourselves face to face with a large pool of clear water … McGillivray and Jerry rested under a gum tree when three men appeared with three horses and a dray, loaded with “large iron ships’ tanks”. After some hesitation McGillivray explained where they came from and that they got lost. The men took them to a shepherds’ hut and gave them damper and tea which was all there was. They had reached , owned by Mr McTaggart, and located between Lake Frome and Lake Torrens in the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. From there they needed “to go 90 miles south on the Adelaide road” to go around the “great salt lake” before turning off “to the east to make the Barrier Ranges”. Eventually they came through Nob Station, close to Burra and run by Nobs and Snobs, and then travelled in a south-easterly to easterly direction. On 16 February the two men came “to an outstation of the Bimbourie run”, and two days later they arrived at Boolcoomatta, where Mr. Eyefold [Ifould], the manager, very hospitably entertained us and allowed Mr. Pollard to put shoes on old Sloppy's hind feet. From here there is no station to the Barrier RangesError! Bookmark not defined., distant about eighty miles. On 18 February Mr. Ifould went with the two men to an outstation. They had plenty of good feed for our horses, and water from the well, but brackish; they carted water from a distance which was very palatable. This is real saltbush country, no doubt very superior, for sheep if water could be got at reasonable depths, there being no surface water—no creeks or even crab holes anywhere. McGillivray and Jerry continued to travel in a south-easterly direction via the Barrier Ranges and the Mundi Mundi Plain over various stations and eventually returned to the more familiar Paroo country and arrived at their destination. McGillivray had travelled for about 1500 miles and decided to “try to keep to the road all the way next time”. He still needed to go back to the Gulf Country where he intended to settle with his family. After a rest of nearly four weeks he commenced his journey north, together with his wife and sons and a few other men. Jerry had decided not to go with them and to stay with his old father. 31 Aboriginal people on Boolcoomatta.

Aboriginal laws and culture had helped the Indigenous population to survive for thousands of years in an arid environment. European settlers were unaware of these. Existing place names may have had some cultural significance. According to Geoffrey Manning, Boolcoomatta is the Aboriginal word for Kangaroo People.32 If the totem for

55 The optimist, 1866 to 1874 the local Aboriginal people was the kangaroo, it would have been protected locally and excluded as a food source. Kangaroo numbers would have increased over time, which could explain the large numbers in the region. Erosion near the Oonartra Creek on Boolcoomatta has exposed old cooking ovens which would have been used by Aboriginal people. Before European settlement the area around the creek would have been vegetated, providing habitat for many medium sized to small mammals, and would have been a good hunting and gathering spot to provide meals. Aboriginal people were living and working on Boolcoomatta while Hall was managing the station, and he was the Guardian of the Aboriginal stores depot. Sometimes relationships between European settlers and Aboriginal people, or between Aboriginal people were strained and could lead to court cases like the trial of Bobby and Pompey in August 1867. Two aboriginals named Bobby and Pompey were tried—Bobby for entering the hut of Mrs. Rankins at Bembourie [Bimbowrie], and by threatening language obtaining flour and other rations. Mrs. Rankins gave evidence … and stated that had it not been for a little girl running to obtain assistance, she would have been unable to have got rid of him without receiving personal injury. The Court found the prisoner guilty, and sentenced him to six months’ hard labor in Redruth Goal, much to his disgust apparently. Pompey, a rare specimen of a blackfellow, was then charged with killing sheep on Boolcoomatta run, but as the witnesses were native, and not in attendance, he was discharged in consequence. It was reported that this native was concerned at one time in the murder of a shepherd at Blanchewater.33 The report of the trial of Jacky for murder or manslaughter of Jinny in 1868 included some aspects of the lives of Aboriginal people on a station at the time and the complexity of their trials according to the law of the European settlers.34 Mr Stow [the defending solicitor] spoke to them of the great difficulties he had experienced, as at other times, in defending an aboriginal on the charge of murder, and of the singularity of the law in providing that he should be tried in the same manner as a civilised person. He remarked that the Crown Solicitor had put the case very fairly against the prisoner, who was entitled to the same justice as a white person. Jinny had been the “lubra” of the accused Jacky, and they had apparently lived together “with a lot of blacks in the wurley” at Boolcoomatta. The story of what happened was told by several witnesses. Punch was the first witness called who knew Jinny. She ran away six moons ago, because Jacky was cranky. Went with the prisoner and Jacob after her. The same day tracked her along to a big hill. She ran away. They overtook her. Jacky struck her twice with a jam stick (produced) on the head. She fell down, and got up in a short time. Saw blood jump up from her head, which was cut. She got up and walked back to the station, four miles away, with prisoner and him. Did not see her afterwards. Jinny had told someone that “Jack had stopped (slept) with her.” Another witness, Jacob, saw her a day after she had been tracked, and Tommy, a third witness, saw her two days after that as well. And “she was alright then. The next day she was a little bad,

56 The optimist, 1866 to 1874 and the next very bad.” Police trooper Patrick Joseph O’Mahoney became involved and found three wounds on the head of the body, one which may have been caused by a spearhead while Jinny was “down on the ground”. The conclusion was that the wounds which had been inflicted by Jacky’s blows would not have been the cause of death, but the other one inflicted on the head of the skull would have caused instantaneous death. The judge told the jury that they had no evidence to connect Jacky with the murder and unless they believed that he inflicted the third wound, for which there was no evidence, they needed to acquit him. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and Jacky was acquitted. Links to the outside world

The mail coach was an important link between remote stations and the outside world, but life for the drivers and the horses could be difficult. The service had been operated by William Rounsevell and was taken over by Cobb and Co in 1861 who ran it until 1870. During this time many horses “were wounded in the shoulders, and were nevertheless driven continuously” except those working only close to Burra. Frederick Gurner, a driver on the Outalpa and Kooringa line, was charged and fined for having twice driven injured horses on his route.35 One year later, Michael Terry, an assistant mail driver on Winnininnie Station, south-west of Boolcoomatta, broke his thigh when his horse stumbled and fell, landing on Terry. A man named Tiddy was with him and went for help back to the station where they had come from. Terry was brought to Winnininnie and from there conveyed by horse cart to Burra to a doctor who set the bone. He was recovering well36 but died four years later at the age of 32.37 With an increase in settlements and exploration for mining came an influx of people and the need to establish better transport routes. The government had proposed to build a road from Kooringa to the Darling River. Peter Waite, who was at the time on Paratoo Station, suggested in a letter to a newspaper that settlers, “teamsters, and others acquainted with the roads” should be consulted about the planned alternative routes before it was decided which one to take. Water obviously was an important issue to consider. Waite wrote that one route on which the government already had spent some money was useable only “in a wet winter, perhaps once in three or four years.” Another route was already being used by drays, “the teamsters getting water at the settlers’ wells” which can cause problems. Waite had nearly 40,000 gallons of water let out of the tank near the head station by travellers during the last week or two, either through carelessness or from mischief. The well is now shut up from the public altogether. He argued that the government needed to provide wells for public use on any route which would increase the amount of money needed to build it.38 By that time the government had already sunk some wells for the public. On 21 May 1867 the Surveyor General’s Office of the South Australian Government had advertised a tender for Bundera well to be built, located between Boolcoomatta and the Barrier Ranges, of an iron whim, with chain, buckets, and receiving trough complete; to be worked by base power, and to be of sufficient strength to raise 1,000 gallons of water per hour from a depth of 260 feet. Also for an iron tank, to hold 4,000 gallons of water, and for 120 feet of Iron Troughing. The whole to be

57 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

fixed and completed on the spot within two months after acceptance of tender.39 The well served the between South Australia and New South Wales and was located on the boundary of Boolcoomatta. At this well a man died accidentally when the down-swinging pump hit him. An old fellow also died who had camped at the well. He must have filled his billy with poisoned water and was found perished sometime later. Poison had been laid there for rabbits, and apparently he could not read the ‘poison’ sign. In 1870 the rabbits had become “excessively plentiful” and “the dingo … is fast disappearing, and over a great portion of the colony is already extinct, and the native cats to a great extent have shared the same fate.”40

Location of Bundera Well, on the Eastern Plains and boundary of Boolcoomatta.41 The paddle-steamer, which started at Mannum on the Murray River in 1853, provided an alternative trade route. The boats were able to go up the Darling River in good years, bringing down wool from the western pastoral area of New South Wales to be shipped at Port Elliot in South Australia. During dry years more and more cargo had to be freighted by land and across Boolcoomatta using bullock teams.42 Bullockies, the men driving those teams, delivered goods at the hotels and stores and stopped for a drink and a chat. The bullocks meanwhile would all lie down for a rest. Often a bullocky would swear and curse at his animals to get them all back up on their feet. However, an Oxford accented bullocky from Bourke in New South Wales was different. His bullocks would A typical bullock team, carrying wool rise and prepare to leave to the command, “Gentlemen, on your feet”. Needless to say that his way of addressing the animals amazed and amused any onlookers and those using different methods to get their bullocks going again.43

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In 1872 the South Australian Government completed building the overland telegraph line which connected Australia with London. It followed the route John McDouall Stuart had taken to cross the Australian continent from south to north.44 An influx of people

Many people came through Boolcoomatta and the adjoining unknown country. Lines of bullock teams drove along the tracks from South Australia to Menindie, including the mail runs and coach lines. Thousands of drovers moved cattle along Boolcoomatta’s stock routes each year. A loaded bullock dray took around one month to travel from Burra to the Barrier Ranges. It was a challenge to cross the great Eastern Plains between Boolcoomatta and Mundi Mundi because of the scarcity of water. Mingary and Bundera water holes were the last on the western side of this route. Some people got lost or dehydrated while travelling and fossicking for minerals along the way. Over the years several corpses were found on Boolcoomatta of people who had died of dehydration. Once tracks and water supplies had been improved Boolcoomatta became more accessible to travellers. Minerals were discovered in the vicinity, and the subsequent influx of people led to a considerable increase in lost or stolen stock notices in the newspapers and created some other problems. All strange horses, cattle, or other stock found trespassing on Boolcoomatta or Mungary Runs after this date will be impounded; and proceedings will be taken against any person removing stock from the said Runs without giving written notice at the Head Station. Richard Dewdney, Manager. Boolcoomatta, May 13, 1872.45 With the opening up of the country, mining exploration and the establishment of mines became more widespread.

Mining on and around Boolcoomatta The Burra mine had thrived until 1859 when up to 1208 men and boys had been working there. Once resources diminished and copper values crashed the mine rapidly declined. Some of the workers went to Wallaroo and Moonta copper mines south of Port Pirie, others to in the northern Flinders Ranges. Many were excited by talk about a goldfield in the Barrier Ranges which turned out to be a hoax contrived to steal a horse. Early in 1867 there was talk of another goldfield in the Barrier Ranges. In a newspaper report a Mr RB Smith recommended to travel to these goldfields via Burra and Kooringa and through Boolcoomatta.46 The Barrier Ranges gold fever did not last long, but other minerals were discovered. On and near Boolcoomatta Station copper and the rare minerals feldspar, beryl and some others were found. In June 1872 shares in the Boolcoomatta Copper Mining and Smelting Company were advertised.47 At that time Captain Trestrail worked at the mine and probably was the person who explored the hilly area to assess the viability of mining operations and published a report on 12 October. From my limited examination and operations there appears from the nature of the rocks, course, bearings, and underlie of the lodes to be every indication of a profitable and a permanent mine.48

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According to J. Gilmore, another worker, Captain Trestrail often was drunk for most of the week. In 1873 Captain Trevorah of the Wiperaminga Copper Mining Company came to Boolcoomatta to work at the copper mine. In the same year rumours spread about gold mines in the north-east. I hear they have found a quartz reef at Ulooloo with gold plainly visible through it. The reefs at Waukaringa and Boolcoomatta are said to look well. Many people think the North-East will be the gold field of the country yet.49 Cornish and Welsh men were experienced copper miners. Any copper town had square smelting chimneys built by the Welsh and round ones built by the Cornish. Some were built in deep gullies, traced up laying on the side of a hill. The Cornish Pasty is a tradition that can be traced back to the Cornish miners. They had their lunch while underground and ate a pastry crust filled with cooked meat and vegetables. The crust was twisted along the top to form a handle when baked. The filled part was eaten and the last part of the twisted handle thrown away if the hands were too dirty. Miners lived with their families in canvas camp sites close to the mines, and the life of women and children was extremely harsh. Water shortages affected everyone, and little drinking water was available. There were no allocated toilets for the large number of people, and any water run-off was collected for drinking. Diseases spread quickly and widely. A record of the Wentworth Shire, covering the Darling River area, recorded that diphtheria was first diagnosed in Australia in 1858, measles and whooping cough were two epidemic diseases between 1860 and 1880, and pulmonary tuberculosis cases peaked in both 1860 and 1887. Twelve year old David Murray died in late 1863 on Bimbowrie Station of typhoid fever.50 Income from mining also must have been low as kangaroo harvesting often was more profitable. Kangaroo numbers were high, the meat was freely available, and their leather was valuable. Some relics of those mining days remain on Boolcoomatta today. Listed for sale

Boolcoomatta was listed for sale first on 22nd May 1867 because “the proprietor was about to leave for England”. This sale never went ahead. The advertisement described the “first class sheep station” in detail. The above Station, situated in South Australia, 260 miles from Adelaide on the road to Menindie, from which place it is distant about 160 miles, together with the stock now depasturing thereon, consisting of 17,000 Sheep, … These sheep are very superior, the original stock having been purchased from the best flocks in South Australia, and great selection been taken in the selection of rams. The lambing having commenced in March, will be completed before the time of sale so that the purchaser may calculate on having nearly 8,000 lambs beside the sheep enumerated above. There will also be sold with the run: A small herd of cattle 2 teams working bullocks and 15 working horses The station is well supplied with stores and tools of every description, including well sinking materials, well gear, &c.

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6 Bullock Drays 1 wooden wagon, with harness for four horses Spring carts, harness, saddles, &c. The country consists of well grassed hills with saltbush and cotton bush plains, and is of the very best description for sheep, the stock at present on the run being in splendid condition. There are ten wells with an abundant supply of water, but these have not been enquired or used for the last 15 months, as there has been plenty of water at the numerous springs, large waterholes and lagoons. The total area of this magnificent property is 1,065 square miles. The advertisement gave details of the leases and their conditions and the considerable improvements to the infrastructure that had been made since 1859. At the Home Station, Good dwelling house with kitchen, store, &c Three cottages, built of stone, with iron roofs. Blacksmith’s and carpenter’s shops, also built of stone. Cart-shed, stockyards, and a well with good water. The woolshed is also built of stone, with iron roof, and is fitted with separate pens for 20 shearers. There are also on the run 20 out-station huts, with yards, iron tanks, &c. A mail is dispatched weekly from Adelaide, by rail and coach, to within 10 miles of the station; and fortnightly goes to Menindie, passing the home station. The agents would draw particular attention to the small number of stock to be sold with the large run, and also the fact that cartage from the Burra to the station can be had at £5, or even less, per ton, and that flour is to be had at the Burra at or under Adelaide prices, and other stores in proportion, and that the wool can be delivered to Port Adelaide for £7/ton.51 It is unknown why the property was not sold in 1867. John Beck stayed in South Australia until 1882 and apparently mostly lived in Adelaide. The expected sales price was not stated. In 1874 Alexander McCulloch bought Boolcoomatta, “40 or 50 miles north of the Burra” for £40,000.”52 There was no further information about inclusions in the sale.

61 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

Notes

1 Johnson, J.D. (2013). Family History Research project: Beck family of Kent, England. Unpublished. 2 Advertising. South Australian Register, 10 April 1850, p.2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/3932071. Accessed 2 January 2021. 3 Advertising. The Adelaide Express, 18 April 1865, p.1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207600808. Accessed 2 January 2021. 4 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications. Vol 1. 5 Obituary. The Adelaide Observer, Saturday 5 December 1903, p. 31. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19015705. Accessed 25 November 2020. 6 Manning, G.H. (1990). Manning's place names of South Australia. Adelaide: G.H. Manning, p. 206. 7 Advertising. The Argus, 8 May 1867, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5766215. Accessed 2 January 2021. 8 South Australian Register, 2 September 1890, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47282813. Accessed 25 November 2020. 9 South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. & Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd. (1988). South Australian Births, Death and Marriages Registrations 1842-1906. 10 Advertising. South Australian Register, 16 August 1871, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39256005/3959423. Accessed 25 November 2020. 11 Advertising. Adelaide Observer, 25 May 1872, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159434560/18824012. Accessed 25 November 2020. 12 Chatterings. Quiz and the Lantern, 22 August 1895, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/166453125. Accessed 18 November 2020. 13 Correspondence. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 10 September 1887, p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92869411/8781803. Accessed 18 November 2020. 14 A little wanderer lost. South Australian Register, Friday 2 September 1870, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39195698/3956481. Accessed 18 November 2020. 15 Statton, Jill & South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society (1986). Biographical index of South Australians 1836-1885. Marden, SA: South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society. 16 Government of South Australia (n.d.). State Records. Index for GRG 78/49 RAH Admissions, 1840- 1904 – F-L. Admission registers - Adelaide Hospital, later Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1840-1911 (GRG 78/49). https://archives.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/public/images/F%20-%20L_1.pdf. Accessed 18 November 2020. 17 Noisy inquest at Jamestown. Adelaide Observer, 7 March 1874, p. 11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159475561/18791759. Accessed 18 November 2020. 18 Obituary. Chronicle, 21 July 1917, p. 14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87606249/8620369. Accessed 18 November 2020. 19 Lemon, B. Created: 9 February 2009, Last modified: 12 June 2009. Harrod, Clara (- 1918). https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE4048b.htm. Accessed 23 November 2020. 20 Walsh, K. & Hooton, J.W. (1993). Australian autobiographical narratives: 1850-1900, pp. 34. https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Australian_Autobiographical_Narratives_1/eNfHNcPTUc 8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+Memoirs+of+Clara+Ellen+Campbell&pg=PA34&printsec=frontcover. Accessed 23 November 2020. 21 Vox. Out among the people. The Advertiser, 27 April 1937, p. 21. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41639333/2648263. Accessed 25 November 2020. 22 Auctions. South Australian Register, 22 September 1871, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39246477/3959920#. Accessed 25 November 2020. 23 Vox. Out among the people. The Advertiser, 27 April 1937, p. 21. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41639333/2648263. Accessed 25 November 2020. 24 The week’s news. Adelaide Observer, 26 October 1872, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159437346/18790582. Accessed 25 November 2020. 25 Vox. Out among the people. The Advertiser, 27 April 1937, p. 21. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41639333/2648263. Accessed 25 November 2020.

62 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

26 Simkin, J. Alfred D’Orsay Tennyson Dickens. (Sept 1997, updated Jan 2020). Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/PRdickensADF.htm. Accessed 5 April 2020 27 Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens. (13 August 2020). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_D%27Orsay_Tennyson_Dickens. Accessed 25 November 2020. 28 Mr. Alfred T. Dickens. Death in America. The Argus, 4 January 1912, p 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11643665. Accessed 25 November 2020. 29 Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens (31 January 2021). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_D%27Orsay_Tennyson_Dickens. Accessed 10 June 2021. 30 Tomahawk and quart pot. George McGillivray’s terrible journey. In Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW), 18 December 1929, Christmas supplement, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46547951. Accessed 22 November 2020. 31 Extracts from diary. Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW), 18 December 1929, Christmas supplement, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46547979/3262503. Accessed 22 November 2020. 32 Manning, G.H. (1990). Manning’s place names of South Australia. Adelaide: G.H. Manning. 33 Country News, Kooringa. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 7 September 1867, Supplement p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91265627/8388777. Accessed 22 November 2020. 34 Law and Criminal Courts. Supreme Court—Criminal sittings. Adelaide Observer, 23 May 1868, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/18800820. Accessed 25 November 2020. 35 Law and Criminal Courts—Civil Sittings. South Australian Register, 10 March 1871, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39254766/3955171. Accessed 25 November 2020. 36 Country News. Burra. South Australian Chronicle & Weekly Mail, 2 March 1872, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92270539/8393019. Accessed 25 November 2020. 37 Family Notices. Adelaide Observer, 12 August 1876, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159492010/18797173. Accessed 25 November 2020. 38 The open column. Road from Kooringa to the Darling. South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, Saturday 12 December 1868, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90949327/8395435. Accessed 25 November 2020. 39 Advertising. Southern Argus, 8 June 1867, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96870038/9480664. Accessed 18 November 2020. 40 Acclimatization. South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, 30 April 1870, pp. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92282960/8396639. Accessed 18 November 2020. 41 Progress of the State 1850-1920. The Mid North and Southern Flinders Ranges. Public Works 1892. http://www.southernflinders-midnorth.com.au/maps/map_pastoralmapsmain.htm. Accessed 18 November 2020. 42 Land Communication with New South Wales. South Australian Register, 19 June 1866, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41026373/3953989. Accessed 25 November 2020. 43 Thompson, P. (2007). Timelines of the Wentworth Shire: A concise history of our region with new information on local geology, ancient vegetation & fossil finds. Wentworth: Wentworth Shire Council, pp. 25. 44 Flinders Ranges Research (2020). The Overland Telegraph. https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/overland.htm, Accessed 24 April 2020. 45 Advertising. Adelaide Observer, 25 May 1872, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159434560/18824012. Accessed 25 November 2020. 46 Barrier Ranges gold-field.The Express and Telegraph, 1 March 1867, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207591719/22775156. Accessed 26 November 2020. 47 Advertising. The Express and Telegraph, 14 June 1872, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208377054. Accessed 26 November 2020. 48 To the Editor. Evening Journal, 17 October 1872, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196743965/22379946. Accessed 26 November 2020. 49 News of the week. South Australian Chronicle & Weekly Mail, 9 August 1873, p. 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93311027/8394276. Accessed 26 November 2020.

63 The optimist, 1866 to 1874

50 Withers. M. (1989). Bushmen of the Great Anabranch. South Australia: Published by the author, p. 68. 51 Sales by auction. The Argus, Wednesday 8 May 1867, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5766215. Accessed 26 November 2020. 52 Items of colonial news. Northern Territory Times & Gazette, 13 February 1875, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3143843/549486. Accessed 26 November 2020.

64 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

During the 1800s wool was the main form of income for primary production not only on Boolcoomatta but in the whole of Australia. Alexander McCulloch was one of the many Scottish immigrants who started work as a shepherd and later owned and successfully ran a number of properties. Alexander, and later his son Duncan, owned Boolcoomatta from 1874 to 1953, and during this time much changed on and around the station, in Australia and the world. Alexander McCulloch (1809 – 1890)

Alexander McCulloch was born in 1809 on Ochtertyre Estate, at the foot of the Grampian Hills in Perthshire, Scotland, where his father was a tenant sheep farmer. Ochtertyre was owned by Sir Patrick Murray. His son Henry planned to go to Australia and take up sheep farming. After observing Alexander McCulloch working with sheep, Henry invited Alexander to join him to manage the prospective sheep station.1 Ochtertyre Estate

Before leaving Scotland, Alexander married Margaret McEwin from a neighbouring sheep farm to begin life in Australia together. Henry Murray, Alexander and Margaret McCulloch left Glasgow in August 1838, travelled aboard the Orleana and arrived in South Australia in January 1839.2 Adelaide was a new town, and Port Adelaide was several miles away. Many new immigrants were surprised when Alexander landing there. They had to walk several miles to get some form of McCulloch transport for their goods and chattels and then find a place to set up their living quarters. For Alexander and Margaret McCulloch this was a tent which they built up in what is now the ‘Beehive corner’, in the busiest part of the commercial centre of Adelaide. Alexander worked first as a shepherd on a large landholding in the Gawler area north of Adelaide. The station had been taken up by Henry Murray and John Reid, who had travelled with them on the same ship. Turretfield eventually became the home of Henry Murray. While Alexander worked as a shepherd, Henry Murray travelled to Tasmania and New South Wales to learn more of the sheep industry Margaret in Australia. McCulloch In 1841, after only two years in Australia, Alexander leased land of his own further north, on the junction of the Gilbert and Light Rivers. He

65 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 tried farming wheat but this was difficult and he decided that wool production would be more successful. Alexander and Margaret McCulloch built their home near Stockport, north of Adelaide, and started their family. They had three daughters and three sons. The farmland in Stockport later was taken back by the South Australian Government, split up and sold on a credit system to small farmers. In 1856 the McCulloch family loaded their belongings into covered wagons and slowly drove all their stock in a north-easterly direction to settle at Gottlieb’s Well, just south of Terowie and around fifty kilometres north of Burra. Alexander was one of the many Scottish shepherds in Australia who had learnt to understand the land with its low rainfall. He knew how to manage sheep in this harsh country, and his economic practices helped to establish the family. Over time, the McCulloch family purchased a number of properties, including Princess Royal, Yongala, Baratta, Black Rock and Boolcoomatta. They were shearing at least 150,000 sheep on all properties together. Alexander took over the Princess Royal freehold estate at Burra in 1863 from John Tyler who also owned Bimbowrie Station which adjoined Boolcoomatta. Originally it had been part of a renowned Nobs and Snobs Special Survey block of 20,000 acres. The northern section yielded copper and the southern part was leased as pastoral land, called Princess Royal. He bought Black Rock Station, located north of Locations of the McCulloch properties Peterborough in South Australia, from John Williams in 1868. It was 270 square miles and came with 23,000 sheep. Alexander’s sons Alexander, called Alick, and John ran the station. Alick was the manager until 1875, when the government took over the land. By then the sheep numbers had increased to 64,000. In 1869 Alexander McCulloch bought Yongala, south-west of Peterborough from Daniel Cudmore who had suffered huge losses during the severe drought in the1860s. When the lease expired Alexander bought 53,000 acres as a Freehold Title and formed the Yongala Estate. This purchase was made possible by the Strangways Act of 1869, which stipulated that large stations were split for purchase by smaller farmers. Many owners of these smaller stations sold them again soon because they were economically not viable. In 1874 Alexander’s sons bought the Baratta station, located south-west of Boolcoomatta, from Andrew Tennant who had held it since 1863. In the same year the McCulloch family bought Boolcoomatta from John Beck. The property was managed by resident shareholder Arthur Tyndall. After the death of Alexander McCulloch in 1890, his youngest son Duncan held the main interest in the property. At this time Boolcoomatta was divided into 40 paddocks and was well fenced throughout. Vermin proof fence helped to control rabbits and wild dogs. Good dams

66 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 and wells provided water for livestock. The wool quality from the 60,000 sheep was increased over 35 years with choosing good breeding rams. Alexander McCulloch was not a public person, but in 1861 he was a Member of the House of Assembly. He and his wife Margaret supported those who were less fortunate. From 1871 to 1876, after the copper mining in Burra had collapsed, they gave Christmas provisions to poor families in the Burra area. The boxes contained A quarter of a Sheep, 3 pounds of Sugar, 2 pounds of Currants, 2 pounds of Raisins, 1 ounce of Spice, 8 pounds of Potatoes, 12 pounds of Flour, 4 pounds of Bread and a bottle of English Ale.3 Alexander died in 1890 at the age of 80 at his residence in Glenelg and was buried at the Kooringa cemetery. In his obituary his charitable work was highlighted, “which many residents have not yet forgotten.” He left two sons — Mr. Duncan McCulloch, who is now on his way to Adelaide from London, and Mr. Aleck McCulloch, and three daughters, Mrs. J. P. Boucaut, Mrs. Fielder King, and Miss McCulloch. His son John died about three years ago. Mr. McCulloch also leaves a number of grandchildren.4 The McCulloch family lived at the Princess Royal Station on the southern edge of Burra for many years. The town continued to be a busy centre for the surrounding pastoral holdings and the prominent sheep breeding enterprises in the area after the Burra mine had closed.

c. 1890 Commercial Street, Kooringa [Burra]. Flicker, SLSA

Arthur Tyndall Arthur Tyndall (1846-1911) was a partner of Alexander and, since 1890, Duncan McCulloch, and was the manager of Boolcoomatta from 1874 until 1908. He was born in 1846 at Oakland’s Estate in the county of Wexford, Ireland, and came to Australia in the 1860s.5 Alexander McCulloch first employed him on his Black Rock property. In 1874 Tyndall took up John Beck’s Mingary lease, located south-west of Boolcoomatta, and became manager and a partner in the Boolcoomatta property. By 1898 he had added several surrounding leases to his own properties which he ran in conjunction with Boolcoomatta. Tyndall left for England and Ireland in 1908. Apparently he had decided not to return, as he was a landholder at South Austiden, in the district of Glenealy in County Wicklow, Ireland. Tyndall had not been married while living in Australia, but he married Emily Frances Deane-Drake on 2 June 1909 in Wexford, Ireland. Tyndall died

67 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 on 1 December 1911 in Glenealy. According to his obituary, Tyndall “was widely known and much respected in South Australia”.6 Because Tyndall had been a single man while managing Boolcoomatta, the existing stone cottage would have been spacious enough for his needs. Probably before he left, during the early 1900s, renovations were made to the old houses. The photographs below show one of those houses. The middle section of the building may be part of the original cottage built in 1864.

Arthur Tyndall often was mentioned with a form of respect, and he was an entertaining host to the many visitors. He was proud of his excellent garden, which was needed to supply the vegetables to feed the many people working on and visiting the property. He had a weir built at the house dams and used the water to irrigate the vegetable patch. A closed-off hay paddock used any flood-out from the creek near the homestead, with some excellent results in the right years. Tyndall did not accept any nonsense and was not afraid to take people to court. In 1899, when Duncan McCulloch had taken over his father Alexander’s lease of Boolcoomatta, he accused Halliday of trespass with a damage claim of £200, for the defendant’s cattle on Boolcoomatta station, for destroying the fences, and for allowing the plaintiff’s sheep to escape. Halliday had leased the Government’s Mingary Dam in 1890 which adjoined the southern border of Boolcoomatta. He was allowed to keep up to six of his own cattle there and had to supply water to the public. Apparently he began with some forty head which he gradually increased, but he had only one square mile of country to feed them on. Around three years later Halliday took up around 3000 acres of land on the north-eastern boundary of Boolcoomatta, four miles from the dam. Boolcoomatta’s 40-mile paddock, which was reserved for the lambing season, adjoined this newly leased land. It was alleged that Halliday depastured his cattle on this and other Boolcoomatta paddocks, with 200 to 300 cattle. The issue came to a head when the defendant “claimed the right to travel his cattle daily from his 3000 acres to water at the Mingary dam, and so in effect to permanently occupy the plaintiff’s 40-mile paddock.” The court found that the defendant was liable for damages of £100.7 In 1896 Tyndall lost a court case. Hancock had sued him for £1-18 in wages and £5 for cutting posts and won the case.8 One week later the same plaintiff sued Tyndall and Simpson, a fencing contractor on Boolcoomatta, for £11-11 for post-cutting. A verdict of £5 was reached against Simpson.9

68 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Life and work at Boolcoomatta

By the time Alexander McCulloch bought Boolcoomatta from John Beck it had grown in size to 1080 square miles from the original 63 square miles the Tapley family had leased, incorporating Old Boolcoomatta and Benowrie. As the map below indicates, Alexander leased at one stage portions of Bimbowrie. Hall and partners bought new leases to the east of the original ones, including Benowrie, which became part of Boolcoomatta as lease 1651.

Section of a “map of the Colony of South Australia: showing the leased lands, agricultural areas, pastoral districts, mineral claims and the Counties and Hundreds of the settled districts.” c.187010

Work on infrastructure on Boolcoomatta was ongoing during the second half of the 1870s. Positions for stone masons were advertised, indicating that new buildings had to be completed. At that time not all boundaries were fenced, and additional dams needed to be built. In 1877 and 1878 Arthur Tyndall advertised for dam sinkers. A man, Charles Butters, died on Boolcoomatta through lack of food and water. Tyndall found his body weeks later and buried him on the spot. There were ongoing problems with stock intruding on land which supposedly belonged to Boolcoomatta. Four thousand sheep from Mundi Mundi station, owned by Whitting, were grazing at the Mingary waterhole on 25 March 1876. Before that, on 24 November 1875, two shepherds employed by Whitting were found with 5000 sheep and 30 head of cattle at Mingary hut. McCulloch accused Whitting of trespass and claimed £2000 in damages which led to a court case in July 1876. Whitting argued that the land was not the property of McCulloch. There had been some confusion about ownership of the land resulting from earlier lease sales because the land in question had been described wrongly in surveys. The court consulted the Surveyor General, George

69 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Goyder, and another surveyor about the disputed land. After a lengthy deliberation, the court “failed to see altogether that the plaintiff had a good title, and he must direct a verdict for defendant.” Because there still were some issues outstanding “it was agreed, to prevent a new trial, that if the Full Court should take a different view of the law, then the verdict should be for plaintiff for £7 10s.”11 This was not the only court case relating to Boolcoomatta. In 1887 Richard H Nelson was charged with forging a cheque of £213 which was supposed to be from Arthur Tyndall. The cheque was presented to the landlord of the Petersburg Hotel, together with a letter, asking to forward ten cases of whisky to Yunta Station, “indicating that the person ordering the goods intended to sell grog on the Teetulpa diggings. … [The landlord] was asked to deduct the price of the liquor and to place the balance in cash in one of the cases, which was to be specially marked.” The whisky was duly forwarded, the cheque banked and cashed. Nelson had been an overseer at Boolcoomatta and worked with Tyndall. After some debate with the defending Counsel the defendant was discharged.12

Changes in pastoral leases and names In 1888 many pastoral leases expired, and the government used this opportunity to review leases and their conditions. The Crown Lands Act 1888 was introduced which divided leases into three classes, depending on the existing conditions of the lease. The Commissioner had the power to determine the size of the blocks “most suitable for securing the stocking and development of the country and the utilising of the improvements thereon.”13 The cost of new leases was to be determined by valuation, and leases were to be auctioned within two years before or after the lease expiry date. Large leases were divided, and 28,000 square miles came up for auction. The process was controversial and led to more changes on Boolcoomatta and some boundary disputes because of unclear survey lines.

70 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

At this time Boolcoomatta was split into Old Boolcoomatta and Benowrie. Part of Outalpa, located to the south of both sections of Boolcoomatta, was incorporated at this time into the Old Boolcoomatta lease. Many accounts of life at Boolcoomatta after 1888 relate to either Old Boolcoomatta or Benowrie.

Section of Goyder’s Pastoral Lease Field Diagram of Boolcoomatta, 1888, Vol 1, p. 22. Lands Titles Office.

One point of the new legislation was the valuation of rents and improvements. Rent was to be determined by the carrying capacity of the land, and its proximity to railway stations, ports, rivers and towns. Only for Class 1 leases the improvements made on the station were to be included in the valuation and payments made for it. Improvements were not to be considered “unless the Commissioner shall be satisfied that the same were made bona fide for the purpose of improving the land for pastoral purposes, or for increasing the carrying capacity thereof …”. Improvements made after 1 November 1884 were not included in this provision and exempt from payment. 14 Richard Dewdney, who had managed Boolcoomatta earlier, when John Beck owned it, questioned the government’s plans in a letter to the editor of the South Australian Chronicle. His main concerns were the financial viability of the smaller blocks, considering the nature of the pastoral country, and the valuation system applied to the improvements. Dewdney argued that the north-east of South Australia was “principally saltbush country, with but little or no permanent surface water; consequently the only now reliable water is obtained by sinking wells, and some of these to a great depth.” Sheep farmers, including those on Boolcoomatta, have improved this country by sheer hard delving and the laying out of a vast amount of capital. Some of the wells have cost hundreds, I might say thousands, when you come to consider the number of bad ones that in some cases are sunk before one good one is got. … Then, again, the fencing. I am prepared to state that none of this has cost under £30 per mile, and some as high as £50. Then

71 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

there are the dams. … Besides all £ have mentioned there are woolsheds and other buildings, … all necessary improvements. … The whole of the runs now held by the squatters … are good and substantial. … How long they will remain so if taken from the present holders and the country cut into small blocks remains to be proved. Dewdney wrote that it was unlikely that lease holders would continue to invest money in maintaining infrastructure and controlling vermin if they would lose their lease in the near future. They had seen other stations that had been taken over by the government which had become “a mass of neglected ruins.” It stands to reason that appliances required for the carrying on of a station with 50,000 sheep would be too large for a man holding a block on which he can only carry from 2,000 to 3,000 sheep; as it must be patent to all, seeing that the country as it is will only carry about 50 sheep to the mile, that 20,000 acres or 32 square miles will only carry about 1,600. Therefore he must select blocks without these improvements; consequently those on which homesteads, &c, are situated will be left idle, and will soon go to rack. The rougher country must also be left out, and bear in mind there is plenty of this in the north-east. In his view landholders did not have sufficient time to recover the capital they had invested on their stations before the leases were to be taken over by the government. He argued the stations should have a “reasonable rental on long lease, with a certain and secure fixture of tenure, …” The process of the valuation of leases and improvements was another point of contention and uncertainty. Dewdney wondered how this would be done in this vast country and how the value would be arrived at. The problem of vermin and overstocking came up in a discussion Dewdney had with a Member of Parliament. The other day a member of Parliament asked me how it was that the kangaroos were so thick in the north-east, through part of which he had just had a trip. He said that during his journey he saw more kangaroos than sheep. He also remarked on the country being so bare even on the hills, and the bushes eaten off as high as a sheep could reach. Surely this question is easily answered, seeing that the country which at its best will only carry a limited number of sheep has now to carry about 10 kangaroos, besides rabbits and wallabies, to every sheep. Bunny and Mr. Kangaroo are always on the look-out for the young grass when it springs, … and all that is left for the sheep is the bush …. The best thing my friend the M.P. can do is to immediately bring this matter before the House, and state what he has seen himself; not talk about the squatters overstocking their runs with sheep, but point out to his colleagues and the Government the necessity of immediately taking action in so important a matter.15 The proposed changes prompted Alexander McCulloch to purchase the miscellaneous lease on Bundera Well on the eastern boundary of Boolcoomatta. It was valued at £10/10s annual rent.

72 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Sales of leases expiring in December 1888 began on 27 June under favourable conditions. For several months past the keenest interest has been shown in the disposal of the leases, the total area of land to be let being about 21,000 square miles situated chiefly to the north & north east of Adelaide. … The improvements on the lands which were offered were estimated to be worth some £430,000 which sum the Government will have to pay to the outgoing lessees. Under the new conditions the blocks average 130 square miles each, and range from 8 miles up to 539 miles in extent. The value of improvements also varied greatly, according to the situation of the land, but the Commissioner of Crown Lands was confident that excellent facilities were afforded men with moderate capital to engage in the pastoral industry, the lands offered being amongst the most choice in the colony and the improvements generally being of a substantial character. Although a large increase in the number of pastoral tenants of the Crown was hoped for as a result of the subdivision, there was nothing to prevent one person taking up more than one block, and therefore no guarantee was provided that the present number of vast pastoral estates would be diminished.16 The improvements on these properties included fencing, wells and dams, huts, yards, homesteads and outbuildings which had been valued by Goyder in 1885. During the first auction 13,162 square miles were sold, “and of the 128 blocks which were offered, only 31 passed in.”17 As Dewdney had predicted, the smaller blocks later proved to be unviable. A drought during the 1890s, high stocking rates, rabbit plagues, low sheep and wool prices, the size of the blocks and lack of investment in improvements because of insecure tenure all contributed to huge losses. Many had to surrender their leases, and 3000 square miles of pastoral country had been abandoned by 1896.18 Following the divisions of lands in 1888, John Swindon wanted to lease the 160 square miles Old Boolcoomatta homestead block on 1 January 1889. A controversy arose because he was able to access only 40 square miles that had been added to the lease from Outalpa because McCulloch refused to relinquish the 120 square miles Old Boolcoomatta section until the lease expired on 30 June 1889. Swindon did not pay the deposit required and his lease was eventually cancelled on 22 May 1890 for non- compliance. Even though the infrastructure on Old Boolcoomatta was in bad condition because of long-lasting neglect, it was valued at £4,832/6/9. Dewdney looked back on the issues that surfaced at that time in an article in the Adelaide Observer, published in 1923. An exceptionally high price was obtained at the sale on September 27 of Block 656, known as Gum Well, a portion of the original Boolcoomatta run, …, comprising some 1,300 or 1,400 square miles of good, but unfenced, fairly well-improved country. … During my time and under my directions, the Gum Well was sunk to its present depth. Taloo Well, a fairly large dam, east of the well, was put down, known as Symon’s dam, after the contractor who made it. … we received, for 28,000 sheep at 25/ a head, all sheperded, working stock, plant, and movables at valuation, from about £38,000 to £39,000, all in open, unfenced country. Today we hear of a small portion or paddock of some 38 ½ square miles, or 24,640 acres, being sold at auction, presumably without stock for 9/1 an acre. … In my day the country had not been eaten out by overstocking and vermin, and was probably estimated at

73 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

about 60 sheep to the mile. … Today, on not only that country in question, but most of that throughout the north-east and northern pastoral areas, it is questionable if 30 to 40 sheep could be exceeded with safety.19 Dewdney continued to be involved in reviews of the Crown Lands Act after 1888 and changes to the lease conditions and represented pastoral interests.

A gentleman journalist travelling through the north-east During the 1880s journalists were attracted by mining stories and visited the north-east country to investigate. Some came through Boolcoomatta and Benowrie and described what they saw and experienced there. One journalist, possibly John Johnson, described in detail his trip from Adelaide to the goldfields and back. He took a train to Terowie, which was in 1881 a bustling town with splendid stores, well-stocked with all necessaries and most luxuries; and numerous other buildings built or building, including a neat railway station, evidence the prosperity of the place.20 From there he took a coach with twelve other travellers in “an old rattletrap of a coach meant to carry about nine,” which brought him to Manna Hill sometime during the following morning and from there to Outalpa, which was reached at 4 pm. There he was left stranded as the ongoing “old rattletrap buggy” could not take all passengers. I found myself set down in a veritable desert with no means of getting on. Luckily my bush experiences of by-gone days came to my aid. But what was to be done? … Bimbowrie, Messrs. Crozier’s hospitable homestead was about eighteen miles away—to take the branch mail by buggy thereto, and either beg, borrow, buy, or steal a horse, saddle, and bridle. No sooner thought of than begun. Hastily unpacking my numerous travelling chests, without which no one should ever journey in the bush, I placed my guinea Woodruff in the hatbox, folded away my dress and morning suits, packed my white shirts, jewellery, gloves and toilet requisites regretfully away, and rolling up a hunk of yellow soap and a broken comb, three pair of socks and a couple of handkerchiefs in a towel, and the whole in a bush rug, was once more ready for the road. It is very hard to have to

travel without a belltopper and gloves, because people Gentlemen … might not know you are a gentleman. On Sunday I enjoyed Messrs. Crozier's hospitality, and on Monday, having bought a horse, saddle, and bridle, made a second start. So far there is nothing much to say about the route, except that feed was … and their attire. very scarce indeed in most places. … I started on Monday for the Barriers with Mr. Kennedy of Umberumberka .... via Boolcoomatta and Benowrie. … We got wet through to the skin by a steady downpour of rain, which caught us when going through the Boolcoomatta ranges. These ranges, which are the highest for many miles, are very rough and rugged. The formation is granite, slate, basaltic rock, with multitudinous veins, leaders, reefs, and blows of quartz, some of which “look keenly” for the precious metal. It is in this neighborhood—in fact close to the old station—that a small proprietary have been for years working a reef known as “the Clachnacuddin” … for gold and

74 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

getting it in various quantities, but from what I can hear the mine has never had a really fair trial. … We passed a curious rock, known as the Woman in White, near Boolcoomatta. It is the cap of a quartz reef which protrudes above the ground, and at a very short distance presents a most striking resemblance to a female dressed in white. The country hereabouts is well wooded with the timber usually found in the North. Mulga, black oak, prickly acacia, mallee, and quandong. Made Benowrie that day … and stopped the night, …. I was surprised at the substantial nature of the improvements both at Bimbowie and Benowrie. The woolstation especially at both stations, are equal to anything of the kind I have seen in Victoria, and that is saying something. They are substantial stone structures, iron-roofed, with room for twenty-five and thirty shearers respectively. Mr. Tyndell, at Benowrie, is going in for another kind of improvement that I should like to see more extensively practised—that is tree planting. He has tried a few to begin with, which are succeeding; they are pepper trees and white cedars. One of the formers, which was planted only last September has actually grown five feet six inches since that date. How is that for high? and does it not speak volumes for what our Northern soil will do. Verily we don't know what we may not grow yet. Leaving Benowrie the track takes its way over a wide salt bush plain, extending without a break to the foot of the Barriers, about forty miles distant, and which now begin to loom up in an imposing manner. Camped at midday at Bundra Creek, fifteen miles from Benowrie, where our 2 horses if not in clover were at all events in good grass, and with good water obtainable by sinking a couple of feet in the sand of the creek. The country hereabout looked much fresher, …. Animal life was more abundant. We saw numbers of turkeys, emu, ducks, and kangaroo. Another twenty mile stretch brought us to Thackaringa, about three miles over the Border.21 At that time Thackaringa was a very small settlement with one hotel, owned by Thomas James Joyce, and a couple of dams and tanks in the surrounding area. Similar to dams, tanks were usually a large hole to collect rainwater, and scooped out of the clay soil with ploughs pulled by camels or horses. The area was once a series of crossroad tracks leading to Menindee, Wilcannia and Milparinka. After an overnight stay at Thackaringa, John packed his swag and continued with Mr Kennedy on his trip to Mt Browne, a gold mine further north near Tibooburra. The tracks to the diggings were filled for miles with drays, horsemen and walkers, including some Chinese men wearing hats and carrying heavy baskets tied to a piece of wood across their shoulders. The two men turned off the main track and went to John Kennedy’s hotel in Silverton, a stone structure on the bank of Umberumberka Creek. He had purchased the hotel from John Smith/Smyth in 1878.22 Another reporter, possibly Ebenezer Ward, came through Bimbowrie and Boolcoomatta nine years later, in 1889, after the changes in pastoral leases had been introduced. He had expected to find some substantial infrastructure on Old Boolcoomatta, considering how high it had been valued for the lease re-structure. Instead he sustained a severer shock than I had previously experienced in these matters. What is dilapidation and depreciation owing to disuse and neglect in some places may be described as downright ruin.23

75 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

He described the Boolcoomatta country as comprising rough hills, not well bushed, but scrubby, with a little grass in places. There is an area of better open salt bush country to the north than on the track we follow. … The homestead at Old Boolcoomatta is going to absolute decay. Daylight is plenteously visible through the roof, and if a belated wanderer sought for a dry corner under cover on a wet night it would be difficult to find. The woolshed is very little better. It is open, exposed, and the very fittings are necessarily deteriorating. The men's kitchen is the most substantial building left, but even there doors are open and windows broken. There is a good well, but it is quite stripped of every appliance for raising water, even to the rope that once worked a windlass and the gear of an old bullock whip. Some of the prospectors who are looking after minerals in the surrounding country seem to make some use of the place as a camping- ground, as I found an old buggy outside and some fresh kangaroo-meat within one of the rooms. There are of course some other waters on the block and a good many miles of fencing, but none in very good order except where the adjoining lessees have made their boundary lines right. The reporter questioned how a lease with such run-down improvements could be submitted for public auction with a “grossly exaggerated estimate of the value of the improvements” at nearly £5000. While visiting the block the reporter saw some half a dozen horses wandering about at will … and the vermin have of course everything their own way, and consequently in this very favourable breeding season are increasing in a degree that will become a serious disaster to the holders of adjoining country.24 New Boolcoomatta, or Benowrie as it was called after the division of leases, looked very different to the neglected Old Boolcoomatta. In leaving the old Boolcamatta headstation ruins and the 160 square miles of country now allotted to them, on our way to Benowrie, it must not be supposed that we have seen the last of what is really Boolcamatta, as it has been known for many years. It really extends some twenty miles northward, and twenty-five miles eastward, under its original nomenclature, and to it has since been added by the old and present lessees a large area of “Manning's Country” still further north and of the Mingary country on the east, extending in the latter case, at one point, to or close to the boundary of New South Wales. But as the country was subdivided in 1888, with the view, no doubt, of putting a larger number of smaller holders upon it, the old lessees had the option of rejecting any block they did not want, while they retained the opportunity of securing all they cared to have. And thus at Boolcamatta, as at Oulnina and other places, the old head station block, overloaded as we have seen with a senselessly exaggerated value of improvements upon it, was declined with thanks by those who would have had no option if they had received an extension of their tenures instead of payment by the State for certain of their improvements. … Benowrie is the name given to the new head station of what remains to it of Boolcamatta proper, and that in fact is every inch except the one rejected block. It is nearly twenty miles from Old Boolcamatta to Benowrie, and the latter, which was in years gone by a sub-station, is much more conveniently

76 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 placed for working the country attached to it. For nearly ten years it has really been used as the head station, all the appointments are in spick and span order, and further improvements are in progress now. The first I noticed was a line of new fencing on the Benowrie side of the boundary, but on arrival at the station itself one glance around revealed the fact that here is one of the neatest kept and most conveniently arranged homesteads in the North-East, although the principal residence and some other buildings are not quite on the same scale of magnitude as some I have had to describe elsewhere. … The country varies very little from the ordinary character of the North- East …. Wide, open, undulating plains mostly covered with saltbush, with bluebush in occasional patches, and good grass in good seasons is as elsewhere a fair description of the average of the country. Several creeks, or rather creek channels, intersect the blocks, having for the most part a north to south course. There are surface indications that sometimes these channels are in flood, and then the waters spread over some extent of the adjoining flats or open watercourses. The Oonartra Creek runs close by the station, and there are picturesque gum-trees on its banks. The Mingary Creek, on almost the eastern boundary of the blocks, now reacquired, runs through them from the Kalkaroo paddock on the north to the Cockburn Railway line on the south. For other timber there are patches and belts of black oak for the most part, with mulga in places. In these scrubs the soil is lighter, with more limestone near the surface than on the open plains, and on Manning's country, still further north and north-west, more sand and more bluebush prevail. At Benowrie itself, however, there is plenty to admire both in the excellent arrangement of the place and the good order in which everything is kept. The lessee's residence, although not a pretentious structure, is well built, comfortable, and sufficiently commodious. … Quite a little shrubbery of pepper-trees has been planted in front of the house, and the trees are growing well. The Overseer's house near by is also substantially built of stone, and all the surroundings are well planned and useful. New stockyards, stables, and a buggy house are in course of erection, and, rare sight in the North-East, there is a goodly stack of last year's wheaten hay, well shaped and well thatched. It is the product of a cultivation paddock of about twenty acres, and from the size of the stack and the rank growth of the wheat, evidenced by the length and thickness of the stalks, I should say it must have averaged at lease two tons to the acre. Immediately opposite the station, and having a splendid catchment area from the same open water channel that gives this cultivation paddock, there is a dam which throws back a grand sheet of water for stock and even irrigation purposes. A compact and securely fenced garden and orchard adjoin it, and water is pumped from the reservoir as required, with the result that anything reasonable can be grown, and vegetables as good as can be obtained in Adelaide are available for consumption. The shearers’ kitchen and men’s houses are all of the same substantial character, and the excavation of a new rainwater stone and cement tank there are in progress. The woolshed is also well arranged, and has accommodation for twenty- eight shearers on the floor without double banking. The wool press is on the Macfarlane principle. There is, too, a place for everything, and everything seems to be in its place. The contrast presented here to the old ruins at abandoned Boolcamatta is about as strong as you can make it. …

77 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Leaving Benowrie for Mingary I travelled in a south-easterly direction for nearly twenty miles without reaching the southern boundary of the run. The paddocks passed through are all well improved, both as to fencing and permanent waters. Crossing the Oonarta Creek channel again and a narrow belt of mulga and black-oak scrub we are on wide open country well covered with saltbush, and the ewes with lambs there were all in good condition. From the higher rises the outline of the famous Broken Hill formation was distinctly visible, although nearly forty miles away to the eastward, and we could discern the smoke of the furnaces. There are several good waters in this direction, notably the gum well in one paddock and the gum dam in another.25 Some relics of this time were found at Boolcoomatta and are displayed at the shearers’ quarters. The branding iron had been found near the old Blacksmith’s shed.

Relics from the past: Sharp Rabbit Exterminator, Hand Shearing Blades, a Brass Bed Head, and McCulloch branding iron various other tools. Photo: Judy Johnson

78 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Wool growing Wool was the largest commodity sold from the Australian colonies at the time. It was recognised as the highest quality of wool around the world, and England, with its many processing and weaving mills, could not get enough of it. Life on Boolcoomatta centred around breeding and grazing sheep, shearing and selling the wool. Life stock was sold as well, and in 1877 Alexander McCulloch sold 3000 sheep at Kapunda in South Australia. They were in a fat condition, indicating that the previous year had been one with good rains.

Boolcoomatta/ Benowrie Woolshed, with homestead complex in the background. c.1890. SLSA B 9791

Merino sheep in South Australia were bred to adapt to the dry climate, and graziers knew that the area around Burra supplied some of the best breeding sheep in Australia. The method of removing the fleece from the sheep evolved over time. The original blade shears were long scissor-like metal blades which were pushed together. They would almost glide through the base of the fleece to remove the wool if they were sharp enough. In 1887 the Wolseley shearing machine was first imported into Australia to replace blade shearing. These machines were continuously improved, but shearing continued to be hard physical work. Shearing at Boolcoomatta started in September. Up to 28 blade shearers were working at the same time. Mechanical shearing was introduced to Boolcoomatta in the early 1900s. The wool classer and presser, rouseabouts and shed hands supported the shearers. Work started at 7.30 am and finished at 5.30 pm. The first ‘smoko’ was at 9.30 am, lunch at 12 noon and afternoon smoko at 3 pm. Shearers came as a team, and in 1880, a “Mr. WR Hunt reports having forwarded another party of shearers since last week to Boolcoomatta Station, in the North- East.”26 Planning for shearing started with advertising for shearing teams or contractors. Sheep were moved into easily manageable mobs that could be brought to the shed daily. Water and feed had to

79 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 be available for sheep held near the yards, and for shorn sheep in fresh paddocks. Yards were checked to ensure that sheep could not escape. Other stock work was completed before shearing, and many workers were involved in the preparations.

Shearing in the shed Blade shearing Merino sheep

The supplies needed for the shearing were ordered well in advance. They included the wool packs, ink, bale fastener hooks, stencils, grinding equipment for sharpening tools, chemicals for dipping the sheep after the shearing to prevent lice infestations, record books for wool and sheep. The station cook ordered provisions for any additional staff employed during shearing, catering for all those directly employed by the station. The shearing teams brought their own cook. Meals were provided according to the shearing time schedule. The wool bales were carted to the coast for shipping to England. Raw, white merino Because Australia had separate colonies until Federation in 1901, fleece Colonial Border Customs Taxes were charged when crossing borders. This made it uneconomical to bring the wool from Boolcoomatta to Menindee in New South Wales and load it onto paddle steamers to go down stream along the Darling and Murray River for shipping. Instead wool was taken by bullock teams to Burra and on to Port Wakefield or Port Adelaide. In 1885 forty shearers and shed hands were sent to Boolcoomatta. They went by train to Terowie and from there by coach to Boolcoomatta. Shearing was paid at 15/- per hundred.27 Shearing was an important part of Australia’s culture, and several films were made about the life of shearers, including The Sundowners, filmed in 1960, and Sunday Too Far Away, filmed in 1975 in the woolshed of Station in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Ward’s Folly: The Manna Hill experimental farm

In 1875 Ebenezer Ward established an experimental farm in the south-west of Boolcoomatta at Manna Hill which was managed until 1888. Ward (1837 - 1917) was a journalist and politician and had been appointed as the first Minister of Agriculture in South Australia until the position was disbanded in 1877. Manna Hill was located well north of Goyder’s Line beyond which no agriculture was recommended because of the unsuitable climate, but the farm’s aim was to experiment with cereal growing. George

80 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Hannaford was appointed as overseer of the 1280-acre farm. He conducted experiments, growing various grasses and cereals and treating seeds to improve germination.28 One year after the farm had been established the government appointed James Clark to provide a report on Mannahill. Yields of barley were sixteen bushels per acre, but wheat only yielded four bushels. Only about a quarter of the lucerne seeds had germinated, and nearly all fruit and other trees that had been planted had died.29 Hannaford reported in 1878 that “after spending £500 the farm’s produce was sufficient only to provide seed and fodder for the working horses.”30 A government well was constructed in 1884 with a tank, troughs, a whim and stockyards. In 1885 about eighty unemployed men from Adelaide went to Manna Hill to construct a large dam. They received rations, lived in tents and were paid 33 shillings a week. The town of Manna Hill was proclaimed on 10 March 1887.31 After the drought of 1888 the farm was abandoned, and people referred to it as “Ward’s folly”. David Ferry converted the farm building into “a comfortable eating house”32 One wet year the cropped area was flooded and the remnant wheat seeds germinated. Ferry cut the wheat and made chaff which he sent to New South Wales for a profit.33 From pets to pests—coping with feral animals

Leaseholders in the north-east of South Australia had to deal with many problems caused by the harsh climate and frequent droughts and, in addition, the impact of feral animals. Dingoes, wild dogs and rabbits were a major threat to sheep raising, and foxes and locusts added to the difficulties. Domestic goats went wild and bred up in large numbers, creating a serious problem for the growth of herbage, small shrubs and trees.

Rabbits The first rabbits arrived in South Australia in 1840. They were domesticated and initially were easily contained.34 In 1859 Thomas Austin, a settler, released at least thirteen European wild rabbits on his estate Winchelsea, Barwon Park in Victoria.35 He believed that “the introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting.”36 By 1864 rabbits had increased to such an extent in some parts of the colony that we have heard complaints of their committing all sorts of European rabbit depredations in the gardens of settlers. Perhaps some of our readers can suggest a method by which they can be entrapped.37 In the same year rabbits were included in the Games Act in South Australia and protected from August to December. In about 1870 more rabbits were released near Kapunda, north of Adelaide, from where they spread rapidly and joined with those spreading from Barwon Park in Victoria. Since the 1870s rabbits took vast amounts of sheep feed, and their underground burrows caused extensive damage to already fragile soil profiles. 38

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History and past rabbit control artserve.anu.edu.au

By 1877 a cannery for preserved rabbit had been established at Kapunda, and trappers were wanted.39 A journalist visited the cannery in August 1877 and found that hundreds upon hundreds of fresh rabbit carcases piled up ready for potting, and the thousands of tins in which others were already potted, it was difficult to believe that such an industry would not be sufficient to cope with the evil of the rabbit increase, especially when we were informed that in 17 days, from August 1st to the 17th inclusive, no less than 31,000 of the pests had been killed and turned into savoury food. … The rabbits are obtained by trapping, and about twenty men are employed in this work. Up to August 17 from the 1st the Company paid for trapping £162 3s. 3d. … Even the heads and skins are utilized, … the latter exported to England, where they are of service in making hats.40 Canned rabbit meat was exported to England and Europe, and in the 1880s Australian rabbit skins were being auctioned in their millions in London, a center for felt and hat making. Each Australian Akubra hat was made from the fur of twelve rabbits. Rabbits appeared east of Boolcoomatta, in Silverton in New South Wales, after the Umberumberka silver mine had started in 1883. With very little water or good garden soil, domestic food sources were improved if a few rabbits were kept as pets. A few years later, rabbits had become a pest, helped by the loosening of the potential burrowing ground through mining. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 1 August 1887 that the Silverton District was “greatly infested with rabbits.” Representatives of the Mines Department from New South Wales were visiting, and Mr Wade, of Mundi Mundi, told them that on Mundi Mundi some 50 or 60 men have been employed in endeavouring to exterminate the pest, but with little or no success. The expenditure in connection with this is about £6000 per annum, 75 per cent of which is refunded by the Government in the form of a subsidy.41

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The erection of a rabbit-proof fence at the border between New South Wales and South Australia was discussed with the representatives. Rabbits cross in millions from South Australia, all along the boundary line, and many bitter complaints are made by run-holders of the expense to which they are put in order to clear their properties, while nothing whatever is being done by the Government of that colony to prevent the spread of the pest. The pastoralists of the Western district contend that they ought not to be required to destroy foreign rabbits in addition to their own. The representatives proposed a scheme of fencing stations to solve the problem and “dispense with the subsidy as far as possible”. Richard Dewdney, manager of Boolcoomatta from 1872 to 1876, repeatedly expressed his view in 1887 that only if tenants have a secure lease they will improve the run and destroy vermin. At the same time the Government must destroy or cause to be destroyed vermin on all lands held by small holders, roads, &c. Then, and not till then, will prosperity return to this part of the country.42 In the same year the New South Wales Government offered a £25,000 reward for a successful method not previously known in the colony for the effectual extermination of rabbits. A few years later much work was done to control rabbits on Boolcoomatta (Benowrie). A visiting journalist saw in 1890 in the store two of the recently patented machines for rabbit destruction known as 'Sharp's Rabbit Exterminators.' A good deal is being done at Benowrie now, and, no doubt, more remains to be done in destroying the destructive rodents, and a party working by contract went out well equipped for a distant part of the run while I was there.43

Today a well-used Sharp rabbit exterminator is on display at the shearers’ quarters at Boolcoomatta. Another rabbit issue arose once the railway line to Broken Hill was built. It had many water reserves and dams, an ideal habitat for rabbits. No poison was to be laid nearby, nor would the railway company provide a rabbit-proof fence around the dams. During the 1950s the Myxoma virus, leading to Myxomatosis, was introduced into Australia to control rabbits, followed by the Calici virus in the 1990s. Today, rabbit control still is one of the targets in the management plan for Boolcoomatta.

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Locusts Australian locust plagues reached Burra in 1845 and since then were reported in South Australian newspapers. In 1846 they mainly occurred around Adelaide and the northern agricultural areas. In 1859 Hawker, to the west of Boolcoomatta was hit, and Burra endured swarms again in 1874 and 1875.44 In May 1880, locusts appeared in myriads on the Eastern Plains, about forty miles north of the Burra, and that the whole of the country is covered with them. Our informant states that although water is plentiful not a blade of grass has been left by these pests.45

Some decades later, while Keith Marsh was managing Boolcoomatta, a train slipped on its tracks at Cockburn, close to Boolcoomatta, because of the masses of locusts on the lines.

Australian plague locust nymph Australian Plague locust

Rabbits and locusts were causing huge problems to settlers. After the subdivision of the large properties in 1888, many were abandoned and neglected which led to an invasions of vermin. The Adelaide Observer reported in November 1890 from Cockburn that rabbits were becoming a pest in the township. Hundreds of them are running about making warrens under the houses and swarming the premises. Persons coming in from along the boundary fence report that for miles they are lying dead in such quantities as to cause an unbearable stench; as a matter of fact the effluvia is penetrating the air of the township so much that grave fears of typhoid are entertained. The locusts are showering down upon the roof and veranda iron like a hailstorm.46 As if rabbits and locusts were not enough, settlers had to cope with foxes as well.

Foxes Foxes were introduced to Australia in 1855 for sport and became established in the wild by the early 1870s.47 By 1893 they had reached New South Wales, and eight years later they were in South Australia. They would have arrived in the north-east of South Australia and around Boolcoomatta around 1890. Foxes posed a considerable threat to sheep grazing in the area as they preyed on lambs. Historically, the arrival of foxes in an area led to the demise of native fauna48, contributing to the extinction of some and the decimation of many mid-range mammals which are currently under threat.49 They can transmit Fox

84 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890 diseases to dogs and humans, such as Sarcoptic Mange, Hydatids and Leptospirosis.

Dingoes and wild dogs

Today, the term Wild Dog includes Dingoes, hybrid dogs, which are crosses of dingoes and domestic dogs, and domestic dogs gone wild. The Dingo (Canis dingo, Canis lupis dingo, Canis familiaris dingo) was introduced to Australia, probably by Asian seafarers, about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, and arrived earlier in Oceania, but always was regarded as native to Australia.50

In 1883, the “wild dog, warrigal, or dingo”, was known as “the only large wild animal of prey at present known in Australia”, and settlers saw it as “a fearful scourge … on the large sheep runs up the country”. 51 In 1888 a travelling reporter noted that fifty wild dogs had been destroyed within a few months between Benowrie and Boolcoomatta.52

In the mid 1880s stray dogs from Adelaide were sent to the north to become rabbit exterminators. Some of these would have become feral and crossbred with dingoes. The train with the dogs stopped at Terowie where one of the dogs was obtained by William Seth Ferry. He became Assistant Station Master at Petersburg, now Peterborough, between Boolcoomatta and Burra, and took his dog Bob with him. Bob loved travelling by train and eventually became known in the region as Bob the Railway Dog.53 A monument was erected at Peterborough to tell his story.

Goats Goats arrived in Australia with the First Fleet in 1788 and came to South Australia in 1837. In 1862 Isaac Hall and his young family had seventy goats on Boolcoomatta as part of his domestic livestock. Angora and cashmere goats were imported from Asia in the 1860s to develop the fibre industries. Price Maurice introduced the Angora goat from Asia into South Australia in 1870 to establish the breeding of goats on his 5288 acres Castambul Estate in the Adelaide Hills.54 Duncan McCulloch, who took over Boolcoomatta from his father Alexander, had also taken up Castambul Estate after Price Maurice's death. He ran a herd of Angora goats on Boolcoomatta since 1901. Stephen King, who had

the earliest pastoral lease of Outalpa later bred Feral goats in South Australia Cashmere goats in South Australia.55 Families connected to mining and railway work, who lived in areas too arid to run a milking cow, had goats to supply milk and meat. The goats could produce milk from picking at dry woody weeds. The feral goat population developed from animals which escaped or were abandoned, possibly also after a collapse in the Angora and Cashmere fibre production during the 1920s.56

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Mining on and around Boolcoomatta

Mining developments around Boolcoomatta continued. On Mundi Mundi, just across the New South Wales border on the Barrier Ranges, two men struck a mineral ore in 1875 while drilling a well. In the same year Julius Nickel and his mate McLean were sinking wells on Thackaringa and discovered the first silver bearing ore. The Clachnacuddan mine was established in 1879, located on Outalpa, about two miles from Old Boolcoomatta 57 and the present “Government House” of Boolcoomatta run is situated about twenty miles further east at Benowrie. The actual scene of operations is, however, on the Outalpa run, Messr. Heard & Foote’s. The reporting journalist was surprised when he visited in 1881 to find evidence of a considerable amount of work having been done in the neighborhood. … behind the buildings of the company there is an abrupt rise in the country in the form of a high and rough granitic range through which in all directions run veins, leaders and reefs of quartz, for the most part, however, rather too virginal in hue to suggest that it is actually … the true mother of gold. Such, however, is not the case with the stone of the low hill on which the workings are located. From across the plain the line of reef can be … traced, … showing several huge blows of likely-looking stone at various points of its strike or trend, all being strongly impregnated with iron. There were several huts and other buildings and a well, producing “an abundant supply of good, fresh water.” Those who first worked this mine thought it was promising and they appear to have had one idea only in view, and that was to quarry the stuff out whatever and however they could. The result of this … is a great excavation in the hillside … [and] nearly the whole of this mess of stuff— reef, walls, country and all—appears to have been put through the stampers, and the quantity of tailings heaped on the flat below confirms the idea. Despite all the mismanagement and from time to time … more or less gold was got. … [but] as the gold is very fine, much has been lost, and … the large heap of tailings will well repay the inexpensive labour of sluicing. The reporter and the manager of the mine agreed that the main “reef or gold-bearing stone” had not yet been touched and “that there should be a prosperous future for this mine.” Travelling to the Woman in White, a “cap of a great quartz reef”, the reporter saw numerous likely-looking reefs in this neighbourhood, and we were shown one on the Bimbowrie run which has been prospected, and from which good specimens had been got. The difficulty in the way of prospecting this promising neighbourhood is that in summer time the water supply is precious, and even provisions are not easily procurable.58 The Umberumberka silver mine was established in 1881 close to the border in New South Wales. Miners settled in Silverton, north-west of Broken Hill, which was established in 1883. Silver also was found at Benowrie, including at White Well. In 1885

86 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

excitement has been occasioned at Silverton by the discovery of a rich silver lode on Boolcomatta Run, near Benowrie head-station. It is in South Australia, and about 60 miles distant from Silverton.59 A number of companies with different names explored it. A prospectus notice of the Benourie Silver Mining Association from 1886 located the mine as 50 miles north-west from Silverton, 20 miles inside the South Australian border, and 20 miles north of the railway line at the 40-mile mark from Silverton station.60 The finds in this area triggered a chase for silver. Charles Rasp, the boundary rider on Mount Gipps Station, found in August 1883 a sparkly stone which he took back to the station. He showed it to his mates and the manager, George McCulloch. They wanted to keep the find secret until further investigation to prove the new minerals’ worth. Following a positive report, they formed a , with each member contributing £7 to form the Broken Hill Mining Company which was floated. This was the birth of today’s BHP Company. Initially no silver was found, but that changed in 1885, when the largest known silver, lead and zinc lodes anywhere in the world were discovered. These finds attracted unemployed miners from around the country, and most of the population of Silverton decided to move to the new mine. Broken Hill as a town was born.61 Copper was found in South Australia at Kapunda, Burra and Moonta. Prior to 1859 Burra had been one of the world’s largest supplier. Between 1845-1877 it produced 50,000 tons of copper. In 1851 Burra had the largest population, around 5,000 people, for any inland town in Australia.62 Tin was discovered on Poolamacca station, 50 kilometres north of Broken Hill. It later was named the Euriowie field and attracted in 1887 around 800 prospectors.63 In 1886 Teetulpa, about 30 kilometres south-west of Bimbowrie and 20 kilometres north of Yunta, became a goldfield. By December about 5000 men were working there. A post office opened in January 1887 and closed in January 1908, and Hill and Co provided a daily coach service. In 1886 the unsanitary living conditions for people on the Teetulpa goldfields caused a typhoid epidemic. The illness spread to travellers and into the surrounding local community. Children on Bimbowrie and Boolcoomatta died of typhoid. The Board of Health eventually supplied a marquee hospital facility at Teetulpa to isolate patients and prevent further spread of the infection. Forty patients were treated there by April 1887. More minerals were discovered in 1889 on Benowrie and three mines were established. The Cornelius Claim was 16 kilometres south of Benowrie, the Pimpeena Mine 1.6 kilometres west of Old Boolcoomatta Station and the Mingury Mine at New Luxemburg, about 20 kilometres south-east of Bimbowrie. An accident occurred at this mine in 1889. George Mast and his mate Hutchison were drilling a charged hole which had misfired, when the charge of powder was fired, dreadfully mutilating Mast’s face and eyes. … he was brought into the O’Lary hotel to await the 12 o’clock train to Petersburg. Hutchinson most miraculously escaped with slight injuries to his face and eyes and a well defined mark across his throat, …. Everything was done for the sufferers that could be, and they were sent by midnight train to Petersburg. Mast is in a very critical condition.64 The minerals needed to be shipped from the various mines to smelters and ports. The first state-owned railway in South Australia was opened in 1856 between Adelaide and

87 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Port Adelaide. From there a rail connection to Burra was completed in 187065. Between 1875 and 1880 the rail network in South Australia expanded from 200 miles to 2000 miles66. The Adelaide to Melbourne railway opened in 1887. One year later a narrow- gauge line was built from Port Pirie, where smelters had been built, to Broken Hill. This provided export links for the Broken Hill, and possibly also the Silverton, mines and made the Eastern Plains sheep stations easier accessible. The line went through the southern portion of Benowrie/Boolcoomatta across what previously had been John Beck's Mingary Lease. The towns of Olary, Manna Hill and Yunta, west of Boolcoomatta, were proclaimed as railway settlements in 1887. The trains and the steam engines of the mines in Broken Hill and elsewhere around Boolcoomatta needed wood for firing. Licenced timber cutters came onto the property and cut down timber along the creek lines for their income. At one time Arthur Tyndall ordered some timber cutters away from the homestead proximity, where they were cutting trees in the creek close by. Keeping it in the family

Alexander McCulloch died in 1890 and Duncan McCulloch, his youngest son, took over the main share of the company owning the Boolcoomatta lease. After he died in 1930 Boolcoomatta was run for a further 23 years as his Estate by his executors under the management of Keith Marsh and others. Alexander McCulloch had been a poor shepherd boy when he took up the invitation by the Murray family to head to a new country and take up a new life with his bride. In South Australia he developed into a successful pastoralist with extensive properties. Alexander died in Glenelg, Adelaide, at the age of eighty, but his body was sent by train to the Burra Cemetery, close to his his true home, the Princess Royal property.

88 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

Notes

1 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, South Australia: Lynton Publications, Vol. 1. 2 South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Soc. Inc (1986). Biographical Index of South Australians, 1836-1885, Vol 1-4. 3 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, South Australia: Lynton Publications. Vol. 1, pp 184. 4 Obituary. , 21 October 1890, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36031853/4744587. Accessed 29 November 2020. 5 Johnson, J. (2019). Family History Research.. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/. Accessed 2019. 6 Concerning people. The Register, 7 December 1911, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58945410/4507084. Accessed 6 December 2020. 7 Local Court, Petersburg. Tyndall v. Halliday. Quorn Mercury, 26 May 1899, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/213621929 8 Law and criminal courts. South Australian Register, Friday 26 June 1896, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/53704142/4092636. Accessed 6 December 2020. 9 Law and criminal courts. South Australian Register, Thursday 30 July 1896 p. 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/54837397/4418846. Accessed 6 December 2020. 10 Presgrave, J.C. & Edmonds (1870?). Section of Williams' map of the Colony of South Australia: shewing the leased lands, agricultural areas, pastoral districts, mineral claims and the Counties and Hundreds of the settled districts. MAP RM 1154. Adelaide: J. Williams. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231425821/view. Accessed 29 November 2020. 11 Court cases. South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, 22 July 1876, p. 16. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92253084/8383357. Accessed 29 November 2020. 12 Police courts. South Australian Register, 19 April 1887, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/4050999. Accessed 29 November 2020. 13 Government of South Australia (1888). The Crown Lands Act, (57). Southernflinders- midnorth.com.au/documents/1888crownlands.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2020. 14 Government of South Australia (1888). The Crown Lands Act, (74). Southernflinders- midnorth.com.au/documents/1888crownlands.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2020. 15 Correspondence. The 1888 leases. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 10 September 1887, p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92869411/8781803. Accessed 27 November 2020 16 The new pastoral leases—an important sale. South Australian Register, 9 July 1888, Supplement, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46871497/4051483. Accessed 27 November 2020 17 Ibid. 18 Barnes, N.J. (1997). Historical changes in land condition in the South Australian arid pastoral zone. The University of Sydney: Master’s thesis. https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/110281. Accessed 29 November 2020. 19 Pastoral Lease Values. Observer, 20 October 1923, p. 43. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164834534/19341985. Accessed 27 November 2020. 20 To the goldfields and back. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 30 April 1881, pp. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91281426/8725607. Accessed 28 November 2020. 21 Ibid. 22 Camilleri, J. & Broken Hill Historical Society (2010). Remarkable people, events and buildings of the past: Short stories relating to Broken Hill and district. Broken Hill, NSW: J. Camilleri, pp. 47-51. 23 Farm and station—Our north-eastern country, No. XII—Old Boolcoomatta. Adelaide Observer, 21 August 1890. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159551471/18934848. Accessed 29 November 2020. 24 Our north-eastern country. Its past history and present condition, with suggestions for its future treatment. No. XIII—Old Boolcoomatta. South Australian Register, 21 August 1890, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47275447/4061868. Accessed 29 November 2020. 25 Our north-eastern country. Its past history and present condition, with suggestions for its future treatment. No. XIV—Benowrie. South Australian Register, 29 August 1890, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47274482/4062161. Accessed 29 November 2020.

89 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

26 Weekly Labour market. South Australian Register, 6 September 1880, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/4062276. Accessed 29 June 2020. 27 Advertising. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 26 June 1886, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93764952/8384071. Accessed 28 November 2020. 28 Mannahill experimental farm. South Australian Register, 11 January 1879, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42976830/3996752. Accessed 28 November 2020. 29 North-east experimental farm. The South Australian Advertiser, 24 December 1878, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/29366652. Accessed 28 November 2020. 30 Manning, G.H. (2012). A Compendium of the place names of South Australia, p. 11. https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/M.pdf. Accessed 28 November 2020. 31 Ibid. 32 To the goldfields and back. No. I—Through the north-east. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 30 April 1881, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91281426/8725607. Accessed 28 November 2020. 33 Ibid. 34 Stodart, E. & Parer I. (1988). Colonisation of Australia by the rabbit. Canberra: CSIRO Australia. https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=procite:8a2505c9-e0e9-45fe-bb71- 9cb4e30f8069&dsid=DS1#:~:text=Domestic%20rabbits%20came%20to%20Australia,and%20on%2 0many%20subsequent%20occasions.&text=The%20rabbits%20from%20these%20two,the%20west %20coast%20by%201907. Accessed 12 May 2021 35 National Museum of Australia. Rabbits introduced. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining- moments/resources/rabbits-introduced. Accessed 6 June 2020. 36 Convict Creations. Failed rabbit control in Australia. http://www.convictcreations.com/animals/rabbits.html#:~:text=Failed%20Rabbit%20Controls%20in%2 0Australia&text=By%201900%2C%20the%20rabbits%20had,soil%20erosion%20by%20digging%20burr ows. Accessed 6 June 2020 37 This week’s news. Rabbits. Adelaide Observer, 2 July 1864, supplement, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159524995/18804600. Accessed 9 December 2020. 38 Stodart, E. & Parer, I. (1988). Colonisation of Australia by the rabbit. Canberra: CSIRO Australia. https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=procite:8a2505c9-e0e9-45fe-bb71- 9cb4e30f8069&dsid=DS1#:~:text=Domestic%20rabbits%20came%20to%20Australia,and%20on%2 0many%20subsequent%20occasions.&text=The%20rabbits%20from%20these%20two,the%20west %20coast%20by%201907. Accessed 12 May 2021. 39 Advertising. Kapunda Herald and Northern Intelligencer, 21 September 1877, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/134886295/10594802. Accessed 29 November 2020. 40 Northern rabbit meat preserving works. South Australian Register, 3 September 1877, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40790011/3981946. Accessed 29 November 2020. 41 Rabbits in the Silverton district. The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 August 1887, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13655756/1394014. Accessed 28 November 2020. 42 Letter to the Editor. South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 10 September 1887, p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92869411/8781803. Accessed 28 November 2020. 43 Our north-eastern country. Its past history and present condition, with suggestions for its future treatment. No. XIV—Benowrie. South Australian Register, 29 August 1890, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47274482/4062161. Accessed 29 November 2020. 44 Deveson, E (2017). Plagues and players: an environmental and scientific history of Australia’s southern locusts. ANU: PhD Thesis. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/133591. Accessed 29 November 2020. 45 Hints for Farmers. South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, 22-5-1880, p.22. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94753740. Accessed 2 May 2021. 46 Cockburn, November 12. Adelaide Observer, 22 November 1890, p. 15. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159555529/18935478. Accessed 29 November 2020. 47 Environment Australia (2010). European red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra. https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/1910ab1d-a019-4ece-aa98- 1085e6848271/files/european-red-fox.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2020.

90 Wool and the tartan empire, 1874 to 1890

48 Saunders, G.R; Gentle, M.N. and Dickman, C.R. (2010). The impacts and management of foxes Vulpes vulpes in Australia. Mammal Review, 40 (3), p. 181-211. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00159.x. Accessed 3 May 2021. 49 Personal communication, Kurt Tschirner, February 2021. 50 Bush Heritage Australia (2021). Dingoes. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/dingoes. Accessed 4 May 2021. 51 The dingo. Dispatch and Flinders’ Advertiser, 28 March 1883, p 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/202945514/22346390. Accessed 29 November 2020. 52 In the Olary and Bimbowrie districts. South Australian Register, 13 July 1888, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46873095/4051767. Accessed 29 November 2020. 53 National Railway Museum, Port Adeliade (n.d.). Bob the Railway Dog. National Railway Museum Blog. https://nrm.org.au/connect/blog/185-bob-the-railway-dog. Accessed 4 May 2021. 54 Loyau, G.E. (1885). Notable South Australians, or, Colonists—past and present. Adelaide: G.E. Loyau. 55 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A : Lynton Publications, Vol 1. 56 Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011). The feral goat (Capra hircus). https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/0b78ac9f-c442-4fe1-9f96- 8205f505a4c8/files/feral-goat.pdf. Accessed 29 May 2021. 57 Intercolonial mining in brief. The Queenslander, 19 July 1879, p. 84. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20327452/2251076. Accessed 29 November 2020. 58 A visit to the woman in white. The Express and Telegraph, 13 October 1881, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208195583/22860959. Accessed 29 November 2020. 59 Items of intelligence. The Pictorial Australian, 1 September 1885, p. 139. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224540946/23679710. Accessed 29 November 2020. 60 Advertising. The Express and Telegraph, 9 April 1886, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208434215/22866615. Accessed 29 November 2020. 61 National Museum Australia (n.d). Founding of BHP. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining- moments/resources/founding-of-. Accessed 1 July 2020. 62 Auhl, I. (1986). The Story of the ‘Monster Mine’: The Burra Burra Mine and its townships 1845- 1877. Investigator Press. 63 Kearns, R.H.B. & Broken Hill Historical Society (1973). Broken Hill, 1883-1893: discovery and development. Broken Hill, N.S.W: Broken Hill Historical Society. 64 Topics: Burra Hospital. Burra Record,18 January 1889, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36028164/4743861. Accessed 29 November 2020. 65 National Railway Museum (n.d.). A brief history of railways in South Australia. http://nrm.org.au/connect/blog/11-a-brief-history-on-railways-in-south- australia#:~:text=The%20Formation%20of%20the%20South,railway%20in%20the%20British%20Empir e. Accessed 14 June 2020. 66 Craig Cook, 2 July 2018. South Australia 1858-1890: The boom and bust years that shaped our state. The Advertiser. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/south-australia-18581890- the-boom-and-bust-years-that-shaped-our-state/news-story/c7ae1d77f11abc3e7836a30f48143ec6. Accessed 14 June 2020.

91 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

George Goyder joined the South Australian Department of Lands in January 1853, became Assistant Surveyor General four years later and Surveyor General in 1861. He travelled widely through the pastoral area, and his work influenced the settlement of South Australia and the redistribution of pastoral leases. In late August 1885 Goyder and his survey party visited Boolcoomatta and the surrounding properties to assess the infrastucture in preparation for the 1888 lease reform for which the values of improvements had to be determined. He was known for the thorough recording of his work, and his field books from 1885 were full of sketches, measurements and other details of improvements on the station. The drawings of paddocks, wells and dams often gave details about soils and vegetation growing there. By 1885 Benowrie had become the main homestead complex for Boolcoomatta, and Goyder made sketches of the buildings at the Old Boolcoomatta and the Benworie homestead precincts. Government house was the manager’s residence and very different to the simple hut on Old Boolcoomatta which Hall described in 1862, only 23 years before Goyder assessed the homestead buildings. Hall’s hut was about 45 ft long and 16 wide, with thick walls and built with mud instead of mortar. The low roof was of gum tree bark, the door frame of rough sticks and the door made of palings nailed to pieces of packing cases. The sketches reproduced here come from the collection of Goyder’s Field Books held by the State Library of South Australia and from the Land Services/ Lands Titles Office South Australia.

92 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Boolcoomatta and surrounding leases in 1888. Pastoral Lease Field Diagram (1885) Volume 1, p. 22. State Library of South Australia.

93 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Old Boolcoomatta homestead precinct. Field book 1, p. 22

94 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Old Boolcoomatta homestead precinct with powder magazine, garden, government house/homestead, three huts, stables and smithy, woolshed, kitchen and a well. Pastoral Lease Field Diagram (1885) Volume 1, p. 22. State Library of South Australia.

95 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Homestead on Old Boolcoomatta. Field book 19, p. 47

96 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Kitchen with adjoining bedroom and other buildings on Old Boolcoomatta. Field book 19, p. 46.

97 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Powder magazine, smithy, stable and toilet. Field book 19, page 49.

98 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Old Boolcoomatta woolshed. Field book 19, p. 45

99 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie homestead precinct. Field book 19, p. 27

100 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benworie homestead complex enlarged.

101 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie homestead. Field book 19, p. 30

102 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie Shearer’s Quarters, underground tanks, dairy and WC.Field book 19, p. 32

103 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie store and buggie shed. Field book 19, p. 31

104 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Woolshed and blacksmith workshop at New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie. Field book 1, p. 29

105 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie woolshed yards and cart shed. Signed by GW Goyder, 1/9/1885.Field book 19, p. 33

106 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

New Boolcoomatta/Benowrie cultivation paddock. Field book 18, p. 34

107 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Boolcoomatta east and west paddocks with dams. Fieldbook 18, p. 71

108 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Detailed description of Deep Well. Fieldbook 19, p. 63

109 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Dams at Deep Well. Field book 19, p. 64

110 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Map of White Well Paddock and Dome Rock. Field book 19, p. 36

111 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Dome Rock and Angel’s Camp paddock. Field book 19, p. 37

112 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

White Dam with vegetation description. Field book 19, p. 65

113 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Lower Mingary dam. Field book 18, p. 77

114 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Old Mingary Dam. Field book 19, p. 52

115 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Bundera Well with buildings. Field book 19, p.60

116 Sketches of Boolcoomatta in 1885

Millirooka Well and Dam. Field book 19, p. 39

117 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Duncan McCulloch, Tyndall and Co

Duncan McCulloch (1852-1930), the youngest son of Alexander, took over the major share in the company leasing Boolcoomatta in 1890. The station was subdivided into forty paddocks, and is well fenced throughout. Vermin proof fencing had greatly reduced the dog and rabbit pests. Water is amply provided by dams and wells so that the owners can look forward to anything but a very exceptional season without fear. 1 The McCulloch family ran the station from 1874 to 1953, and during those nearly eighty years life changed considerably on Boolcoomatta and in the rest of the Australia and the world. Partners and managers

Under the McCulloch ownership, Boolcoomatta was initially managed by Arthur Tyndall who had joined the family business before 1874. From 1874 the name of the trading partnership was A. McCulloch and Co. The partners were Alexander McCulloch (senior), Alexander McCulloch (junior), John McCulloch, Duncan McCulloch, Fielder King and Arthur Isaac Tyndall. Following the deaths of the senior Alexander McCulloch in 1890, his son John and son-in-law Fielder King, the partnership was no longer valid. It changed in December 1891 and was renamed to McCulloch, Tyndall and Co. The new partners were Alexander (Alick) McCulloch, Duncan McCulloch, Arthur J Tyndall and Margaret King (nee McCulloch).2

Boolcoomatta (Benowrie) Station Buildings. View from near the dam looking towards the Singlemen’s Quarters at right. Left to right: Fence and stables, Blacksmith’s, unknown buildings behind and the Singlemen’s Quarters, in the 1890s. Photograph courtesy of G Badger

118 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Arthur Tyndall remained on Boolcoomatta as a manager until shortly before his retirement to Ireland in 1908. He also held the lease of Mingary, previously owned by John Beck, and other Boolcoomatta/Benowrie leases later. His time at Boolcoomatta is described in the previous chapter.

The McCulloch family Following the death in 1890 of Alexander McCulloch, most of his family were living in England but his widow, Margaret McCulloch remained in Glenelg where the family had been living. Alexander and Margaret had three daughters and three sons. One of the daughters, Margaret, married Fielder King, who was manager of the McCulloch’s Yongala Station and a partner in Boolcoomatta station. For a decade after his father’s death, the oldest son Alexander

(Alick) lived with his wife on Princess Royal, another McCulloch Alick McCulloch property. Together with his brother John he managed Black Rock Station. John died at the age of 39, two years before his father. Duncan was the youngest of the family. He gained his sheep and farming knowledge mainly while growing up on the family properties of Gottlieb’s Well Run, Princess Royal and Yongala. He left Australia at the age of 21 and travelled extensively throughout Europe and America. He married Florence Ebbs of Ireland County Wicklow and resided in England for many years, presumably in Sussex, the county south of and near London. After his father’s death in 1890 he received the major share in Duncan McCulloch Boolcoomatta Station. Duncan must have come back to South Australia for a while. He purchased land near Klemzig, Adelaide, which he named Eldrotrilla, after his father’s first station. Here he started to breed the strong Welsh Cob horses. It is likely he took some of them out to the stations for crossing with lighter bodied horses to breed body strength.

Welsh cob horses at Eldrotrilla

119 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Duncan McCulloch died in England in 1930.3 From then on Boolcoomatta Station was run by the Executors of his estate until 1953, when it was sold to PL Puckridge. At that time it was regarded as one of the best grazing properties in the north-east of South Australia.4

Daniel Meehan Daniel Meehan followed Tyndall as manager on Boolcoomatta in 1908 and stayed in that position into the early 1920s. He was born around 1856 and was the son of the publican of Kooringa, now a part of Burra. In 1883 he married Louisa Smith, and they had two daughters and one son. Louisa died at the age of 30 in Yorktown while Daniel worked at Orrie Cowie, a sheep station.

Orrie Cowie Station Hut c. 1906.

SLSA [B 24536] Orrie Cowie Station, c. 1890, SLSA [B] 30586

After the death of his wife Daniel cared for his three children aged seven, six and four while working on the station. Six months after the death of his first wife he married Hanorah McMahon who also was of Irish descent.5 They had two sons and three daughters, but the oldest son died shortly after his birth. The names of the Meehan children caused some confusion as Maisie was called Louie, Ellen was Louise and Daniel junior was Jack. In some newspapers articles the names of the children were mixed up, and it was impossible to determine who they were, and who those on photos were. The family had moved to Boolcoomatta some years before Daniel became the manager. The Meehan children, and other children living on the station, would have had some form of education. In 1906 Boolcoomatta’s school room was advertised as the voting place for the area. The family must have been successful in growing vegetables as the garden produced huge pumpkins. One was displayed at a butcher shop in Hindmarsh “which when picked weighed 128 lb.”6 The whole family was involved in life on the station, including in the Boolcoomatta Glee Club which had been established to entertain people working and living in the area. In 1908 Masters J & P Meehan and Misses E & N Meehan performed in an event at the Boolcoomatta woolshed. Miss E would have been Ellen who was 25 years old at the time, but it is uncertain who the other Meehan children were as the initials do not match their names.

120 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Some of the Meehan children around 1900. Both photos courtesy of the Meehan families. Meehan family at Boolcoomatta c.1900. Genny Badger collection. L-R standing: Louie, Ellen, Daniel; Seated: Father-Daniel and Mother Hanorah Meehan. Front: Catherine, Bridget, Norah.

Jack Meehan (Daniel junior) was accidentally shot in the foot in 1912. He had come back from attending to his horse in the evening and gone to the quarters of the station hands. Several of the men were discussing an old rifle, one of them tested the trigger without knowing that it was loaded, and it went off. Thankfully it was pointed downwards, and the bullet hit Daniel’s right foot near the ankle joint. He was driven to Mingary and placed on the train to Broken Hill for medical attention.7 Daniel’s second wife died in 1918 in North Adelaide, aged 53. At this time son Daniel junior lived in Hindmarsh, a suburb of Adelaide. His father was around 64 years old when he left Boolcoomatta in the early 1920s to move to Adelaide and be closer to some of his family. A Daniel Meehan was a licensee of the Black Swan Hotel at 65 North Terrace in Adelaide for seven months during 1924. Daniel Meehan Senior died in 1934 in Adelaide, at the age of 78 years.

Keith Marsh Keith Marsh took up the management of Boolcoomatta from Daniel Meehan at the latest sometime during 1922. He was born in May 1895 in Darwin and enlisted for war service in November 1916, served as a trooper and was sent to Egypt, Gallipoli and Palestine. At one time he contracted malaria and was taken to the General Military Hospital in Cairo. Keith returned to Australia in August 1919 on board the Dunluce Castle ship. His parents were then running the Burra post office. Marsh started to work as a jackeroo on Boolcoomatta, was appointed as overseer in 1920 and one or two years later as manager. He held this position until 1953,

when the McCulloch estate was sold to Boolcoomatta homestead Home of Keith Marsh, 1933 Percy Puckridge. He was living in the Chronicle, 18-5-1933, p. 36 overseer’s home, which is today the Bush Heritage Reserve Manager’s residence. In

121 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

1935 he married Laurel Gwendoline [Dolly] Gepp, and they had at least two daughters. The oldest was named Janice Gaye. Dolly Marsh probably was the teacher of the children who most likely were taught by correspondence as the School of the Air only started in the early 1950s. In 1954 Gaye, who was 13 years old at the time, won the first prize in a colouring competition of the Chronicle newspaper.8 Newspaper articles mentioned different managers of Boolcoomatta during the early 1920s, but they may mixed up Old Boolcoomatta and Benowrie/ New Boolcoomatta. In a report about a court case about a shearing strike on Boolcoomatta in 1922, a man named Hall gave evidence as “the manager of the station”9 The Adelaide Chronicle reported in 1946 that Ron Whyte “managed Boolcoomatta from 1921 until 1924, when he and Norman Coles acquired Depot Springs.”10 Changes in Boolcoomatta leases

The Government re-structuring of leases in 1888 had been controversial. In 1897 the Pastoral Commission of the South Australian Government travelled around stations to see the effects of the changes firsthand, accompanied by a journalist who reported on the trip.11 They visited Boolcoomatta, called Benowrie by the reporter, travelling by train to Cockburn and from there by road. They came through an area that had been taken up by Mr Peter Waite which illustrated the problems with small lease parcels. … the history of this part is a curious one. Some years ago the lease fell in, and an agitation by the people of Cockburn resulted in the land being cut up into small blocks, to be held and worked on somewhat the same principles as the homestead leases in more settled parts. Of course they were made much larger than the latter, and the intention was that the holders should be able to stock their blocks with a few hundred sheep each, and probably go in for a little dairying and other pursuits. The whole scheme was a dismal failure, as was to be expected. There is not a gallon of natural water anywhere near the blocks, and expensive development work was of course beyond the means of those who would be likely to take up such small holdings. There were no applications for them until they were offered for the second time two years later. Then two were let to residents of Cockburn, and the balance was given to a man who did very little with it, and after two years' occupation sold the lease to Mr. Waite. That gentleman is now spending a lot of money in developing the holding, and the fact that he is prepared to go in for expensive improvements on leases subject to resumption by the Government at six months' notice with payment for improvements to be reckoned only according to their value as calculated on the unexpired term of the lease shows that he must have considerable confidence in the administration of the Crown Lands Department. The blocks originally formed a part of the old Boolcoomatta run, … On the way to Boolcoomatta, the party came across plenty of saltbush and bluebush. The opinion is steadily growing amongst those who have studied the all important question of the conservation of the saltbush that this plant is really the South Australian lucern and can be preserved indefinitely by alternate 'spelling' and moderate eating down by sheep, which has the same effect on the bush as pruning. If, after a fairly

122 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

severe trimming, it is allowed a 'close season' it will recover quickly and be better than ever, but when the sheep get back to it too soon the tender young shoots are carefully selected by the 'jumbuck,' which, if silly enough in other things, knows a bit of good feed quickly enough, and so the growth is stopped for at least one year. … Once through the boundary fence into Benowrie a sad change came over the country, and the members of the Commission had an opportunity of seeing for themselves a specimen of the effects of the 'eating out' which is going on over wide areas of the pastoral lands, and is slowly but surely ruining one of the most, if not the most, important industries the colony has. It was pitiful. The paddock contains about 35 square miles, and has only one watering place. All the bush near it has been practically destroyed, not as might be supposed by overstocking, but simply because the sheep naturally stay in the vicinity of water as long as they can, and do not travel any further than they can help. In the opinion of the reporter the lack of improvement with additional watering points was not the fault of the manager, Mr. Tyndall, but of the lease conditions. Under the present legislation Mr. Tyndall cannot be expected to do this, as his run is chiefly Class I country, or what are known as the '1888 leases,' which give only 21 years tenure. That leaves but 12 years further term, and judged by the experiences of Mr. Waite the lease would probably be near expiry before any benefit could be derived from the improvements, even if the work was commenced at once. The question of lengthened tenure is one which must seriously engage the deliberations of the Commission, as in the opinion of most pastoralists nothing short of an extended term, with security against resumption in country which is proved to be unfit for agriculture or for small holdings, will revive the sadly depleted pastoral industry. At Benowrie we were most hospitably welcomed and entertained by Mr Tyndall who did all in his power to make the visitors comfortable. The head station is a very complete collection of buildings, and Mr Tyndall’s house is replete with the comforts not to be found on every sheep-run. The evening was pleasantly spent on the wide veranda where the cooling night breezes considerably freshened up those of the party who were feeling the effects of the long, hot drive of about forty miles. For two or three hours the visitors were entertained with song and story by certain of the travellers, several of whom developed quite unexpected talent in that direction. In the morning all were about at sunrise, so as to be able to have a look at the shearing operations which were going on. About 50,000 sheep will pass under the shears this year, and the clip was turning out very well considering the awful season experienced. The garden which is a special feature of Benowrie, was the theme of general admiration, and a hurried inspection of the station buildings and dam was made before we bade adieu to our kind host.12 In 1920 several leases in the southern and south-eastern sections of Boolcoomatta were sold at a good price, which together were 250 square miles (64,750 hectares). They were the Mingary West and East paddocks, Bundera South, Lake's Folly, Gum Well, North Gum Well, Cutana and Junction paddocks.13 One reason for the sales could have been that Duncan McCulloch was then aged 68, had spent most of his years living abroad and may have been eager to reduce his assets in Australia. His right-hand man and partner in Australia, Arthur Tyndall had returned to Ireland and died there.

123 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Gum Well was purchased in 1920 by AF Heinrich, to be added to his Aroona station to the south. After his death three years later, it was purchased by A and D Fotheringham, who were returned soldier settlers.14 Its improvements included [Three] Dams, Well, 130 feet, well timbered, good supply fitted with Metters Windmill, Stone & Iron troughs, Sheep troughs, 2 Iron Huts, about 40 miles fencing in good order. The country is conveniently situated and carries good bush and grass and is in good heart. The splendid provision for water supply renders it a very valuable grazing proposition.15 Tradespeople were affected by the land transactions, and some had to sell their equipment. The estate of G Sampson put up for auction “all the Mingary and Boolcoomatta dam-sinking plant.” It included 114 horses, trolleys, wagons, tents, harnesses, wagon saddles, buck-scrapers and tumbling tommies, mud scoops, dam sinking ploughs, drays, blacksmith’s tools, blower anvils and vices, square tanks and sundries. The horses were “first class Draughts, … in good condition, and the large plant is in tiptop order.”16 In 1925 several lots of Boolcoomatta’s northern section were advertised for sale, a total of 112,405 hectares. They included Bundera north, Kalkaroo east, north and west, Johnny’s Hill, Johnny’s Hill west, Mooleulooloo, Manning’s north, and Manning’s Well paddocks.17 One newspaper reported that Bundera north, Kalkaroo east and north were sold to EJ Andrews, the owner of Wadnaminga Station, about 50 miles away18. They were actually sold to the Mutooroo Pastoral Company who had wanted a north to south stock passage on the eastern side of Boolcoomatta for some time. The others lots were passed in.19 The paddocks sold were later named St. Andrews in honour of Andrew Smith, who had been the manager of the company for many years and had died a few months before the purchase. He was the father of the famous aviators Sir Keith and Sir Ross Smith. The discussion of the disadvantages of the 1888 subdivisions continued in 1925. Movement of stock between unconnected paddocks was one issue. The Commissioner of Crown Lands had asserted that Crown Lands rents were too low which was criticised by the secretary of the Mutooroo Pastoral Company, Mr. H. R. Adamson, who stated that the three blocks purchased from Boolcoomatta had been required by Mutooroo to get a right-of-way between their Mulyungarie and Lake Dismal country. For years past continued endeavours had been made to obtain some means of getting their stock transferred without having to inconvenience their neighbours, and there was ample evidence of this in the possession of the Surveyor-General. In addition, there was the fact that the remaining six blocks were withdrawn from the auction when the reserve price of 4/6 per acre was not hid. It became perfectly clear, therefore, that the price paid by the Mutooroo Company by no means represented the actual intrinsic value of the land to anybody else. The secretary of the Stockowners Association, Mr Virgo, criticised the Minister’s remarks that the Act legislating lease conditions at the time favoured the pastoralists to the disadvantage of enabling subdivisions. Mr Virgo drew attention to the early 1900s, when the whole of the pastoral area was in the throes of a severe drought, when a portion of the country was either abandoned, or on the point of being abandoned, and the Government of the day asked the then tenants or lessees under what terms and conditions they were prepared to continue, and the reply was that all that was wanted was fixity of tenure, and

124 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

tenants' rights to improvements. At that time, about 1902, the Government was relieved of heavy liabilities and repaid the expenditure already incurred—in return for which fixity of tenure was given to the tenants—at rentals which were settled by negotiation with the Pastoral Board, … The history of the north-east country where subdivision had taken place was that the small lessees had overstocked the country much beyond its carrying capacity, had spent no money in improvements, and had converted what had been sound pastoral country into useless drifting sand paddocks, devoid of all natural bushes, and a menace to all neighbouring lessees fences, and today the north eastern subdivided country was a monument to the folly of overstocking and subdividing country which could only be stocked and developed by men of capital and in large areas. … The policy of the present Minister would … bring about the same trouble in the pastoral industry as that which occurred in 1888, just as soon as the price-of wool receded from the present extreme sum.20 Members of Parliament visited the north-east pastoral country in 1929, at the start of the Great Depression. The aim of the trip was for legislators to gather firsthand knowledge about lease conditions before further discussion of the Pastoral Bill which had been shelved during the last session of Parliament. They went for over a week from Burra to several stations, including Boolcoomatta and Bimbowrie. There had been seven years of below average rainfall, and the visitors were agreeably surprised to find that on the larger holdings the lessees were successfully carrying up to 40 sheep to the mile in really good condition. Many of the holders of the smaller leases—up to 100 square miles—were finding it almost impossible, however, to withstand the continued drought. At numerous places they had been so hard-pressed for feed that the edible bushes had been almost ruined and the sheep were in consequence in poor condition. The party was favourably impressed by the management of various stations. There was being displayed enterprising optimism in the work. Fencing, boring, and dam-sinking, the further necessity for which had been caused by the drought, were proceeding in all directions.21

Boolcoomatta homestead 1929, during the Pastoral Board visit

A more detailed report described the situation at Boolcoomatta station. A call was next made at the Boolcoomatta head station, which is 54 years old. The lease has another 14 years to run. This property is now owned by Messrs. D. McCulloch & Co., and Mr. K. Marsh is manager. It enjoys an average rainfall of 8¼ inches, is 340 square miles in extent, and runs

125 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

between 11,000 and 12,000 sheep. During the last seven years the owners have spent £20,000 in improvements, and last year £3,000 was expended in wells and bores, many of the latter proving failures.22 Three months later another group of parliamentarians agreed to another journey to explore the lease issues.23 The changes in lease conditions were one part only of many changes taking place in Australia during the 1890s and the early 20th century. Life and work on Boolcoomatta Station

During the 1890s Australia experienced a recession and the banks crashed, but gold discoveries around Coolgardie in Western Australia rescued the economy. Unionism began and led to shearing strikes, causing problems for the wool industry. South Australia gave women the right to vote. People increasingly developed their independence from England, and the separate colonies were planning a Federation of Australia. In 1910 Boolcoomatta station invited tenders for building a forty mile long vermin proof fence on the boundary to Bimbowrie.24 One year later the telephone reached the station.25 Sometimes the top line of the station fence was used as the telephone line. By 1914 Boolcoomatta had a school room which served in that year as an election venue26, and children living on the station would have gone through at least part of their schooling there. Despite all the changes on and around Boolcoomatta, in South Australia and Australia overall, life on the station went on with its rhythm of stock work, shearing and wool sales.

Drought and rain As between 1860 and 1864, when Dr Isaac Palmer and his partners experienced a severe drought, graziers had to cope with yet another series of dry years from 1895 and 1902. This included the Federation Drought which affected vast areas of Australia and peaked in 1901 and 1902. Sheep numbers in the country dropped from around 91 to 54 million. The Darling River ran dry throughout the Balranald and Deniliquin areas in New South Wales. Many landholders were forced to walk off their properties, and others leased additional pastoral land. The number of rabbits increased, and wild dogs came to feed on them. Another run of dry years preceded the beginning of World War One in 1914. Good rainfalls often were newsworthy, as were droughts. Thirty years later, in November 1932 Boolcoomatta “had one and a half to two inches of rain between Milarooka and Mundiana, with 37 points at the homestead.”27 One year later more good rains fell on the Cockburn district, and the land in the Mingary area resembled a “veritable feed Paradise”.28 This last rain followed a dry spell earlier in the year. In April 1933 pastoralists on the properties along the Cockburn railway line were apprehensive regarding a successful lambing, as the sheep are in a weak condition, according to advice received from a grazier in the affected area. … Many pastoralists have never seen the country looking so dry and bare, and are doubtful if the blackened saltbush will recover. Even along the enclosed railway line the saltbush is bereft of leaves. … The lack of rain is shown by the fact that on one station only 455 points were recorded during the past 17 months. … From 1910 to 1921 the

126 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

average rainfall at Oulnina station was 1,077 points, but the average from 1922 to 1932 was only 654 points. Stations in the affected area include Teetulpa, … Oulnina, … Outalpa, … Bimbowrie … and some smaller leases.29 Boolcoomatta station kept a rainfall record since 1882 and calculated the average rainfall over five year periods. The lowest average of 116 mm was between 1927 and 1931, then came the years from 1922 to 1926 with 148 mm and from 1897 to 1901 with 149 mm. The wettest years were from 1917 to 1921 with an average of 268 mm. The lowest rainfall in any one year was in 1888 with 51 mm.30 On 3 February 1950 Boolcoomatta had close to 197 mm of rain in a 24 hour period which was around the annual rainfall. Other surrounding stations received slightly less. Rainfall within the properties also varied because of their large areas. Creeks would have flooded, roads would have been cut for weeks and the houses probably would have had water flowing inside as well. It is likely that the train line was washed away in places. Within two years of receiving this rain came the best ever wool prices, with £1 per pound in Boolcoomatta rain gauge weight.

The railway A railway line went from Port Pirie to Peterborough, and from there through Mingary to Cockburn. The line to Cockburn was completed in 1886, and the town became a location for locomotives and crews to change. Once silver was discovered at Silverton, across the border in New South Wales, the South Australian government wanted to build a narrow-gauge railway from Cockburn to Silverton. This offer was rejected by the New South Wales government. Businesspeople then formed the Silverton Tramway Company and built a line from Silverton to the South Australian border which was extended to Broken Hill in 1887. By 1892 Cockburn had a population of around 200 people, two hotels and general stores to supply the population, several boarding houses, schools and churches. The railway company had staff stationed there. At this time seven trains ran regularly between Peterborough, Cockburn and Broken Hill, some of them carrying passengers. In 1892 the train took 83,194 people to Cockburn. The rail played an interesting role in the industrial relations history of Broken Hill when it carried 3000 passengers from Broken Hill to Cockburn to hear Tom Mann, a political “disruptionist” in 1908. He had been barred from speaking publicly in New South Wales and instead spoke to the crowd in Cockburn. This “was the beginning of a dispute known as the 1909 Lockout.” 31

127 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

The train to Cockburn stopped at Mingary, the Aboriginal word for “the northern most waterhole”. People who wanted to go to Boolcoomatta left the train there to travel the rest of the way to the homestead precinct of the station by some other means. Mingary was declared a township in 189232. It was important for the survival of Boolcoomatta as it was the closest small town and included a railway depot. Mingary station had been part of Boolcoomatta in 1863 when John Beck owned the lease.

Mingary Railway Station 1947. Mingary Railway Station 1947 SLSA [B 50569] SLSA [50568]

The countryside around Mingary was very dry, but when a lot of rain fell in a short time, it ran off the flat country, and the water sometimes washed away the base of the railway line. For this reason trains were running on a framework called a pigsty which could be filled up again if it had washed out. About every 12 miles the steam trains needed water, and dams, wells and other water supplies were built. Wells often needed to be lined with timber, especially when they were in sandy soil, and well sinkers and sawyers, who cut the timber, were needed. Windmills pumped the water from the bores, and by 1893 they ran with gears. The first Southern Cross windmills were manufactured at Toowoomba in Queensland in 1903. They became the most Group of dam workers. commonly used windmills around Australia. SLSA [B 62877] The trainline followed the same line as the stock route, and the enormous dams supplied water for both modes of transport. The government built many of those dams and provided work to unemployed men in the 1930s when the country was in the grip of the Great Depression.

128 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Horse teams working on Mingary Dam. SLSA [B 62881]. SLSA B [62882]

Members of the South Australian parliament visited the north-east in 1925 and complaints were made regarding the unfairness of the Railways Department in granting preferential rates to certain railway-stations. The Boolcoomatta lessees can save 16/ a ton by sending their wool from Mingary to Cockburn, which has a special rate, and thence to Port Adelaide, rather than from Mingary to the port direct.33 It is unknown if and how this issue was resolved.

Shearing, strikes and wool sales Shearing teams and other workers usually travelled by train to Mingary and went on from there to Boolcoomatta. A shearing shed worker remembered how he arrived and worked at the station in 1899. It was published in an unknown newspaper in February 1957. 34 Mr Tom Trevaill gave a good account of the sheep station as it was in those days. In the following year, 1899, Pat McGillick, who died at Saddleworth a few years ago, and myself came from Broken Hill. We landed at Mingary off the Broken Hill express at 3.30 am and waited for daylight. We had breakfast with a re-laying gang before starting out on our 18 mile trek. When we arrived at Boolcoomatta, the cook told us to report to Mr Johnson, overseer, who asked did we have any experience in shearing sheds. We said we had and he booked us on. He gave Pat McGillick and myself the job of branding the sheep after they were shorn. We branded 90,000 that season. I have seen Mr Arthur Tyndall lift two prize rams, one under each arm, and place them over the railings as easily as if they were lambs a month old. Shearing was an important part of life in the north-east of South Australia. Stations advertised when they needed teams of shearers, and newspaper often reported when the different stations were shearing. Since about 1904 the Federal Sheep Shearing Co Ltd provided many contract shearing teams, including a cook. Blade shearing started to change to mechanical shearing during the early 1900s but at a later time on Boolcoomatta. A steam engine was used as source of power, and sheds needed an engine room to put up a large motor and a belt to drive the overhead shaft. From this the shearers’ handpieces were operated. Once the wool was baled, it was rolled onto the wool scale platform and weighed with weight discs on the balancing scale.

129 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Steam engine, The Pastoralists’ Review 11, 4. 15-06-1901

Wool scales

In 1905 three young men were part of a shearing team and posed for a photograph. One of them used it as a postcard to send to his mother.35 He wrote, "Boolcoomatta Station. Dear Mother, I am just writing you a few lines to let you no that we will be a bit later we have had three day of on account of the rain so there is only two days and a peace so we will leave here wensday and get in town. I suppose you no one of these chaps don't show it to any body till Thursday morning so I might get out in time to see some of the show I suppose you will go I am coming Three men of Boolcoomatta’s shearing team, straigh out so I will have to come 1905 back to get my teeths so I will drive you back. Roy is going to fetch my birds out so they will be alright. Yours truly Edgar G. … I don't want any lady to see it.

Shearing

SLSA [B 1641710] Mechanical shearing, c. 1906 James Wooler. SLSA [B 27186].

130 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Duncan McCulloch had added Angora goats to the stock in Boolcoomatta. They also were shorn, and Corn Watkins remembered in 1950 that he was shearing hundreds of Angoras on Boolcoomatta Station some 40 years ago. Mr. Watkins also can recollect that even in those days the station owners received a real good price for the mohair.36 It is not known for how much mohair sold. Boolcoomatta wool from sheep sold in 1894 in London for 6 pence per pound.37

Angora goats The Pastoralists’ Review. 11, 4. 15-6-1901.

In 1906 shearing was delayed by wet weather, but eventually 60,000 sheep and about 15,000 lambs were shorn, producing 1,590 bales of wool. The coming season promised “to be a good one, and a good lambing is anticipated.”38 Connected to the quality of the seasons was concern about blowflies as they potentially could kill sheep. Conditions for wool growing had been very good for several years, with abundant fresh food and water until by 1937 blowflies had become a pest and station hands had to be vigilant to ensure that the mortality rate of sheep was kept low.39

Shearing shed at Boolcoomatta, 1933. Truck loaded with wool, Olary. SLSA [B 8733] SLSA B [72834/7]

In 1942 Mrs Baxter at Old Boolcoomatta sold 39 fleeces at 11 ¼ to 13 ¾ pence per pound and Mrs E M Crawford at Bimbowrie sold 53 fleeces at 10 ½ to 15 ¼ pence per pound.40 Stock was also traded. One thousand whethers were offered for sale at the Balaklava market in 1906. In 1913 agents of Elder, Smith and Co. reported selling 330 Merino whethers with heavy skin for Boolcoomatta Station.41

131 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Boolcoomatta whethers ready for marketing. Source: Pastoral Review

Once unionism had developed strikes sometimes disrupted shearing. The rouse-abouts and wool packers went on strike in 1892. One of them, Willmett, refused to join the strike, and was “tarred” during the night. Years later, in 1913, a union organiser visited Boolcoomatta, Bimbowrie and Lake Dismal during shearing time and reported that All hands made themselves financial except two carriers. These two are both of the same calibre. Both believe in unionism, and a couple of years ago both were on bedrock, but have suddenly developed into capitalists, because they have a couple of teams, employ one man, using half squatter’s stock to work them and if the screw gets turned hard down on them the squatter might take the lot. All sheds have got the influenza. At Boolcoomatta … half the men are sick, and it seems to be getting hold of all hands. The feed is fair, but water is about to run out, and the stations are conserving every drop.42 Strikes were not without controversy. In August 1922 eleven shearers ceased shearing. They had been engaged by the Stock Owners' Co-operative Shearing Company, and the company’s representative in the shed was Mr. Joseph Gully and their expert was Frank Mashado. The shearers decided to dismiss the expert and then went on strike. The shearers were taken to court for their action and fined for absence from work.43 Boolcoomatta’s shed overseer, J Coffey, thought that the report in the Advertiser covering the strike gave a totally erroneous impression when it states, … that evidence was given “that on the 12th inst. the shearers met and dismissed the expert, Frank Mashado”. In fairness to Mashado and all other experts, I think it only just to point out clearly that the shearers have not the power to dismiss the expert. They have not the power to employ him, and therefore how can they have the power to dismiss him. They can only complain to the shed overseer that he is not competent and the power of dismissal or otherwise rests with the overseer alone.44 During another strike in 1950 a shearers' meeting at Boolcoomatta shed called on all workers to protect the right to strike in view of attempted interference by Menzies with this right. It urged unrelenting struggle against Menzies' legislation to ban the Communist Party and smash the trade unions. The shed also demanded immediate granting of the £10 basic wage, and called on the Australian Workers' Union Federal Executive to call stopwork meetings to support the claim.45

132 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Workers on Boolcoomatta

Over the years many people lived and worked on Boolcoomatta. In 1906 staff included Daniel Meehan as the manager and Mr Bowman as overseer. The station cook was Bill Grey who, according to some accounts, had been a pharmacist. Mr McDonald was the colt breaker and Brady a groom. Con Noonan, Paddy Farrel, MacNamara, Eckert worked as station hands and Bob Bell as bullock driver. He had been in the Boer War. William Burns worked on Boolcoomatta for about one month. Two horses were missing from the station after he had left, and he was accused of their theft and eventually 46 found guilty. Bill Billing, station worker at Olary, One worker who apparently liked his with his horse drawn caravan. c.1930. privacy travelled around the stations SLSA B [55145] with his own horse-drawn caravan.

Con Noonan’s story Cornelius Francis Noonan was born around 1887 and started to work as a station hand at Boolcoomatta in 1906. Five years later he married Alice Margaret May Collins in Peterborough.47 Their first child William James was born in 1911, and they had a second child Laurie. Cornelius, or Con as he was called, enlisted in 1917 to fight in World War One. In his reminiscences Con described how and why he travelled to Boolcoomatta in 1906 and what he experienced while there. 48 The Adelaide-Broken Hill express ground to a stop at Mingary at 5 a.m. on a freezing, frosty August morning in 1906. Hailing the signalman, Bill Phillips, an old Peterborough identity, I inquired: “Anyone in from Boolcoomatta, Bill?” “Coming in tomorrow, trucking sheep on Monday,” Bill replied as he hurried off about his duties. “Hell! Fancy putting in a weekend in this dump”, I reflected. The station office, signalman’s cottage, and German Charlie’s bag-constructed store constituted the town of MingaryError! Bookmark not defined. in those days. The train, after a brief three minute stop, was again in motion as I jumped on the steps of a passing carriage. At least, I concluded, I can secure accommodation of a sort at CockburnError! Bookmark not defined.. At the age of 18, I was on my big adventure, my first sojourn away from my Caltowie home. Bill Kildea, a former school-mate, had informed me a few weeks previously that he had signed an agreement to put in a term as a musterer on Boolcoomatta Station, eighteen miles north of Mingary. With boyhood’s enthusiasm I had written to the Station manager, Dan Meehan, and made similar arrangements for myself. And here I was, in my parochial outlook, setting out to encounter untold hardships and dangers in the wilds of Central Australia! “What do you want to ‘go bush’ for?” asked Tom Mildren, Cockburn’s sole hotel proprietor “Stay here and work in my bar.” Loathe to alter existing plans; I compromised by accepting, temporarily, his

133 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953 offer of the position of barman. I was not, according to the terms of my mustering agreement, due at Boolcoomatta for another ten days, but Manager Meehan had written to say work was available at an earlier date should I care to accept it. Two days later, I received a telegram from Bill Kildea: “Have cancelled arrangements. Remaining at home.” Obsessed with a fear of possible prosecution should I fail to make my appearance at the Station, I decided to give up my barman’s job. Boarding a goods train at Cockburn at 4 a.m., the fifteen miles to Mingary was quickly traversed, and it was still dark when I dropped off the train. “Rouse old Charlie out,” Signalman Bill Phillips advised when I made inquiries as to the prospects of purchasing something to eat. German Charlie, storekeeper, and grandiloquently referred to by passing train crews as “the Mayor of Mingary”, was already moving around. A large tin of kippered herrings and nearly half a loaf of bread satisfied, at least temporarily, the pangs of hunger. As a means of transport from Mingary to Boolcoomatta I’d taken the precaution to have my push bike consigned by rail. A trunk containing sufficient wearing apparel to last twelve months accompanied it. “Don’t envy you the ride on a flat tyre,” said Bill Phillips, who, in between the passing of trains, was thankful for someone to whom he could “chin- wag”. He was correct. The front tyre was as flat as a pancake. I had no repair kit, and neither Phillips nor Old Charlie sported bicycles. From my clothes trunk I secured and donned a pair of new dungaree trousers. Folded half- way to the knees, they disguised the fact that they were at least two sizes too big for me. Starting off with the good wishes (but possible concealed merriment) of Bill Phillips, I followed the badly cut up dirt track through lightly timbered scrub. Galahs in veritable thousands screeched in the big trees bordering on adjacent watercourses, and a few sulphur-crested cockatoos could be seen. About a dozen kangaroos, my first glimpse of these marsupials, hopped by. I was to see many thousands of these animals in later years. It was infernally hot, though only mid-August. My throat, largely the result of pushing the old grid, was parched, and I had left the watercourses behind. Brightly colored birds fluttered from tree to tree, and as I followed a bend in the track, a dozen crows rose from the carcass of a dead sheep. Even at this far-distant date I recall some of the tortures of that trip, alternatively riding and walking. I arrived at the Station about 3 p.m. Three or four men at a building I approached were sufficiently good natured to refrain from showing the amusement which my arrival must have provoked. I was wearing, apart from the dungarees already mentioned, shirt and starched collar, “button-up” boots, and, to cap the lot, a bowler hat. I didn’t wish to have latter squashed by pushing it into my clothes trunk which the bullock wagons would bring out later. Hailing a grey-whiskered chap I asked for a drink of water. He happened to be the cook, Bill Grey. “What about a pannikan of tea and a bit of ‘brownie’?” suggested Grey. His well chiseled features, loft forehead, and his attire, surmounted by a snow-white apron, caught my youthful imagination. Later I discovered that, until booze caught up with him, Grey had been a successful dispensing chemist.

134 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

The other men present also took a pannikan from a rack and helped themselves to refreshment. Gee! Did I enjoy that brownie! It was merely sweetened bread, with a few currants scattered through it. “I’ve come here for mustering,” I explained to Grey. “Where will I dig up the manager?” “No need to dig” said a chap standing behind me. “You’ve found him.” I turned in surprise and looked at the speaker. I’d expected to see in the manager a chap wearing expensive leggings and flash boots. Boolcoomatta was then owned by Mr. Culloch and Lyndall, [McCulloch and Tyndall] and from fragments of information picked up in Cockburn, I’d learned that Arthur Tyndall prided himself on his spruce attire worn on his casual visits to the station. There was nothing particularly “spruce” about the man facing me. He was neatly dressed in a pair of tweed trousers, brown shirt, and wearing a pair of plain well-made boots. When you met his eyes, however, you realised in them an expression of real friendliness, so this was Manager Danny Meehan! “Got any nap?” he inquired. I nodded towards my old grid [pushbike] with two rolled rugs attached. "Take this chap to the bunkhouse, Bell, and show him where to camp,” said Meehan, addressing a bearded, hob-nailed boot attired man. Unfastening for me my two bush rugs from the bike, Bell proceeded, and I followed, to the bunkhouse. I was later to see much of and to admire in Bell. The bunkhouse was a room about 16 feet by 12 feet, with nine tiered board bunks, only three of which were occupied. The floor was of cement. There was one small window about 2 feet by eighteen inches in size. This opened on to one of the top-most bunks. “Come along and we’ll get a ‘hipper’,” said the friendly Bell, as he picked up an empty corn sack. At the chaff-house adjoining the stables he partly filled this with chaff. Returning to the bunkhouse, he stitched with needle and twine, the mouth of the bag containing chaff and another cornsack. “There you are, lad, your mattress. Sorry about the sheets. They haven’t returned from the laundry,” he added with a grin. After breakfast – tough chops and tea minus milk, and no butter, the latter was a luxury which, at one’s own expense, could be ordered from German Charlie – the cook handed me a note and said: “Go up to Government House and get this list of stores, will you?” My station slang had already acquired the fact that “Government House” synchronised with “headquarters.” Mrs. Meehan, the manager’s wife, issued me with the stores. “What’s your name?” “Noonan,” I replied. “What are you like at haircutting, Noonan?” “Not much good,” I answered with what was intended for being modesty. I’d never attempted to cut anyone’s hair. “I’ll send little Jack down this afternoon, and get you to cut his hair,” Mrs. Meehan said. When I attempted to remonstrate, she interjected, “Oh! There’s no need to be fussy about it. I’ll send my scissors with Jacky.” I was in deep, too deep to retract. It was Saturday. Jackie, aged seven, arrived about three o’clock. “Here’s the scissors, Noonan,” he greeted. Sitting the lad on an empty box, I started on my portentous job. A few of the men were sitting in the sun near the bunkhouse door, and every few minutes Jacky would jump off his perch and with a “Wait a minute, Noonan,” pop out to investigate. At the end of half an hours concentrated effort I said: “There you are, son. Off you go.”

135 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Bell, smoking his pipe, had been lying on his bunk watching me at work. Now he sat up. “Hell! You’re not going to send the kid home with a clip like that, are you?” “What’s wrong with the clip?” I asked. “What’s wrong with it? What’s right with it! Here, Jackie, wait a minute.” Replacing the lad on the box, Bell took the scissors from me and turned out a tradesman-like job. Jackie didn’t mention he’d had two hairdressers, and I became popular at headquarters. But when Meehan mentioned the following Saturday he was going to get me during the afternoon to cut his hair, I shied off and shunted him on to Bell. “Run in a horse for Noonan, will you Brady?” said Overseer Bowman on Monday. “I want him to ride the netting fence.” “There’s only Count out there, Mr. Bowman,” Brady the groom replied. “Oh, run Count in. He’s quiet.” Quiet? The appearance of the black gelding which, with several “scrubbers”, was driven into the stockyards half an hour later somewhat belied the term. Near thoroughbred, he was a superb animal. When approached, he snorted and showed the whites of his eyes in a vicious manner. I mastered Count, but not before he’d dropped me twice inside of ten minutes. Rest assured it was not courage, but the grinning faces, that of Bowman excepted, of those who stood around waiting to see how the kid musterer fared which prompted me to straddle the black for the third time. The following day, receiving directions, I was sent out to Bundarrah, [Bundera] 15 miles east, to inspect the quantity of water in one of the huge tanks. Approaching the tank, Count displayed signs of nervousness, flicking his ears, and shying away from an object on the ground near a couple of 400 gallon iron tanks. As I neared the “object” I made a gruesome discovery. It was a man, and he was dead! Facing into the wind, I realised he had been dead for a few days. Dismounting from my restive horse, I made from a distance of a few yards a casual inspection of the corpse. It was not a pleasant sight. What was I to do? Obviously the police had to be contacted, and the nearest police station was Cockburn. Boolcoomatta was not connected by phone in those days. If I returned to the homestead to report my gruesome discovery a rider, probably myself, would have to be dispatched to Cockburn to contact the police. Count, I decided, would stand up to the trip – about eighteen miles – even though he’d been receiving no “hard” feed. Remounting, I set off in what I judged to be the direction of Cockburn. I found myself at the Lake Dismal Station, seven miles from Cockburn and only slightly out of my reckoning, around midday. The manager - I do not recall his name – insisted my horse should have an hour’s rest and a feed, while I found that what I’d viewed at Bundarrah had not totally obliterated my own youthful appetite. Constable Shegog, officer in charge of Cockburn police station listened to my report and said, “Well, I’ll go back with you. If there appears no evidence of foul play, we can bury the poor devil where he is.” Wrapping a pick and shovel in a few empty chaff-bags, he saddled his steel grey and we set off. Shegog, with his knowledge of local geography, was able to cut off a few miles on the return journey. “Cause of death would appear to be rather obvious – poison”, he declared after a glance at the corpse. “Looks as if the poor devil hadn’t been able to read.” He pointed to two iron tanks a few yards off on which was painted in twelve inch red letters the word “Poison.” Water from those tanks was used for poisoning rabbits. “Apparently the poor devil took water from one of those to make tea. Anyhow, we can bury him here. Give me a hand to go through his belongings to ascertain who he was.”

136 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

“Not on your darned life!” I replied. “That’s your job. While you’re on it, I’ll start on a grave.” I've followed many avocations since those days, but that was my sole experience as a grave digger. A search of the man’s effects provided no clue to his identity. Wrapping him in his swag which lay close by, and in the chaff-bags provided, we lowered him, without any burial service, into a four foot deep grave. “I’d like to place a few rocks, if there were any about, on the grave,” said the constable. “As there are none, he’ll have to take his chance.” Writing out a report, the constable obtained my signature to it, we shook hands, and set off on our respective ways. It was a very tired horse and an exhausted rider that pulled up at the stockyards after sun-down. The Horseman “Hey! Bell! Why don’t you pick a decent horse for rounding up your bullocks, instead of that old dromedary you’ve got tied behind your wagon?” These were but a few of the taunts we hurled at Bell, the bullock driver, who would accept the badinage in a good spirit. “It’s alright for you flash musterers to ride flash horses,” he would retort. “If I were to fork some of those nags they’d be having a foal, with me as the foal.” Bell’s general appearance to a large extent supported his contention. Notwithstanding his neat King George beard, his attire of moleskin trousers, hob-nailed boots with old and rusty spurs attached certainly gave no indication of horsemanship. His friendly disposition, however, made him popular with all of us. The full board of twenty three blade shearers were due in a couple of days. Shed hands and the complete team of musterers had arrived. Most of us had been allotted horses. Overseer Bowman, favorably impressed maybe because of my handling of Count, had picked a quiet one for me. On the Saturday afternoon we stood by the horse yards admiring a horse called Reprieve. He was a beauty, by the English sire Emulation. “Have you got a horse yet, Farrel?” the Overseer inquired of one of the musterers. “Not yet, Mr Bowman,” Paddy Farrel answered. “Then you can take this chap. But watch him. Colt breaker McDonald tells me he can handle himself pretty well.” “He’ll do me! There’s not a horse on the station I can’t ride,” Farrel boastingly replied. Bowman, a fine horseman, merely smiled. Next day Farrel and his mate MacNamara saddled up after dinner to start to bring in “woolies”. There was no “musterers camps” on sheep stations in those days. You strapped your bed-roll on to the front of your saddle, parceled a few slices of bread and a chunk of mutton which you tucked inside your shirt, and maneuvered to reach a boundary rider’s hut at night. It was a beautiful afternoon. Some twenty of us lounged about the yards watching and wondering how Reprieve would compose himself. Farrel, despite his boasting, really was a good horseman. He mounted Reprieve warily, and the horse, his back slightly arched, moved off in company with that of MacNamara. So we were not to witness an exhibition of horsemanship after all! Quarter of an hour later someone said in surprise: “Halloa! What’s happened?” Farrel and MacNamara, the former walking and leading his horse, were heading towards us. “What’s wrong, Farrel?” inquired Bowman, who had been chatting with us. “Sprained me wrist, Mr. Bowman. Got me when I was remounted after getting through that first gate.” He extended for inspection a much swollen wrist, and was obviously in considerable pain.

137 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

“If you’ll give me a quiet horse for a few days, Mr Bowman, I’ll the cow again. I can’t use the wrist to get on,” Farrel explained. They trotted in another horse, quiet, and treacherous. You could ride Logic for three days and he’d behave like a gentleman. On the fourth day he’d “floor” you every time you mounted him. Farrel transferred his saddle and gear, and attempted to mount Logic. His disabled arm seriously handicapped him, as he could not pull himself into the saddle. His toe was poking the horse in the ribs, and Logic was rapidly becoming restive. Bob Bell, attired as usual, had been sitting on his heels with his back to the rails. Standing up, he took a hitch on his pants and said “Let’s take a bit of the rough edge off him, Paddy, I don’t like to see a man break his neck.” There was a roar of laughter from most of us. Bell ride the rough ‘un! It was too good a joke. When I noticed Bell shorten the near side rein and pull Logic’s head around sharply I said mentally: “This chap seems to know something about mounting.” With a good grip of reins and mane, he landed lightly in the saddle and, soon as he had secured his off stirrup, sank both spurs into the horse and kept them there. He had not bothered about altering the stirrup leathers, though he was six inches taller than Farrel. Well, I’ve seen Broncho George ride outlaws in Queensland. In Broken Hill I watched Skullthorpe, for a £50 wager, ride in a poley saddle the notorious outlaw Snip to a standstill, but never have I witnessed such an exhibition of buckjumping as Logic turned on that day. He was a ‘spinner’, one of the most difficult to stay with. Bell just reveled in the ride. Loosening the reins, he would reach down and grab Logic by a flank, and the horse would squat with frustration. Again, Bell would use his old hat to belt Logic on the head, or where the head would have been if it were not tucked between the horse’s fore legs. The contest lasted for less than three minutes. Legs sprawled, Logic surrendered. Dismounting, Bell led the horse over to Farrel. “There you are Paddy. I don’t think he’ll give you much trouble now.” A number of us looked at each other rather sheepishly. Bowman, overseer, merely smiled. Later, he mentioned on the quiet to us: “The joke is on you chaps. Bell went to the South African war as colt breaker to the Bushmens’ Contingent.” My mate Eckert and I left at sunrise one morning with 1500 shorn sheep which we had to take out twenty miles. We were told we should reach our destination by nightfall and could camp with the boundary riders at Calchra [Calcaroo/Kalkaroo]. The sheep were hungry. Spear grass a foot high covered the countryside. The animals skipped along smartly. When they were a couple of hundred yards ahead we cantered to overtake them, cracked our stock whips, and away they raced again. The sheep were in the pre- arranged paddock by three o’clock. Riding towards the mile distant boundary rider’s hut, we were joined by two musterers who were a day ahead of us, and by the boundary rider. When some three hundred yards from the building I called: “Last to the hut cooks the tea!” hit my horse with my heels and sought a flying start. I secured one in reality. Racing past adjacent sheep yards my horse, Mickey, put his foot squarely in a large, pegged trap set for dingoes. The horse crashed, but I went sailing on. By a near miracle the horse did not break a limb. Mustering woolies next day, we spent another night at the hut, and at sunrise set out on what would be a two day trip to the homestead. We were to camp that night at bush yards to which flour and a small keg of water had been delivered a few weeks’ previously. It was a stinging hot day. We yarded

138 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

our sheep about four o’clock and made a bee-line for the water keg. One mouthful was more than sufficient. In the enclosed keg the water had become fetid and even the horses, in the dust of the sheep as we had been all day, refused it. On a bush in front of the tent nearly half a bag of flour had been tipped. Loudly we cursed the two musterers who had, in our opinion, perpetrated this senseless joke. While Eckert gathered some of the flour and proceeded to make a damper, a task at which he was proficient, I killed a sheep and obtained some chops. There was no way of salvaging the skin, worth about ten shillings. “I’ll salvage some more flour for a damper in the morning. That one smells lovely!” I told Eckert, now grilling the chops. Spooning the flour into the camp oven, I made a harrowing discovery. The flour had “crawlers” half an inch long in it! There had, presumably, been dead mice in the flour when dispatched from the Store. Our fellow musterers of the night before, seeing this, had had the presence of mind to tip the flour lest we overlook its condition. We made a meal of the chops alone. At break of day, our throats still parched, we had the sheep on the move towards the Station and water. We struck the latter, a clay pan some ten yards in area, about two o’clock. The sheep, which had the advantage of a keener sense of smell, reached it before we did and had tramped through the six or eight inch depth of almost liquid mud. Jumping off our horses, we dropped on hands and knees and drank as if it were nectar from the gods! We were expecting to receive a lot of sympathy on our arrival at the Homestead. “Too bad!” laughingly said owner Tyndall, who was present when I related our experience to Danny Meehan. “Send them down an extra tin of jam for tea tonight, Mr. Meehan.” “And by the way,” said Meehan, “a parcel arrived in the mail yesterday for you. Come up after tea and get it.” I collected both jam and parcel. The latter was a bottle of cough mixture sent by a girl in Peterborough. She is now my wife. Shearing was completed. Men were receiving their cheques and endeavouring to arrange for transport to the station in Mingary. I had had a new tube sent along for my bike, and Steve Fogarty, a shed-hand, took turns with me in mile rides towards the railway and home. For weeks I could not secure a decent night’s sleep. I missed the big gums, fringing watercourses, the bleating of sheep, the shrill screech of thousands Con Noonan, his wife Alice, children William of galahs! Knowing what hardships (centre) and Laurie, c.1917. could await me did not deter me from, Courtesy of Mr John Noonan. a few weeks’ later, returning to employment on Boolcoomatta, the friendship I found in the Meehan family, and, above all the nostalgic lure ever recurrent to those who can appreciate the allurement which the “outback” offers. Noonan mentioned in his story that a dingo trap sent him flying off his horse. Dingoes were regarded as a pest on Boolcoomatta in 1908, and Richard Dewdney, a former manager of the station, wrote in one of his letters to newspapers that dingoes needed to

139 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953 be controlled on all properties, including land held by the Crown, to bring down numbers.49

Other workers Over the years many other people worked on Boolcoomatta. John L. Sullivan was one of them during 1910 before he was seriously injured during a horse race in Broken Hill in the same year. He said he mostly worked as a colt breaker, but also as cook, bullock driver and dam sinker. He shore ‘straggler sheep’ with his mate, and those missed during the main shearing muster. After the original cook had run away he took on that position. This may have been Bill Grey, the cook Con Noonan mentioned in his story. Sullivan had also worked on in the north of South Australia and on Bon Bon Station, another Bush Heritage Reserve. Jack Henery worked on Boolcoomatta at the same time as Sullivan50, and Tom Trevaill worked there from around 1898 when he joined for the shearing. He got the job through Hunt’s Labor Office in Adelaide, landed at Mingary from the Broken Hill express at 3am and sat in the waiting room until daylight, expecting somebody to call with the carriage and pair. German Charlie, who had a little store nearby, invited him to breakfast before putting him on the track. He carried his swag 18 miles to Boolcoomatta homestead where Arthur Tyndall, the manager, sent him out with Harry Winters, the ex-Sydney jockey, to help in the muster of 50,000 sheep. Station hand wages were 12/6 to 15/- a week. Shearers were paid 17/6 per 100 sheep.51 The reporter Vox told two stories relating to people on Boolcoomatta. It was a beautifully laid out station, like a small township. One Sunday afternoon, 20 shearers and 30 odd rouseabouts saw Arthur Tyndall, accompanied by his mastiff, carry Pat Burns, a dam sinker down the garden path, and throw him over the fence into the dam. At Boolcoomatta, Mr Trevaill had his introduction to Mick Rasheed, the strong man, who arrived there with his hawker's van. One Sunday the shearers challenged him to lift one of his horses. He backed down beneath the lead and quickly had its legs dangling off the ground. Later, Mr Rasheed bought a lot of horses from Mr Trevaill.52 August Fismer had been a station hand and ended up before court in 1906 for stealing a watch, chain and pendant from the station cook J Hynes. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour.53 Life at Boolcoomatta also had a dark side as accidents and deaths occurred. On 18 June 1900 A man named Donald Morrison committed suicide about Friday last on Boolcoomatta station by cutting his throat. Morrison was a contractor, and was well known in the district. From information derived from the police Mr Peake thought an inquest unnecessary, and gave the order for burial.54 One year later the body of James Crowley, a shearer, was found near Mingary. He had been missing since a few days.55 On Sunday last, M.C. Shea received information that a man had been missing form his camp at Mingary since the previous Wednesday. The constable left for Mingary and began a search which had to be abandoned at nightfall. Early next morning tracking was resumed, but considerable difficulty was experienced in following the trail owing to the tracks crossing

140 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

and recrossing. After four hours of arduous work the body of the missing man was discovered some two miles from his camp near the railway. Deceased left a comfortable camp, and rested at least one night in a small mudhole in close proximity to his original halting place. Several articles of discarded clothing were found at the mud hole. No marks of violence were observed on the body, and it is surmised that deceased died from exposure, as the weather had been bitterly cold. A horse, saddle and bridle, swag and provisions were found at the camp. Mr. J. Gartrell, boundary rider on Benowrie Station, who assisted M.C. Shea in the search, identified the body as that of James Crowley, a shearer. Papers found on it supported the identification and showed that Crowley was under agreement to Mundi Mundi, New South Wales, to begin shearing there on August 1. He was unmarried. The matter was reported to Mr. G. Peake, of Cockburn, who gave a certificate for burial. The body was buried where found.56 Henry Clemens, a shearer employed at Boolcoomatta, died in 1902 after he had been brought into Broken Hill by train from Mingary and admitted to hospital. He apparently suffered from a disease of the brain and a postmortem examination disclosed that the cause was apoplexy.57 In 1905 another death occurred at Boolcoomatta. George Thomas, going by the name of William Jennings, died at a dam six miles from Benowrie station on Wednesday, suffering from heart disease. Mounted-Constable Shea went out on Thursday and buried him on Friday at Benowrie private cemetery. Deceased was about 40 years of age. Amongst other papers found on him was a note written by him on March 24, 1905, stating that he was not feeling well, and if anyone found him dead, to let Mrs. A. Smith know at Charles Street, Norwood, also his mother, who is living in Sydney. An inquest was held on the body.58 The Benowrie Private Cemetery is almost certainly the small netting enclosure along the Kalabity Track on Boolcoomatta Reserve. It has been protected recently with timber railing around the site. Accidents caused by or involving horses must have been relatively frequent. One occurred in 1911, when F. Noack, employed on Boolcoomatta Station, received a kick on the leg below the knee while trying to catch a horse. The limb was broken. First aid was rendered, and within a quarter of an hour of the accident the injured man was being conveyed to Mingary, whence he was taken to Jamestown Hospital for treatment.59 Once the railway siding at Mingary opened, life outcomes changed drastically at Boolcoomatta, as patients could be transferred either to Broken Hill or Jamestown Hospital depending on the earliest available train. A headstone was erected near the boundary of Bulloo Creek and Boolcoomatta for Oscar Mitchell, an

Aboriginal man who had worked as a tracker with the Headstone for Oscar Mitchell. Queensland Mounted Police. He also worked as a Photo A. and K. Tschirner

141 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953 tracker near Deniliquin in New South Wales and with the Wentworth Police. In 1910 he lived in Renmark where he was well known and popular. He died on Bulloo Creek or Boolcoomatta in 1918, aged around 65 years. Other people provided services to those working and living on Boolcoomatta. The mail coaches were an important connection between the stations and towns. At the time when Burra was the railway terminus Edward Opie ran the coaches from there to the north-east, to the old Mount Gipps Station, Menindie and Bimbowrie. He went to Broken Hill in 1889 where he was employed by the mines and the City Council and remained until 1912. Eventually he returned to Unley in South Australia. He died in 1926 at the age of 73 years. His sons Leslie and Cyril ran a business under the name of Opie Brothers.60 All the people living on Boolcoomatta needed places to live, and building continued over the years. Their supplies came for a long time by bullock wagon from Burra. Supplies arrived much quicker once the railway going through Mingary was completed. The main supply store was Drew and Crewes, which advertised a cash price list in the local paper.61 Many of the workers coming through Mingary on their way to Boolcoomatta Married couples’ quarters, c. 1948. would have met German Charlie, a well- Photo courtesy of Genny Badger. known character living there.

German Charlie Charlie Haenschke was born in Hanover, Germany, and arrived in South Australia in 1855 on board the ‘John Caesar’. During the early 1870s German Charlie owned the hotel near Poolamacca Station, north of the Barrier Ranges. It is uncertain when he started to live at Mingary and run his small shop, and there is some uncertainty about the date of his death. Many stories were known and told about him. At one time German Charlie was thought to have died. In 1896 the land on which the Sulphide Street Methodist Church now stands was the site of the first killing yards started in Broken Hill, controlled by Peter Neilsen. The neighbourhood was then thickly wooded with mulga. Mr J. Schultz, of Argent Street was first connected with butchering in 1881 at Silverton, being a partner of Carl Karl (“German Charlie”) at whose expense many “tall” stories are told nowadays. During the run of severe illness, Charlie was reported as dead and when convalescent was billed with the cost of a hurriedly-improvised coffin, made out of old cases.62 George Sherlock, who was a schoolboy at Cockburn in 1898 knew about German Charlie. He was not the one who had a bush pub along the Umberumberka creek. “Mingary Charlie had a little store across the road from Paddy Maxwell, who also kept a large flock of goats." he says.

142 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

"Charlie dealt principally in elastic-side boots, moleskin trousers, blue shirts, tin pannicans, quart pots, waterbags, mixed up with tea sugar, bully beef, jam and not forgetting a few tins of 'bullocky's joy' [Golden Syrup or Treacle]. "I visited German Charlie with my dad when a small boy and we stayed to dinner. Dad was looking for horses of his that had strayed from Cockburn. Charlie was able to tell him where to find them at higher Mingary."63 When the Silverton pub was auctioned in 1904 after the decline of mining around the town, German Charlie told a reporter about himself and how he ended up in the Silverton district. “Who is that old man over there?” asked the reporter of Mounted Constable Marshall. “That? Oh, that's the oldest resident on the Barrier—German Charlie. Come and have a yarn with him; he’ll take you back to the time when all the Umberumberka district was ‘no man’s land.’” “When did I land in Australia?” said the old chap, repeating the reporter’s query. “Well, I was born in Hanover, and landed on South Australian shores in the ship ‘John Caesar’ in 1855. I remained for nearly ten years in South Australia, and then came to this district to a place called Campbell's Creek. That was in 1864. One other party, by the name of Lambert, with 100 head of cattle in charge, was the only other settler at that time. Next came William Henry Lake. I went across to the Darling River about that time, but came back and down the ranges to Mingary, and lived for a while with W.H. Whiting and James Lyons. Coming back I fell in with Lake and took him to a place near Corona, where we formed a station. Whiting and Lyons next came and settled at L.D. Creek, on the other side of Mundi Mundi. Afterwards came Edward Cartwright, who was later supposed to have been drowned in the wrecked Gottenburg; and following Cartwright there appeared on the scene Brinkworth, McLean and Ifould. These names are all given to creeks in the locality -Cartwright Creek, Brinkworth Creek, and Ifould Spring.” “What about the first signs of silver?” “The first silver was mined by Julius Nicholls, at Thackaringa; the mining was continued by Dick Green and John Stokey, the ore being raised for 10s. a ton. Umberumberka dates back to 1879, when it was started by Captain C. P. Evans. The finding of the sensational horn silver at the Bobby Burns mine, in the Apollyon Valley, and other such finds were about that time. In 1880 Silverton commenced, and earnest mining and wild speculation set in. “And you have seen it right throughout its short life?” “Yes; but it's on its last legs now, and I'm much the same.”64 German Charlie had owned the old Nevada Hotel building at Silverton which was sold in 1905 for £56 “by order of the curator of intestate estates” as “the property of that interesting character, the late German Charlie.”65

143 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Entertainment and leisure activities With so many people, including children, now living and working on Boolcoomatta, different forms of entertainment and leisure activities developed. Children played Knucklebones, throwing up five bones and catching them on the back of the hand, then again throwing them up and catching them in the palm of the hand. The bones were the remainders of the shank Knucklebones bones after a meal. The larger entertainment events at Boolcoomatta were reported in the local paper. In 1908 the Boolcoomatta Glee Club gave a concert in the woolshed. The shed was the personification of artistic decoration. “Government House” was well represented, everyone turning out to do justice to the occasion. The chairman briefly apologised for absence of all accompaniment to the vocal items, explaining that the piano was in the hands of the tuner. There were songs and recitations, given by different people. At the conclusion of the entertainment, Mr A McCulloch, of Adelaide (who is inspecting his property here) in a few well-chosen words, moved a hearty vote of thanks to the performers. It surprised him very much, he said, to find such a display of talent in such an out-of-the-way place as Boolcoomatta. Mr Noonan responded on behalf of the performers and expressed a hope that the present was but one of a series of entertainments that the performers hoped to run through the shearing. A dance terminated the evening’s proceedings.66 A few months later the Boolcoomatta Vocal Club gave another concert in the wool shed, this time in aid of the Adelaide Children’s Hospital. The shed was artistically decorated; festoons of sweet-smelling blue bush formed a screen for the orchestra, which was under the baton of Chairman Gilmour. Songs were rendered by Messrs. Whitehead, Clarke, Tregeagle, Lanchester, Walker, Bell, R & E James, Bax and Howlett. Recitations were given by Masters J & P Meehan, W Mitchell, Misses E & N Meehan and Mr Bax. The club’s latest acquisition, Mr M Ashwin, our dashing trapezist electrified his audience with his brilliant trapeze performance; while the reappearance before the footlights of Messrs Walker and Parker, step dancers, was the signal for applause. A successful evening’s amusement was brought to a close by the singing of “God Save the Station”.67 CJ Dennis published in 1913 a collection of poems, including the long Song of Rain which mentioned Boolcoomatta among many other places. Dennis was born in 1876 at Auburn in the Clare Valley, South Australia, and lived in various places in South Australia until 1907 when he moved to Victoria. He had been visiting Broken Hill and might have travelled across Boolcoomatta during this trip.

144 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

A Song of Rain, verse 1.68 Because a little vagrant wind veered south from China Sea; Or else, because a sun-spot stirred; and yet again, maybe Because some idle god in play breathed on an errant cloud, The heads of twice two million folk in gratitude are bowed. Patter, patter … Boolcoomatta, Adelaide and Oodnadatta, Pepegoona, parched and dry Laugh beneath a dripping sky. Riverina’s thirsting plain Knows the benison of rain. Ararat and Render thanks with Tantaloola For the blessings they are gaining, And it’s raining—raining—raining! There were not only poems, songs and recitations but also sporting events, and in particular cricket. In 1911 A Summers, R Wilson, J Callanda, H Summers and J Callaghan were on the Boolcoomatta team. The Mingary Cricket Club journeyed to Boolcoomatta station on Saturday, and a very enjoyable and interesting game of cricket was played which ended in a win for the Mingary team by 9 wickets and 22 runs. On the Mingary team were A Vowels, D Slaker, R Phillips, M Chadwick and M Phillips.69 During the shearing in 1913 another cricket match was played between the Boolcoomatta and Mingary teams. People came from 18 miles away to watch the game which again ended with a win for Mingary.70

Cockburn Ladies' Cricket Club The Shamrocks, c. 1907. SLSA [B 71620]

People organised events for entertainment during both World Wars and the Depression years. One of them, a New Year's Day picnic outing going from Broken Hill to Silverton went horribly wrong. In 1915 an open-topped train set out to take families from Broken

145 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Hill to Silverton. Three kilometres from Broken Hill the train was shot at by Mulla Abdulla and Gool Mohamed. Two people were killed on the train and six wounded. In the following pursuit of the attackers another two people were killed and others wounded. Abdulla was a halal butcher and Gool Mohamed an ice cream vendor in Broken Hill. Both men originally came to Australia as cameleers, Mohamed from what is now Afghanistan and Abdulla from Pakistan.71 After the attack the men fled to the cameleer’s camp. Locals followed, police and military stepped in and both men died in the pursuit. The attack on the train led to violence against the Muslim community in Broken Hill and other ‘Enemy Aliens’. On the following day the mines of Broken Hill fired all employees deemed ‘enemy aliens’ under the 1914 Commonwealth War Precautions Act. Six Austrians, four Germans and one Turk were ordered out of town by the mob. Shortly after prominent members of the Australian German Community were forced to register with police as ‘enemy aliens’ and were interned at Holsworthy Concentration Camp for the duration of the war.72 During the 1930s life in the north-east of South Australia was more peaceful even though the Great Depression had started in the late 1920s. Swaggies hit the road and walked all over the country. They were unemployed and without any financial support, and called in at farms and properties, looking for a job in exchange for some bread or meat. Many women would get the wood pile chopped or had some other work done. The swaggie got something to eat, a place to sleep and a cooked leg of mutton when they left. Sometimes they even got a fruit cake to take with them. Old and worn-out boots were a problem because walking became impossible once the feet were sore. During this time people organised annual horse races, gymkhanas and other events which brought communities from the stations and settlements together. One such event was the Donkey Race at Waukaringa in 1933. The local paper published a few photos of this event.73

146 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Race meetings were regular events. In 1934 Keith Marsh, Boolcoomatta’s manager, went to a Steeple Chase meeting at Oakbanks. He told a reporter that a picnic race meeting would be held at Mingary on 29 September that year, and “they hoped to make this fixture as jolly an event as those of Waukaringa and Kingoonya.”74 Two years later, Vox, the same reporter, attended the annual Mingary Cup. I was delighted to go to Cockburn on the weekend to see friends I know and meet others whom I wanted to know. Everybody up there was saying how lucky they were to have such a nice day for the picnic races, because on the previous Saturday they had had a duststorm. Tim Dolan, railways barracks curator, however, drily declared that it was only a little one. … When we reached Cockburn at daybreak it was nice to see the country as green as the paddocks round Gawler. The day was perfect for racing. That prompted Paddy Binnings, who had come across from Kalabity early to ride, to tell me that 14 years ago the meeting started in a terrific duststorm, followed by about three inches of rain. Cars were marooned on the road between Cockburn and Mingary, and they all had to go home in the train. … The reporter wrote that there is no other racecourse in the bush from which so many historic stations can be seen. Stretching away to the north is the great Mundi Mundi plain, with the Barrier Ranges in the background. At the foot of the hills are Wilangie and Mundi Mundi. To the west one sees the Maldorky Ranges, with Boolcoomatta at the foothills and Lake Dismal in the foreground. Away to the south are Pine Creek, Corella, and Mutooroo, and to the east are Thackaringa and Border's Selection. The races started, and Vox met many different people. Some told interesting stories. Paddy Meaney, who was the gatekeeper, is one of the best known railway gangers in the country, and has covered much ground since he was born in the Light scrub near Kapunda. He said he was on the line from Stone Hut to Booleroo before there was any ballast on it, and he was a ganger at Mingary 30 years ago. Paddy has a fund of ready Irish wit and is very musical. He has

147 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

always been ready to play the concertina or accordion at concerts and dances and can provide whatever sort of music required, slow or fast, but of course the fast music costs the people who hire him more to play. He said he took his accordion over to the Melbourne Cup once because he thought there might be a dance out there. We were talking about the rain, and Paddy said to me. “We want as much rain as we can get in this country and more if we can get it.” He told me that he and a mate did a four mile chase after a red kangaroo on Ophara the other Sunday, and then it got away from the dog. Old Ned Condon, a pensioner on Mundi Mundi, on which he worked for 30 years, had a great day. Ned confided to me that when he was on Bimbowrie for 15 years Edwin and Elliot Crozier were his old bosses, and he learnt a lot from Mr. Elliot, who was one of the smartest men with stock. After a pleasant weekend, the reporter was dropped off by a friend at his hotel just before the rain started to tumble down. In the evening Mr. and Mrs. Clendinnen and I heard its pleasant music as we sat talking to Constable and Mrs Macdonald and friends at their home at the police station. Yesterday morning a strong southerly wind blew the clouds away, and the sun shone again. I did enjoy the weekend among the friendly people of Cockburn, who are at last going to have a good season. I brought back some Cockburn mud on my shoes!75 The races and dances continued over the years. The reporter calling himself Vox went to the races in Mingary in 1936 which was followed by a dance at Boolcoomatta. On the way he called at various stations to catch up with old friends, before arriving at the annual picnic and the races. The weather was nice, without heat and dust, there was a big crowd and “many motor cars”. All the riders were station hands, and Charlie Lines from Bindarrah rode five winners. The Mingary Cup and other trophies were presented to the winners of the races. Between the races people chatted away, and Vox was told that on Curnamona roughly 16,000 kangaroos had been killed in 16 years, and there were still plenty left. The Boolcoomatta woolshed was 17 miles away from the race meeting, but that did not deter people from coming. The old stone woolshed looked very gay, decorated in Keith Marsh’s old battalion (11th Regiment) and racing colors—blue and green, streamers, and flags. Harry Ding, of Yunta, put in two days doing this, and 76 installing electric light. Dancing went on until midnight, and Boolcoomatta woolshed, decorated for the supper. Some people then left for dance following the Mingary Cup. Photograph courtesy of Genny Badger. Bindarra. On the way home several people told Vox about the unusually heavy frosts they had for this time of year, with eight successive nights of frost at Manna Hill. There was even snow at Mt Bryan, ten kilometres north of Burra.

148 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Racing, dancing and hunting would have continued over the years but perhaps not to the extent as during the 1930s, because many men left in the early 1940s to serve in the Second World War. Events did continue after the end of the war.

Hunting party, Boolcoomatta Station, 1947. SLSA [B 50574] Hunting party, 1947. SLSA [B 50575]

Neighbours and townships around Boolcoomatta

Old Boolcoomatta Old Boolcoomatta was located west of Boolcoomatta. It was taken up by John Swindon one year after the division of properties into smaller leases in 1888, together with a portion of Outalpa. As Duncan McCulloch did not relinquish his lease term until the following year, Swindon could not succeed on the limited country he had. Robert Salmon obtained a 21 year long Class A lease in 1896 and owned it until 1914 when Robert Crawford purchased it. Robert’s daughter Queenie, married Baxter, later occupied it with her husband. This lease was 160 square miles, with a rent of £40, and the amount to pay for improvements was £1,688. In 1888 the value of improvements had been £4,832/6/9. The run-down station had obviously been re-valued.

Bimbowrie In 1911 two leases of Bimbowrie were advertised as for sale. They were 1,603 square miles and for a term of 42 years. Edwin Crozier had owned the property, and his widow had struggled to keep it running after his tragic death in a house fire.

Bimbowrie Homestead c.1900 SLSA [B 19154/2]Crozier

149 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

The property was subdivided into eight blocks ranging from 140 square miles to 229 square miles. The improvements, which cost over £50,000 … are of the highest order, and in first class condition, and every facility is provided for the proper working of a large sheep station. … The country, consisting mainly of salt bush, is in splendid heart, the bulk being practically in its virgin state. There is an abundance of Mulga, also grass and herbage. Ample provision is made for water, there being 74 tanks, some of which range from 25,000 to 30,000 cubic yards. … There are 133 paddocks of various and convenient sizes, and the fencing covers a distance of over 800 miles.77 The woolshed on Bimbowrie was extra large and had the name Antro. It was a depot shed and shepherds who grazed sheep on the roads might have used it, and neighbours on smaller blocks created by the lease reform for whom it was not economically viable to build their own shed.

Bimbowrie was taken up in 1914 by Robert Crawford, who purchased large tracts of land. He had started out as a butcher, Bimbowrie-Woolshed, supplying miners’ families in Broken Hill. He later transferred c. 1912 parts of his landholdings to his family. Mrs Crawford held SLSA [PRG Bimbowrie, their daughter Queenie Baxter held Old 1123/39/28] Boolcoomatta and son Robert held Weekeroo.78

Family at Bimbowrie Homestead Bimbowrie Station workers c.1900 c. 1920. SLSA [B19154/4] SLSA [B 19154/9]

Thackaringa Just over the border in New South Wales was Thakaringa Station, and apparently it was not doing well. During proceedings of the Lands Appeals Court in 1896 Mr WJ Holder, the inspector of holdings, reported from a visit in May 1896 that wool from the station was delivered to Melbourne at 85/- per ton; supplies came in at 50/- per ton. The average rainfall over nine years was 9¾ inches (222 mm). Most of the country was “plain, undulating and destitute of timber or bushes.” In some places grew patches of open oak scrub and mulga. The hilly sections had “sandalwood, mulga, nelia, oak and acacia.” There was little scrub with “only a few patches of dead-finish and dwarf oak” and more open oak scrub with sandalwood and emu bush. Overstocking had destroyed much of the saltbush. The carrying capacity under existing improvements

150 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953 was 3000 sheep. Nine acres of fully improved country were needed per sheep, bringing the capacity to 7000 sheep for the station.79 Tanks had been a partial success for watering stock, but the wells which were dug had been a failure. Rabbits had overrun the country, and some measures had been taken to control them. According to Christopher Wade of Adelaide, the lessee of the Mundi Mundi Station at the time, losses on Thakaringa had been great.

Mutooroo Station Andrew Smith (1853-1924) became station manager at Mutooroo Station in 1878, and in 1922 he was appointed managing director of the Mutooroo Pastoral Company which owned the station. He married Jessie Macpherson in Western Australia. They moved to South Australia in 1871 when Andrew started to work on Paratoo Station before going to Mutooroo Station. He died unexpectedly in 1824 and, according to his obituary, had been “one of the best-known figures in the pastoral world of South Australia.”80

Mutooroo Station complex. c. 1891. SLSA [B 11530]

Mutooroo Station, Shearers Quarters. Mutooroo Station Homestead, c. 1885. c. 1935. SLSA [B 11529].

Jessie and Andrew had a daughter who died four weeks after her birth, and then three sons, one of whom died during the First World War. Keith and Ross, the two surviving sons, spent their childhood years on Mutooroo Station and later went to Queen’s School in Adelaide. Keith joined the Royal Flying Corps in Britain in 1914. After World War One both sons rose to world fame when they completed the first and fastest flight from England to Australia, together with their two mechanics. They landed in Darwin on 10 December 1919 and received for their efforts the £10,000 award for the air race. Keith later became the Australian representative for the Vickers Manufacturing Company and eventually the director of several airlines. He died in 1955.

151 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Ross served in the Australian Light Horse mounted troops at Gallipoli in World War One, until he transferred into the Australian Flying Corps in 1916. He was killed in 1922 while flying a Vickers Viking plane in England, preparing for a voyage around the globe. Both Keith and Ross received a Knighthood. In 1920 Keith and Ross must have flown their plane in which they won the race from England to the Northfield aerodrome in South Australia. Many people came and watched as Ross took his parents for a ride while an official photographer made a film of Adelaide from above.81

Ross and Keith Smith’s arrival in Sydney. 14 February 1920. SLSA [B 20933] Keith & Ross Smith at Lake Dismal c. 1919 SLSA [B 53741] Other stations around Boolcoomatta Kalabity Station, to the north-west of Boolcoomatta, was at one stage owned by Walter Hawker who was the sixth son of George Hawker, of Bungaree Station near Clare in South Australia. The family were known for breeding the South Australian large-framed Merino sheep which could tolerate the dry pastoral conditions.82 The robustness of the sheep was praised in a short newspaper article in 1932 when 8000 of them were held at a dam on their way to be shorn at Kalabity Station. Mr JF Fitzsimmons had been managing the station for sixteen years. He died in 1929, and neighbours and friends attended his funeral, including Keith Marsh from Boolcoomatta.83 Mr R Honner was manager when parliamentarians from the South Australian Government visited several stations in the region in 1929. It was reported that on Kalabity one dam has not received water in it for nine years, and others have not held water for six years. It is one of the most improved stations north of the line. Mr. Hawker has provided nearly 40 water supplies and 18 miles of piping to paddocks which are fenced off. The total value of the improvements is between £35,000 and £40,000. The property contains 931 square miles, and runs about 15.000 sheep. The group also visited close-by Curnamona where many improvements had been made. The area of the run is 534 square miles and although it enjoys only a seven inch rainfall, it is capable of carrying 40 sheep to the mile. This is made possible by the large number of permanent water supplies provided and the good condition of the bush on account of judicious stocking. The present holding is about 25,000 sheep.

152 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

On the way back from Curnamona the reporter noted that the further west the party travelled the drier the country became, and the areas round the water supplies were badly eaten out. Towards the boundary where a local rain had fallen the bush was much better and on this a large flock of kangaroos were seen quietly feeding. These animals scent all the rain storms, and congregate in colonies long before the sheep can be moved to the area. Other mobs were seen further along, and running along a boundary fence one of the does hopped along within three feet of the cars with the speedometers registering 30 miles an hour, and the 'roo showed little distress. Further on several large emus trotted across the track.84 Mr Wade managed Winnininnie Station in 1933. He had started his working life around fifty years earlier on Koonoona Station close to Burra. The manager at the time was Mr WG Hawkes. He taught Mr Wade early on how to mount a nervous horse safely and that wax matches could easily cause a fire which could destroy precious animal feed. Initially Mr Wade thought he was a tough boss, but he came to respect him, and over the years they became friends. Mr Wade and his wife treasured a letter they received when they left Koonoona Station, writing about the “fine serve rendered by these faithful and capable Mary and Bill Wade in 1933 85 employees”. with their donkey at Panaramitee.

Mining on and around Boolcoomatta

Mining continued on and around Boolcoomatta during the first half of the 20th century. In 1919 phosphate was mined86, and the development of fertilisers was in its early stages. Blocks of apatite … [came] from Boolcoomatta station, in the north-eastern part of the State, where active mining of this valuable material is now in progress. The low-grade phosphate rock has a special interest because a systematic test is being made by the Department of Agriculture at Kybybolite Experimental Farm to determine the value of the finely ground raw phosphate a fertiliser.87 In Silverton, across the New South Wales border, mining had started in 1880, and had been given up by 1922. The township of Silverton, like so many other mining settlements, had emptied of people and became derelict.88 However, new mines were developed, and Sir Douglas Mawson made some important discoveries of minerals in the region.

153 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Sir Douglas Mawson Mawson was born in 1882 in Yorkshire, England, and his family moved to Australia two years later. He studied mining and engineering at Sydney University, graduated in 1903 and then undertook a geological survey of Vanuatu. In 1904 he wrote an article on radioactive minerals in Australia and developed an interest in the chemical aspects of geology. He came to South Australia in 1905, when he was appointed as a lecturer in mineralogy and petrology at the University of Adelaide. He became interested in glacial studies which in 1908 led to his participation in Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica. Further expeditions followed in later years.

Douglas Mawson on Boolcoomatta, c. 1905-1912 Courtesy of Genny Badger.

Mawson travelled several times throughout the north-eastern area of South Australia and camped on Old Boolcoomatta. In 1912 he found the first deposit of the mineral Beryl in the Olary district and identified rock deposits of uranium near Boolcoomatta on Oulnina Station. This became later know as Radium Hill and was the first major radioactive ore body found in Australia. It was mined, and in a report to the managing director of the Radium Hill Company (Olary, SA), Mr S Radcliff, works manager and chemist, states that at present sulphate containing from 20-25 milligrammes of radium is being delivered to the crystalizing department per week, and this amount will shortly be augmented ….89 During his many years as a lecturer and professor at the University of Adelaide, Mawson did field work with his students and showed them how to survive in the bush. One student coming to the north-east and Boolcoomatta was Reginald Sprigg. He reported that students did not agree with Mawson’s choice of food rations, which originated from his time in the Antarctic climate. Summer studies on Boolcoomatta were not suited to a diet of sardines in oil, solid bread, a slab of chocolate or ant-riddled condensed milk poured into a cup of tea.90 Sir Douglas Mawson died on 14 October 1958.91

154 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

In 1924 Sir Edgeworth David visited Radium Hill together with Mawson and Professor Summers, Associate Professor of Geology at Melbourne University. Sir Edgeworth reported that they visited places which were amongst the most famous geological districts in Australia. We saw the phosphate deposits at Boolcoomatta, the ilmenite deposits, and the copiapite deposits, the last named being used chiefly for paint making. There are quite extensive deposits of this material, and it is encountered at a great many places. … At Boolcoomatta, another feature I wanted to see was the extra-ordinary development of those old glacial deposits originally discovered in the Sturt Gorge by Professor Howchin. Sir Douglas Mawson has proved their existence to be on a very extensive scale. … The Boolcoomatta development is a most wonderful development of these glacial deposits, and the material must have been laid down close to the age of the great Continental ice shed, like the present ice cap of the Antarctic, as the blocks of rock transported by glacial ice at Boolcoomatta are in many cases over 20 ft. long. They also visited Olary, south-west of Boolcoomatta, where radium deposits had been found.92

People involved in mining Mining affected the people living on and around Boolcoomatta Station differently. Tragedy could strike unexpectedly. In September 1896 three children burnt to death in a tent at the Luxemburg mine. Their mother had settled them into bed and left the tent for a short while. Her husband was in the Silverton Hospital, after he had his toes crushed in a mining accident. The children might have tried to light a kerosene lamp, tipped it over and spilled kerosene which led to the fire.93 Other people became directly involved in mining by tailing on mining leases, heading to the goldfields, or being involved in the running of mines. Francis J Spence advertised in 1903 his intention “to apply for mineral lease 40 acres, 1½ miles south of Boolcoomatta station, defined by posts and trenches.”94 In 1906 the Old Copper Hill mine was established about four miles west of Benowrie95, and one year later Mr T Greer was appointed as its mine manager.96 With all the mining on and around Boolcoomatta, explosives had to be stored in a safe place. At some time an explosives store had been built, surrounded by rocks to prevent damage from accidental explosions.

Explosives store at Boolcoomatta

155 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

In 1918 Daniel Meehan, manager of Boolcoomatta at the time, took up the 40 acre mineral lease for the Dome Rock Copper Mine. Some parts of the mine were open-cut, and underground were the Day Shaft, Meehan Shaft and Crawford Shaft. Ground water occurred in the shafts at about 200 feet depth. At the Dome Rock Copper Company annual general meeting in 1923 Robert Crawford was the Chairman of Directors. Both he and Daniel Meehan were re-elected as directors. At the time it was the intention of the board to sink the Day Shaft to a depth of 250 feet and use it as the main hauling shaft. The establishment work would take at least three months, and then ore could be broken and raised at a small cost.97 Other people were heading to central Australia to look for gold. FA Wicks and W McKinlay left Broken Hill in 1903 by camel to go to the Arltunga goldfields in the McDonnell Ranges close to Alice Springs. They headed to Benowrie outstation and Bimbowrie, then Yunta and north towards the Flinders Ranges and beyond. Changes on Boolcoomatta

One change that affected not only Boolcoomatta but all remote areas in Australia was initiated by the Reverend John Flynn. He was a Presbyterian Minister who had travelled through remote areas and saw how tough life was for the people living there. Accidents and illness happened, and it was difficult to get help. Two doctors served the people in an area of around two million square miles. He wanted to provide medical help that was easier accessible and developed his vision of a ‘Mantle of Safety’.

Reverend John Flynn and his ‘Mantle of Safety’ John Flynn was born in 1880 in Moliagul, west of Bendigo in Victoria. He became interested in life in the Outback when he listened to stories told by his father’s business partners who had tried to establish a business in the far north of the country. John began school teaching and then studied theology and divinity at the University of Melbourne. In January 1911 he was ordained as a Minister of the Presbyterian Church. Together with Andrew Barber, another Minister doing missionary work in rural and remote areas throughout Victoria and South Australia, he published The Bushman's Companion, a John Flynn popular book of information and hints for people in the bush. He started his work in remote Australia at the Dunesk Mission at Beltana, 500 km north of Adelaide. Within one year he travelled to Darwin and other places in the Northern Territory to report back to the Church on life there. He proposed to establish an Inland Mission to “minister to the spiritual, social and medical needs of people in the Outback.” After a life full of achievements that helped people living in the Outback, John Flynn died in 1951 in New South Wales. His life’s work has been memorialised in several ways, including with his picture on the $20 note.98

156 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Lieutenant Clifford Peel, a Victorian medical student with an interest in flying, inspired Flynn to establish the Flying Doctor Service. It took another ten years until the first plane took off in 1928. Alf Traeger, a wireless operator, combined his skills with those of Flynn to set up the communication systems between people in the Outback and the Flying Doctor Service. From 1929 people could pedal their radio and speak to a doctor to get advice about health issues. In 1937 the central operations section of the Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service for South Australia operated from Broken Hill. Two years later the South Australian and Northern Territory area base opened in Alice Alf Traeger and his pedal radio. Springs and became the centre of operations in 2001. Today the Royal Flying Doctor Service, as it became known in 1955, provides a lifeline to remote areas in Australia and runs various medical services in the country’s remote and more urban regions.99

Other changes The improved access to medical help for people living in remote areas was one of many changes which happened on Boolcoomatta while the McCulloch family owned the station between 1874 and 1953. During those 79 years lease conditions changed twice, causing much controversy and heartache to those who tried to make a living on small lease holdings and did not succeed. In 1888 Boolcoomatta was split into Old Boolcoomatta and Benowrie which became the new Boolcoomatta. During the 1920s several leases were sold, in the southern and south-eastern sections. When Boolcoomatta was sold in 1953 it was considered to be some of the best grazing country in the north- east. The work and success of the station had been influenced by many different factors. Periods of drought, eventually followed by rain continued as always, bores and dams were built, pests like rabbits, wild dogs and locusts had to be dealt with, and wool prices fluctuated, depending on what happened in Australia and the world. There was a steady stream of workers coming to the station and leaving again once their job was completed. This movement of people was made easier once the train connection at Mingary was established in 1888. The first cars arrived in the remote region between 1912 and 1920, once people saw that it made sense to replace the horse which provided transport for so long and was a good and faithful friend. The changes in the mode of transport led to the development of a more extensive social life for people living and working on the remote stations. A telephone connection was established in 1911 which was used since 1929 to get medical help from the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Little is known how world events like the two World Wars and the Great Depression affected station life on Boolcoomatta. Some men left to join the war effort, which might have led to a shortage of labour. People who became unemployed during the Great Depression might have found work to help drilling bores and building dams along the railway line. Swaggies roamed around the country during that time, looking for work and often got small jobs on farms and stations.

157 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Boolcoomatta was sold in 1953 by the executors of Duncan McCulloch’s estate, 23 years after his death. During this time the station had prospered, and many came and fell in love with life on this harsh but beautiful part of the country. Dorothea McKellar expressed this in her poem My Country. I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel sea, Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me!100

158 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

Notes

1 Cockburn, R. & Aldersey, A.D. (1974). Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Blackwood, S.A: Lynton Publications, Vol 1, p. 128. 2 Advertising. The Advertiser, Friday 18 December 1891, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2305746. Accessed 6 December 2020. 3 Pastoralist passes. News, 18 August 1930, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130256066/11119524. Accessed 6 December 2020. 4 Port Lincoln man pays £74,000 for sheep station. , 16 July 1953, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97185195/9452301. Accessed 6 December 2020. 5 SA Genealogy & Heraldry & Macbeth Genealogical Services (1988). South Australian Births, Deaths & Marriages Registrations, 1842-1906. 6 General notes. The Register, 16 April 1913, p. 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59253727/4508652. Accessed 6 December 2020. 7 Testing the trigger. Daily Herald, 19 November 1912, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105267886/10489784. Accessed 6 December 2020. 8 Lot of entries. Chronicle, 23 September 1954, p. 38. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93984993/8682703. Accessed 6 December 2020. 9 Boolcoomatta Station strikers fined. Chronicle, Saturday 9 September 1922, p. 47. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87515745/8604264. Accessed 6 December 2020. 10 Out among the people. Chronicle, 1 August 1946, p. 39. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93123159/8712790. Accessed 6 December 2020. 11 The other side of the picture. Visit to Benowrie. Chronicle, 25 September 1897, p. 42. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87764174/8450330. Accessed 6 December 2020. 12 Ibid. 13 Advertising. The Register, 10 November 1920, p. 12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63023682/4550907. Accessed 6 December 2020. 14 Boolcoomatta lease sold. The Register, Friday 28 September 1923, p. 12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65043611/4567035. Accessed 6 December 2020. 15 Advertising. The Register, 21 September 1923, p. 14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/4566955. Accessed 2 December 2020. 16 Advertising. The Register, 9 November 1920, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63030007. Accessed 9 May 2021. 17 Subdivision of Boolcoomatta Station. Barrier Miner, 17 January 1925, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45873999/3284583. Accessed 6 December 2020. 18 Station properties sold. Chronicle, Saturday 7 February 1925, p. 29. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87514577/8600760. Accessed 7 December 2020. 19 Station property sold. Barrier Miner, Thursday 5 February 1925, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45890091/3284645. Accessed 6 December 2020. 20 Our pastoral country. Observer, 14 February 1925, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/166317542/19333656. Accessed 2 December 2020. 21 North-east pastoral country. The Advertiser, 12 April 1929, p. 17. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35720642/2482437. Accessed 6 December 2020. 22 North-east pastoral lands. The Advertiser, 8 April 1929, p. 11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2482339. Accessed 6 December 2020. 23 North-east pastoral country. The Advertiser 26 July 1929, p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2478577. Accessed 6 December 2020. 24 Advertising. Barrier Miner, 10 November 1910, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45125344/3380161. Accessed 6 December 2020. 25 Mingary—New telephones. Daily Herald, 14 August 1911, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105329024/10495361. Accessed 7 December 2020. 26Advertising. The Advertiser, 8 August 1914, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/6428761/967922. Accessed 6 December 2020. 27 Pastoral rains. Chronicle, 24 November 1932, p. 37. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90632009/8768078. Accessed 7 December 2020. 28 Rains on north-east pastoral country. Chronicle, 21 December 1933, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90951285/8668489. Accessed 7 December 2020.

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29 Dry seasons in north-east. The Advertiser, 4 April 1933, p. 13. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/74008370/7291671. Accessed 6 December 2020. 30 Drought necessitates early shearing. Chronicle (Adelaide), 11 May 1933, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90884869?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FC%2Ftitl e%2F291%2F1933%2F05%2F11%2Fpage%2F8666227%2Farticle%2F90884869. Accessed 10 May 2021. 31 Cockburn Progress Association (2020). Cockburn SA—Town history. http://www.cockburn.org.au/town-history.html. Accessed 8 December 2020. 32 Manning, G.H. (2010). The place names of our land: a South Australian anthology. Modbury, South Australia : Gould Genealogy & History, p. 216. 33 The Advertiser Special Representative. North-east pastoral lands. Effect of amending bill. Enquiry by parliamentarians. The Advertiser, 8 April 1929, p. 11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35719258. Accessed 6 December 2020. 34 Newspaper clipping, Genny Badger collection. 35 Three men at Boolcoomatta. SLSA [B 69731]. 36 Mohair to be grown at Glenroy. , 24 August 1950, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/209485722/23030801. Accessed 8 December 2020. 37 The London wool sales. The Argus, 3 December 1894, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8723507/317403. Accessed 8 December 2020. 38 The producer. The Advertiser, 30 October-1906, p. 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5109802/929368. Accessed 6 December 2020. 39 Blowfly pest in the north-east. News, 30 March 1937, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131207353/11197710. Accessed 8 December 2020. 40 Eighth wool appraisment. Chronicle, 2 April 1942, p. 9. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92376032/8689259. Accessed 7 December 2020. 41 Sheep market. Chronicle, 12 April 1913, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88734821/8528943. Accessed 7 December 2020. 42 Organizers’ report. The Worker, 10 September 1913, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145716513/16539978. Accessed 8 December 2020. 43 The shearing strike. The Advertiser, 1 September 1922, p. 9. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49114475/2923370. Accessed 6 December 2020. 44 The shearing strike. The Advertiser, 6 September 1922, p. 12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49115324/2923443. Accessed 6 December 2020. 45 Shearers defend workers’ rights. Tribune, 24 May 1950, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/209395725/22669619. Accessed 8 December 2020. 46 Circuit court. South Australian Register, 27 July 1891, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48236756/4059938. Accessed 6 December 2020. 47 South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. & Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd. (1988). South Australian Births, Registrations 1842-1906. 48 Reminiscences of Mr Con Noonan, quoted with consent of the Noonan family. Story courtesy of the Noonan family and Genny Badger collection. 49 The pastoral problem. The Register, Thursday 11 June 1908, p. 9. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/56868772/4436638. Accessed 6 December 2020. 50 Out among the people. Chronicle, 6 August 1953, p. 54. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93941309/8703175. Accessed 7 December 2020. 51 Reminiscences of Mr Con Noonan, quoted with consent of the Noonan family. Story courtesy of the Noonan family and Genny Badger collection. 52 Vox, Out among the people. (n.d.) Newspaper article. Genny Badgercollection. 53 Country news. Chronicle, 29 September 1906, p. 14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8532368. Accessed 7 December 2020. 54 A suicide. The Advertiser, 20 June 1900, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36960603/2446979. Accessed 6 December 2020. 55 Accidents and fatalities—A shearer found dead. Barrier Miner, 30 July 1901, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44306858/3346619. Accessed 6 December 2020. 56 Death in the bush. The Register, 1 August 1901, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/56643518/4410889. Accessed 8 December 2020. 57 Sudden death. Barrier Miner, 15 September 1902 p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44304443/3370889. Accessed 6 December 2020.

160 The Scot, the Irishman and the sheep, 1890 to 1953

58 A lonely death. Chronicle. Saturday 15 April 1905, p. 11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88420936/8473008. Accessed 7 December 2020. 59 Kicked by a horse. The Register, Wednesday 25 October 1911, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59214467/4504005. Accessed 6 December 2020. 60 Personal notes. Barrier Miner, 16 January 1926, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45923191/3277872. Accessed 7 December 2020. 61 Cash Price list. Burra Record, 16 May 1906, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/37327716/4756499. Accessed 8 December 2020. 62 In the early days. Barrier Miner. 19 October-1907, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44379992/3481427. Accessed 7 December 2020. 63 Story from an unnamed newspaper, 7 January 1957. Genny Badger collection. 64 A “clearing” sale. Barrier Miner, 12 May 1904, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44350804/3498971. Accessed 7 December 2020. 65 Sale at Silverton. Barrier Miner, 14 October 1905, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44482410/3348482. Accessed 7 December 2020. 66 The Boolcoomatta Glee Club. Barrier Miner, Wednesday 9 September 1908, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45023697/3528121. Accessed 7 December 2020. 67 Concert at Boolcoomatta. Barrier Miner, Saturday 17 October 1908, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45031092/3528257. Accessed 7 December 2020. 68 C J Dennis (1915). A Song of Rain. https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/dennis-c-j-clarence- james/poems/a-song-of-rain-0027020, Accessed 20 July 2020. 69 Mingary v. Boolcoomatta. Daily Herald, Friday 29 September 1911, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105338174/10495772. Accessed 8 December 2020. 70 Mingary. Daily Herald, 28 August 1913, p.8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105590440/10578776. Accessed 8 December 2020. 71 Murphy, D. 14 October 2014. Broken Hill, New Year’s Day, 1915 was Australia’s first terrorist attack. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/broken-hill-new-years- day-1915-was-australias-first-terrorist-attack-20141014-115weh.html. Accessed 8 December 2020. 72 Migration Heritage Centre (2011). The battle of Broken Hill and repercussions for the German community. http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/enemyathome/battle-of-broken- hill/index.html. Accessed 8 December 2020. 73 Outback sport—Donkey race at Waukaringa. Chronicle, 18 May 1933, p. 36. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90883454/8666323. Accessed 7 December 2020. 74 Out among the people. The Advertiser, 13 August 1934, p. 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35127431/2680476. Accessed 6 December 2020. 75 Out among the people. The Advertiser, Tuesday 1 September 1936, p. 21. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/74319024/7299708. Accessed 6 December 2020. 76 Out among the people. The Advertiser, 23 June 1936, p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48155596/2650128. Accessed 6 December 2020. 77 Advertising. Leader (Vic), 20 May 1911, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/21514322. Accessed 8 December 2020. 78 Crawford, I. (1996). A Life’s Journey: Robert Crawford, Australian Pastoralist. Perth, W.A.: Bulwer Lytton Publications. 79 Adams, C. (2008). Way out west: pastoral stories of western New South Wales. Joondalup, W.A.: Ocean Publishing, p. 33. 80 Obituary. Chronicle, 22 November 1924, p. 44. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/89380058/8783711. Accessed 7 December 2020. 81 Sir Ross Smith. Parents taken for flight. Barrier Miner, 29 March 1920, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45507829/3243590. Accessed 7 December 2020. 82 Hawker, F. & Linn, R. (1992). Bungaree: Land, stock and people. Adelaide: Turnbull Fox Phillips. 83 Advertising. The Advertiser, 1 February 1929, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2475920. Accessed 6 December 2020. 84 North-east pastoral lands. The Advertiser, 8 April 1929, p. 11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35719258/2482339. Accessed 6 December 2020. 85 Tour concluded--wonderful constitution of merino sheep. Chronicle, 11 May 1933, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90884868/8666227. Accessed 7 December 2020. 86 Phosphate deposits. Daily Herald, 6 September 1919, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/106475863/10501227. Accessed 8 December 2020.

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87 General news. Chronicle, 13 September 1919, pp. 36. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/89160089/8614063. Accessed 7 December 2020. 88 Back and Beyond. Silverton. The story of a cemetery that was once a town. The Australian Worker, 5 April 1922, p. 5. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/149530348/16657663. Accessed 8 December 2020. 89 Radium Hill. Observer, 28 September 1912, p. 48. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164780610/19126061. Accessed 8 December 2020. 90 Widenbach, K. (2008). Rock star: the story of Reg Sprigg - an outback legend. Hindmarsh, South Australia: East Street Publications, p. 18. 91 Jacka, J. (1986). Mawson, Sir Douglas (1882-1958). In Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 10. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mawson-sir- douglas-7531. Accessed 8 December 2020. 92 Mining notes. The Register, 4 September 1924, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57893929/4572038. Accessed 6 December 2020. 93 An appalling incident. Barrier Miner, 21 September 1896, p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news- article44162939. Accessed 9 December 2020. 94 Advertising. The Advertiser, 29 August 1903, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/917376. Accessed 6 December 2020. 95 Old Copper Hill Mine, Benowrie. Chronicle, 1 December 1906. p. 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88128382/8532861. Accessed 7 December 2020. 96 Benowrie copper company. Barrier Miner, 9 January 1907, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44378495/3481131. Accessed 7 December 2020. 97 Metals and mines. The Register, 28 September 1923, p. 13. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65043651/4567036. Accessed 6 December 2020. 98 Royal Flying Doctor Service (n.d.) John Flynn Biography. https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/about-the-rfds/history/john-flynn-bio/. Accessed 14 August 2020. 99 Royal Flying Doctor Service (n.d.) History. https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/about-the-rfds/history/ Accessed 22 August 2020. 100 My country. Chronicle. 28 July 1932, p 59. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90902013/8767002. Accessed 7 December 2020.

162 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

Percy Puckridge owned Boolcoomatta from 1953, and it was sold by his estate in 1986. With his purchase a link was established to the Tapley family, the first lessees of the station from 1857 to 1859. Percy’s maternal grandfather was John Tapley, the brother of Thomas Tapley who had been part owner of Boolcoomatta. In 1947 Percy Puckridge also had taken up the lease of Bon Bon Station1, which now is another Bush Heritage reserve. He was an absent landholder and lived in Port Lincoln. Percival Puckridge

Percival Lincoln Puckridge was born on 20 April 1896 at Lake Wangary on the in South Australia as the twelfth of fourteen children and died in 1974 at Port Lincoln. His parents, Russell and Lucy Puckridge were farming in the Mount Dutton, Wangary area, near Port Lincoln in South Australia. Percival married Irene Rosewarne in 1920 in Adelaide. Irene was the daughter of John Rosewarne who had established a blacksmith and rural equipment and buggy making business in Kadina, south of Port Pirie, before moving to the Wangary area, north-west of Port Lincoln. Percy and Irene had a son Brian, born in 1927 at Port Lincoln, who died three weeks later. Their next child was Clairwho married in 1950 Peter Jones, of Cummins. The two announced their engagement one year earlier before Clair left Australia to go on a special farming trip to England and the Continent. They will visit world famous studs and dairies and inspect the latest developments in overseas agricultural developments. 2 Percy’s niece, the late Molly Puckridge, collated a family history in which she provided some information about her uncle.3 According to her, he lived life to the full and was involved in many things. He was known as a big tall man and as a young man, he would ride his motor-bike into Port Lincoln each week to play football for the Wayback Football Team. Overall, he was an approachable man with a ready smile who would offer his hand to any man with the words, ‘I'm Perce Puckridge’. He would say good-day and offer pleasantries to a man with the seat out of his pants. He was a self-made man who helped many people and organisations. But he also despised weakness, laziness and social climbing and bludging. If a man had strength of character and purpose and knew how to work, he would have Perce's unconditional respect, as did his station and farm managers. He struggled during the Depression, but it might have helped him that he was “an expert on merino sheep” and had “great business foresight and his business courage.”

163 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

Percy held “widely scattered properties—Bulloo Creek and Boolcoomatta stations in the north-east of the state, Bon Bon in the north-west, Lairg and Central stations near Elliston, Kia Ora and White River stud, and Alcoota cattle station near Alice Springs.”4 He purchased the 19,286 hectares (47,656 acres) large Lairg Station with 9000 sheep in 1946 for £42,000.5 One year later he bought Bon Bon Station, with a carrying capacity of 15,000 to 17,000 sheep on 215,746 hectares.6 Boolcoomatta was small in comparison, with 62,937 hectares and carrying 6000 sheep. In 1945 he became the licensee of the Pier Hotel at Port Lincoln.7 Percy Puckridge was nominated to the Council of Port Lincoln in 19368. He served for several years as a councillor9 and was elected as Mayor from 1954 to 1967, becoming one of only four mayors serving for more than ten years in this capacity.10 According to Molly Puckridge, he “raised the image of the mayoralty considerably” because of his personality.11 Percy was interested in horse racing and was for some years during the early 1950s Chairman of the Port Lincoln and North Shields Racing Club.12 In 1952 he bought a colt for 2500 guineas and “hoped to win the Port Lincoln Cup with the horse”.13 Two years later he bought another Arab colt, but this was to be used on Bon Bon Station for breeding Percy Puckridge in his station hacks.14 Mayoral robe. In the early 1950s wool had reached its highest price in Australia. This added to the success of Percy, who had an eye for buying good breeding stock. He paid high prices for stud to achieve excellent wool production. About twenty years after he bought the colts, in 1973, he paid a world record price of $36,000 for a stud merino ram at the Royal Adelaide Show sales … . The previous highest price was $27,000. … Mr Puckridge, 75, who did his bidding from a wheelchair, said he had been prepared to go to any price to secure the stud ram. “He is the most outstanding sheep that I have ever seen”, he said.15 Bevern Roberts, who was employed as Boolcoomatta’s manager, went with Percy to purchase the ram. Since leaving school Bevern had worked for many years as a jackaroo before he became manager. He had a great deal of respect for Percy and remembers bringing stock in close to the homestead when Percy was due to visit, so that he could inspect them from his wheelchair. He described Irene Puckridge as a lovely kind lady.16 Percy was successful with growing wool at Bon Bon Station. In 1952 he was one of the five growers who obtained 100d. a lb. or better for their wool at the final AdelaideError! Bookmark not defined. sale yesterday. Twenty-one bales of AAA good length 64s. grown by Mr Puckridge at Bon Bon Station sold at 100 ¾ d.17 Other people recognised his successes and influence, and in 1945 he became the Chairman of the Stockowners Association.18 Percy’s wife Irene died in November 1972 at the age of 81 in Port Lincoln. In 1973 he married Thelma Luck, who had been his secretary for many years. Percy died on 17

164 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

May 1974 at Port Lincoln, where his ashes were interred in a park named after him. After his death his widow Thelma continued to run his estate, including Boolcoomatta, until this was sold in 1986 to the Badger family. Thelma once visited Boolcoomatta to attend to business, and staff members later remembered that she burned piles of old station records. She retired to Victor Harbor, but later moved to Hobart, where she died in February 1995. The burning of station records meant that little original information was available about the station’s business, the staff members who were employed over the years and the life they led. Therefore this history of the European settlement of Boolcoomatta and the surrounding area had to rely mainly on newspaper articles and advertisements, and resources from the State Library of South Australia. Life and work on Boolcoomatta Station

Percy Puckridge bought Boolcoomatta in July 1953 for £74,000 at an auction.19 According to the sales advertisement20, the property was 230 square miles (59,570 ha) in size, with an annual rental and instalments for improvements of £270/15/11. Included in the sale was also a block of 13 square miles (3367 hectares) with various leaseholds with an annual rental of £13. Improvements included a stone homestead with seven rooms, kitchen and two bathrooms with a septic system. Telephone to Mingary Exchange was connected. There was another house with five rooms, a stone cottage with four rooms, accommodation and facilities for shearers, a large stone shearing shed with the necessary equipment and various other sheds, stables, blacksmith’s shops, office and store rooms. The western and southern parts were fenced with dog fence, all other boundary fences were with five wires. The property was divided into eleven main and three small paddocks, had ten good dams, one well and two bores. There also was a waterhole in Oonartra Creek, and the average rainfall was approximately seven inches. Boolcoomatta was considered to be some of the best grazing country in the north east. Apart from the narrow broken range of mulga hills, property comprises undulating soft to light rubble open country with a few stony outcrops growing chiefly saltbush, some blue and cotton bush, also bindeyl, herbage and rootgrasses, is intersected by Oonartra Creek entering from South and extending across North West numerous scattered small creeks forming into useful flood country. … Boolcoomatta Station is offered on a walk-in walk-out basis with approx. 6.000 sheep …. Together with complete Station Plant and Furniture.21 Keith Marsh had been the long-term manager since 192022 and retired when the property was sold. When the Tapley family leased Boolcoomatta in 1857 it was 16,317 ha (66 square miles). The land was undeveloped, and the sheep were looked after by shepherds. Over the ensuing 96 years more land was added to the lease to make sheep farming more viable in this dry country. A land reform in 1888 by the South Australian Government changed the size again. The different owners developed the station over the years according to their knowledge, financial capacity and needs.

165 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

The following map was valid until 1964 and shows the names, lot numbers and owners of Boolcoomatta and surrounding properties. The map makes a reference to Benowrie, the former name of the current Boolcoomatta. What had been Old Boolcoomatta was by this time part of Bimbowrie, but the Old Boolcoomatta homestead is still marked in the south-eastern half of the property. Neighbouring properties at the time were Bimbowrie, Kalabity, Kalkaroo, Lake Dismal, held by Mutooroo Pastoral Co, Bundera, Wompinie and Bindarrah.

Boolcoomatta and neighbouring properties. Pastoral Run Sheet 5, 1936-1964. SLSA

The Bulloo Creek lease also had been taken up by Percy Puckridge.Percy Puckridge had bought a well-run and successful station, but he still saw room for improvements. One was to rebuild the homestead. Met Mr P L Puckridge, mayor of Port Lincoln, in Adelaide back from his Boolcoomatta station, in the north-east, where he has had rebuilt the historic homestead erected by Mr Alexander McCulloch. Tom Davies (manager) and his wife are pleased with the 10-rooms house and will move in this week. Phil Anderson says the “Queen would approve of it,” said Percy Puckridge, who likes to set high standards in all he undertakes. 23

166 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

Percy engaged “first class tradesmen from Port Lincoln” for the work.24 He initiated other improvements as well. The facilities needed for shearing and shearers of both Boolcoomatta and Bon Bon stations were improved, and similarities in the shearing accommodation areas can be seen even today. At Bon

Bon Station new shearers’ Boolcoomatta homestead 1953 quarters were built, Boolcoomatta got solid built shower and toilet facilities. A stone accommodation unit was added as well. It is likely that these extensive improvements were a consequence of the extremely high wool prices at the time. Following the departure of manager Tom Davies, Percy employed Bevern Roberts. Bevern was married and moved into the Boolcoomatta homestead but then moved to Bulloo Creek and managed both properties. He preferred Bulloo Creek because of its proximity to the main road. Bevern was a skilled horseman, but in the 1970s stock work was mostly done on motor bikes. Matthew Roberts was employed as overseer for Boolcoomatta and took up residence there. Three jackaroos were also working on the station, Trevor Bornholme, Mike Wood and Malcolm Duncan. During the wet years it was a struggle to get from the highway to Boolcoomatta homestead. Bevern remembered that Boolcoomatta had plenty of Mitchell grass as ground cover on the flats and particularly on the Eastern Plains. On Boolcoomatta silt had to be cleaned out of the dams during dry times, whereas Bulloo Creek had several bores which were a more reliable water supply than dams.25 During the first full year of Percy’s ownership of Boolcoomatta, many sheep were sold. In May 1954 over 1000 sheep from Boolcoomatta were yarded for sale at Peterborough, achieving a higher average price than at the previous market.26 In June a further 2500 sheep were offered by auction, “including 950 rising 2yr. Merino wethers, Oct. shorn and Boolcoomatta bred”.27

167 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

Changes in life style After the Second World War the number of cars on the north-east stations increased when American military motor vehicles were left in Australia and sold off at reasonable prices. Many landholders bought these old trucks. One of them survived on Boolcoomatta and nowadays is parked near a shed. It is red, has a water tank for fire fighting on the back and ‘Puckridge’ painted across the door. Before the war fuel had been transported in four gallon tins. Now it was stored in bulk on stations, and at some of them the passing public stopped to refuel. Large trucks replaced the old bullock wagons to cart heavy loads of cargo. They no longer carried bags but bulk bins. Produce was handled in larger quantities, and in agricultural regions grain silos An American military truck. were being built. Mechanisation developed and changed rural production. Some aspects of life and work on the station remained the same though. Rain and drought continued as always. In December 1954 torrential rain in the Silverton and Umberumberka areas last night seriously damaged the Cockburn-Broken Hill railway line.28 This rainfall event caused widespread damage on the stations in the area. One of the heaviest losses was at Boolcoomatta station where at least two dams were washed out when the banks collapsed. Hundreds of miles of fencing was also lost.29 The old stockyards were east of the dams at the homestead, and the sheep dip yards were close by as well. There was a slab of concrete, obviously poured in 1953 and added to the pre-1885 yards precinct.

Old sheep dip. Concrete slab made in 1953

168 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

The price of wool fluctuated, peaking in 1952 during the time of post-war progress. Soldiers returning from war service were at an age to settle, marry and start families. For this first decade after the war the average family size in the country ranged from two to six children. The rabbit plague continued during the 1950s. Rabbit trapping was part of life for country children. The rabbit meat was chilled and sent to butcher shops in towns and cities. The skins were pegged out, turned inside-out and stretched over a u-shaped wire to dry, then sold for pocket money. The fur was used to make

Akubra hats. Rabbit plague. Decimal currency and measurements were introduced in February 1966. It initially might have caused some confusion even though country people took it in their stride and with some humour. Pounds had to be turned into dollars which meant they had twice the debt they started with. When the miles changed to kilometres, they lived twice as far from town. The change from pound to kilogram meant they only got half the weight in wool, and rainfall was Caught rabbits hung on fence. quartered when points turned to millimetres. Other changes, like improved transport infrastructure and the introduction of the School of the Air, made life easier on the remote stations.

Transport As the number and size of cars rose, the roads and tracks were used more, and the need for grading and maintenance increased. The Barrier Highway, which had been proclaimed in 1928, mostly followed the course the bullock teams had taken for decades. In 1959 it was officially named Barrier Highway, and in 1972 its last stretch was sealed with bitumen. The railway was another important link to remote areas. It was established across the Eastern Plains pastoral region in the 1880s to transport the ore from the mines at Broken Hill to Port Pirie. Later it carried the Trans- Continental train from Perth to Sydney. With the train connection people could access the remote stations more easily and people who needed urgent medical care could reach it faster. They would have gone to hospital either in Broken Hill or in Jamestown or Peterborough in R il i bl South Australia. During the 1950s the steam engines were replaced by diesel motors and the water supplies at the railway sidings were no longer needed. Railway gauges had caused some

169 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006 problems across Australia. Each colony, which at Federation became a state, developed their own railway systems. This meant that at many border stations the gauge width changed. Because of the wider or narrower gauge tracks passengers had to swap trains to travel onwards. This changed in 1969 when the standard gauge replaced the older railway gauge for the train going from Sydney to Perth. This train passed through Mingary six times a week, in addition to freight trains coming from Broken Hill laden with ore.

School of the Air Schooling always had been difficult at the remote stations. Children learnt by correspondence sent in the mail and it could take up to six weeks until they received their marked work back. Some children completed their entire schooling without ever meeting their teacher or the other children taught at the same time. The introduction of the School of the Air helped to relieve this isolation.30 Adelaide Miethke, a friend of John Flynn and a teacher, was instrumental in making the School of the Air work by using the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) radio network. She was involved in fund raising to establish the Alice Springs base for the RFDS and became the first female president of its central operations in 1941. She wanted to bridge the loneliness and shyness she had noticed in Adelaide Miethke Source: South Australian Outback children and developed the idea to use two-way History Hub radio to connect them to others. The first official lessons of the School of the Air were sent from the base in Alice Springs on 8 June 1951 to children at remote homesteads. Children now were able to “interact with other children, ask questions of their teacher and supplement their correspondence lessons.”31 The school had bases in several locations, and children taught at Boolcoomatta would have accessed the one in Broken Hill. Phyllis Gibb, who had been teaching a remedial class at Broken Hill North Public School in 1955, was asked to establish the School of the Air in Broken Hill and be the first teacher. The school was officially opened Phyllis Gibb, on 23 February 1956 and serviced children living in School of the Air Southern Queensland, South Australia and more than half Government of of New South Wales. In the late 1980s over 200 students New South Wales. were enrolled.32 Learning by radio, having to press a button and saying the call-in sign was not always easy. Sarah Siemer, who was enrolled in the first class of the Broken Hill school remembers during its 60th anniversary,

170 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

The button-pressing could be problematic, for a start. “We would have singing practice and would sing at the top of our voices but we’d all be pressing the buttons at the same time so no one would hear each other,” Mrs Siemer said. Back then she had recorder and singing lessons over the radio without seeing the teacher, who had to rely on a good ear. “We would even put plays on and dress up but nobody would see us so we’d have to take a photograph and send a photo in to our teacher,” she said. … Mrs Siemer and her classmates only met twice a year and it would take her a full day to get into Broken Hill. … And it only takes Mrs Siemer a couple of hours to drive to Broken Hill these days. “We didn’t know anything different but it was a wonderful experience,” Mrs Siemer said.33 Today students have interactive satellite-based lessons and meet once a term. The radio used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air had other purposes as well. It connected people to relatives in hospital. Mr Foreman attended the opening of the Radium Hill Mine on the day after his wife gave birth to a daughter in Broken Hill. Sister J McKay of the Radium Hill hospital operated the wireless while Mr Foreman received news of his wife and baby from the doctor at Broken Hill.34 Mining

The establishment of the Radium Hill Mine was the most important mining development in the north-east of South Australia after 1953. It was located 40 kilometres southwest of Cockburn on Oulnina Station. The first radium and uranium containing ore was discovered in 1906 by Arthur J Smith who sent a sample to Adelaide for analysis. Geologist Sir Douglas Mawson, who explored the geology of Boolcoomatta some years earlier, found that the sample contained radium and uranium among other minerals. He named the uranium containing mineral davidite after geologist and Antarctic explorer Sir Edgeworth David. Mawson proposed the name Radium Hill for the site where the rock had been found. Smith continued mining until 1908, when the Radium Hill Company took over the lease.35 Radium Hill continued to be worked as an underground mine during the 1930s, for minute amounts of radium for medical purposes. A few hundred kilograms of uranium ore were produced as a by-product and used as a bright yellow pigment in glass and ceramics.36 The mine was revived in 1954 by the South Australian Government “to supply uranium oxide (U3O8) to the UK-USA Combined Development Agency (CDA) for seven years.” It continued to operate until 1961.37

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Radium Hill Mine township Radium Hill Mine Chronicle, 18-11-1954, p.12. Chronicle, 18-11-1954, p.12.

Even though the mine was located south of the Barrier Highway, there was some connection to Boolcoomatta through Reg Sprigg, a South Australian geologist and later owner of Arkaroola, a property north-west of Lake Frome. As a young man he had been studying the glacial history of the area and other geological questions under Douglas Mawson. The camp site of Mawson and his students was a hut on Old Boolcoomatta. Reg Sprigg returned in 1950 to map and plan the uranium mining township of Radium Hill and the fencing of around 100 square miles of Oulnina Station for security reasons.38 Workers on Boolcoomatta

Many people have lived and worked on Boolcoomatta since the 1950s. The following accounts about aspects of life on Boolcoomatta are from the mid 1960s, provided by Max Thompson, and the mid 1970s, by Matthew and Rosemary Roberts.

Max Thompson Max Thompson had been a 17 year old rouseabout on Bon Bon and Boolcoomatta stations around 1965. He grew up in Longford, Tasmania, and left school at fourteen to start earning an income as his father became unwell. A few years later his dad had a conversation with a man at the pub, getting Max a job in South Australia to shear sheep.39 Max headed to the mainland in his Volkswagen for the first time in his life and met his new boss at Kingoonya. Together they drove the red dirt track to Bon Bon station. Max felt invincible and took no water, no food, and no safety gear on this trip, just a spare tyre and .22 rifle. He arrived at Bon Bon station as part of a crew of ten men. At the time Percy Puckridge was the owner of Bon Bon as well as the Mayor of Port Lincoln. He Max Thomson with his VW flew in from time to time in his light aircraft. But this

172 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

wasn’t the only thing flying around the skies as the bilateral agreement between the Australian and British governments saw multiple tests of the Jindivick target drones occur in the area. “We would hear the warning sirens and run for cover in the sandbag air-raid shelter and watch the show”. There was a back breaking drought at the time, and the only ground cover was the red sand. Any low- lying tree branches were quickly turned into sheep Air shelter at Boolcoomatta fodder to try and keep the flock alive. After a month at Bon Bon, Max and the crew headed to Boolcoomatta. Max remembers the smack of killer heat (115°F / 46°C) that was ever present for the entire time on the station. The sandstone outbuildings were noteworthy as there had been an obvious gun battle at some point in the past with the buildings riddled with shell remnants and bullet holes. Dust storms constantly went over Boolcoomatta at this time of drought, and at the end of each week the men had to dig the cars out of the deep sand before hitting the track into Broken Hill for their weekly beer run. On the station, the only way to keep the beer cool was “to store it by a bale hook in a wool pal secured to a rope at the bottom of the lake.” Max is sure there still is a sack full of beer down there now because the rope snapped one day, the beer sunk and nobody could be persuaded to go diving. For Max this was an adventurous first trip away from home, and the memories have stayed with him for a lifetime. When he returned to Tasmania he was offered a job with Qantas at Launceston airport where Max camping at he became an aircraft document controller until he Boolcoomatta retired around 58 years after he had worked on Boolcoomatta.

Matthew and Rosemary Roberts The story of Matthew and Rosemary Roberts was written down in 2015 by Rosemary.40 It is an account of the one year they spent on Boolcoomatta as a young couple. In January 1975 Matthew had been employed as an overseer on Boolcoomatta by Thelma Puckridge, the second wife of Percy. In February Matthew and Rosemary were married in Adelaide. They lived at Boolcoomatta for just over a year before being Rosemary and Matthew Roberts transferred to Bulloo Creek, another Puckridge property. On Boolcoomatta they

173 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006 looked after twelve paddocks of various size. Rosemary also had to cook for the three station hands who also were living at Boolcoomatta. Rosemary had just turned 20, and Matthew was 22, when they started their new life. For her it was an exciting and great adventure. She had to learn many new skills and adapt to an unknown lifestyle.

Boolcoomatta paddock map, Matthew Roberts.

The homestead had 32 Volt power. … The generator needed to be going in order to operate … appliances such as the iron, washing machine and lighting. It had to be started with a crank handle whenever we needed power. Matt mostly did this, but I had to do it when he wasn’t around. … My first experience of starting the generator was terrifying. It was quite a dangerous procedure because if you didn’t let go of the crank handle and release it quickly enough it could fly off and kill you! There was a wood fired hot water system which was called a ‘Donkey’. It had to be lit every day to keep the house supplied with hot water. We had a slow combustion stove, a gas stove, kerosene fridges, and a ringer washing machine. I remember my mum using a ringer washing machine when I was a child. I had no idea how to use it. It was one of the many things Matt had to teach me in those first 12 months. We had to get up early and cook breakfast each morning for the staff. The breakfast usually was chops and eggs. I had to learn to cook with mutton as that was the only meat we had. Sheep were killed on a regular basis as the men ate big meals. We had a bell which we rang each day to signal meal times. I certainly had a crash course in cooking and, unfortunately for the men, they were my guinea pigs. It was however an enjoyable challenge for me.

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We immediately started a garden, as no one had lived in the homestead for some time and it badly needed attention. I enjoyed growing various flowers, and we were lucky to have a good water supply in the dam nearby. There was an established fruit orchard just below the house. We attempted to grow vegetables, although to start with, we planted things in the wrong season. We were keen gardeners but very inexperienced!

Boolcoomatta homestead garden,

Rosemary Matthews Sweet peas, Rosemary Matthews

There was a milking cow on the property which we milked on a daily basis. Matt taught me how to milk a cow, but it took me half a day just to do that chore. I reared some joey kangaroos, one of which was a white albino. This was a great past time. Sadly after a few months some foxes killed the two larger grey joeys. This was my first experience of the cruelty of foxes. The little white albino was quite frail, and he also eventually died. There were a large numbers of kangaroos on the property. Some of the big bucks were standing six to seven feet tall. There also were quite a lot of rabbits and Matt taught me how to shoot a rabbit in the head with a .22 rifle. We would go out in the evenings and shoot what we could.

Rosemary Matthews with pet joeys Woolshed with green ground cover after rain, R Matthews

We bought a 100cc Yamaha motor bike for me to ride. I learnt to ride quickly as I had to keep up with the men. The alternative was to be left behind or stuck in a creek or somewhere totally lost. I used to enjoy riding the motor bike to get the cow in each night and loved helping with

175 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006 mustering. Matt spent long days working on the station which involved doing regular water runs, checking stock, repairing wind mills and fences, and running the usual repairs and station jobs. Shearing was quite a big event and went on for many weeks. The sheep from Bulloo Creek were also mustered and walked over to Boolcoomatta, and it usually took a day to move them from each paddock as required. There was a large shearing team that came in February and March. It was quite a big job preparing the shearing quarters and kitchen etc. in readiness for the arrival of the team. Boolcoomatta was experiencing a good season whilst we were there. There were several good rain events. It was unwise to travel after rain as roads became muddy very quickly. When there was a lot of rain [the water in] the creeks came down, making it impossible to get in or out. On one occasion however, when my brother and his family were visiting us, it started to rain. He urgently needed to get back to Adelaide. In order to get him out he had to be towed with two four wheel drive vehicles tied together. After slipping and sliding 27 kilometres they arrived safely at the bitumen [road]. On the return trip however we weren’t so fortunate. We decided to go home via Bulloo Creek, and when we tried to cross the Oonartra creek our vehicle got stuck. We had to leave the vehicle and walk back in the dark to the homestead. The next morning, when we went to pull it out, [the water in] the creek had come down and the vehicle got flooded!

Slipping in the mud. Matthew and Rosemary Roberts Surveying the damage.

The Broken Hill shopping trip was a big day out for me as I had to put my bush driving skills to the test. I virtually learnt to drive up there and, like many things, it was a steep learning curve for me. Opening and shutting gates meant the trip took even longer. I had to learn to get enough food to last for several weeks and to keep the pantry stocked up in case of emergencies. We had a mailman come each week. His name was Bobby Davis. He brought our mail and other supplies to us as well as other stations in the district. We looked forward to the mail truck coming, and he would either stop for a ‘cuppa’ or a meal, and of course we would catch up on all the local news. The phone line was on a party line, and phone calls and long distance calls to family in Adelaide were limited because of the cost. There was virtually no television reception, and we relied on the radio for news and entertainment. Despite our isolation we got to know our neighbours and became especially good friends with Marg and Bob Hughes who lived at Wompinie station. We learned a lot from them about the area. They had a number of horses, and Matt rode them in the Olary, Mannahill and Yunta gymkhanas and races

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and won some nice trophies. During that year I became secretary of the Olary races. On the north western side of the property was a copper mine called Dome Rock. It was still a working mine while we were there although it later changed to crystal mining. In certain areas in the ranges west of the homestead we used to pick up Chiastolites, a rather unusual cylindrical stone with a graphite Maltese cross in the centre. It was certainly a great experience living at Boolcoomatta station, and it has been lovely recalling some of those early memories of our time spent there. Ten years after Matthew and Rosemary had left Boolcoomatta it was sold to the Badger family who owned Kalkaroo Station adjoining in the north.

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Kalkaroo and Boolcoomatta, Genevieve Badger, 1986 to 2006

Boolcoomatta had changed in size over the years since the lease was first taken up and at times included Kalkaroo, a property adjoining to the north. Genevieve Badger, or Genny as she was called, grew up on Kalkaroo. She and her husband Langdon Badger were living in Adelaide when they bought Boolcoomatta in 1986. The property was managed by their son Langdon Eric Badger (junior) and his wife Heather who were working on fine tuning the quality of wool being produced from the Boolcoomatta and Kalkaroo merinos. The connection of Genny’s family to Kalkaroo and Boolcoomatta started with her paternal grandfather, John Vivian Lord. The Lord family

John Vivian Lord was born in December 1862 at Callington in South Australia, the copper fields of the Adelaide Hills. His parents were both of Cornish descent, and they were one of the copper mining families who had decided to migrate to Australia with its space and opportunities for their children. Like most mining families, they would have moved several times to follow the copper booms. John moved to Burra as a young adult and married Mary Ann Baker in December 1885. She was the daughter of a butcher and one of around thirteen children in the family. In 1886 the couple took up a 10,000 acre Western Land Lease in the New South The butcher shop of Wales Crown Lease system. The property became Mary Ann Baker’s family, ca. 1890 known as the Pinnacles. Genny Badger collection Broken Hill mining had just begun, and John and Mary Ann decided to set up a store on their land, on the way from South Australia to Broken Hill. They sold sheep and cattle carcases, brooms, spades, picks, potatoes, flour, sugar, tea and many other items. Before 1926 blowflies were not a problem in the pastoral area and meat could be hung outside.41

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The General Store of John and Mary Ann Lord at the Pinnacles, close to Broken Hill. c. 1890. Genny Badger collection.

The business was successful, and the family of John and Mary Ann grew to eleven children, including two who died as infants. The oldest was born in 1888 and the youngest, Eric, who was Genny’s father, was born in 1904. John and Mary Ann expanded their land holdings to accommodate six of their sons. By the time of their last two purchases the older children were in their mid thirties. John Lord visited and inspected his properties during the 1930s, and his wife Mary Ann also visited the sons on their stations. It was on one of those visits to Pine Valley station that John became seriously ill. He died in 1935, two years after he had acquired additional leases to Kalkaroo. His youngest son Eric was 21 years old at the time.

The Lord family, 1923. Mabel, Hurtle, Les, Harold, Sylv, Al. Front: Eric, John Vivian, Mary Anne, Perc. Genny Badger collection.

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According to Genny Bagder, John and Mary Ann gave each of their six surviving sons a sheep station. They were told to look well after the two surviving sisters which they did.42 John’s obituary described his life and his acquisitions. He was one of the most successful pioneer pastoralists of Sth. Australia and in the Broken Hill district and was very well known in Burra. … As a young man he lived at Kooringa with his parents in one of the big mining cottages almost opposite the Masonic Hall. … Later he kept a store at the Pinnacles near Broken Hill, before the famous silver-lead mines were discovered. With little money at his disposal he took up a block of 10,000 acres of virgin country near Broken Hill which he called Silverdale. He was successful on this small block, and later he acquired all the country around Silverdale and consolidated it into one fairly large station. In 1904 he took over an abandoned station east of the Burra known as Pine Valley, and this was converted into a thriving station. His next station was Oakvale, previously owned by Mr. Cudmore, which he purchased in 1909, and in 1911 he acquired Wondervale adjoining his original 10,000 acres in the Broken Hill district. He left the Broken Hill district in 1912 and one of his sons carried on the station there. … He purchased Thackeringa station, adjoining Silverdale in 1923, and formed the partnership of J. V. Lord and Sons. His next purchase was KalkarooError! Bookmark not defined. station, formerly a portion of Boolcoomatta station, north of the Cockburn line. During the past few years he has lived at Cross Road, Kingswood, but he maintained an active interest in his station properties, which he visited frequently.43 Mary Ann Lord survived her husband by nine years. Her son Eric and his wife had two children, Deborah and Genevieve, called Genny. During the Second World War the family lived at Kalkaroo. Early during the war a hawker van visited Kalkaroo. It was a common sight in the country for many years and carried anything from safety pins and ribbons to cough medicines, men's shirts and ladies clothing.

The hawker’s van, Genny Badger collection.

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Genny remembered that Sir Douglas Mawson called in when her family was living at Kalkaroo and swapped a stone he had with one Deborah had found. On the track going to Dome Rock is still a peg that was put in the ground by Sir Douglas Mawson's students to identify vaious rocks.44 In 1947 the family moved to Station in the Gawler Ranges, west of Port Augusta. During this time their lease of Kalkaroo station lapsed. Eric Lord took it up again in 1963, with a lease expiry Dawson’s peg. date in 2005. Genny Badger collection. Genny and Deborah travelled at least part of the way from Kalkaroo to Yardea on horseback. Two station hands walked Tricksy and two other horses behind a dray. The journey took about a month and covered approximately 400 miles. After the death of their father in the late 1980s the daughters inherited and divided the estate. Deborah received Yardea and Genny Kalkaroo station. In 1986 Genny purchased the adjoining Boolcoomatta Station from the Puckridge estate. Genny married Langdon Badger, and they were living in Adelaide where Langdon had established a furnishing business in 1952. He was an interior designer and his skills were recognised in 2016 as one of nine Australians in the Design Institute of Australia's Hall of Fame awards. For many years Langdon had a passion for restoring old military aircrafts. The couple had three sons, Magnus, Langdon and Howard. Magnus was a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and was mostly based Genny and Deb Lord on Tricksy at at the Broken Hill RFDS Service. Langdon Yardena Station. managed Kalkaroo and Boolcoomatta together with Genny Badger collection. his wife Heather, and Howard lived in Sydney.

Life and work at Boolcoomatta

Wool growing The 1980s and 1990s was a challenging time on the land. The floor price of wool was removed to free up the world market supply and demand. This left woolgrowers in crisis. By 1991 wool prices had crashed and an enormous amount of stockpiled wool was in Australian storage. Other influences, such as the development of synthetic fibres and production of microfibre garments, contributed to the difficulties of sheep farmers. Many smaller farming operations tried to manage this by diversifying. But on a large pastoral station where the country was best suited to run Merino sheep, and feed and water often was scarce, diversification was nearly impossible. The stability of the soil and pastures needed to be preserved and infrastructure like fencing, the type of yards

181 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006 and watering systems made it difficult to change to cattle or some other farming enterprise. Many shearing sheds around Australia closed their doors in the early 1990s as wool production was no longer viable. Running sheep and shearing wool became less common. In the agricultural land sheep farmers turned to cropping. They removed fences and took out loans to invest in machinery. Some pastoralists must have thought about selling their property. The Badger family eventually sold Boolcoomatta in 2006 to Bush Heritage Australia, and the 150 year-old sheep station became a nature conservation reserve. This is a testimony to all the managers who ran Boolcoomatta as a sheep station in such a way that enough of the natural values remained to warrant this change.

Leisure The Mingary Cup continued to be a yearly event and was for many locals an occasion to catch up. They came in from far and wide. It was a great opportunity to test the skills of the locally bred horses and the skills of many jackeroos. It had changed over the years, with cars replacing the horses and horse-drawn carts used to get to the event. The only remaining evidence of the old Mingary at this time was the water tank on its high stand which was visible on the horizon and in earlier days had supplied water to the steam trains. It remains standing at the turn off on the Barrier Highway to Boolcoomatta.

Arriving at the Mingary Cup.

Socialising at the Mingary Cup

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Transport Transport had changed from one-month-long journeys with the bullock wagons to a one-hour-long plane trip, landing on Boolcoomatta’s airstrip. This also could be used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to provide emergency medical assistance if needed and potentially making a difference between life and death.

Langdon Badger landing at Boolcoomatta airstrip. Genny Badger collection

The Barrier Highway, constructed along the Yunta to Cockburn railway line, became an important connection to Broken Hill. The current map below from the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) shows the Pastoral stations, including their distances from the Barrier Highway, the railway line, the state border and creeks. It also gives some basic information travellers might want to know.

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The RAA map shows the Pastoral Stations and their distances from the Barrier Highway, the railway line, the state border and creeks.

184 The last 53 years as a sheep station, 1953 to 2006

Sale of Boolcoomatta to Bush Heritage Australia

Genny and Langdon Badger sold Boolcoomatta to Bush Heritage Australia on 27 March 2006. The station had played a significant role in the pastoral and mining industries of South Australia since 1857 and has a rich European cultural history. Bush Heritage asked Judith Bonell to conduct a preliminary heritage survey which took place in September 2006. She found “that both the pastoral and mining industries on Boolcoomatta are extremely significant on a regional, state and national level and are well represented on the beautiful and haunting Boolcoomatta landscape.”45

Boolcoomatta Homestead complex at dusk Photo: Wayne Lawler

The homestead area could be surveyed only briefly because of a strong dust storm. The precinct includes two homesteads, a manager’s residence, out sheds, shearing shed, two shearer’s quarters (one thought to be contemporaneous with the shearing shed and a later one), powder magazine, and general infrastructure reflective of Boolcoomatta’s productive and prolific history as a successful pastoral property. … The shearing shed was of particular interest. With its distinctive smell of sheep and lanolin remaining, the echo of the wind through the open-slat floor, and the graffiti left in blue marker by shearers long moved-on, it evoked a strong imagined memory of the iconic industry associated with pastoral history. (pp. 16) According to Isaac Hall’s letters, the Boolcoomatta wool shed was constructed in 1863 on what then was called Benowrie. Bonnell thought it was built during the late 1800s, while the McCulloch family were the leaseholders. The yards and fences outside the shed illustrate the different fencing styles over the years.

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The earliest is a ‘post and rail’ fence constructed of rough hewn tree-trunks, with axe marks indicating where the uprights had been hand-notched to fit the plank rails. Later fences are constructed with tree-trunks or large branches for up-rights with wire fencing. The former indicates construction during the late 1800s to early 1900s, and is possibly contemporaneous with the construction of the shearing shed. (p. 19)

Shearing stands Interior of shearing shed.

The access to water had been and remains essential for survival in the harsh climate of Boolcoomatta. The homestead dam made it possible to have a garden, including for vegetables, which was the pride of managers Arthur Tyndall and Daniel Meehan. Remains of a windmill and general watering infrastructure appear to have been used for replenishing the homestead dam. The remains include poly piping of a more recent date, but it is likely that the windmill had been used before the piping was added.46 Wells around the property were important for watering stock and people who needed to fill up their water supply. Bundera Well was a government watering point which had been built in 1867. It sits on the beautiful tree lined ephemeral banks of Bundera Creek, 6 kilometres east of Bundera Dam on the eastern boundary of Boolcoomatta Reserve. The site is comprised of the well, a sheep trough, the remnants of a steam powered pump, and supporting infrastructure. There is also a capped bore 10 meters from the well site.” (p. 11) White Well had an older system of drawing water from a well, using a bucket by “means of a pulley system operated by either by hand or horse, bullock, donkey or camel.”47 Remains of the pulley system are clearly visible in the landscape.

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The crumbling walls of Bundera Well Heritage Report. The remnants of White’s Well and whim, with stone arrangement in the foreground. Heritage Report.

Like any large Outback station, Boolcoomatta too had a site for dumping what was no longer needed, called the “Aerodrome Dump”. Most of the metals found on the site were “machinery parts, gutters, gates and drums”, dating from around 1950 to 1980.48

In a different dump site in a gully along the Boolcoomatta homestead a set of wheels from a Buick were found with wooden spokes. They had been there since the 1920s and, according to the Badger family, had once belonged to a vehicle used by Sir Douglas Mawson at a time when he was connected to Adelaide University. The wheels were abandoned during one of his geological explorations of the Boolcoomatta property. It is believed that the wheels were inefficient for the terrain, and the then over- seer replaced them with a more appropriate set of wheels.49 Like many other pastoral stations Boolcoomatta also had a “powder magazine”, or store for explosives. It is in some distance from the homestead, and the solid rock in its back and some on the site would have protected the homestead from damage by an accidental explosion. Explosives were used for quarrying stone for building construction, The inside of the removing tree stumps and in powder magazine, the construction of dams and Heritage Report. The powder magazine, wells. Heritage Report.

When Daniel Meehan was the manager of Boolcoomatta in 1918 he took up the 40 acre mineral lease for the Dome Rock Copper Mine and might have transported explosives from this store to the mining operations.

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The Dome Rock mine site was “to the south west boundary of Boolcoomatta reserve, close to an impressive craggy outcrop which perhaps is the most visually and geologically outstanding feature of the reserve.” (p. 8) Discarded machinery, water tanks and some structures were found on the disused site.

Dome Rock mine site, c.1920. Genny Badger collection.

The European heritage report provided a link between the past of Boolcoomatta as a successful pastoral station and its future as a Bush Heritage Reserve, including the preservation of its European and Aboriginal Heritage. The future as a reserve also links back to the early 1860s when Isaac Hall owned and managed a much smaller Boolcoomatta than what it is now. During his trips over the property and beyond he enjoyed what he saw in the landscape. In the regular letters he sent to his mother in England he wrote about emu nests to the north at Colcaroo [Kalkaroo] and mulga scrub at Mullarooroo [Moolooloo], north of Kalkaroo. At home he observed ducks, spoonbills, divers, geese, swans and moorhens which may have come to drink the water available at the homestead. The aim of Bush Heritage is to restore and manage Boolcoomatta’s biodiversity values and it’s natural habitat for flora and fauna which Isaac Hall encountered before the station’s larger scale development as a sheep station started Shaft cage, Dome Rock mine site. and mining began to change the landscape. Heritage Report

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Notes

1 Bon Bon Station sold to Mr. P. L. Puckridge. The Advertiser, 20 August 1947, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35994211/2662298. Accessed 12 December 2020. 2 Engagement announced before departure for England. Port Lincoln Times. 12 May 1949, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96780400/9558687. Accessed 12 December 2020. 3 Puckridge, M.(1994). The pursuit ended: a Puckridge family history. Torrens Park, SA: M. Puckridge. 4 Ibid, p. 207. 5 “Lairg” Station brings £42,000 at auction. Port Lincoln Times, 5 December 1946, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96763319/9556726. Accessed 12 December 2020. 6 Bon Bon Station sold to Mr. P. L. Puckridge. The Advertiser, 20 August 1947, p. 6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35994211/2662298. Accessed 12 December 2020. 7 Pier Hotel changes hands. Port Lincoln Times, 13 September 1945, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/99915481/9555888. Accessed 12 December 2020. 8 Council nominations received. Port Lincoln Times, 19 June 1936, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96723632/9550671. Accessed 12 December 2020. 9 Puckridge, M.(1994). The pursuit ended: a Puckridge family history. Torrens Park, SA: M. Puckridge, p. 208. 10 City of Port Lincoln (2018). City of Port Lincoln Mayors of Council. https://www.portlincoln.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/100425/9.33.3.1-Mayors-of- Council-as-at-November-2018.pdf. Accessed 25 August 2020. 11 Puckridge, M.(1994). The pursuit ended: a Puckridge family history. Torrens Park, SA: M. Puckridge. 12 Successful year for racing club. Port Lincoln Times, 10 June 1954, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97179594/9452944. Accessed 12 December 2020. 13 2,500 Guineas paid for colt. Port Lincoln Times, 20 March 1952, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97188221/9451404. Accessed 12 December 2020. 14 Arab colt bought by pastoralist. Chronicle, 12 August 1954, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93911838/8682221. Accessed 13 December 2020. 15 Merino record. , 7 September 1973, p. 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110746572/12211965. Accessed 13 December 2020. 16 Johnson, Judy. Telephone interview of Bevern Roberts, 3 September 2020. 17 Good price for wool. Port Lincoln Times, 19 June 1952, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97187528/9451556. Accessed 12 December 2020. 18 Stockowners’ Association meet. Port Lincoln Times, 6 September 1945, p. 7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/99914739/9555884. Accessed 12 December 2020. 19 Port Lincoln man pays £74,000 for sheep station. Port Lincoln Times, 16 July 1953, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97185195/9452301. Accessed 12 December 2020. 20 Advertising: Sale of pastoral property. Chronicle, 18 June 1953, p. 40. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93941647. Accessed 10 December 2020. 21 Ibid. 22 £74,000 paid for sheep property. The Advertiser, 16 July 1953, p. 1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48269199/3972143. Accessed 12 December 2020. 23 Unidentified Newspaper cuttings, c. 1950s, Genny Badger collection. 24 Ibid. 25 Verbal communication with Bevern Roberts, Telephone interview, 3 September 2020. 26 Peterborough. Chronicle, 20 May 1954, p. 32. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93914513/8681590. Accessed 13 December 2020. 27 Advertising. The Pioneer, 11 June 1954, p. 4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/204757955/22476373. Accessed 13 December 2020. 28 N.-E. stations hit by floods. The Advertiser, 3 December 1954, p. 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47623721/3221311. Accessed 13 December 2020. 29 Ibid. 30 Department of Education NSW (n.d.). School of the Air Broken Hill and Hay. History. https://schoolair-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/history.html. Accessed 1 September 2020. 31 Royal Flying Doctor Service, 2 May 2019. Adelaide Miethke and the School of the Air. https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/news/adelaide-miethke/. Accessed 1 September 2020

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32 Department of Education NSW (n.d.). School of the Air Broken Hill and Hay. History. https://schoolair-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/history.html. Accessed 1 September 2020. 33 Broken Hill School of the Air: 60th anniversary celebrations stir first class memories for former student. The Sunday Telegraph, 16 May 2016. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/broken- hill-school-of-the-air-60th-anniversary-celebrations-stir-first-class-memories-for-former-student/news- story/6c068362833d4bd727ad0c5c30a74b69. Accessed 1 September 2020. 34 Radium Hill mine opening. Chronicle, 18 November 1954, p. 12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93985619/8683172. Accessed 13 December 2020. 35 Wikipedia (8 June 2020). Radium Hill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Hill. Accessed 31 August 2020. 36 Kay, Paul (2007). Australia’s uranium mines past and present. Canberra: Parliamentary Library. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Former_Committees/uraniu m/report/c07. Accessed 31 August 2020. 37 Ibid. 38 Weidenbach, K. (2008). Rock Star: The story of Reg Sprigg—An outback legend. Australia: East Street Publications, p.73. 39 Stook, M. Life on the South Australian reserves 50 years ago. Blog, 06 Jan 2015. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/life-on-the-south-australian-reserves-50-years-ago. Accessed 2 September 2020. 40 Roberts, R. (2015). Our year at Boolcoomatta Station. Report written on request for this publication. 41 Genny Badger, Personal communication, 2018 42 Genny Badger, Personal communication, 2018 43 Obituary, Mr. J. V. Lord. Burra Record, 26 November 1935, p. 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36073356/4752726. Accessed 13 December 2020. 44 Genny Badger, personal communication, 2018. 45 Bonell, J. (2006). Boolcoomatta reserve preliminary heritage survey 2006, Report to Scientific Expedition Group. Melbourne: Bush Heritage Australia. 46 Ibid, p. 25. 47 Ibid, p. 13. 48 Ibid, (p. 15) 49 Ibid, (pp. 26)

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Bush Heritage Australia, since 2006

I often refer to ourselves as nature farmers, because we live in much the same way as any farmer but without the stock or crops.1 This is how Emma Ashton understood the work her husband Peter Ashton and she did while they lived on Boolcoomatta from 2008 to 2013. There is one important difference though. All previous landholders of Boolcoomatta needed to earn an income from grazing sheep to sustain themselves and others. The work on the reserve is funded through donations and grants and supported by volunteers who contribute thousands of work hours. Bush Heritage Australia acquired Boolcoomatta Reserve in 2006 with the assistance of the Australian Government under the Natural Heritage Trust’s National Reserve System Programme, and the Nature Foundation South Australia. Since then it had five managers, all working for two years on the reserve except the Ashtons and the current manager Kurt Tschirner, with his wife Andrea. Bush Heritage Australia

Bush Heritage Australia was formed in 1990 by Bob Brown and a few friends. Bob had bought two forested properties in the Liffey Valley, Tasmania, to protect them from being clear felled and the wood being processed into wood chips. Many people contributed funds to paying off the debt for these properties, becoming the first supporters of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, as it was named when it became incorporated in 1991. These two properties became the first reserves. Expansion to the mainland started in 1993 when Fan Palm Reserve in Queensland was purchased, followed in 1995 by Brogo Reserve in New South Wales.2 From these small beginnings Bush Heritage has evolved into a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose it is To return the bush to good health. We work with others to manage and enhance millions of hectares of ecologically important land across Australia. We re-build nature’s resilience as a provider of habitats, fresh water, healthy soil, plant pollination, nutrients and carbon storage to sustain life into the future.3 By 2020 Bush Heritage had protected or helped to manage a total of 11.3 million hectares of land, including 1.2 million hectares that are permanently protected.4 This includes Boolcoomatta Reserve which was purchased in March 2006 as its 21st property. The development of Bush Heritage as an organisation kept pace with the increase in the land mass they managed. Conservation management planning and practices changed to comply with evolving and accepted standards and processes. Differences in management plans developed for Boolcoomatta are examples for these advances.

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The acquisition of Boolcoomatta

Bush Heritage has developed a rigorous assessment process to go through before acquiring a property for conservation and permanent protection. This ensures that money is spend wisely, conservation management goals and outcomes are realistic and achievable, and the purchase of a particular property complies with Bush Heritage’s vision, purpose and policies. Once a property has been purchased staff members and relevant stakeholders develop an interim property management plan which generally is valid for one or two years. This is followed by a more permanent management plan which is developed with input from a team of staff members and stakeholders, like representatives of State Government departments, neighbours, and external scientists. Management plans for each reserve include a budget and are reviewed after five years. The reserve manager develops a yearly work plan, including a budget, based on the current management plan. Boolcoomatta had been identified as being of high conservation value in South Australia, and Bush Heritage was invited to take on funding from the National Reserve System (NRS) of the Australian Government for the acquisition of the property. In 2005 Bush Heritage engaged David Baker-Gabb to assess the property as a first step in the decision-making process. As a leasehold property it had been assessed regularly by South Australia’s Pastoral Board and in 1995 had received “a Land Condition Index score of 2.8 out of 3, which is exceptionally good.”5 Baker-Gabb concluded that a score of 2.4 would be more appropriate because there were some degraded areas with numerous small scalds (areas devoid of vegetation where 5–10 cm of topsoil has eroded away), sites with soil deflation around shrubs, sites devoid of vegetation around dams, areas where small saltbushes have died due to overgrazing, and browse lines on tall shrubs. On the other hand, there is little invasion by ‘woody weeds’ and very little gully erosion compared to other properties in the region.6 Past owners managed the property well. Following the 1983 drought large areas were rested, which contributed to the high rating by the Pastoral Board and Boolcoomatta’s high conservation value. When David Baker-Gabb visited Boolcoomatta southern Australia was in the grip of a major drought. The ungrazed, drought-tolerant roadside vegetation contrasted starkly with the parched, bare paddocks that stretched depressingly to the horizon. As we entered Boolcoomatta’s front gate my spirits lifted, because, here at least, there were some scattered saltbushes surviving. I recalled that the South Australian Pastoral Board had recorded 32 species of saltbush on these plains, ranging from tiny ground-hugging fissure weeds to swathes of bluebush and blackbush. We drove past Boolcoomatta’s airstrip, the heritage woolshed and shearers’ quarters built from local stone in the 1870s, and up to a gracious homestead. Alongside were a fully restored cottage, an impressive manager’s residence and sheds galore. There was hardly any rubbish. … Despite the dry, the bluebush plains were dotted with copses of bullock bush and black oak, and cane grass swamps were evident. Massive red gums lined dry creek beds, the headwaters of which lay in the distant purple Olary

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Ranges in Boolcoomatta’s south-west corner. In the north-west, impressive rock stacks were splashed with the telltale whitewash of cliff-nesting birds of prey. A nearby outcrop displayed a dazzling collection of turquoise and green shards that told of the presence of copper, a feature of much of the region and another management issue to note. … We headed for the rounded rocks of the ram paddock which station owner Langdon Badger had told us was one of his favourite places. As I sat on a large bare rock beside an Aboriginal gnamma hole, with its cap rocks nearby, and gazed out over the vast plains below, I could sense that this was a special place. It would be an ideal reserve.7 The buildings were in good condition, and those on the homestead complex were all serviced by solar power. Fences and tracks were also in good condition. Baker-Gabb identified eleven vegetation communities, including five listed as vulnerable in South Australia. Nationally vulnerable species included the Plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus and Purple Wood Acacia carnei. Nationally vulnerable species likely to be found: Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby Petrogale xanthopus, Thick-billed Grasswren Amytornis textilis modestus, and Slender Bell-fruit Codonocarpus pyramidalis.8 There were some weeds on the property which would need to be controlled, and grazing pressure from kangaroos and some rabbits to be expected once sheep were removed. Predators included foxes and feral cats.9 The Board of Bush Heritage decided to purchase the property, and the new reserve was launched on 26 April 2006. This meant that One of the jewels of the South Australian Outback, Boolcoomatta Station in the North East pastoral country, is to be preserved in its pristine condition as a habitat for endangered native animals. … The beautiful property with its vast saltbush and native grassland plains, wetlands and rugged rocky outcrops will be added to Australia’s National Reserve System, … Mr Badger said while the sale was a sad day for his family after owning it for 20 years, he was happy that the property would be well looked after.10 Senator the Honourable Ian Campbell, at the time the Minister for the Environment and Heritage of the Australian Government, announced in a media release for the launch that the Australian Government had provided $1.6 million to help buy Boolcoomatta Station, a 63,000 hectare pastoral property in the far north- east of South Australia near Broken Hill. … “Boolcoomatta’s former owners, the Badger family, have taken great care of this fantastic arid environment,” Senator Campbell said. “In selling Boolcoomatta, they have entrusted Bush Heritage with extensive woodlands of mulga, and river red gum, freshwater wetlands and more than 35 species of saltbush. Boolcoomatta also provides key habitat for threatened species, such as the plains wanderer and thick-billed grasswren.” … Australian Bush Heritage Fund Chief Executive Officer Doug Humann … said, “Boolcoomatta, with its vast plains, is the first reserve in South

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Australia to protect the plains-wanderer, a nationally vulnerable grassland bird. “Rare plants such as the remarkable purple wood with its vivid purple timber are also found on Boolcoomatta, but are at risk in the region. Control of feral animals such as goats, rabbits and foxes together with the removal of stock will enhance the living conditions for both species.”11 After the launch volunteer caretakers lived and worked on the reserve until Bush Heritage appointed in July 2006 Paul and Bec O’Leary jointly as first managers. Life and work at Boolcoomatta

Life at Boolcoomatta initially was dominated by an influx of people. Volunteers came to support the managers in their work, ecologists and other scientists plus staff from different government departments of South Australia visited to research, plan, monitor, advise and support management actions. Supporters of Bush Heritage occasionally came to look at this new reserve. Neighbours dropped in for social visits.

Management for conservation During the first year of Bush Heritage’s management the reserve had to be made suitable for the new conservation purpose and safe for staff and visitors. The repair and maintenance of buildings, vehicles and equipment had been essential and ongoing since the acquisition of the reserve.12 The second major part was to develop initial management strategies and activities and start with conservation work. Baseline data about Boolcoomatta’s natural and cultural values had to be collected to support management planning. Sandy Gilmore, a staff ecologist, and two volunteers conducted a fauna survey. In September 2006, five months after the launch of the reserve, a Scientific Expedition Group visited for 12 days to complete a baseline survey. The Mineralogical Society of South Australia and the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia came to conduct separate surveys, including of mammals, reptiles and birds. Paul and Bec O’Leary had gathered some additional information while doing on-ground work. Two neighbours visited to discuss rabbit control and survey methods. Exclusion plots for rabbits and kangaroos were established in November 2006 to get a better idea of the damage they caused. A survey of the Oonartra creek line for Mexican Poppy infestations gave some indication of the distribution of this weed on Boolcoomatta. The data collected provided the basis for the development of the first management plan, valid from 2008 to 2010. Eleven people attended a management planning workshop on Boolcoomatta in March Management planning workshop March 2007 2007, including Bush Heritage staff, representatives of various government departments and other organisations, and three neighbours.13 A team of staff members located at the Conservation Support Centre in Melbourne, in consultation with those working on the reserve, wrote and finalised the plan.

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Boolcoomatta’s management plans changed over the years as conservation planning and management practices evolved. The first management plan identified as key threats to conservation values the predation from foxes and cats, weeds, soil disturbance, wildfire, and a lack of information and understanding of state listed and poorly reserved vegetation communities and species of national and state significance. The management strategies and key management activities developed in this plan formed the basis for the ongoing management work on the reserve. 14 A second planning workshop was held in November 2010 to review progress and develop a plan for the next five years. The new plan followed Bush Heritage’s Conservation Management Process, based on a 5-step adaptive-management project cycle, … Adaptive management is a dynamic process that requires teams to constantly learn and adapt their projects based on the results observed. Project information was continually revised, and updated versions of the Management Plan document were produced to guide the team’s actions.15 The conservation vision in this plan was that Boolcoomatta is a model for conservation and land management, demonstrating successful methods of ecosystem restoration and management in altered arid landscapes to increase population viability of native species and their habitats.16 Conservation targets in the new plan were the open plains, sandy dunes and sheets, rocky hills, drainage lines and floodplains, and ephemeral wetlands. The current and desired status of each target were determined, and the level of key threats to each evaluated. Rabbits, kangaroos, invasive weeds and erosion posed a very high threat to at least one target. Strategies were outlined to address the threats, including measurable objectives, key operations and ecological questions. Progress indicators for the conservation targets were used to determine the success of the strategies and assess whether they and the workplan needed to be adapted. Other strategies addressed maintaining a good relationship to Bush Heritage supporters who were essential for funding the work, and volunteers working on the reserve. An administration and infrastructure work strategy was outlined as well.17 The vision of the management plan in 2016 was To effectively manage the natural and cultural values of Boolcoomatta in this unique arid landscape whilst being proactive in the community and contributing to the overall health and resilience of the Olary Ranges.…18 The earlier plans had identified the cultural values on the property, and this revised plan identified Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultural heritage as targets and included goals that should be achieved until a set date. The other targets remained the same as in the previous plan. Goals were set for the work on the reserve and clear strategies for each goal developed, including a workplan and budget for five years. The control of cats was important as they posed a high to very high threat to all targets. The objectives for cat control were, By 2021 understand cats home ranges By 2017 no cats where Plains Wanderers are or should be.

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No one knew how many cats there were on Boolcoomatta. Therefore the strategy for cat control starts with identification of where the cats home ranges are, and how many cat home ranges there are. Initial monitoring using motion sensor cameras and audible and scented lures are planned, followed by a targeted control.19 Considering how many threats there were and how much work needed to be done on the reserve it was clear that the one full time reserve manager needed support. Like on most other Bush Heritage reserves, on Boolcoomatta volunteers contribute many hours of assistance in managing the reserve, undertaking tasks such as fencing, weed management and infrastructure maintenance. Volunteers also fill in as locum managers when required.20 The work of volunteers has been ongoing since the reserve was launched.

The first two years, 2006 to 200821 Paul and Bec O’Leary started their work as reserve managers in July 2006. They concentrated their initial work on infrastructure as the old shearers’ quarters needed to be prepared to accommodate the expected influx of visitors. Building good relationships with neighbouring farmers and landowners was another important task to establish Bush Heritage as a ‘good neighbour’ in the district. Bec and Paul O’Leary with an old relic. There was an influx of visitors to the reserve, including scientific groups to conduct initial surveys, and contractors and volunteers who did specific work on the reserve. People from different government departments came, including those responsible for managing Bimbowrie Conservation Reserve, which adjoins Boolcoomatta in the west. These visits helped to establish good working relationships and discuss management issues. Langdon and Heather Badger, the previous managers of Boolcoomatta, and another neighbour visited. Paul and Bec made several trips to Broken Hill and Adelaide to purchase equipment and material. They visited Melbourne to meet the staff at the Conservation Support Centre and attend a Board meeting. They prepared for the management workshop on the reserve in March 2007 and planned a working bee for May 2007. Paul’s work continued according to their work plan until they left, but Bec was on maternity leave for a few months. Before Paul and Bec handed over the reserve to the new manager in June 2008 they looked back on their two years on Boolcoomatta. As part of their work they had established ecological monitoring sites around the reserve [which] enabled Bush Heritage to gauge the effectiveness of such activities. Encouragingly, there are already signs that the land is starting to recover; a second round of survey results from 2007 has shown an overall increase in ground cover

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and an increasing abundance of shrubland birds such as the white-winged fairywren and rufous fieldwren.22 Volunteers had played a key role “in the monitoring and management activities at Boolcoomatta” and “helped to repair boundary fences and treat with herbicide 500 pepper trees, which are invasive pest plants in semi-arid zones.”23 The surveys carried out by various groups provided not only baseline data on flora and fauna but also discovered the skeletal remains of threatened and extinct species such as the mulgara, golden bandicoot and Gould’s mouse. The survey also found evidence of the nationally vulnerable yellow-footed rock wallaby that still occurs on neighbouring Bimbowrie Conservation Park. Paul and Bec … enjoyed being the custodians of this beautiful landscape and are now passing on to their successors a work in progress. 24

Volunteers at work. Before … … and after.

While Bec and Paul were busy with work on the reserve, some staff members in the Conservation Support Centre in Melbourne were writing drafts of the first five-year management plan. This would replace the interim management plan on which the current projects had been based.

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Peter Ashton, 2008 to 2013 Managing a Bush Heritage reserve in a remote location poses some challenges. If the manager is married and/or has a family, the reserve generally also is the place where they live. This was the case for Peter and Emma Ashton with their two children. When Peter and Emma started to live on Boolcoomatta, most of the establishment work had been completed and they were able to concentrate on on-ground management. In 2010 they were working on “improving the habitat for wildlife, Emma and Peter Ashton including the yellow-footed rock wallaby.” with their two children They spend their days working to control pests, such as rabbits and foxes, and to encourage rehabilitation and revegetation of native species including the vulnerable Murray swainson- pea.25 During 2010 two volunteers had mapped 1000 rabbit warrens which brought the total number of known warrens on Boolcoomatta to 3000. Rabbit control was important as they compete for habitat with native species and cause erosion. The Native Vegetation Council provided support for rabbit control and other crucial conservation activities on the reserve, but the warrens still had to be dealt with on the ground. One year later “a network of over 7000 warrens” had been mapped and work had begun to break down and fumigate them to suppress rabbit numbers.26 The work of the Ashtons and the many volunteers who supported them was rewarded in late 2010 with the first sighting of a Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby since 1924.27 Peter was out “collecting seed at a rocky outcrop behind the homestead when he spotted a wallaby with a white cheek stripe.” He said, I could see clearly it was a yellow-footed rock wallaby and I was staggered it was there, as their populations at Bimbowrie Conservation Reserve are 20 km away. But this location is perfect for the yellow-foots – it’s a small rocky outcrop, with lots of nooks and crannies. The vegetation is acacia shrubs over numerous herbs and grasses. Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies live in colonies, and with the ongoing predator control and regeneration of habitat this sighting raised hopes that “it won’t be too long before Peter and his family witness a permanent colony of yellow-footed rock wallabies moving in at Boolcoomatta.”28 The appearance of more birds was another indication that the work done over the last years had paid off. Between 2006 and 2008 the number of ground-foraging and shrub- dependent native birds increased by 300 per cent. The number remained higher than the 2006 levels even after a drought-induced decrease in 2009. There was much excitement when in 2011 the first brown song-larks appeared. The brown songlark is one of those aptly named birds. The male and female have a dusky brown back, pale brownish-white underparts and a dark brown

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centre belly. … The male brown songlark is one of the true masters of ‘song flight’, continuously singing as he flies and swoops high above his territory. His sound is musical and metallic, ending in a sharp whip crack as he flutters showily towards the ground.29 Sandy Gilmore, a Bush Heritage ecologist, was responsible for ongoing bird surveys on Boolcoomatta. He saw that after five bird surveys, several ground and shrub-feeding species such as the chirruping wedgebill, white-winged fairy wren, and cinnamon quail thrush have had what I can only describe as explosive population increases. The encouraging thing is that these increases occurred before the rains of 2010. Since then we’ve seen similar increases in grassland birds. Since we de-stocked, many species have also colonised on Boolcoomatta or been recorded for the first time such as the red-capped robin, brown songlark and grey fantail. This is really exciting because bird abundance and diversity is a great indicator of the health of ecosystems. It shows we’re heading in the right direction. Life on the reserve had its highlights. The Ashton family were “surrounded by vast treeless plains, silvery grey saltbush and prickly acacia shrubs.” On a clear day they could “see the curvature of the earth because we have a 180-degree view to the horizon.” Kangaroos, emus and other wildlife often visited the homestead. This was wonderful for the children but also a distraction from their School of the Air classes. Other animals, like the Plains-wanderer and the Dusky Hopping Mouse were more elusive.30 After five years on the reserve it was time for the Ashton family to leave, and Glen Norris took over the management of Boolcoomatta.

Glen Norris, 2013 to 2015 By the time Glen started to work on Boolcoomatta the second management plan had been developed on which Glen based his work plans. Rabbits were still rated as the most significant threat … affecting all key conservation targets with the greatest impact in the Rocky Hills and Sandy Dunes. The major impact of rabbits is their grazing pressure on vegetation, reducing regeneration of areas and reducing the food supply for native birds, mammals and reptiles.31 Rabbit control work needed to be followed up with re- checking and re-ripping warrens, as well as baiting and fumigating in areas which could not be ripped because Glen Norris of their sensitivity, vegetation or landform. Continuing with fox and cat control was essential to protect the Plains‑wanderer for which Boolcoomatta provides a critical drought refuge habitat when conversion of grasslands to cropping and grazing has reduced its range elsewhere. A new long-term monitoring program using remote infra-red cameras … will help protect such vulnerable natives from feral foxes and cats.32

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By this time foxes had been controlled for eight years and anecdotally no fox had been sighted on the reserve for over six years. The monitoring helped to understand feral animal movements more broadly. No foxes, and only a few other feral animals, were recorded. Some pigs and sheep were caught on camera and were removed. Installing the sensor cameras was one step closer to perhaps one day be able to re-introduce the Greater Bilby, Burrowing Bettong, Western Barred Bandicoot and Greater Stick Nest Rat which had been re-introduced to a fenced enclosure on a nearby reserve by the South Australian Rangelands Alliance and Arid Recovery.33 In 2014 staff discovered a few flora species that previously had not been recorded on Boolcoomatta. White cypress‑pine is recorded on several neighbouring properties but was found on the reserve for the first time. Several examples of fast growing slender bellfruit, listed as ‘vulnerable’, were found along with a horse mulga, recorded for the first time in what may be an extension of range from the north and west of the state.34 In 2015 Glen hosted a group of supporters who had pledged a legacy to Bush Heritage in their wills. They were travelling on the reserve in a convoy of cars when Glen stopped them on route to Dome Rock because they were being watched by a pair of wedge-tailed eagles far in the distance atop a sheer rock face. These majestic birds were watching our ant-like Glen Norris showing a map of progression as masters of all they surveyed, sweeping plains. putting into perspective our small part in this vast landscape.35 During the two day trip the group saw exclosures built to establish the effect removing kangaroos, goats and rabbits would have on vegetation. We learned that unimpeded water can seep across a landscape replenishing all in its course and assisting in the delicate regeneration of native plants. We learned that yellow-footed rock wallabies, once close to extinction, are making forays from neighbouring land to search out new places for residence on Boolcoomatta.36 Informing donors about the reserves and ongoing work to protect their conservation values is a part of the work of reserve managers. Donors make the work possible through their present and future financial contributions, and volunteers donate their time and skills to help achieve conservation outcomes at minimal cost. Glen attended or hosted several community events and workshops to showcase the work Bush Heritage staff and volunteers had done on the reserve, to learn new skills, and to catch up with neighbours. After two years as manager Glen left Boolcoomatta to take on another role within Bush Heritage.

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Alistair Dermer, 2015 to 2017 Alistair Dermer came in 2015 from Bush Heritage’s Tasmanian reserves to start his work as a manager on Boolcoomatta. He was supported by his wife Karen and their three children. After an initial settling-in period, he acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the land. Many thousands of generations walked over this land before we arrived to now share the responsibility of caretaking it for future Alistair Dermer, generations. in the Liffey Valley, Tasmania The Adnyamathana (Udnya mat na) people are the traditional owners of the land the Boolcoomatta lease sits within, and we're proud to be working with them now and into the future. A recent exploration found a cave with Aboriginal paintings, discarded stone tools and the remains of tools being made. Their innovation and insight is nothing short of inspirational. At another location on a granite hill we have a large Gnamma Hole (Aboriginal rock well), along with many other water holding depressions. The Gnamma hole is as deep as my arm is long and estimated to hold 200 litres of water. This is one of thousands that scatter the Australian landscape. They were essential watering points between natural springs for people moving through the land. … Across much of the reserve we have old oven sites (earth pits, lined with rocks), stone flakes and energies that are at times hard to name with modern terms. We're privileged to be caring for this land and working with the traditional custodians. I'm looking forward to more treasures that the spirits and sand might uncover over time.37 In December 2018 the National Native Title Tribunal determined that the Adnyamathanha People and Wilyakali People are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Boolcoomatta is located.38 One of the important events during his two years on Boolcoomatta was the ten year anniversary of Bush Heritage’s custodianship of the reserve on 27 March 2016. Alistair acknowledged the many people who had been involved with the establishment, planning, maintenance, monitoring, reporting, communicating, fundraising and the list goes on and on. For all the people who have supported activities at Boolcoomatta, well done and thank you!39 The anniversary fell on a Sunday, and Langdon and Genny Badger, the former owners of Boolcoomatta, the neighbours from Wompine, and several Bush Heritage supporters and volunteers visited on the day. Alistair summarised some of the achievements of the past ten years in the management of the reserve.

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• tens of thousands of weeds have been removed • over 1,500 foxes removed • over 200 goats removed • many artificial water points closed down • over 7,000 rabbit warrens ripped, removing tens of thousands of rabbits • hundreds of kilometres of internal fences removed • all the infrastructure, plant and equipment has been maintained and improved • thousands of visitors • tens of thousands of volunteer hours • dozens of fundraising trips • hundreds of campers • dozens of ecological surveys and monitoring • erosion control • hydrological restoration • cultural values surveys and management • and heaps of great community engagement with neighbours and traditional owners. So what now? At present we're doing all the necessary preliminary work for the next five- year management plan, while maintaining our existing program. … Many lessons have been learnt and great achievements made in only ten short years. It's very exciting that we can be in a position to plan and then implement our management actions for the next ten years with support from the Bush Heritage family, while sharing our knowledge with the broader rangelands and neighbouring communities.40 Skilled volunteers from Broken Hill came for a working bee in September 2016 to help with the maintenance of the woolshed. It was cleaned out so that an assessment of priority works could be completed. The building was constructed from creek sand, lime and local stone. Traditional methods were used for repairs to maintain the aesthetic, construction, and cultural integrity of the building. At the time it was planned that the wool baling and storage room would become a space to communicate, celebrate and display all elements of the past, present and living cultures of Boolcoomatta and the surrounding region.

Wool press Wool press detail Wool scales

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Peter and Emma Ashton had restored the original wool press and returned the wool scales to their housing. They are now again sitting in the woolshed.

In the Bush Heritage blogs Alistair wrote during 2016 he provided much information about daily life on the reserve. Monitoring was an important part of the work, and motion sensor cameras were an invaluable tool for this. Twenty cameras were installed in established locations four times a year to increase knowledge about the movement of mainly introduced species. Setting up the cameras could have its own surprises. Yesterday in the first hour of installing the cameras for the first time for 2016, I was fortunate to come across three of the larger reptiles we have at Boolcoomatta – the Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii), eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata) and a large shingleback (Trachydosaurus rugosus). Each in their own way reminded me of the age of this land, of the resilience of some species, and of the protection Bush Heritage provides them.41 The members of the Dermer family were very fond of these ancient creatures. They caught them to remove ticks and hug them if they had a chance.

Eastern bearded dragon Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii) (Pogona barbata)

Feral cat control had to continue to give the dragons and other native animals a chance to survive. During the last quarter of 2016 Alistair installed 60 motion sensor cameras with the objective to find out how many cats were on the 64,000 hectare reserve and in which land systems they lived. This led to further targeted control measures42, which also helped the birds on the reserve like the Inland Dotterel, an endemic shorebird which is closely related to plovers and is found only in arid regions of Australia.43 Another essential part of the work on Boolcoomatta is weed management. The so- called ‘flood-out’ is a low-lying area of about 100 hectares where water run-off collects, making it a fertile ground for weed growth. It was once Inland dotterel (Peltohyas australis) covered with box thorn and pepper trees. Tens Boolcoomatta’s gate keeper. of thousands of weeds have been removed from the area after access tracks had been established. Native species have started to re- establish themselves, and the tracks have been left to regenerate naturally but some are

203 Bush Heritage Australia, since 2006 maintained to monitor for emerging weeds.44 One rain event showed how important ongoing weed management is. After receiving 18.6mm of rain, with warm weather following, weeds started to grow again in the flood-out area. Alistair and another Bush Heritage staff member from Victoria were able to respond at the right time and dealt with the weeds.45 Rain was welcome in this arid landscape as it brought new life, sounds, smells and conversation. Sometimes the rain passed the reserve, but this morning, … we were pleased to see clouds and rain in the distance, then the smell and feel of cool wind on our faces, followed by rain smashing onto the galvanised iron roof. We've had 18 millimetres of rain so far. The postie has cancelled his mail drop. The fuel truck won't be coming. The neighbours are all calling each other to see, "How much rain didya get?". Disappointment for some who have missed out, and joy for others. For us there'll be no movement around the reserve for a few days, and we'll be wondering if the burrowing frogs will come to the surface or instead wait for heavier falls. Swarms of flying insects followed by woodswallows have been and gone, as has the rain, for now, it seems.46 Rainstorms also could do a lot of damage. In November we experienced an amazing storm that brought with it dramatic clouds, horizontal rain and large hail stones. Fortunately at the homestead area hailstones were only about the size of a large marble and perfect to drop into a gin and tonic. This storm, however, was far more intense north of the homestead and in Broken Hill. In those spots it produced squash ball size and bigger hail stones, along with torrential rain that has had a big impact on a large area of the north-western corner of the Rain passing the woolshed reserve. We found many lizards, a roo and an emu killed in the storm – there's not a lot of shelter in this area. No doubt more casualties are out there. In some areas the vegetation was “completely stripped, snapped, smashed and then washed away!” Other areas were not damaged at all.47

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Normal vegetation Hail damage

The Dermer family left Boolcoomatta in April 2017, and Kurt Tschirner became the next manager.

Kurt Tschirner, since 2017 Kurt had been reserve manager of in Western Australia before moving to Boolcoomatta with his wife Andrea and their two daughters. Kurt’s favourite tree is a massive Red Gum and its sheer size and grandeur make it stand out from its kin in the surrounding vegetation of the Oonartra flood-out. … Its large, diverse form is an ‘animal hotel’ – the tree’s limbs, hollows and bark provide habitat for many species. It’s an ecosystem within itself which also highlights its connectedness to the broader landscape. In the mornings, the bird song is impressive as the flood-out provides a very rich and Kurt Tschirner in front of his favourite diverse vegetation cover. tree Gazing at this tree is like looking back in time; it’s easy to imagine kids over hundreds of years past playing on and around it (as my daughters do now). What games were they playing and what were the issues of the day? Its timelessness makes this a place of reflection and contemplation. I enjoy taking people there and watching their reactions - especially when they see it for the first time. Just be careful of the inch ants!48 Work based on the current management and work plans continued. Cat and weed control were ongoing, as were various monitoring activities. Volunteers were essential for getting all the work done. Kurt’s wife Andrea is actively involved in the work of Bush

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Heritage as a registered volunteer. In May 2020 she gave an insight into what is involved in running a busy reserve like Boolcoomatta. There’s no doubt about it, Boolcoomatta is an extraordinary property. The subtle natural beauty of the place, and it’s close proximity to big towns and an airport make it a fabulous place for Bush Heritage to share with supporters and visitors. … Working bees and visiting research projects, staff meetings, donor trips and community events are all hosted on Boolcoomatta during the cooler months between April and November. Thanks to the impressive efforts from previous managers and volunteers, the old Shearers' Quarters, Overseers Cottage and Andrea Tschirner doing some fencing Singleman's Quarters have been lovingly restored to provide really beautiful accommodation and experiences for visitors and guests.49 Andrea described some of the work that needs to be done to accommodate all the visitors. First and most importantly, let’s talk about plumbing. It’s not at the top of the glamour list, but without it we’d all be pretty unhappy. On Boolcoomatta there are numerous buildings, you can see them all from up here on this hill; we call this Tank Hill. All-up (excluding the house that I live in) there are five bathrooms with seven toilets and seven showers, three kitchens and nine fridges and freezers. There’s also a bathroom and composting loo at the campground. Let's face-it, dunnies need to be cleaned, bins emptied, rubbish sorted, vermin dispatched, showers scrubbed and fridges de-fluffed! This is where I spend a lot of my time before and after visitors arrive. It’s actually not a bad job, just very undervalued and often goes unnoticed. … As well as all the cleaning, there are always plumbing jobs to stay on top of – leaky taps, hot water systems and pipelines, gas bottle change-overs and maintaining and monitoring water levels in tanks. Around the homestead we have a series of amenity plantings and gardens. These provide shade and help stop dust when it’s really hot and windy. They also help the place to look nice. … As we’ve had some pretty tough drought years recently, it’s been a battle to keep things happy and we’ve lost a lot of trees. In the nursery at home, we're nurturing cuttings and seedlings to replace the dead trees once the drought breaks. We’ve also been collecting native seeds from local plants and making seed bombs to plant in rehabilitated areas to help restore previously eroded floodways and plains.50

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Singlemen’s quarters Brush packing seed bombs to help restore previously eroded floodways.

Andrea described the work of volunteers during one week. They helped with changing over batteries in the camera traps or collecting the SD cards. The song meters on the Eastern Plains were checked for calls of the Plains Wanderers, and fly traps inspected that had been set up to monitor the presence of Calici virus. The fence line was inspected and any damage repaired, any rabbit warrens that might be found at the Purplewood sites on the Mundianna Dam were dealt with, and the fencing around the old cemetery was finished.51 Kurt Tschirner continued to work as a manager on Boolcoomatta until early August 2021. Scientists at Boolcoomatta

Monitoring and evaluating data are essential for implementing the adaptive project management cycle that underpins the management plans. Ecologists play an important role in this process, and the work of the Bush Heritage Arid Rangeland ecologist for South Australia, Dr Graeme Finlayson, illustrates this. In April 2019 two volunteers spotted and photographed a “female Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby with a large joey … on Eagle Rock just prior to sunset.” Graeme used this exciting opportunity to explain the work done on Boolcoomatta to protect the largest rock wallaby in Australia and restore its habitat. The species is listed as “Near Threatened’ under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines and ‘Vulnerable’ in South Australia” but “was once widespread and found across semi- arid and rocky landscapes in South Australia, western New South Wales and central and south-western Queensland.” We don't know how prevalent and widespread Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies originally were on Boolcoomatta, but there have been occasional records of individuals inhabiting Eagle Rock, a small rocky outcrop to the north-west of the homestead. This area is about 15km from the nearest known colony, so it's likely that at some stage in the past decade a number of individuals dispersed from Bimbowrie and ended up finding a home on Boolcoomatta. … The sighting of the mother with joey was particularly exciting because there had been very little evidence that any large macropods (Red Kangaroos, Euros and Western Grey Kangaroos) have been breeding in the past 12 months

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due to the prolonged drought conditions and associated limited availability of food resources. … A close eye will be kept on this small bundle of joy using camera traps to try and determine its persistence on Eagle Rock. Bush Heritage are also involved with fox control and goat removal that will hopefully assist with our efforts to provide the most suitable conditions in which Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies can survive. 52 Competing for food with the Rock Wallabies are feral goats. They browse on native plants and prevent recruiting of the plants as they eat the seedlings. That can be seen in the “hemlines” of bushes which “can be at the height they can reach when standing on their hind legs.” Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolius) is a small to medium-sized tree that cattle, goats and sheep find very palatable. Although it's a widespread species in South Australia, it's common to find these plants with severe haircuts and no recruitment. On our Boolcoomatta Reserve … browse lines on Bullock Bushes are repairing themselves with lower hanging foliage from the crown and epicormic growth from the stems. Also evident is recruitment through either seed germination or suckering, which is the result of committed and successful feral herbivore management over many years.53

A Bullock bush showing browse lines caused by Bullock bush on ... successful recruitment! feral goats. Boolcoomatta showing low hanging foliage and ...

Goats increase the impact of erosion, spread weeds, foul waterholes and remove vegetation cover which small native vertebrate species need for their survival. For these reasons, each year on Boolcoomatta we work hard to control goat numbers. In addition, neighbouring Bimbowrie Conservation Park conducts aerial goat control that encompasses the rocky hills, as part of Operation Bounceback, to deliver positive conservation outcomes for Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies and the native vegetation in this area. 54 Cat control continued in 2017 when the sixty motion sensor cameras were installed again. Emily Mathews, a science intern at Bush Heritage, described what was involved in the process of detecting the cats. Fifteen cameras were mounted in each of the open plains, sandy rises, creek/flood plains and rocky outcrops. A lure station containing KFC chicken was placed 3m directly in front of each camera. … All 60 cameras will be out for a total of 45 days. After that,

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all the images will be analysed and recorded. The data from this study will be used to implement different management strategies across the reserve. Emily spent three months on Boolcoomatta and had some exciting encounters with wildlife over that time. There had been only a few recordings of the Plains-wanderer on the reserve until then, and Emily saw two within a few minutes. We couldn’t believe it. One night we found a female and then we found a male nearby, so we assume they are a pair. We also found an active nest with eggs. During her time on the reserve, Emily recorded more Plains-wanderers than have ever been recorded there before. The excitement in having these grassland birds fly low in front of you is very special. Just think - Bush Heritage staff and volunteers, who have spent countless hours out there, have only ever seen a handful of these birds. And just before the end of her internship she “spotted a threatened Yellow-footed Rock- wallaby - the fourth individual recorded on the reserve this year.”55 While Emily’s encounters with the Plains-wanderer and the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby were incidental, other studies were conducted to learn more about native flora and fauna on Boolcoomatta. Research staff from South Australia’s Department for Environment and Water came in August 2020 to trap the Yellow-throated Miner “as part of a project to investigate the genetics of its closely related cousin the Black-eared Miner, which is one of Australia’s rarest birds.”56 Another project was to find out what species of bats live on the reserve. There are over 1000 species of bats, one of the largest groups of mammals in the Lesser Long-eared Bat. world, but little was known about bats in the arid zone of South Australia. With the help of some electronic equipment, and despite the dry conditions at the time, over 10,000 bat calls were recorded on Boolcoomatta for this study and eleven different bat species identified. They included the Yellow-bellied Sheathtail Bat, the Inland Broad-nosed Bat and Little Broad-nosed Bat which had not been recorded previously on Boolcoomatta.57 The Purplewood Wattle (Acacia carneorum) is listed as ‘Endangered’ both in South Australia and nationally. The wattles occur on the Sandy Sheets land system, mostly on the eastern half of the reserve. Andrea Tschirner spent six months collecting information about the status of this species to assess the health and status of the species in relation to threats and help with planning for the management of these species. In addition, it's hoped that genetic analysis that we aim to conduct in 2020, will provide further insight into the population viability of the species and determine whether further intervention may be required to protect the species into the future. Previous research has identified that this species is almost entirely dependent on asexual reproduction through suckering, and the genetic diversity of most populations is low. …

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Up to thirty stands of Purplewood with over 5000 individual standing stems were recorded so far, with patches ranging from one to more than 1000 individuals. Die-off is prevalent at a large proportion of sites, generally on the outer edges of groves, most likely attributed to drought but also strong evidence of impact from rabbits, that are likely impacting survival and persistence of juvenile stems. Flowering was evident at 35% of sites, Flowering Purplewood. however no evidence of seed set, which seems to align with previous surveys conducted for this species. Despite a high abundance of kangaroos for most of the past 5 years, it would appear they're not impacting recruitment of Purplewood suckers to the same extent as rabbits. 58 This highlights the importance of ongoing rabbit control, and key sites for Purplewood have been “identified through this project to protect an endangered species of regional significance”.59 Volunteers—essential for success

Volunteers are essential to the work and achievements of Bush Heritage. Volunteer numbers increased with the growth of the organisation, and it has currently over 1000 registered volunteers. One full time and two part time volunteer coordinators are responsible for the smooth running of the volunteer program. They are supported in their work by a Volunteer Advisory Committee that meets bi-monthly, with six volunteers and the coordinators. Every two years a volunteer survey is conducted, and volunteer satisfaction with the work they do is consistently very high. During the financial year ending on 31 March 2020 volunteers contributed five per cent of Bush Heritage’s total revenue with the hours they worked.60 Between 2017 and 2020 the contribution of volunteers on Boolcoomatta increased from 1637 working hours (equivalent of 218 working days) in 2017 to 3829 hours, equalling 511 full work days by November 2020. Volunteers assisted with administration, infrastructure maintenance work, invasive weeds, feral animal and herbivore control, habitat restoration, monitoring and surveys, and bequest support. A few experienced volunteers took on caretaker duties when the manager was absent from the reserve. Some volunteers did administrative work at their own home. One principle of volunteer work at Bush Heritage is to match volunteer skills and knowledge with work that needs to be done. Two volunteers built a special trap system at Boolcoomatta using a radio telemetry device attached to each trap. When the trap is sprung, a signal is sent to the Base unit, giving the serial number of the trap. The Reserve Manager is able to go directly to the trap as soon as an animal is captured.61 Many volunteer hours are spent in controlling weeds. Often this is done in working bees as it must happen at a particular time to be effective. Kurt Tschirner had his first

210 Bush Heritage Australia, since 2006 working bee on Boolcoomatta in September 2017, with 11 volunteers arriving. According to Kurt, they covered 87 hectares of the Oonartra flood-out nailing 630 Pepper Trees and 2,934 Boxthorns using the cut stump/ herbicide technique. The area was strategically chosen to build on and complement previous control efforts and great headway has been made over the years. Despite big days and numerous boxthorn scratches the volunteers stuck to the task and did so in good humour. I thank them, and look forward to the next one.62 Two years later another working bee followed up this work in the flood-out, with nine volunteers attending. This time the major task was to find and poison African Boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) plants that were infesting the Oonartra Creek Flood-Out, using a cut-stump method of applying the herbicide. … We found plenty of evidence of Boxthorn control already undertaken by previous working bees and by contract spraying. Some plants, however, had survived and needed to be re-treated. Kurt was busy answering calls of “Chainsaw here!” to cut through the larger thickets of boxthorn re-growth.63

Kurt chainsawing a Boxthorn and a volunteer pulling the tree away before applying the herbicide

This group removed some old fencing, and other volunteers erected new fencing around an exclusion plot on the eastern plains to help understand how grazing by kangaroos affects the vegetation and landscape. The area is about six hectares and is enclosed by a 1.8 metre ringlock fence. Between all of us it was a fortnight of solid work. The restoration of soil erosion sites was another job to do. Volunteers helped to place brush packing across the disturbed areas and pegged it down ready to slow water flowing through the eroded areas when it rains.

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The brush (branches from shrubs like acacias) was collected from overgrown tracks, and while some was old dead shrubs, much was cut green and so brought much needed leaf litter and seeds into this new area. It'll be interesting to see the result of this enormous amount of work when the rain finally comes.64

Volunteers who helped with the brush packing look at their handiwork.

Reserve managers occasionally need a break from their work, and experienced volunteer caretakers make that possible. When Al Dermer and his family took a holiday over Christmas 2016, caretaking was shared between two families. They had some jobs to do, look after the chooks, the budgies and feed the dog. Adhering to the safety procedures of Bush Heritage was reinforced by Al before he left. We will need to log-in and log-out each day with a call centre, and provide details of our movements. The main risk is snake bite and in reality we're more likely to see them around the homestead with its cool gardens and the lure of mice. We assured them we'd be very careful. There is an airstrip here for the Flying Doctor. … Here we are on day two when we're entirely in charge on 643 square kilometres of arid land. The nearest neighbours are about 40 minutes away on an adjoining sheep stations. It's just us and the dog, three chooks, two budgies and the surrounding wildlife.65 The second family arrived a few days after Christmas and stayed for three weeks. The handover of the reserve and the responsibilities took a day, and then they were on their own. The last stretch of their trip from Broken Hill to Boolcoomatta was difficult as it was raining heavily, and the roads were slippery. They were told that they may not be able to get there. The reality of being at the mercy of the rain gods was suddenly evident. However, being stranded at Broken Hill certainly didn’t fit well with our plan and the “we’re almost there” mood in the car meant we drove out anyway in heavy the rain, which we were relieved to see passing fairly quickly. Once on the dirt road off the highway, we had a few exciting

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moments on the clay sections, which gave getting to the homestead a sense of adventure from the outset. The stormy weather persisted for a few days – which was a spectacular sight in the dramatic Boolcoomatta landscape. The sunsets were quite a show. We hadn’t really expected to see any rain, or perhaps even clouds! About a week later we experienced an intense thunderstorm at night, such that the dry creek bed next to the Green House temporarily became a thunderous torrent. It was interesting to see the erosional impact of a 22 mm downpour on the arid slopes. The caretakers enjoyed their stay at the reserve which was part work and part holiday. They watched emus walking past the house and even saw five or six Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies on one of their walks in neighbouring Bimbowrie. On Boolcoomatta they did not see a rock wallaby but collected some scats for testing which may have come from them.66 Volunteers donate their time to Bush Heritage but often also give a bequest in their wills. Other people support the work with financial donations. Many of these people like to visit the reserves they support, and a visitor engagement strategy supports this. Visitors on the reserve

With its many and well-maintained iconic and historical buildings, Boolcoomatta is well equipped for visitors. It can be reached relatively easy via Broken Hill and the major tourist route between Adelaide, Broken Hill and the Flinders Ranges. Unless it rains, the terrain on the reserve allows for fairly straightforward travelling around to explore the interesting landscape, its Aboriginal and European history and looking for flora and fauna. The establishment of a bush camp provides an additional accommodation option to that in the buildings, enabling visitors from the public to book a stay and explore the reserve for a few days using the designated tour routes.67 The reserve is always busy with visitors involved in general operations, researchers, contractors, volunteers, fundraising and media trips. All other visitation needs to fit around these activities and not pose a threat to achieving our conservation and overall management goals and objectives. To date the visitation opportunities include guided visits run by Bush Heritage staff and self-guided visits through establishing a bush camp and self-guided tour routes On a tour route (x3).68 In May 2017 Joanne Axford, the Volunteer Coordinator for the South-West, and Katrina Blake, the Access and Visitation Coordinator, travelled to Boolcoomatta to review and update the visitation and community engagement program. Joanne wrote why Boolcoomatta is such a good place to visit for a short holiday and/or to volunteer.

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The area is a spectacular, visual delight (I couldn't stop taking photos) but it also has many fascinating areas to explore.69

Interpretation sign at an old copper mine. Sunset.

Over centuries, Boolcoomatta has been a special place for many people, and the protection and management of the reserve by Bush Heritage will ensure that this continues. Conclusion

Boolcoomatta had different meanings for the people coming to live, work and visit there. Droughts and floods always occurred, and coping with this harsh landscape was difficult for European settlers as they had to earn an income from the land to support themselves and others. Once they had started to settle and graze sheep, Aboriginal people experienced a lack of native animals to eat and started to become dependent on government handouts. This became apparent during the long drought during the 1850s and 1860s. John Buttfield, the Sub-Protector of Aborigines in South Australia, and Isaac Hall, the owner-manager of Boolcoomatta from 1859 to 1866, were both concerned about the health and decreasing number of Aboriginal people in the area. Being able to read the signs in the landscape which enable humans to survive was and still is an essential skill in the harsh conditions. When George McGillivray got lost in 1870 during a trip from Burke in Queensland to Wilcannia on the Darling River, he was accompanied by an Aboriginal man called Jerry, who saved their lives several times because he had the necessary skills to find food and water (see Chapter 4). They eventually ended up on Boolcoomatta. Today the strict safety procedures Bush Heritage put in place for all staff and volunteers working on the reserves are designed to ensure that everyone is safe, and help can be summoned quickly in an emergency. But it is not only people who can suffer under these hard conditions, flora and fauna must fight for survival as well. In 2017, Rebecca Spindler, Executive Manager, Science and Conservation, described what it meant to her when she visited Boolcoomatta in 2019 during a drought. Returning to the heart of Australia makes me feel like I am filling up from the souls of my feet. An arid landscape captures beauty just as dramatic as any other – you just have to look the right way.

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We're now officially in Australia’s longest recorded drought. Boolcoomatta tells the story of that drought. There are floods and sprinkles of rain that help maintain hope – but the underlying reality is still hard. There are plants and animals that have moved on or lost the race for survival in this drought, and make no mistake that race is hard fought and sorely lost. But there is resilience as well. Boolcoomatta means 'people of the kangaroo' in local language. And even after many years of tough, doing-it-hard drought – they are here – still with us in the landscape.70 Droughts lead to dust storms which provide yet another experience of the vast country around Boolcoomatta. Is it dusty here? Yep, sure is. However, experiencing a dust storm is very different to seeing it on . The dust rolls in off the plains almost daily, giving excellent sunsets and sunrises. It covers the animal tracks from previous days and allows me to see which different animals have travelled at night. I guess there are plenty of downsides to the drought and the tough, harsh conditions …. Eventually the rain will come, the joint will be flooded and the flowers will arrive.71 After two-and-a-half years of dry weather on Boolcoomatta, nearly 100mm of rain fell within a few weeks during 2020. This changed the landscape, how it looked, sounded and smelled. What were dry, dusty plains are now a vibrant green, covered in fast-growing annual vegetation and … the occasional grass seed head. The bird life has sprung into top gear, with the metallic song of Brown Songlarks, bright splashes of red and yellow with energetic Crimson and Orange Chats, electric green and yellow Budgerigars strutting their stuff across the skies, the toy trumpet sounds of Zebra Finches ring out at any water and the penetrating screeches of Galahs, Corellas, and Cockatiels all echoing the excitement of what the rain has delivered. There are already signs of breeding, clumsy young Emu chicks dashing alongside their father’s heel, a fluffy Wedge-tailed Eagle peers longingly over the edge of a strategically placed nest and Inland Dotteral chicks scatter around the plains when hit with the spotlight beam. There's something special about a decent rainfall in this part of the world, particularly after the last two years. It’s what it does to all our senses. At first there’s that unique smell of petrichor, that settling of dust and freshness to the air. The change of colour is a real sight and makes you realise what an amazingly resilient landscape this is ... just how does this seedbank stay dormant and survive for so long? Then the splash of colours as daisies, Swainson Peas, numerous flowering eremophilas and wattles are thrown into life, sending out a myriad of colours on to what was up until now a rather drab canvas. The sounds that have been absent for so long. First the frogs, in that small window of opportunity to find a mate and make sure they continue as a species through that next unknown dry period. Insects, the hum, the buzz, the annoying mosquito screech. Followed closely by the feeding frenzy by microbats and geckoes that dart across the windows in search of what has been a rare tasty morsal.

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Walking across the plains, there’s also the sound of popping as you step on Pop Saltbush that has proliferated and thrown out succulent fruiting bodies that explode on impact. During the day it’s hard to find a place without bird song, the morning chorus around the homestead, and the further you venture, the more species have found their song. These smells, sights and sounds all make this place so special after rain. There’s a renewed level of excitement, moods swing and it makes you realise just how extraordinary this place is.72 Being out on country in Boolcoomatta can leave city people with a sense of awe at its vastness and quiet, giving an almost spiritual feeling which has been captured in the following poem. Flat land … To the horizon and beyond. Age-old as time. In the mill of unendingness Even rocks are ground like chaff With little enough remaining Leaving the dust of this work as a levelling unfixed filler. A land so old the stories have all been told Where it seems to have become all that it will become. Until it rains and it stirs again Giving the lie to this appearance. Adaption realised. Opportunity seized Dormancy abandoned. What was unseen is now life pushing inexorably back and claiming its place. The means is patience. In this the unendingness being correctly seen as the means of the sure return of times as before. Shape yourself and endure Survive as you will if you can. This is the final truth.73

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Notes

1 Graham, K., Nature farmers. Bush Heritage News, Spring 2010, p. 1. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2010/spring/nature-farmers. Accessed 10 December 2020. 2 Martin, S. (2016). Bush Heritage Australia: Restoring nature step by step. Sydney: New South Publishing 3 Bush Heritage Australia (2017). Our Plan 2017 – 22. Melbourne: Bush Heritage Australia. 4 Bush Heritage Australia (2020). Holding strong for the bush. Impact Report 2019–2020. Melbourne: Bush Heritage Australia. 5 Baker-Gabb, D. (2005). Boolcoomatta Station South Australia. Assessment report of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund. Bush Heritage Australia: Internal document. 6 ibid, p. 6 7 Baker-Gabb, D., Boolcoomatta – South Australia on the Bush Heritage map. Bush Heritage News, Winter 2006, p. 1. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2006/winter. Accessed 10 December 2010. 8 Ibid, p. 13 9 Ibid. 10 Austin, N., Outback jewel to become a sanctuary for flora, fauna. The Advertiser, 27 April 2006, p. 26. 11 Senator the Hon Ian Campbell, 26 April 2006. Media Release C081/06. Australian Government funding helps conserve unique Outback station. 12 Bush Heritage Australia (2008). Boolcoomatta Reserve Management Plan. Internal document. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Bush Heritage Australia (2016). Boolcoomatta Reserve Management Plan, Version 2.74, p. 2. Internal document. 16 Bush Heritage Australia (2010). Boolcoomatta Reserve Property Plan, p. 9. Internal document. 17 Ibid. 18 Bush Heritage Australia (2016). Boolcoomatta Reserve Management Plan, Version 2.74. Internal document, p. 6. 19 Ibid, p. 25. 20 Ibid, p. 14. 21 This section is based on the Management reports for the two years. 22 Francis, C., Handing over a work in progress at Boolcoomatta Reserve. Bush Heritage News, Spring 2008, p. 7. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2008/spring. Accessed 20 May 2021. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Graham, K., Nature Farmers. Bush Heritage News, Autumn 2010, p. 1. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2010/autumn. Accessed 20 May 2021. 26 Ashley, L., Flocking to Boolcoomatta. Bush Heritage News, Winter 2011, pp. 3. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2011/winter. Accessed 23 May 2021. 27 Graham, K., The yellow-footed rock wallaby. Bush Heritage News, Autumn 2011, p. 3. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2011/autumn. Accessed 23 May 2021. 28 Ibid. 29 Ashley, L., Flocking to Boolcoomatta. Bush Heritage News, Winter 2011, pp. 3. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2011/winter. Accessed 23 May 2021. 30 Graham, K., Nature Farmers. Bush Heritage News, Spring 2010, p. 1. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2010/autumn. Accessed 20 May 2021. 31 Bush Heritage Australia (2010). Boolcoomatta Reserve Property Plan, p. 17. Internal document 32 New feral monitoring data. Bush Tracks, Autumn 2015, p. 5. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2015/autumn. Accessed 23 May 2021. 33 Ibid. 34 Tree hugging at Boolcoomatta. Bush Tracks, Summer 2014, p. 7. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2014/summer. Accessed 23 May 2021. 35 Downey, L., Where there’s a Will there’s a way. Bushie Blog, 22 July 2015. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/where-there-is-a-will-there-is-a-way. Accessed 19 December 2020.

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36 Ibid. 37 Dermer, A., Layers of the land. Bushie Blog, 18 January 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/layers-of-the-land. Accessed 20 December 2020. 38 Native Title Determination details, SCD2018/002 - Adnyamathanha, Ngadjuri and Wilyakali Overlap Claim, Determination Date: 14/12/2018. http://www.nntt.gov.au/searchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/Pages/Determination_details.aspx?NNT T_Fileno=SCD2018/002. Accessed 6 July 2021. 39 Dermer, A., 10-year anniversary of Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 29 March 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/10-year-anniversary-of-boolcoomatta-reserve. Accessed 20 December 2020. 40 Ibid. 41 Dermer, A., Eyes on the ground at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 12 January 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/eyes-on-the-ground-at-boolcoomatta-station-reserve. Accessed 20 December 2020. 42 Dermer, A., Dragon vs cat. Bushie Blog, 15 September 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/cat-versus-dragon. Accessed 21 December 2020. 43 Dermer, A., The Inland dotterel gatekeeper. Bushie Blog, 2 March 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/inland-dotterel-gate-keeper-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 21 December 2020. 44 Dermer, A., Natives flourish in the flood out. Bushie Blog, 25 August 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/weed-control. Accessed 21 December 2020. 45 Dermer, A., Resources responding to rain. Bushie Blog, 17 March 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/resources-responding-to-rain. Accessed 21 December 2020. 46 Dermer, A., Are the windows up on the ute? Bushie Blog, 25 August 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/are-the-windows-up-on-the-ute. Accessed 21 December 2020. 47 Dermer, A., Landscape change, hail across the land. Bushie Blog, 17 November 2016. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/landscape-change-hail-across-the-land. Accessed 22 December 2020. 48 Tschirner, K. My happy place, Bushtracks, Autumn 2020, p. 13 49 Tschirner, A., Living and volunteering on Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 6 May 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/volunteering-on-boolcoomatta. Accessed 25 December 2020. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid. 52 Finlayson, G., Bouncing bundle of joy at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 10 May 2019. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/a-bouncing-bundle-of-joy-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 26 December 2020. 53 Tschirner, K., Hemlines and what they tell us. Bushie Blog, 18 June 2018. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/hemlines-what-they-tell-us. Accessed 26 December 2020. 54 Finlayson, G., Bouncing bundle of joy at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 10 May 2019. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/a-bouncing-bundle-of-joy-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 26 December 2020. 55 Close encounters. Bush Tracks, Spring 2017, pp. 8. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2017/spring. Accessed 6 January 2021. 56 Finlayson, G., Yellow-throated Miner trapping. Bushie Blog, 1 September 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/a-miner-trapping-event. Accessed 29 December 2020. 57 Herbert, E., Blissfully batty over bat calls. Bushie Blog, 17 April 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/blissfully-batty-over-bat-calls-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 29 December 2020. 58 Finlayson, G., Purplewood Acacia monitoring. Bushie Blog, 16 April 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/purplewood-acacia-monitoring-on-boolcoomatta. Accessed 29 December 2020. 59 Ibid. 60 Bush Heritage Australia (2020). Holding strong for the bush. Impact Report 2019-2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/getmedia/8d02e20e-c383-4d42-807c-858b92bb7a17/impact- report-19-20. Accessed 6 January 2021.

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61 Gooley, K., Volunteers help combat cats. Bushie Blog, 27 June 2017. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/volunteers-combat-cats-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 62 Axford, J., Volunteers vs weeds at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 15 October 2017. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/working-to-combat-weeds-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 63 Knox, S., Weeds working bee at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 4 October 2019. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/weeds-working-bee-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 64 Malcolm, C., Life's a treat at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 12 February 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/lifes-a-treat-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 65 Geyer, M., Summer caretaking at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 3 February 2017. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/summer-caretaking-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 66 Stone, N. & Stone, N., Family fun caretaking Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 6 Feb 2017. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/summer-caretaking-at-boolcoomatta-part-2. Accessed 30 December 2020. 67 Bush Heritage Australia (2017). Visitor engagement strategy. Internal document. 68 Bush Heritage Australia (2017). Boolcoomatta Reserve Management Plan, Version 2.132, p. 39. Internal document. 69 Axford, J., Beautiful Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 4 June 2017. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/beautiful-boolcoomatta. Accessed 31 December 2020. 70 Spindler, R., Learning to see the land. Bushie Blog, 22 Jul 2019. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/boolcoomatta-learning-to-see-the-land. Accessed 31 December 2020. 71 Malcolm, C., Life's a treat at Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 12 February 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/lifes-a-treat-at-boolcoomatta. Accessed 30 December 2020. 72 Finlayson, G., Patter Patter Boolcoomatta. Bushie Blog, 26 Oct 2020. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/patter-patter-boolcoomatta. Accessed 31 December 2020. 73 Oborn, R. & Oborn, M., From city to the country. Bushie Blog, 13 June 2019. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/blog/from-city-to-the-country. Accessed 31 December 2020.

219 Index

Index

A song of Rain, 145 Bindarah, 4, 166 Abbreviations, xiv Bindera, 4 Aboriginal, 4-8, 14, 15, 26, 28, 32, 38, Black Rock, 67 39, 45, 53-56, 201 Black Springs, 15, 21 Aboriginal and European heritage, 185 Black-eared Miner, 209 Adelaide, xi, 1, 12, 15, 16, 29, 81, 85, Blake, Katrina, 213 161 Bob the Railway Dog, 85 Adnyamathanha People, xiii, 4, 5, 6, 8, Bon Bon Station, 16, 140, 163 201 Bonney, Charles, 10, 28, 43 Alcock, TG, 51 Boolcoomatta Copper Mining and Alice Springs, xii, 157 Smelting Company, x, 59 Angora goats, xi, 85, 131 Boolcoomatta Glee Club, 120, 144 Arid Recovery, 200 Boolcoomatta Vocal Club, 144 Ashton, Peter and Emma, xii, 191, 198, Bornholme, Trevor, 167 199, 203 Bowman, Edmund, 15 Austin, Thomas, 81 Bowman, Mr, 133 Axford, Joanne, 213 Broken Hill, xi, xii, 1, 83, 86, 127, 142, Badger, Genevieve (Genny), xii, 7, 178, 145, 157, 170 182, 185 Broken Hill Mining Company, 87 Badger, Langdon Eric, 7, 178 Brooks, James, 30 Badger, Langdon sen, 7, 178, 181 Brown, Bob, 191 Baker, Mary Ann, 178 Bundera, 57, 59, 166 Baker-Gabb, David, 192 Burns, William, 133 Barber, Andrew, 156 Burra, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 29, 32, 35, Barrier Highway, xii, 169, 183 59, 84 Barrier Ranges, 6, 10, 35, 38, 51, 55, Burra Mines, 17, 25 57, 59, 86 Burrows, Benjamin, 35 Baxter, Mrs, 131 Bush Heritage Australia, xii, xiii, 4, 7, 8, Baxter, Queenie, 149, 150 16, 140, 163, 182, 185, 191, 193, Beck, Charles, 25, 28, 43 201, 206 Beck, Frederick John, 27, 43 Butters, Charles, 69 Beck, John, x, 7, 22, 25-27, 29, 33, 34, Buttfield, John, 39 36, 40, 43-45, 50, 61, 66, 67, 69, 71, Calici virus, 83, 207 88 Campbell, James Stewart, 51 Beck, Mary Ann, 25, 43 Campbell, Martha, 43, 62 Bell, Bob, 133 Campbell, The Hon Ian, 193 Benourie Silver Mining Association, 87 Cat control, 195, 196, 199, 203 Benowrie, 3, 4, 35, 38, 44, 48, 69, 71, Changes in leases, 122 76, 83, 85-87, 92, 155, 166 Clachnacuddan mine, 86 Benowrie Private Cemetery, 141 Clare Valley, 19 Bimbowrie, xi, 18, 35, 40, 45, 50, 52, Clemens, Henry, 141 53, 66, 69, 75, 87, 125, 126, 131, Cobb and Co, 51, 57 142, 149, 150, 166 Cockburn, 1, 84, 127, 128 Bimbowrie Conservation Reserve, 196, Coffey, J, 132 198 Collins, Alice MM, 133

220 Index

Conservation Management Process, 195 Feral animals, 81, 200 Conversions, xiv Ferry, David, 81 Copper mining, 14, 15, 17 Ferry, William Seth, 85 Crawford, Mrs EM, 131 Field Naturalists Society of South Crawford, Robert, 149, 150, 156 Australia, 194 Crockett, George, 50 Finlayson, Dr Graeme, 207 Crowley, James, 140 Fismer, August, 140 Crown Commissioner of Lands, 39, 45 Fitzsimmons, JF, 152 Crown Lands Act 1888, 70, 74 Flinders Ranges, 4, 54, 55, 63 Crown Waste Lands, 7, 13 Flynn, Reverend John, 156, 157, 170 Crozier, Edwin, 149 Foreman, Mr, 171 Crozier, John, 52 Fotheringham, A and D, 124 Cudmore, Daniel, 66 Foxes, 81, 84, 198-200, 202 Darling River, 10, 31, 54, 57, 58, 126 Freeling, General Captain Arthur, 12 Darwin, 12 Frith, Moses, x, 7, 17, 20, 21 David, Sir Edgeworth, 155, 171 Frome, General Edward Charles, 10, 11 Davies, Tom, 166, 167 Gawler, 18, 65 Dennis, CJ, 144 Gepp, Laurel Gwendoline, 122 Depasturing Licence, 13 German Charlie Dermer, Alistair, xii, 201, 212, 218 Haenschke, Charlie, 133-135, 140, Devlin, Augusta Jessie, 53 142, 143 Dewdney, Richard, 45, 46, 47, 71-74, Gibb, Phyllis, 170 83, 139 Gifford, Mr, 40 Dickens, Alfred, 53 Giles, Jane Isabella, 29 Dickens, Charles, 53 Gilmore, J, 60 Dingoes, 81, 85, 139 Gilmore, Sandy, 194, 199 Dix, Annie Elizabeth, 26 Glendinning, Mr, 50 Dome Rock Copper Mine, 156 Glenelg, 11, 25, 27, 67, 119 Drew and Crewes, 29, 142 Gnamma holes, 6 Drought, x, 3, 7, 12, 18, 19, 22, 26, Goats, 85, 202, 208 28-33, 39, 43, 45, 73, 81, 125, 126, Gool Mohamed, 146 168, 173, 192, 198, 208, 210 Goyder, George, xi, 7, 11, 12, 14, 38, Duff, John Finlay, 45 70, 73, 92 Duffield, Mr, 18, 32, 35, 40 Great Depression, 125, 128, 145, 146, Duncan, Malcom, 167 157, 163 Eagle Rock, xiii, 207 Greer, T, 155 Eastern Plains, 21, 29-31, 35, 39, 52, Grey, Bill, 133-135, 140 59, 84, 88, 169 Gully, Joseph, 132 Ebbs, Florence, 119 Hall, Isaac, x, 7, 22, 25-40, 43, 45, 48, Elder, Smith and Co, 131 56, 69, 85, 92 Elder, Thomas, 13 Hall, Mary Ann, 26 Ellery, Richard, 50 Halliday, 68 Emuville, 15, 20 Hancock, 68 Enemy Aliens, 146 Harrod, Clara, 51 Erosion, 192, 195, 198, 202, 208, 211 Harrod, Emma, 51 Farrel, Paddy, 133 Hawdon, Joseph, 10, 28, 43 Federal Sheep Shearing Co Ltd, 129 Hawker, George, 152 Federation Drought, 126 Hawker, Walter, 152

221 Index

Hawkes, WG, 153 Mannum, 13, 58 Hawkins, Ann, 38, 39 Marsh, Dolly, 122 Heinrich, AF, 124 Marsh, Keith, xi, 88, 121, 147, 152, 165 Helmore, Anne, 17 Mashado, Frank, 132 Henery, Jack, 140 Mathews, Emily, 208, 209 Hill, Matilda, 31 Mawson, Douglas, xi, 153-155, 171, Holder, WJ, 150 172, 181 Honner, R, 152 McCulloch, Alexander, x, xi, 7, 18, 43, Hunt, WR, 79 45, 61, 65-67, 69, 72, 73, 79, 88, 118, Hunt’s Labor Office, 140 119 Hynes, J, 140 McCulloch, Alexander jun, 118, 119 Ifould, Walter, 45, 55 McCulloch, Duncan, xi, xii, 7, 65-68, Inland Dotterel, 203 85, 88, 118-120, 123, 131, 149, 158 Invasive weeds, 195 McCulloch, George, 87 Irlam, William Nehemiah, 50 McCulloch, Margaret, 119 Jacob, John and William, 18 McDonald, Mr, 133 Johnson, John, 74 McEwin, Margaret, 65 Jones, Jane Annie, 45 McGillivray, George, 54 Jones, Peter, 163 McKay, Sister J, 171 Jones, R, 18 McKellar, Dorothy, 158 Joyce, Thomas James, 75 McKinlay, W, 156 Kadina, 17, 37 McLennan, Mrs, 51, 52 Kalabity, 4, 152, 166 McMahon, Hanorah, 120 Kalkaroo, 4, 40, 44, 166, 178, 180, 181 McTaggart, Mr, 55 Kangaroo Island, 21 Meehan, Daniel, xi, 120, 121, 133, 135, Kangaroos, 194, 195 156 Kapunda, 11, 29, 82 Meehan, Jack, 121 Kennedy, John, 75 Menindee, 35, 75, 80, 142 King, Fielder, 118, 119 Mexican Poppy, 194 King, Stephen, 18, 40, 85 Miethke, Adelaide, 170 Kingsford, 18 Milparinka, 75 Kooringa, 17, 20, 29, 57 Minchin, Richard, 32 Lake Dismal, 4, 44, 166 Mineralogical Society of South Lake Frome, 55 Australia, 194 Lake Torrens, 1, 11, 55 Mingary, xi, 29, 34, 44, 51, 59, 88, 127, Land Board, xi, 14 128, 142, 147, 170 Levi, Philip, x, 7, 18, 22, 25, 27-29, 33, Mingary Cricket Club, 145 34, 36, 43 Mingary Cup, 147, 148, 182 Lewis, Watkin, 50 Mining, 11, 22, 25, 57, 59, 74, 86, 153, Lillywhite, William, 49 155, 171 Lines, Charlie, 148 Mitchell, Oscar, 51, 141 Locusts, 81, 84 Moolooloo, 28, 40 Lord, Eric, 180 Moorooroo, 18 Lord, John Vivian, 178 Mount Gambier, 31 Luck, Thelma, 164 Mount Gipps, 51 Macpherson, Jessie, 151 Mt Victor, 30 Management plan, 192, 194, 195 Mulla Abdulla, 146 Manna Hill, 80, 81 Mundi Mundi, 4, 59, 69, 82, 86, 151

222 Index

Murray River, 10, 58, 80 Rabbits, x, 53, 58, 66, 72, 73, 81-85, Murray, Henry, 18, 65 126, 151, 169, 175, 193-195, 198, Mutooroo Pastoral Company, 124, 151 199, 202, 210 Myxoma virus, 83 Radium Hill Mine, xii, 154, 155, 171 National Native Title Tribunal, xiii, 201 Railway, xi, 83, 87, 88, 127, 128, 141, Native Vegetation Council, 198 169, 170 Nelson, Richard H, 70 Raines, Henry, 51, 52 New Boolcoomatta, 14, 44, 76 Rainfall, 12, 13, 32, 66, 125-128, 150, Ngadjuri People, 5 165, 168, 176, 204, 215 Nickel, Julius, 86 Randell, William, 13 Noack, F., 141 Rasp, Charles, 87 Nobs and Snobs, 55, 66 Reginald Sprigg, 172 Noonan, Con, 133, 139 Reid, 18 Norris, Glen, xii, 199 Reid, John, 65 O’Leary, Paul and Bec, xii, 194, 196 Roberts, Bevern, xii, 164, 167 Old Boolcoomatta, xi, 14, 21, 35, 38, Roberts, Matthew, xii, 167 44, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 86, 87, 92, Roberts, Matthew and Rosemary, 172, 131, 149, 150, 154, 166, 172 173, 177 Old Copper Hill mine, 155 Rogers, Robert Johnson, 35 Oonartra Creek, 3, 56 Rosewarne, Irene, 163 Opie, Edward, 142 Rounsevell’s coach, 29 Orrie Cowie, 120 Royal Flying Doctor Service, xii, 157, Orroroo, 50 170, 171, 181, 183 Oulnina, xii, 18, 28, 33, 154 Rutherford, George, 52 Outalpa, 4, 17-19, 29, 32, 40, 44, 71, Salmon, R., xi, 149 73, 85, 86, 149 School of the Air, xii, 169-171, 199 Pastoral Commission, xi, 122 Second World War, 149, 168, 180 Pastoral Lease, x, xi, 13, 14 Shackleton, Ernest, 154 Pastoral station positions, 47 Shearer, 49, 79, 140 Pastoralism, 21, 38 Shearing, 35, 49, 79, 80, 129, 176 Peel, Clifford, 157 Shepherd, 13-16, 32, 39, 48, 66, 69, Plains Wanderer, 8, 195, 207 150, 165 Plains-wanderer, 193, 199, 209 Sherlock, George, 142 Plains‑wanderer, 199 Siemer, Sarah, 170 Port Elliot, 13, 58 Silverton, x, 51, 75, 86, 87, 127, 145 Port Lincoln, 163 Simpson, 68 Port Pirie, xi, 127 Smith, Andrew, 124, 151 Prince, William, 50 Smith, Arthur J, 171 Puckridge, Clair, 163 Smith, Louisa, 120 Puckridge, Irene, 164 Smith, Sir Keith, 124, 151, 152 Puckridge, Molly, 163 Smith, Sir Ross, 124, 151, 152 Puckridge, Percival, xii, 7, 16, 120, 121, Smith/Smyth, John, 75 163-166, 172 South Australian Government, xi, 7, 11, Puckridge, Thelma, 173 14, 38, 57, 59, 171 Purplewood Wattle, 209 South Australian Mining Company, 25, Rabbit control, 198, 210 27, 29, 43 South Australian Rangelands Alliance, 200

223 Index

Sprigg, HL, 28, 33 Vermin, xi, 72, 83, 84 Sprigg, Reginald, 154 Vermin proof fence, xi, 126 Stanway, John, x, 7, 15, 17, 20, 21 Victorian Gold Rush, 14 Stock Owners' Co-operative Shearing Victorian goldfields, x Company, 132 Virgo, Mr, 124 Strangways Act, 66 Volunteers, xiii, 194, 196-198, 202, Strikes, xi, 129, 132 205, 207, 210, 211, 213 Sturt, Charles, x, 6, 10, 11 Vox, 140, 147, 148 Sullivan, John L, 140 Wade, Christopher, 151 Summers, Professor, 155 Wade, Mr, 153 Swaggies, 146, 157 Waite, James, 40 Swindon, John, 73, 149 Waite, Peter, 57, 122 Symes, Elizabeth, 28 Wakefield, Edward G, 11 Symonds, W, 50 Wallace, Abraham, 31 Tapley, John, x, 7, 10, 14-17, 20, 69, Wallaroo, 17, 59 163, 165 Ward, Ebenezer, 75, 80 Tapley, Thomas, x, 14-17, 20, 163 Watkins, Corn, 131 Telegraph line, 12, 59 Watts, Alfred, x, 7, 22, 25, 27, 29, 43 Telephone line, 126, 157 Weed management, 196, 203, 204 Tennant, Andrew, 66 Weekeroo, 18, 150 Terowie, 66, 80, 85 Well sinking, 35, 57 Terry, Michael, 57 White cypress‑pine, xii, 200 Thackaringa, 75, 86, 150 Whitting, 69 Thick-billed Grass Wren, 8 Wicks, FA, 156 Thomas, George, 141 Widdicombe, Henry and Ann, 37 Thompson, Max, 172 Wilcannia, 54, 75 Tindale, 5 Wild dogs, 66, 81, 85 Todd, Charles, 12 Wild Dogs, 85, 126 Tolmer, Alexander, 14 Willmett, 132 Traditional Owners, xiii, 201 Wilyakali People, x, xiii, 4-6, 8, 201 Traeger, Alf, 157 Winters, Harry, 140 Transport, 169, 183 Wiperaminga Copper Mining Trestrail, Captain, 59, 60 Company, 60 Trevaill, Tom, 140 Woman in White, 86 Trevorah, Captain, 60 Wompinie, 4, 166 Truran, William, 50 Wood, Mike, 167 Tschirner, Andrea, xiii, 191, 205-207, Wool, 11, 14, 31, 33, 65, 79, 126, 181 209 Wool industry, 21 Tschirner, Kurt, xiii, 191, 205, 210 Wool sales, 16, 22, 49, 129 Tyler, John, 35, 66 World War One, 126, 133, 151, 152 Tyler, JW, 18, 40 Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, xii, xiii, Tyndall, Arthur, x, xi, 66-70, 88, 193, 198, 207, 209 118-120, 123, 140 Yellow-throated Miner, 209 Umberumberka silver mine, 86 Unionism, 132

224