SECTION TWO

KEMPSEY SHIRE COMMUNITY BASED

HERITAGE STUDY

THEMATIC HISTORY

KEE DESIGN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDY OBJECTIVES iii

TOPOGRAPHIC MAP iv

LANDSCAPE v

DUNGHUTTI vii

Major Themes

1. EXPLORATION 1

2. PASTORALISM 4

3. TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION 9

4. AGRICULTURE 15

5. FORESTRY 21

6. TOWNS 26

7. TOURISM & LEISURE 47

The objective of this report is to record the Thematic History ofthe Macleay Valley Region as an aid to assessing the RegionsHeritage Resource.

Kempsey Shire, on the mid-north coast of New South Wales,covers rich agricultural country on the river and creek flats aswell as rugged country to the west of the Shire. The region isbounded by Port Macquarie and Wauchope in the south, Armidalein the west and Macksville-Nambucca in the north. To the east isthe seaboard.

In September 2002, Kempsey Shire Council commissionedthe Macleay River Historical Society Incorporated to co-ordinate acommunity based heritage study of the Macleay Valley Region.

The purpose of the study is for Kempsey Shire Communityto identify and interpret items within the region they consider tobe of heritage significance. The community based heritage studyapproach actively involves the community in researching andnominating items and in considering recommendations for futuremanagement.

In this approach it is intended to give the community much greaterownership of the study process and reduce the potential for conflictwithin the community regarding listing and future management ofheritage. A community based study recognises that the communitythemselves are a valuable source of information. Thecoordinators have utilised already existing skills and knowledgethrough community workshops.

The process has included the need to:Identify items of heritage which are valued by the community.Record local knowledge before it is lost.Involve the local community.Be prepared to listen to development proposals.Adjust to growth in the shire.

This survey attempts to outline the major Historic Themesprincipally as a record of European habitation. It could not possiblycompile all the information within the time limit, but is a start whichwill identify a number of themes to provide a framework of thehistory of the local community. It is intended that Aboriginal Heritagewould best be carried out as a separate comprehensive study.

The community based study in coordination with this ThematicHistory puts in place a mechanism to identify items of Heritagevalue and make provision for its appropriate management.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse

Five Day Creek Bridge

iii

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The Kempsey Shire extends over rugged mountaincountry through foothills to undulating richagricultural land then on to a coastline of 79.5kilometres.

The Macleay River, the predominant feature ofthe shire, passes through scenery of natural beauty.The background of mountain ranges to the west,north and south add great charm to the scenery.The land is guarded on its western boundary byprecipitous ravines forming the New EnglandRange, part of the Great Dividing Range.

The Macleay River is tidal to Belgrave Falls, fifty-five kms from its mouth where it flows into thePacific Ocean near South West Rocks. The riverreceives water from many creeks and brooks onthe high country. Five Day, Stockyard, McKenziesand Nulla Nulla creeks are some of the tributariesuntil it meets Hickeys, Majors, Dungay and

Mungay Creeks on undulating ground. TheBelmore River, Christmas, Spencers and KinchelaCreeks join the course on the low plain before theriver reaches the sea.

Kempsey, the commercial centre of the valley, hasa population of 10,500 and is situated 35 kms upstream from the river’s mouth. The town is thedividing point for the upper and lower MacleayRiver districts with their contrasting scenery.

Downstream from Kempsey, the deltaic plain wasformed by the Great Ice Age 800,000 to 20,000years ago. The plain came into existence as theriver changed its course several times in seekingnew outlets to the sea through growing sandbarriers. Great deposits of material were carrieddown and left inside the sand barriers, transformingthe river estuary to the alluvial plains weknow today.1

Upper Macleay

L andscape

v

Near the river’s end is the sunny resort of SouthWest Rocks, once a maritime centre. Stuarts Pointis a fast growing residential area. The campinggrounds of Hat Head and Grassy Head are popularresorts. Away from the river is Crescent Head,another beautiful township, most of it perched onthe side of a mountain overlooking Killick Creekand the ocean.

These geographic points became the centres forpeople and their activities. There are ghost townsand abandoned mining sites which are now only“sometime, long ago” names mentioned in oldnewspapers. Kempsey Shire is closely related toneighbouring shires. Early pastoralists becameaware of the potential of the Macleay area whilstliving at Port Macquarie. Some were servingmembers of the military detachment stationed atthe penal settlement who sold their commissionsto enable them to invest in land north of theHastings River. The western boundary extendsto the Dumaresq Shire where the towns ofHillgrove and Armidale in the steep New EnglandRanges became destinations on the mail route andthen for produce. Later in the nineteenth centuryfollowing the flood of 1864, settlers pushed furthernorth to the Nambucca region to realise theirdream of becoming landowners.

The object of this study is to link the historicalsites with people and the built heritage and thereason for choosing this valley in which to live...in short, a landscape of community heritage.

1. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p 12.

vi

The whole of Kempsey Shire is home to theDunghutti people. Dunghutti is now the officialname of the language group although in the westof the region around Bellbrook and higher groundAboriginal people prefer the T sound (Thunghutti).

Place names in the shire are borrowed from theDunghutti language. Some of the beautiful soundswere interpreted by early Europeans as the earheard them. It is not for us to explain the meaningbut some words which have been looselytranslated, easily signify the physical character ofthe country, i.e. Clybucca meaning crookedtallowood trees, bucca is often read as crookedas in Nambucca (crooked river).

In the Clybucca area are ancient camp sites withshell beds in the form of mounds which are up totwo metres high. These are places where kitchenwaste was placed in orderly fashion and the

accumulation of these middens was started some11,000 years ago and abandoned when the seabegan to recede.1

Food was plentiful especially in the lower Macleay.Climate accounted for movement. The people inthe colder climes of the upper Macleay could easilymove into warmer places on the floor of the valleyduring winter.

There are significant sites remaining in theDunghutti land away from ground which has beencultivated. Stone implements have been foundwhich give evidence of antiquity. Spears,boomerangs, shields, digging sticks, water and foodcarriers have been collected. In the colder areascloaks were made from possum skins.

Sacred sites were marked with carved trees andstone arrangements. Gatherings took place to

Du n ghu t t iDu n ghu t t iDu n ghu t t iDu n ghu t t iDu n ghu t t i

vii

celebrate ceremonies to mark special events inthe lives of the people.2 The last great gatheringtook place towards the end of the nineteenthcentury. Other language groups from north andsouth of the Macleay gathered near Smoky Rangenot long before the last marked tree was cut downand taken to the Australian Museum forpreservation.3 Did the people know this was theirlast ritual or did they meet in secret away fromthe watchful eyes of the settlers?

Such was the outward way of life for the firstpeople. Aboriginal studies are making clearer someof the history of the groups. This is best explainedby the Aboriginals themselves. It has been a hardtask for the Dunghutti people to trace their culture.Some of the language is being recorded andhopefully enough of it will result in acomprehensive dictionary.

In 1826 a glowing report in The Sydney Gazetteabout the Macleay River was based on informationby an Aboriginal man named Mooney. TheCommandant at Port Macquarie sent a party toexplore the so called New River. In recent yearsKempsey has enjoyed the fame of artists RobertCampbell Jnr. and Milton Budge who tell theirhistory in paintings.

The Macleay Shire has significant pre Europeanhistory and a study of this heritage, preferably byAboriginals should be considered.

1. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p.15.

2. Ibid. p.16

3. Ibid. p.17

A sketch by a Dunghutti Elder Uncle Blue

viii

On Sunday 13th May 1770 Captain James Cookrecorded in his journal “at three in the morningthe wind veered to westward when we tackedand stood to the northward. At noon ourlatitude, by observation was, 30 deg 43’S andour longitude 206 deg 45 W. At this time wewere between three and four leagues from theshore, the north most part of which bore fromus N 13 W and a point, or headland, on whichwe saw fires that produced a great quantity ofsmoke, bore W distant four leagues. To thisPoint, I gave the name Smoky Cape; it is ofconsiderable height and over the pitch of the

Point, is a round hillock; within are two othersmuch higher and larger and within them theland is very low.”1

Captain James Cook was the first European torecord a sighting of the east coast which is part ofKempsey Shire and this was the first Europeanname bestowed on Dunghutti land.

Forty seven years later Europeans set foot on thesame land four kms north of Smoky Cape. TrialBay received the name from a tragedy when aparty of convicts took over the brig Trial lying inSydney Harbour. The crew sailed north only to

EXPLORATION

Major Theme 1

THE NEW MACLEAY RIVERc. 1830 Prob. surveyed by Harry Dangar

Archives Office July 85

1

be wrecked on the coast. Part of the wreck wasdiscovered by Commander White in the LadyNelson in 1817 in what is known as Trial Bay.2

The next sighting took place in 1820 by John Oxley.He and Captain Allman were sent to make asurvey of Port Macquarie and report on itssuitability as a new settlement for convicts. Oxleywas directed to examine inlets north of SmokyCape. Sailing in the Prince Regent, Oxley enteredthe Macleay River but found only ten to twelvefeet of water over the bar at high tide. Furtherexplorations up the present Macleay Riverrevealed only arms of the inlet, swamps, marshesand sandy infertile soil backed by remote hillyforest country. Oxley did not travel far enough upthe river to recognise the great potential of thevalley. “There is nothing in the local situationof this Inlet, or the quality of the surroundingcountry that can at present render it an objectof any interest.” He did give faint praise to TrialBay by suggesting, “vessels prevented byunfavourable winds and tides from entering

Port Macquarie will find shelter, and I think itan eligible Station from whence to takeadvantage of a change in wind and weather.”

In 1821 Governor Macquarie established a penalsettlement at Port Macquarie. News of thesurrounding district began to filter into thesettlement including stories of a beautiful riverabout 35 kms to the north. In 1826 a glowing reportwas published in the Sydney Gazette based oninformation provided by an Aboriginal namedMooney.3

The Commandant at Port Macquarie decided tosend an expedition to examine the area and the socalled New River. The party rowed up the Mariariver then travelled overland with their boat andreached the river (Macleay) near the presentCommandant Hill. They rowed downstream toTrial Bay, returned to their starting point and thenfurther upstream until they reached the head ofnavigation at present Belgrave Falls.

EXPLORATION

2

It was now certain, contrary to Oxley’s belief, theriver re-named Wrights River, was navigable forover 40 kms and that great stands of cedar weregrowing in the valley.

In 1826 Captain A.C. Innes was appointedCommandant at Port Macquarie and the followingyear he established a cedar party a little north ofEuroka Creek on the bank of the river.4 The riverwas finally named Macleay in honour of Hon.Alexander Macleay, Colonial Secretary of thecolony and father-in-law of now Major Innes.

Access west of the Macleay was not possible forsome years. A route was travelled by Crown landCommissioner Robert Massie in 1842 who took aparty to Armidale. In 1856 Lieutenant WilliamKemp, son of early settler Major Kemp surveyeda road to the New England. His route followedNulla Nulla Creek north from its junction with theMacleay for about 13 kms, turned west alongKemps Range to Five Day Creek. From then itcrossed to the high country at the head of DykesRiver. For this he was rewarded by thegovernment. Lieutenant Kemp set out again a fewmonths later but was drowned in the MacleayRiver near Temagog.5

Subsequently it was trade with the New Englandwhich led teamsters to find suitable tracks tothe west. They built on these early expeditionsover the rugged country and deep ravinesbetween the coast and the settled areas west ofthe settlement.

1. A.W.Reed, Captain Cook In Australia, The Journals ofCaptain James Cook (edit), Halstead Press, Sydney, 1969,p.53.

2. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p.18.

3. Ibid. p.20,21 Ibid. p.5. Ibid. p.52.

4. Ibid. p.21

5. Ibid. p.52

EXPLORATION

3

Soon after the Port Macquarie penal settlementclosed in 1830 it became possible for settlers topurchase Crown land in the northern section ofthe County of Macquarie. This county was themost northerly of the nineteen counties which hadbeen gazetted in October 1829. The nineteencounties covered the area radiating out fromSydney which was bounded roughly by BatemansBay to the south, Yass and Wellington to the westand the Manning River district to the north. Withsettlement legally restricted to the counties, thosewho purchased Crown land could be assured ofpolice protection, while anyone who venturedfurther afield did so at their own risk.

The boundary line in the north continued on to thesite of Kempsey and north along the MacleayRiver to the entrance at Grassy Head so that allland on the eastern side of the river was alsolocated Crown land.1

Up until 1830 the proximity of the penal settlementat Port Macquarie as well as the rugged natureof the country may have kept the grazing lands ofthe Macleay immune from trespassers.2

The government took action in 1836 to checkillegal squatters on Crown Land beyond theboundary on land west and north on the MacleayRiver. The leasing of grazing land was permittedon an annual payment of ten pounds.

The first applicants to depasture stock in theMacleay Valley were from Port Macquarie. TheAct in Council which allowed this, establishedseven pastoral districts under the control of CrownLands Commissioners. With penalties imposedfor unauthorised occupation of the land, men fromall stations in life now moving out beyond theboundaries, the word squatter became respectable.3

Major theme 2

PASTORALISM

Drawing of the Sauer home at Nulla Nulla built about the 1880’s almost entirely of cedar.Picture shows dairy and beef cattle, Bullock team with timber, horses, pigs, paddocks, gardens, fencing, mountains.

4

This was the start of the pastoral industry on theMacleay in the now Kempsey Shire. Theunlocated land in the valley and further north wasunder the control of Crown Lands CommissionerHenry Oakes by 1837. His headquarters wasin Port Macquarie and his territory was enormous,reaching from below his headquarters to theClarence River and west to the New England.

His duties were to issue licences and to policethe depasturing of stock. As well he had to preventany maltreatment of the Aboriginals. He wasrequired to make two itineraries of his districteach year.

On his first visit in March 1837 Oakes travelledfrom his headquarters by boat up the Maria Riverto the head of navigation at Mariaville and thenon horseback to various stations. He visited andcommented on nine squatting stations.4 ByOctober the same year he visited twelve stations.5

The squatters were now recognised and left notime in acquiring large runs. The Macleay Riverand its tributaries from Christmas Creek toMcKenzies Creek in the upper Macleay wateredlarge runs ranging in size from two square milesto twenty square miles. The large stations werethose of Robert McKenzie at Glenelg onMcKenzies Creek (later known as Wabra) thentwenty square miles in extent, Major A.C.Innes Moparraba or Innes Creek on Innes Creekwhich was ten square miles and LieutenantCharles Steele at Yarraval which also covered tensquare miles. These properties and otherswere running sheep numbering in thousands.

Smaller stations ran cattle such as those held byJohn Henry Sullivan and Benjamin Robert Sullivanat Callitini and Cooroonbongatti and Henry St.John Cahuac at Euroka and Yarrabandinni andMrs Ann Watt at Glenrock Plains. Richard HenryOakes also ran cattle at Campania (Seven Oaks)as did Magnus Mcleod at Dondinalong and CaptainW.H. Gray at Dungee.

The runs were uncleared country. Most weremanaged by overseers with shepherds at outstations and for the first ten years convicts were

assigned to work but it was only on large stationsthat many men were employed.6

As the licences could only be held on a yearlybasis the first homes were generally single roomedslab huts. Some of the isolated stations had a store.Travellers often stopped at these stations for anovernight rest.

The boundaries of the runs were natural featuressuch as tracks or marked trees. These boundariesoften became the cause of disputes which had tobe settled by the Commissioner for Crown Lands.The lessees took up as much land as they couldstock. The stocking of a big run was expensive.Quite a number of the Macleay squattersfinanced their places by selling their armycommissions. Others were business men or wellto do immigrants.

These tracts of land were leased for grazing.Any agriculture such as crop growing had to befor local purposes only.7

One result of the Act of 1836 which permittedoccupation of unlocated land was a running battlewhich developed between illegal cedar cutters andthe Commissioner. This lasted from 1837 to 1839when cedar cutting was once more legalisedon payment of a licence fee. During this timeresidents suffered a period of lawlessness anddisorder.

Major Oakes found he had to deal with problemsof lawlessness quite unconnected with his routinework and this was a time when he did not havethe assistance of an established police force. Hespent much time seeking out and ordering sawyersto leave the district. In 1837 a fresh in the riverbrought together sawyers recently employedin sheep shearing and harvesting, for the risepermitted them to get the cedar, which they hadleft in the scrub, into the river and float the raftsdown over the falls.8

When licence fees were introduced cedar gettersflocked to the Macleay. To regulate the situationMajor Oakes established an office opposite the

PASTORALISM

5

private town of Kempsey. This was the first centreof administration. By 1841 the names of many newsquatters had become part of Macleay history.Some of the station names are still retainedtoday in 2002.

SQUATTING STATIONSAND THEIR OWNERS ..1841

Callatini Captain P. Campbell

Euroka Henry St John Cahuac

Dondingalong Magnus McLeod

Adelaide Plains William Smith

Yessaba Lt. Andrew Baxter

Lower Dungee Capt. W.H. Geary

Upper-Dungee(Boonanghii) Major Wm. Kemp

Combertine W.N. Gray

Yarrawal Lt. Charles Steele

Sherwood Capt.Wm. Briggs

Moonaba William Ducat

Corrungala(Corangula) Major Henry Hill

Toorooka George HitchcockInnes Creek(Moparrah) Major A.C.Innes

Elsineur Lt. John Henderson

Wabbra(Glenelg) Robert McKenzie

then related familiesof Panton Betts &Campbell-Kerr

Nulla Nulla Wm. McKenzie &Graham

Five Day Creek H. Tozer& Dr. Fattorini

Glenrock Ann Salmon neeWatt

Seven Oaks Richard HenryOakes

Yarrabandinni W.H. Chapman

Klybucca Hebden & Spencer

Bushey Park orKlybucca Creek Major Rb. Mudie

Commissioner Oakes retired in 1842 and wasfollowed by Robert Massie who immediately setabout moving the headquarters from a placedescribed as 'being in the middle of a large scrubsurrounded by a swamp which rendersit unhealthy for the men and there is no feed forthe horses'. Massie moved the headquartersto a more central place at Yarraval at the headof navigation and beside a crossing usedby travellers from Port Macquarie. He wassucceeded in 1848 by Edward Merewether.9

The squatting stations in the valley continued toincrease. In 1839 an act provided for a smalldetachment of border police to be attached to the

PASTORALISM

6

Commissioner. This force was to be financed byan annual levy on the stock depastured bythe squatters. The Land Act of 1846 was toprovide for a longer tenure of fourteen years andthe pre-emptive right to purchase the leases orpar t of them. Whilst this act meant morepermanency for the pastoralists it was notintroduced until 1851. Commissioner EdwardMerewether wrote letters to the ColonialSecretary asking for certification of the right tobuy land.

With a fixity of tenure, permanent improvementswere made and squatters exercised their right topurchase part of their run. Prices were fixed at a£ an acre. However vast acreages were still heldunder licences.10

Years of rural depression during the 1840s sawmany pastoralists boiling down the stock toproduce tallow for the London market. In 1845Lieutenant John Henderson of Elsineur (nowElsinore near Bellbrook) wrote how beasts wereslaughtered, skinned and cut into four thenthrown into cauldrons. The fat was skimmed off

and placed into casks. The carcase was thrownaway and the skins cured.11 Sheep grazinggradually gave way to cattle, proving thatthe country was not suited to sheep. TheAustralian Handbook for 1888 showed 12,808head of cattle contrasted with 672 sheep in thedistrict.

In some ways the industries of pastoralism andtimber went hand in hand. As landholders openedup the country in the higher reaches timber wasbrought out by teams of horses and bullocks andrough tracks were made.

Nulla Nulla Station of 15,000 hectares was firsttaken up by lease in 1841 by William McKenzieand Robert Graham later by Jacob Hinchcliffe andin 1865 by Henry Sauer who first leased and thenpurchased part of the land.

Sauer was an engineer and the contractor forseveral sections of the road up Big Hill to Armidale.He built a home from cedar timber which grewon his land.

Later the bulldozer and the chain saw replacedthe axe and the cross cut saw and quantities ofbeautiful cedar were milled from the forests in theupper Macleay.

On the low hilly country at Moparrabah the storywent full circle. First called Innes Creek this largetract of land was taken up by Major A.C. Innesformer Commandant of Port Macquarie whobecame a free settler. Oakes itinerary lists it asten sq. miles.

Some of this country passed to various lesseesincluding Ann Chapman, the Farrell family andthen a company known as Bradley Flats untilColinas Pty Ltd purchased it in 1974. It was notedin the Macleay Argus Newspaper as beingthe biggest sale of rural property ever known onthe Macleay.

Moparrabah was bought to plant poplar timber andto combine this industry with cattle raising.12 Thecompany bought up other land in the lower partsof the Macleay around Euroka on the old Callitini

Major William Kemp 1783 - 1857Major Kemp of Boonanghii, Dungay Creek, was a pioneersettler of the Macleay River district from 1st January, 1840

PASTORALISM

7

and Euroka Stations and further down on SevenOaks once owned by the Oakes family. MajorOakes was the first Commissioner for CrownLands in this district. z

By 1865 when Henry Sauer was taking up hislease at Nulla Nulla, Fussells Squatting Directorygave extra properties such as Pee Dee,(J. McMaugh) Towal Creek (J. Warne)Tanban (J.Warne) Taits Station (Ann Chapman).

By this time many of the squatters had exercisedtheir right to purchase portions of their runs.Homes were built of fine timber and most havenot survived the ravages of bushfires, floods ortime. One that has, on the upper-Macleay, isat Stony Flat.

This gem is a few kilometres west of Bellbrook.It was built by Timothy Tyne in 1876 and still standson its original piers of white mahogany and iscovered by the original roofing iron. The single -gabled Tyne homestead was a slab and braceplace built of red mahogany in walls andpanelled doors with tallowood floors and red cedarceilings.

On the lower-Macleay there are two fine buildingswhich were built for property owners Alexander

and Mary Dornan at Pola Creek and Charles andAnn Ball at Longreach. Ann Ball was Alexander'ssister and the houses were very similar. Built in1890 both houses were built of timber andfeature tallowwood, cedar and mahogany.13

1. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p22

2. Ibid.p22

3. Ibid.p27

4. Crown Land Commissioner Oakes,to Colonial Secretary,itinerary, March 1837, State Records.

5. Ibid. October 1837, State Records.

6. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, pp 27-28, & Major Oakes Itinerary, 1837,State Records.

7. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p28.

8. Crown Land Commissioner Oakes to Colonial Secretary,December 1, 1837, State Records.

9. Overview Crown Land Commissioner Massie's Journal,roll no 2500, State Records.

10. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p39.

11. Henderson J., Excursions & Adventures in N.S.W.,London, W. Shoberl, 1851, roll no fm4, 10640, ML.

12. Macleay Argus Newspaper, August 1, 1974.

Home of Major Kemp at Boonanghii about 1840 - Pencil sketchfrom Hastings District Society

PASTORALISM

8

Transport from Sydney was by sea to the MacleayRiver but an unpredictable bar at the mouth of theriver occasioned many travellers to disembark atPort Macquarie and take a smaller craft up theMaria River to Boat Harbour or Mariaville andthen travel across country by horseback or bullockteam to Kempsey.

Shipping provided the only means of transport forgoods in the early days of Macleay history andtherefore played a vital part in the settlement ofthe Kempsey Shire, the river was the highway.The usual cargoes were timber maize andlivestock as well as passengers. Small schoonersand ketches were the first vessels on the riverand the usual charge was half the value of thecargo. These iniquitous freights caused somesettlers to invest in vessels of their own.

This led to a large shipbuilding industry in the 1840s.Yards were established by Messrs Newton,

Ferrier and Malcolm at “Scotchtown” nearKempsey, John Stuart at Grassy Head, Lawsonsat Frederickton and Callaghan, Cochrane and W.Marshall on the river. J. Gillies was at Klywootickanear Frederickton until 1843 when he sold hisshipbuilding yard to Christopher Lawson. 1

To gain access to the upper-Macleay, PortMacquarie was mostly the chosen port and thentravel went by Rollands Plain across the MarloMerikan Range and the Hastings Range comingout by Dungay Creek where the crossing was atWittitrin. From there a bridle track led pastDondingalong to Kempsey. The main track or drayroad continued to Wabbra on the upper-Macleay.

In 1837 an outcry from the Wilson Riverlandholders that their crops and farmimprovements were being destroyed by herdspassing through on the way to the Macleay

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

Major Theme 3

The 'Yulgilbar' at the Gladstone wharf in the early years of the twentieth century

9

resulted in the surveying of a line of road whichleft Ballengarra, followed the road north, crossedPipers Creek and Maria River and came out atCommandant Hill.

A road into the valley from the west and northwas not possible for many years. Stock had beenbrought down from the New England tablelandsalong routes unsuitable for vehicular traffic.2 Thepresent road to Armidale from Kempsey did notcome into use until the end of the nineteenthcentury being used by horse and bullock teamsuntil 1890s.3

William Darke in 1854 surveyed a road fromKempsey to Frederickton. From there a track ledto Grassy Head, the outlet of the Macleay andthen on to Nambucca and Bellinger Rivers.4

Skirting the ocean which gives it its name, thePacific Highway connects the cities of Sydneyand Brisbane via the north coast of New SouthWales and links the coastal towns which servethe agricultural, timber, cattle and other industriesof the northern rivers districts and other northerncoastal areas. The route from Sydney to theQueensland border at Tweed Heads was namedthe “Pacific Highway” in 1931, Queensland havingpreviously adopted the name from the border toBrisbane. That part of the route between Sydneyand Hexham (Newcastle) had previously beenknown as The Great Northern Highway, and thepart between Hexham and Tweed Heads as theNorth Coast Highway. (Kempsey Shire is part ofthe latter.)

Many of the routes of the State Highways of todayfollowed a similar pattern of development, firstexploration and then expansion of settlement. Thelate development of a coastal road was due to anumber of factors, the most important of whichwere the proximity to the sea and the consequentuse of a quicker mode of sea transport; the officiallimitation placed on the expansion of settlementduring the early colonial era and the difficultiesassociated with the establishment of a through roadowing to the nature of the terrain with its manyrivers separated by rugged country.5

River crossings were one of the problems of earlyKempsey town and a punt was brought intoservice in 1842 to cross the river from Rudder’stown of East Kempsey to central Kempsey asthe town grew on both sides of the river.6 Insubsequent years ferries and punts crossed theriver at various points. In turn wharves were builtand villages sprang up around these rivercrossings. At Kempsey the first bridge was builtin 1900 and replaced in 1959.7

River boats, the droghers, met the ocean goingships inside the river and conveyed cargo andpassengers to Kempsey. At first only vessels witha shallow draft could reach the town.

The establishment of a pilot station by 1862at Grassy Head had lessened the dangersassociated with entering the river but demandswere increasing for improved facilities for seagoing ships.8

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

The Macleay River, Central Kempsey and part of East Kempsey. The paddle steamer "FireKing " is at anchor on the westernside of river. Rudder's ferry is mid-way across the river, an unnamed sailing ship is heading downriver.1866

10

A lighthouse at Smoky Cape had beenrecommended as early as 1873 but nothing wasdone about it until Alexander Kethel, Member ofParliament for West Sydney, convinced theLegislative Assembly in 1886 that a light shouldbe established there in the interests of safenavigation. Colonial Architect, James Barnettsurveyed the site and prepared the necessaryspecifications.

Major changes occurred during the building of thelighthouse and Barnett was dismissed in 1890 andthe office of ColonialArchitect abolished. The taskwas handed over to Cecil Darley, the Engineer inChief for Harbours and Rivers. The light was firstexhibited in 1891 and lit by a kerosene burningpressure lamp. This method was improved in 1912and then in 1962 converted to electricity generatedby an electric motor.9

The approval of a plan for a harbour at Trial Baystimulated local agitation for a branch railway linefrom Armidale and in 1882 surveyors tried to finda suitable route from Kempsey. They wereunsuccessful and reported that if one could befound it would be too costly to construct andoperate.10

Towards the end of the nineteenth century workwas continuous on making the New Entrance asafer bar crossing. The Pilot Station moved fromGrassy Head to near South West Rocks. Workon a harbour of refuge at Trial Bay was not asuccess but remnants still remain of the

breakwater, which was being built as a haven forships in bad weather. This work was undertakenby inmates of the prison at Laggers Point and wasin accordance with the improved prison systemthen under consideration. In 1903 the workstopped. It was stated in Parliament that thebreakwater could be constructed more readily andefficiently by free labour. Work did not resume onthe breakwater which had only reached about onefifth of the designed length.11

Construction of breakwalls at the New Entranceand the fact that a better class of vessel wasoperating along the coast led to regular shippingservices from Sydney. At first privately ownedships operated from Kempsey to Sydney. Duringthe 1890s the ships of The North Coast Steamand Navigation Company started regular visits tothe Macleay river. This Company ended theservice in 1954. M. Bern Shipping Companypurchased several of the ships and continued tocarry freight from Nestles in Smithtown until 1959when Nestles decided rail transport was morereliable.

On 14th of November 1858 the first steamship“The New Moon” built by William Marshall sailedalong the Macleay River. German Verge, son ofJohn Verge of Austral Eden, recorded the eventon the fly leaf of his bible.12

Official direction had been given in 1834 for aroad to be constructed from the Hastings River tothe limestone quarry near Pipers Creek south ofwhat was to be the town of Kempsey. The roadwas never built and the lime was pulled inhandcarts by convicts to a wharf on Pipers Creekand taken downriver by barges to Port Macquarie.

As mentioned Lieutenant William Kemp found atrafficable route to the New England in 1856. Theroute was surveyed by Surveyor William Darkeand forwarded to the Surveyor General. Thepresent road to Armidale and Hillgrove did notcome into use until the end of the nineteenthcentury and was still being used by horse andbullock teams. In 1902 improvements were madefor general traffic.

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

Hand drawn ferry Macleay River

11

Postal deliveries necessitated the improvementsof roads and rapid changes occurred in little morethan half a century. Mail arrived at Port Macquarieand was delivered by contractors on horseback.In 1848 a continuous mail service was carried outby Horatio Tozer for 120 pounds a year. This routewent via the Border Police Station at BelgraveFalls. By 1856 mail was coming direct to Kempseyby sea and there left for up-river stations andArmidale by packhorse. Contractors WilliamDucat and O.O. Dangar carried out this servicefor 73 pounds a year. Until 1890s all up-river mailwas carried this way. By 1900 the road hadimproved sufficiently to permit the use of a horsedrawn vehicle and the contract was for deliveryto Comara. From 1904 – 1913 contractors drovefour wheeled covered coaches drawn by two-fourhorses along a route which included Greenhill,Skillion Flat, Temagog, Willawarrin, Toorooka,Hickeys Creek, Uralgurra, Bellbrook and PeeDee. Dan Davis made history in June 1913 byestablishing the first motor service on the routedriving a Brasier open tourer. The contract forthe down mail from Armidale to Comara was heldby Patrick Ryan who with his driver J.J. Cannonpioneered motor mail service in Armidale.

In an article in the Open Road of October 1971 itwas reported that Mr. Cannon drove his 8 cylinderCadillac in the through run from Armidale toKempsey in 1916, the trip took nine hours.13

Towns and hamlets rose beside the mail runs andregular stopping places became small commercialcentres.

In 1906 a Kempsey Borough Council minuterecorded that the Premier J.H. Carruthers sent atelegram to the Mayor, John Small, informingCouncil that a second reading was passed in theLegislative Council regarding confirmation of anorth coast railway line.

The railway line was built in sections. Workon the Wauchope-Kempsey sections wascommenced on 18th November 1913 and theKempsey to Macksville section on 27thNovember 1913. Work in these stages wasinterrupted during the early years of the WorldWar.14

The contract was awarded to the firm of NortonGriffith for that company to construct and financethe line from Kempsey to Macksville. The budgetwas exceeded and the contract cancelled andhanded to the Commissioner for Railways tocomplete the work in 1915. Along the line, gangsof navvies were camped in tents and at certainplaces houses were built for the engineers. Thisinflux of workers gave a boost to local economy.Farmers supplied produce, eggs and fodder forthe horse teams.15 The nearest town became thecentre of commerce. Bridges were built andKempsey itself became a “railway town”. Anengine shed housed twelve engines for

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

Transporting wool from Tablelands via Armidale Rd

First Passenger train leaving Kempsey after the officialopening of the railway 27th november 1917

12

simultaneous cleaning or repair. A fine station wasbuilt with a refreshment room and buildings forstaff.16

Shipping was still a favourite method of transportbut the railway gained momentum. Before theopening of the railway in Kempsey in 1917 peoplewere conveyed by car to Wauchope as evidencedby the enlistment of soldiers who were farewelledin Kempsey before catching the train in Wauchopeto a recruiting centre in Maitland or Sydney. (WW1)Children living south of Kempsey, travelled by trainto Kempsey for high school education often startingout from their homes before daylight to catch thetrain. The train picked up from Wauchope and sidingson the way. These students were known as “TheTrain Kids”. 17

Motor transport became popular between towns.George Robinson began a service in 1910. Twice aweek he carried passengers between Kempsey andTaree. Service cars in the early years were far fromcomfortable with solid rubber tyres, little protectionfrom the weather and no windscreen or springs.They were driven over roads of earth formationwhich were usually dusty in dry weather andquagmires in the wet.18

Livestock was driven on designated routes but oftenhad to pass through town streets. These travellingstock routes as they were named were establishedand essential for the movement of stock before roadand rail transport. These routes are deserving of aheritage listing.

Small ships and droghers continued to providetransport along the river during the early years ofthe twentieth century. Some of the droghers werelocally built. The small craft designed for shelteredwaters were an important part of transport forproduce on the Macleay. On the south bank of theriver a little up-stream of the present railway bridge,Richard Avery built his paddle wheel vessels ofshallow draught. 19 Launches conveyed children toschool from downriver towns and farms. Schools inthe villages provided for education up to the end ofprimary schooling and higher education was atKempsey. These students travelling to high schoolwere fondly known as “The Boat Kids”.20

Post war years (WW11) brought a new methodof travel in and out of the valley with the openingof the aerodrome at Aldavilla. On 24thSeptember 1946 New England Airwayscommenced carrying freight between Sydneyand Casino via Old Bar, Kempsey and Coffsharbour. Butler Air Transport commenced aservice to Kempsey in 1948. With a directservice from Sydney six days a week this airlinecarried 2829 passengers during the first year.TheDepartment of Civil Aviation employed a staffof ten to man the Air Radio and Radio RangeStation at Kempsey. 21

1937 saw the commencement of theCommercial Broadcasting Station 2KM openedin Kempsey. The Australian BroadcastingCommission 2KP/TR followed in 1954. 22

A telegraph office was built at West Kempseyin 1876 and an additional telegraph office inCentral Kempsey in 1878. The first telephoneservice was a private line from the hospital inRiver Street to a Doctor’s surgery on BelgraveStreet. This service was provided by erecting asingle wire on the pole route of the telegraphline between Kempsey and Armidale andoperated as an earth return circuit. (1902)

A telephone exchange opened in 1908 andtwenty-two services were connected. Thisservice was for Kempsey subscribers. There is

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

Aerodrome - Aldavilla -1949Bottom: 2 aircraft taken on the day of opening after air-strip was built. Both DC3 (Butler and Dept civil aviation)Top: Heron aircraft which operated first services afterstrip was opened Sy dney - Kempsey- Casino

13

no record to disclose when a trunk line servicewas installed.23

1. Mike Richards,North Coast Run, Men and Ships of theNorth Coast, Turton & Armstrong, Killara, 1977, p16.

2. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p.51

3. ibid.p 53

4. W.W.Darke, to Colonial Secretary, Plan of Road of Accessto Macleay River, 11 August, 1854, AO.

5. Historic Roads of N.S.W., Pacific Highway, Departmentof Main Roads , N.S.W., p41.

6. “Labori”, (E.W.Rudder), Story of the Macleay, 1888,p6, ML.

7. Macleay Argus Newspaper, 4.December, 1897, Ibid.1900.Ibid.24 November, 1959.

8. Caroline Carey, Tales of trial bay, An Early History ofSouth West Rocks, Australian Print group, Maryborough,Vic.,1993. p21.

9. Smoky Cape Lighthouse, 181-1991, Australian MaritimeSafety Authority, (AMSA).

10. Department of Railways to MRHS., 1960.

11. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p 55.

12. Ibid. p56.

13. Ibid. pp 63-64.

14. Department of Railways to MRHS, 1960.

15. D.Brenton, Kempsey Shire Council Oral History Project,1987

16. Daily Examiner Newspaper, Grafton, 29 November,1917.

17. Sheila Blackwell, Kempsey Shire Council Oral HistoryProject, 1985

18. A. Marriott to MRHS., 1964.

19. A. Avery to MRHS., 1963.

20. Margaret Gowing, Kempsey Shire Council Oral HistoryProject, 1986.

21. C.A. Butler, to M.Neil, 16 April, 1972. Quoted by MarieH. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney,1972, p83. Macleay Argus Newspaper, 1 June, 1953.

22. Macleay Argus Newspaper,17 September, 1937. Ibid.-February, 1954.

23. Flo Seal, Up and Down the River, A History of Post,Telegraph and Telephone on the Macleay, Upton Print, PortMacquarie, 1991.

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION

Checking telephone circuits Kempsey.Conditions during 1950 flood-time emergency.

14

AGRICULTURE

Major Theme 4

15

The lower-Macleay area is noted for its fertileriver flats where in earlier days vast acreages ofmaize were cultivated. In more recent timesdairying was predominant as a means of livelihood.The butter, cheese and milk processing factorieswon many awards for their fine products.

As settlement increased, timber, tallow, hides,wheat and maize were shipped from the districton small sailing ships.

In 1870 a map was prepared of County Dudleywhich included those parishes on the north bankof the river which had formerly been included inthe unlocated lands beyond County Macquarie. Itshowed extensive settlement along the banks ofClybucca Creek, Christmas Creek and nearbyswamp land and along the banks of the MacleayRiver from Shark Island to the upper MacleayRiver at Mungay Creek. The settlement consistedgenerally of 40, 60 and 80 acre farms.

The staple crop taken from the farms was maize.Potatoes, pumpkins, oranges and sugar weregrown and pigs and poultry raised. Early plantingsof wheat were not successful. Samuel Redgate’sflour mill at West Kempsey was soon convertedto a sawmill. Rice was an experimental crop in1841 at Seven Oaks near Smithtown.

The maize growers on the river suffered severelosses in the 1864 flood. In 1867 there was adepression in the Sydney maize market and manyfarmers tried a new type of production. TheColonial Sugar Refining Company suggested thedistrict was suited to sugar cane growing and thatcompany (1868) sent an experienced planter toadvise the farmers on suitable types of cane togrow. The company also established a central millto which growers could supply their cane. Thebig Darkwater Mill was built at the junction of theBelmore and Macleay Rivers. To ensure acontinuous supply throughout the season thecompany gave the small growers advances ontheir crops, and interest free loans when approvedvarieties of cane were planted. Incentives wereoffered to produce cane according to theirrequirements.1

With the desire for independence the small farmerswished to be beyond the control of the “capitalist”

and established their own mills. The prospect ofowning a small mill appealed to men with amoderate capital.2

Sydney Verge, son of architect John Verge, wasone. His West Kempsey Sugar Works was locatedwhere 2KP (ABC) radio station is in Kemp Streetand was one of the largest independent steam mills.The Macleay River Sugar Company atFrederickton was another large mill. There werealso small one horse powered mills which couldturn out half a ton of sugar a week getting throughfrom five to ten acres of cane annually.3

Many of the farmers who had experimented withthis form of agriculture lost heavily. Because ofheavy timber clearing, frosts were severe andaffected the quality of the cane. Colonial SugarRefining Company moved its mill to Harwood onthe Clarence River in 1873. Some families whohad combined the growing of cane with maize andpotatoes weathered the difficult times. The figuresin the Australian Handbook for 1888 show the

John Verge - Architect

AGRICULTURE

16

importance of the return to maize growing andfor that year the district ranked second highest inthe returns of maize growing districts. In 2002maize is not grown as a traditional grain crop ratherit is grown as fodder for stock and the whole plantis consumed. Some farmers make silage but toproduce this method of fodder preservation,farmers require expensive machinery.4

Wine was also being produced locally. The valleynow settled down to a pattern of agriculture andlivestock.

An interesting development of the 1880s was theestablishment of Drainage Unions by farmerswhose lower Macleay farms were affected byswamps. The farmers decided to form unions todrain the land. In all, thirteen unions were formed.An agreement signed by thirty-three farmers atSeven Oaks and Bellimbopinni in 1884 was atypical one. Farmers agreed to contribute fiveshillings (50cents) per acre towards the drainageof their land, under the trusteeship of SydneyVerge, Charles Sutherland Jnr., John Knauer andHenry Christian. The main drain and sub-drainsran through the properties of these thirty-threefarmers who held areas from twenty to onethousand acres in need of drainage.5

The 1890s saw the commencement of a newindustry in the valley which not only survived butprospered. This was the dairy industry which beganto develop during a period of economic depressionwhen there was a downturn in the price of maizeand beef.

Separator stations were built. Farmers took theirmilk to these new establishments to have thecream separated. Kinchela, Smithtown, Clybucca,Turners Flat, Frederickton, Warneton, BelmoreRiver and West Kempsey all had separatorstations or creameries. By 1898 there were twenty-nine in the valley. The West Kempsey stationestablished by R.A.H. Kemp at North Street, wasoperated by a turbine driven Sharples machine,the water for the boiler being drawn from a wellon the property. The machine handled fourhundred gallons an hour. Farmers from Glenrockand Tennessee carted their milk daily to this station.

The milk cans were hoisted to a landing on thetop floor of the building, the milk was weighedand tested for butter fat content. The return tothe farmer was three and a half pence per gallon.The separated cream was taken by horse and sulkyto the Smithtown Butter Factory.6

About 1897 household separators came into useand the need ceased for daily carting of milk to aseparator station. Some of the owners replacedtheir churns and established butter factories. Bothbutter and cheese factories sprang up in Kempseyand the villages and in centres such as Toorookaand Clybucca. Arthur Jackson’s Separator Stationwas taken over by the Smithtown Co-operativeDairying Company and a refrigeration plantestablished. The Bacchus Marsh Company lateracquired the business followed by NestlesCompany (Australia) Ltd. in 1921.

Butter factories were also established atFrederickton and Warneton. Foley Bros. openedthe Kempsey Butter Factory in 1897 operating ituntil the Macleay River Co-operative DairyingCompany took it over in 1905. This company lateracquired the Debenham Butter Factory atFrederickton, using it for cheese making. Whenthe Kempsey factory ceased to make butter, theCo-Operative Company made butter as well ascheese at their Frederickton factory.

The upper-Macleay Co-Operative DairyingCompany established their factory at Toorooka in1906. Its principal output was butter, although fora short period after 1927, a bacon factory wasadded to the premises.7

The dairy industry in the valley was to prosper forover sixty years. By 1916 there were 1200registered dairies in the Kempsey district, twoco-operative butter factories, two proprietarybutter factories and four cheese factories. By 1982there were 160 dairies registered and twenty yearslater there are thirty nine dairies in the MacleayValley. No less milk is produced in these twentyyears but modern technology and improvedmethods of agriculture and management skills haschanged the industry. Nevertheless twenty millionlitres of milk are produced on these thirty-nine

AGRICULTURE

17

farms. The local factories have closed and milk istransported to Wauchope and Newcastle.8

Pig raising was a valuable side line for dairyfarmers. Poultry and eggs were sold on the Sydneymarket, transported by ship to agents in the city.

The fishing industry was stimulated by theformation of the Macleay River DistrictFishermen’s Co-operative. Professional fishermenthen found assured markets for prawns, lobstersand fish brought back from their ocean going trips.By 1960 there were sixty licensed fishermen andfifty licensed fishing boats belonging to theCo-operative.

Oysters became a thriving industry.

Banana growing began in a small way in the 1920sat Yarrahappini and then began to flourish whenCharles Lane, a Kempsey Pharmacist introduceda hardy William hybrid.9

The first settler on the east bank of the MacleayRiver was merchant Enoch William Rudder. Aninterest in the cedar trade first brought Rudder tothe river in 1835. He took over Samuel Onions’grant of 812 acres at five shillings an acre. Thehomestead was built on a hilltop overlooking theriver. A garden was laid out and fruit trees planted.Rudder subdivided the holding into residentialblocks and the private town of East Kempseywas born.

In 1853 Rudder farmed fifty acres of hisWoodfield lease and had twenty acres of maize,tobacco and vines under cultivation with his sonJulius John as superintendent. Later Julius and hisbrother Enoch occupied land for purely agriculturalpurposes. Woodfield lease was 3808 acres. Theproperty was at the junction of Euroka Creek andthe Macleay River and extended to the MariaRiver. The property passed to Julius and EnochThey divided the rich heavy brush into twoproperties and both holdings were cleared of alltimber and the land turned into profitable farming.

Enoch Jnr. sold his farm after the 1861 Land Act

and bought 700 acres above Belgrave Falls,cleared the land, built a house and named the placeOaklands.10 Today the land has reverted to grazing.

One large station devoted to agriculture wasAustral Eden taken up as a grant by John Verge.This land was within the bounds of location.

A London architect who had decided to practicein Sydney, Verge first took up a land grant on theWilliams River in 1829 under the 1827 regulations.Ten years later offers were made that anadditional grant would be given to any settler whohad taken up land under the 1827 regulations andhad spent five times the amount of its estimatedvalue on improvements and had sufficient capitalto develop another grant.11

Verge lodged an application and in 1839 he choseland at the junction of the Darkwater Creek(Belmore River) and the Macleay River with sixmiles of water frontage and an immense quantityof cedar on it. In 1839 his boundary stones wereset in position and Austral Eden established. Helet out his land on clearing leases to tenant farmers.He made purchases of additional land in the valleyas it became available.

Crown land on the other side of the river was stillbeing taken up in leases. Agitation was increasingfor the unlocking of land held by squatters. In 1861Sir John Robertson’s Crown Land Act threw openvacant land to unrestricted application except forland reserved for towns and villages. The Actallowed any person on Crown Land to select 130hectares to form a small farm. Enormous areaswere sold but the actual increase in acreagecropped was small. In the first ten years financialdepression, and credit difficulties slowed downland purchase. From 1870 the act was used by socalled selectors to victimise land holders andlandholders to “dummy” principalities forthemselves out of the wilderness.

A newspaper of the period wrote ‘farming likeevery other business requires capital and whenthe settler has paid the price of the land (one poundper acre) the cost of clearing fencing and

AGRICULTURE

18

maintenance until he can sell his crop, his capitalis exhausted’. The Act was criticized as havingtoo many loopholes.12

Unoccupied land watered by creeks and rivers wasrapidly taken up by selectors. Homes too werebuilt close to the water, a danger which wasdemonstrated in 1864 when the first of many majorfloods washed away ninety-six homes as well asstock and crops.13

The poverty of many of this class of settler wasobserved by a Catholic Priest in 1871.14 Schoolteachers in some of the village schools also wrotereports to their inspectors evidencing the povertyof some of the farmers who could not pay theschool fees.

The good climate and richly productive soil broughtan ever increasing flow of farmers to the district.For the more prosperous farmer, life on the farmsfollowed a quiet and orderly pattern. Some of thehomes built in the last quarter of the nineteenthcentury are standing today but most have beensubjected to alterations.

In following the pattern of farming the wordclearing is used repeatedly. Great stands of timberwere cleared. First timber was ruthlessly cut out.In 1835 a licence system was introduced. Laterin the same year felling of cedar was prohibited.This caused great animosity towards theCommissioner for Crown Lands who had to policethe Act. The timber merchants put pressure onthe government to permit legal cutting and inisolated areas continued illegal cutting.Commissioner Oakes spent much of his timeseeking out and prosecuting illegal sawyers.Reports of runaway convicts among the cuttersand of murders and riotous behaviour alarmed thesettlers in the Macleay valley and caused agitationfor more police in the area.

Clement Hodgkinson was working on the lowerMacleay as a contract surveyor for the Surveyor-General when he reported that a wall of scrubwas between two miles and a quarter of a mile inwidth from Kempsey to Pelican Island and theriver completely shut in. When the timber wascleared the first settlers were able to take twocrops a year from the rich alluvial soil.15

Aboriginal Farmworker with two draught horses harrowing in Russell’s paddock at Smithtown next door to Rectory, MacleayRiver in background, unidentified ship at Gladestone

AGRICULTURE

19

Small farmers earned a living in the twentiethcentury cutting railway sleepers as the railwayline edged its way north. Generally this wascombined with a family dairy where each memberof the family helped with the milking. In 1971 theBritish Tobacco Company (Aust) Ltd., knownlocally as Farm Pro. experimented with thegrowing of asparagus and vegetables suitable forfrozen food manufacturing. These trials were atStuarts Point and the sandy soil was dressed withtrace elements and agricultural lime and irrigated.The venture lapsed after ten years and thecompany sold the land in twenty-five acre lots.16

1. Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd., to MRHS, 1960.

2. B.Higman, ‘Yeoman & Plantation Landscapes in SugarIndustry of N.S.W., Geography Honours Thesis, BA, SydneyUniversity, 1966.

3. Town and Country Journal, 14 January, 1871, ML.

4. Tony Dowman, Agriculture New South Wales, Kempsey,2002.

5. Marie H. neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p 75.

6. RAH Kemp Papers, information from Felix Kemp, in MRHSfiles.

7. Records in MRHS files.

8. Tony Dowman, Agriculture New South Wales, Kempsey,2002.

9. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p 84.

10. Major Lionel J.V. Rudder, Magnificent Failure, the lifeand times of Enoch William Rudder,1801-1888, founder ofKempsey ,ed. Patricia Riggs,Kempsey Shire Council, Kempsey,1986, p.25.

11. Government Gazette, 28 June, 1837, ML.

12. King, An Outline of Closer Settlement in New SouthWales,Department of Agriculture, vol. 25, Sept.-Dec.,

13. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p. 49

14. Father J. O’Sullivan to his parents in Cork, Ireland, 7June, 1861. files.

15. Marie H. Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p- 13.

16. A history of Yarrahapinni and Stuarts Point 1984

AGRICULTURE

20

The history of the timber industry in the KempseyShire is linked to the Macleay River. The River inthe 1830s was bordered by forests, huge standsof cedar and rosewood and majestic eucalypts.

The river then was perfect. Access was easilygained to the prized red cedar and it could befloated down the river to the coast to be pickedup by ocean going vessels and shipped to timbermerchants in the city.

Gradually timber getters were forced further inlandand today it is not the river that is used butgiant semi-trailers taking logs to mills in Kempseyand out of the area. Backyard mills and tinyhamlets housing colonies of timber getters are athing of the past. Settlements at Carrai, DaisyPlains and Five Day Creek are marked by rustingshells of mill machinery.1

In December 1826 Captain A.C. Innes wasappointed Commandant at Port Macquarie. InApril 1827 he established a cedar party on the bank

of the newly discovered river a little northof Euroka Creek. This is the earliestEuropean settlement recorded in the MacleayValley.2

Red cedar fast became a much sought after prizein early Australia as adventurous men looking tomake their fortune "went bush " with cross cutsaws and broad axes. The government's positionand attitude towards the cedar getters wasinconsistent for years. Early attempts to regulatethe trade were not successful and as a result in1836 cedar cutting on unlocated land wasprohibited. This caused great animosity towardsthe Commissioner for Crown Lands who had topolice the law. The timber merchants put pressureon the government to permit legal cutting and inisolated areas illegal cutting continued.

Commissioner Oakes spent much of his timeseeking out and prosecuting illegal sawyers.Reports of runaway convicts among the cutters

Major Theme 5

FORESTRY

Early timber workers - note axes

21

and of murders and riotous behaviour alarmed thesettlers in the Macleay Valley and caused agitationfor more police to be assigned to the area.

Clement Hodgkinson, a contract surveyor in 1840,described the virgin land on the lower Macleay inhis report to the Surveyor-General, 'FromKempsey down to beyond Pelican Island the riverwas completely shut in by gigantic treesmatted and interwoven together almost to theirsummits by wild vines and creepers and oftenpresenting the appearance of an enormous wallcovered from top to bottom with ivy and formingan impenetrable barrier for a man to pass unlesshe were to hew his way through; it would puzzlea bird to pass through.'3

Not much is known about the early cedar gettersexcept for names of men applying for licences andthese are recorded in the Crown Commissioners'journals i.e. Major Oakes 1837-1842, RobertMassie 1842-1848 and Edward Merewether 1848-1854 and briefly again in 1856.

The Dew brothers George, Fred, Alf and Tomcame into the area about 1870 looking for cedar.After cutting for some time all became graziersand settled on the upper-Macleay.

The name Ben Supple is one name which standsout. He was a cedar getter, pit sawyer, builder,fencer and yard builder. Up to about 1890 therewas not much call for hardwood timber as thedwellings were all split slabs or pit sawncedar slabs. Of course the fences were two railusing hardwood morticed posts and split rails.Stock yards were built the same way using threerails and a post of round timber. With the comingof the road to Armidale, hardwood timber, mostlyironbark, was required for the many bridges. Thiswas handhewn timber and delivered to the sites bybullock teams. The contract for the supply oftimber to Five Day, Lower Creek and Styx bridges(late nineteenth century) was held by EardleyScott.4

The remnants of Five Day Creek Mill are still atthe site beside the creek. The mill was started in1947 and operated for some years under differentownerships. A steam engine stands at Daisy

Plains. Most of the early timber getters usedbullock teams to draw timber from the forests.Hudson, Ellem and Mainey are names which wereassociated with bullocks. Billy Mayhew broughtlogs out around Kempsey with bullocks and StanLewthwaite used the same method aroundthe Maria River. Christy and Frank Supple werethe exception they had horse teams. Nearer totown Arthur Gill also hauled with a horse team.

Into the twentieth century bullock and horse teamsstill passed through the towns hauling logs to thefour long established mills, Thomas Hennessy andhis three sons at River Street West Kempsey andStuarts point, Dangar and Watt at South Kempseyand H.J. Moses at Greenhill.

Local hardwoods such as ironbark, grey and redgum, and red and white mahogany, brush box,turpentine and tallowwood and soft woods suchas cedar, rosewood and beech were all shippedfrom the Macleay. There was still plenty ofcedar growing in the upper-Macleay although not

FORESTRY

Axemen felling a giant Blackbutt tree with axe.Note: Standing on timber wedged into the tree. - reproducedfrom a forestry office of N.S.W Poster.

22

of the immensity of the tree which was felled in1882 on Henry Sauer's property on Nulla NullaCreek by Henry Davis and his three sons George,Alfred and Daniel of Uralgurra.

Henry Sauer was an engineer and the contractorfor several sections of the road up Big Hill toArmidale. He built a home from cedar timberwhich grew on his land. It was on this propertythat the mightiest cedar tree in the Macleay wasfelled. The girth of the tree three metres fromthe ground was twelve metres round and requiredtwo men on each side with two welded cross cutsaws to cut it through.(1882). The diameter of thefirst limb was such that it would not fit on to abullock dray. This monarch of the forest yielded84,000 super feet of timber. One flitch wasdisplayed in the Paris Exhibition of 1885.5

Later the bulldozer and chain saw replaced theaxe and cross cut saw and quantities of beautifultimber were milled from the forests in the upper-Macleay.

On the low hilly country at Moparrah the storywent full circle. First called Innes Creek this largetract of land was taken up by Major A.C. Innes,former Commandant of Port Macquarie whobecame a free settler. Oakes Itinerary lists it asten square miles. Various lessees and ownerscleared the country for grazing purposes. Howeverin 1974 Colinas Pty. Ltd. purchased the land toplant trees. This time an introduced species ofpoplar trees mainly for the match and paddle popindustry. The trees after growing to a certain heightwere compatible with cattle grazing.6

Timber played an important part in both worldwars. In WW1 England was becoming perilouslyshort of steel so Prime Minister W.M. Hughesoffered to send ironbark, split and free from sapfor rifle butts and stocks. In WW2 afterthe bombing of Darwin, three piles were cut anddrawn from Kundabung. Paddy Mayhew whowas a railway officer at Kundabung RailwayStation remembered they were selected by JackFarrawell. The piles were destined forDarwin wharf. There was not a limb on them atninety feet.7

Bill Haydon was known locally as "The CedarKing" because of his fascination with the beautifultimber. He spent years building roads and trestlebridges up into formerly inaccessible country onthe Carrai Plateau. Trucks and tractors replacedteams. He built his first mill on land he owned atCarrai. A second mill was started at Kookaburrain 1946 and a third at Daisy Plains. The plywoodmill built by Haydon at Greenhill in the late 1940swas the first of its kind in the area and wasrecognised nationally as an important part of theindustry.8

One cedar giant felled in 1958 by Bill Haydon'steam produced 15,000 super feet of timber, onelimb being over 28 feet or 8 metres long. One ofthe slabs was presented to the Museum of AppliedArts and Sciences in Sydney. A plank measuringalmost 4 metres long and 2 metres wide and 101mm thick was cut by W&H. Kyle. This timberwas used as a table for Mr.J. Lawson, CountryParty member for Murray. The remainder wasput on display at Parliament House.9

Haydon disappeared in the Washpool State Forest,north west of Grafton in 1965 whilst searching forcedar. His body was never found and it is believedhe may have fallen down a disused mine shaft inthe rugged country.

In the 1950s the timber industry was running atan all time high and in 1957 the mills in operationwere considerable in the valley. In that year thenumber of private mills outnumbered the crownmills and many of the names are familiar in thevalley today.

FORESTRY

“Hauling timber” Two men rolling a log on to a horsedrawnwagon by using a bullock team to draw the log up a ramp ofpoles

23

THE CROWN MILLS working in 1957 were:-

• R.J. Jamieson at Frederickton• T. Hennessy, River Street, Kempsey.• Daisy Plains Sawmills Ply and peeler mill

in Kempsey• Kookaburra Sawmills which had a

brushwood quota of sawn timber formerchants in Sydney.

• S. McIlwain worked a private mill in SouthKempsey but with a crown licence.

THE FAMILIESThe families connected with the private mills werevery much part of the economy in the shire thentoo.From Forestry records the private mills were-• S. McIlwain (biggest of the P.P.mills)• T.A. Miles South Kempsey.• E.W. Bourne, Crescent Head Road and

Glenrock.• A.L. Usher.-Arakoon Sawmill.

• Macleay Timber Investment. Kundabung.• Kundabung Trading Co. (O'Leary Brothers)• J. Slater, Kundabung.• L. Everson, Kundabung• J.E. Thompson, Scrubby Creek.• Tom Lawrence, Willawarrin.• Watkins and Watkins, Hickeys Creek.• Jim Swan, Clybucca.• H. Tessier, Stuarts Point.• Milton Baker, Maria Road.• Parrisotto's Mill, Stuarts Point.• Combatine Timber Co. North Street

Kempsey.• Kempsey Brick and Pottery Co.• G.F. Brest, Jubilee Lane, Kempsey.• Joe Seam, Burnt Bridge Road.• J.R. Coverdale & Son, Five Day Creek.• L. Crispin, South Kempsey.• George Worthing, Gill Street, Kempsey.• S.W. Baker, Maria River.• Allen Taylor and Company were purchasersof hewn and round timber in the 1930s andoperated a mill at Stuarts Point. Their main business

Timber - Logs (Dressed poles) tied down on small tabletop truck. This size truck was used to transport sleepers for railwaydepartment. Transport - Log truck “Federal” registered no. 144748 owned by Doug Ryde. Timber worker - Ray Hudson sittingon log out the front of Millbank School.

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in the Macleay was in poles and girders shippedfrom East Kempsey wharf.

In 1968 the company purchased McIlwains Millon the Crescent Head Road .Boral Group tookover Allen Taylor and Company10 until the millclosed in the 1990s.

1. Macleay River Historical Society, Timber Tales, Kempsey,1984.p1.

2. Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books,Sydney, 1972, p21

3. Ibid.p13.

4. Macleay River Historical Society, Timber Tales, Kempsey,1984.p17.

5. Irvine H.Davis to M.Neil, MRHS files, 1971.

FORESTRY

6. Macleay Argus Newspaper, 1st August 1974.

7. Macleay River Historical Society, Timber Tales,Kempsey, 1984, pp14-15

8. Ibid.p 25

9. Macleay Argus Newspaper, August 9, 1958.

10. Macleay River Historical Society, TimberTales, Kempsey, 1984, p 50

25

Including themes... commerce, education,mining, transport & communication, defence,law and order, social institutions, sport,religion, death, housing, and health

Because of the geographical nature of theKempsey Shire, towns emerged in placesdetermined by transport routes. Sea and rivertransport gave rise to wharves along the riverand around these sites townships began withbusiness houses and accommodation placesoffering services to travellers and settlers. StuartsPoint, Jerseyville, Frederickton, KinchelaSmithtown and Gladstone fall into this category.

The same may be said later for townships andvillages which began beside the roads, strategicplaces for changing horses and camping groundsfor teamsters. Willawarrin, Bellbrook andKundabung are representative of that era. Therewere also hamlets such as Skillion Flat, Comara,Millbank and Uralgurra.

South West Rocks, Hat Head, Crescent Head andStuarts Point are associated with holiday venuesand tourism.

Kempsey is the main town in the Shire. Part, EastKempsey, is situated on land once owned by EnochWilliam Rudder who is credited with being the firstresident and founder of the town

Rudder who was born in England, was a partnerin his father’s business in Birmingham known asHandasyd and Rudder (Cockfounder andWarming Pan Makers). He was born at a timewhen the Rudder family had reached the pinnacleof success which allowed their son to enjoy a wellrounded education at Hill Top School whichseemed to have been a somewhat exclusiveestablishment in the Edgbaston area ofBirmingham. Rudder had long set his heart onemigrating to the Colony of New South Wales withthe prospect of owning free land. 1

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Town and Country Journal 1. The Commercial Bank of Sydney 2. The Hennessy’s saw mill 3. Post Office

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Unfortunately for Rudder the policy of free grantswas abolished and in 1831 land was put up forauction, the returns from the sales used to fund afree immigration scheme. In spite of his manyattempts to secure a free grant before he leftEngland, he was unable to persuade the ColonialOffice to change its policy about such grantsDespite all this and his father’s opposition, he sailedfrom Liverpool in 1833 aboard the PrincessVictoria with his wife Emma and their sevenchildren.2

On arrival in Sydney Rudder was soon lured tothe Macleay River by the forest wealth in thenature of cedar timber. He purchased 812 acresfrom Samuel Onions, an ironmonger of Sydneywhose grant was surveyed in 1835. Rudder paidfive shillings an acre for this parcel of land. Henamed his estate Kempsey after the town on theSevern River in Worcestershire because of thesimilarities which evoked this comment, “Risingabove the Severn, like Kempsey over theMacleay, it overlooks the rich vale throughwhich that river passes till the Malvern Hillsmeet the eye and bound the view. Rich as thesoil bordering the Severn is, that of theMacleay is still richer.”3

He travelled from Sydney to Port Macquarie onthe little steamship William IV (the first ocean goingsteamship to be built in Australia). He acquired aboat and with six Europeans and two Aboriginalssailed up the Maria River to Boat Harbour

(Mariaville), made camp and began the taskof hacking a track through the forest to take theboat to the Macleay. This track was to be usedfor many years as the link between Port Macquarieand the Macleay.4

His home was built on a hill overlooking the riverwith a view of distant ranges. The house consistedof seven rooms and was built of cedar, accordingto family records.5

It is thought to have been burnt down in the 1880s.A second house was built but this too has notsurvived. The site is marked by an historical markerplaced there by the Macleay River HistoricalSociety. The hill is known as Rudder’s Hill an openspace landscaped by the Apex Club of Kempsey.

So firm was Rudder’s ambition that he engagedHenry Fancourt White, district surveyor at PortMacquarie, to subdivide part of his 812 acres (324hectares). His auction sale was advertised in theSydney Morning Herald Nov.14th 1836 at £25 anacre ($50). It is recorded that thirteen lots weresold.6

Kempsey was the pulse in the firstcommercial enterprises. East Kempsey (Rudder’sTown) as we know it now was originally the townbut it developed slowly. A hotel was built by JamesThompson and William Gard’s Store catered forthe small community. A Post Office opened in1843 at the Bush Inn.7

Rudders Hill Sketch Dixson Library 1850C

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By 1848 sale of unlocated Crown land increasedand all the land across the river in CentralKempsey was purchased by John Verge andWilliam Smith. John Verge had taken up earlier,the grant of Austral Eden. His purchases acrossthe river were Commissioner Oakes’ Old PoliceStation and the shipbuilding station Scotchtown(140 acres) leased by Malcolm, Newton andFerrier. Smith had arrived in Australia in 1831 in aship carrying mechanics brought from Scotland byDr. John Dunmore Lang. He took up land reachingfrom West Kempsey to the river embracing partsof Smith Street named in his honour. The Smithestate was known as Leamington.

John Verge was an architect who had alreadybenefitted from a grant on the Williams River.Because he had fulfilled certain conditionsattached to the original grant he was entitled toselect more land. The rich soil downstream on theMacleay attracted his notice and instead ofsubdividing he opened up the property to tenantfarmers. He purchased land on the opposite sideof the river as it became available. These were tobe town lots as the town developed.

The subdivision of Verge and Smith lands did nottake place for many years but the settlement onthe riverbank proved a threat to any majordevelopment in Rudder’s Kempsey.

Kempsey was destined to become the importanttown in the valley. Ships were able to come as faras the town and a large wharf was built on theCentral Kempsey side at which ocean going shipswere able to berth. As well a wharf to slip logsand a government wharf were built on theopposite bank. By 1878 Kempsey had grown to alarge trading centre which exported maize, tallow,timber, hides, livestock and other produce. A localChamber of Commerce was formed.

Kempsey is the centre of local government. TheBorough Council was formed in 1886 whichbecame the Municipal Council in 1907 servingwithin the town limits and the same year theMacleay Shire Council was formed. A thirdbody, the Macleay River County Council wasformed in 1947 and given powers concerning localelectricity supplies, aviation and later floodmitigation. In 1975 the amalgamation of the threewas achieved and the official title is now KempseyShire Council.

7. New Inn just opened W. Smith8. Court House9. New Inn opened six months10. Store and residence W. Smith11. School House in course oferection12. Chapel in course of erection

KEMPSEY 1859sketch by E.W. Rudder

RESIDENCES INHABITED

1. Old Bush Inn & First PostOffice2. Rose Inn3 Present Post Office4. Store - W. Bradbury5. Store - H. Tozer6. Site of intented New Post Office

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COMMERCE

The towns along the lower river and adjacent riverswere for the most part associated with shipping.Towns became the centre of commerce. Thetowns of Gladstone, Frederickton, Smithtown,Jerseyville, South West Rocks, Kinchelaand Stuarts Point have all had a connectionwith shipping. Up-river Greenhill had a similarhistory becoming a point to load livestock andtimber and produce on to the river boats knownas droghers to be transhipped to the ocean goingvessels further downstream.

The Shire has a rich maritime history starting withthe shipbuilding industry and then the importanceof shipping linked to commerce. South WestRocks could be declared an historical maritimevillage if the significance were to be highlighted.The rich history of the shipping trade and the ships,both ocean going and the droghers which pliedthe river is well worth a theme of its own.

Towns which grew up beside the road wereBellbrook, Willawarrin, Clybucca. Uralgurra wasa private town built on the property by the ownerHenry Davis. Kundabung and Collombatti Railwere railway towns. Crescent Head was in the

beginning a holiday centre, always renown as aseaside village. There were hamlets which sprangup as convenient stops for teamsters andtravellers. An accommodation house was usuallyfollowed by a small shop and later a Post Office

South West Rocks was also regarded as a holidayvillage but had an added advantage in that theconstruction works at New Entrance attractedengineers and workers who contributed to theeconomy of the district. Small businessesand accommodation houses sprang up. Close byat Arakoon families connected with the Trial BayGaol had built homes.

Most of the towns had prominently placed hotels.The West Kempsey Hotel in West Kempseyboasts a continuous licence since 1860s. TheRailway Hotel and the Great Northern Hotel arestill operating from the 1880s. The three hotels inWest Kempsey have undergone slight changesbut for the most part retain the early externalappearances. The Kempsey Hotel in CentralKempsey is still on the same site but hasundergone changes. The name Tattersalls appliedto many Australian towns and Kempsey was noexception. This hotel in Belgrave Street wasoriginally The Commercial and built in 1886when Mary Smith removed her premises to make

Gladstone Hotel

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way for the Post Office. In 1898 the hotel wasrenamed Tattersalls. The hotel is still the originalbuilding but now known as The Pearl Perch.

Gladstone was a thriving river town and ran twohotels one of which is still standing. The GladstoneHotel was completed in 1889 and was describedas ‘a great ornament’ to the town.8

The hotel at Smithtown has had a turbulent history.Built in 1870 it was named the Forester’s Arms.In 1887 it was reduced to a heap of ashes. It roseagain to be called the Centennial in 1888. Fire againin 1952 caused the building to be demolished. Itwas rebuilt in 1957, renovated in 1998 and is nowcalled the Riverview.9

South West Rocks and Crescent Head also hadan hotel in each centre. At South West Rocks TheJubilee Guest House was famous for its hospitalityand has been described as ‘one of the NorthCoast’s top accommodation houses’. It was builtin 1887 and opened by William Arthur who metthe steamers at Robinson’s wharf at Jerseyvilleand conveyed guests to the guest house. Later itbecame known as The Pacific Guest House andis still standing as a private residence.

Bellbrook’s hotel built in 1913 is still run as anhotel. The front exterior has been retained in itsoriginal form. Willawarrin and Frederickton eachhave an hotel from late nineteenth century andthe ruins may still be seen of the Travellers Restat Barraganyatti.10

Banks were another early commercial enterprise.Most banking companies were represented inKempsey. The Australian Joint Stock Bank wasbuilt in 1891 and was designed by John Sulman.Another early bank was The CommercialBanking Company of Sydney which operated inGladstone and Kempsey. The English Scottish andAustralian Chartered Bank built in 1889 is stillstanding in West Kempsey and is recognised as anoutstanding building. Late years it has beenrestored to its original splendour and now housesGovernment Offices.

All the villages depended for much of theireconomy on the surrounding farmlands. Storesgrew up largely to provide for locals. Still intact inthe main town, Kempsey, is the firm of WilliamHarvey and Son who have been trading for onehundred and twenty years with only three changesof venue. Harveys have always been associatedwith furniture. Barsby’s of Kempsey opened forbusiness in 1908 when John Barsby purchased ashop on the eastern side of Smith StreetKempsey and then moved opposite to the presentsite in 1911.

General stores and Emporiums were in everytown. Some of these structures were large. Stillstanding is one such building at Smithtown now a“Collectables” shop. In all three sections ofKempsey, East, Central and West Kempseyall services were offered such as butchers, bakers,wheelwrights and blacksmiths. As the villagesgrew they boasted a butcher, baker and PostOffice. The “Smithy” was part of essential serviceof the day. Two old bakeries still stand but notto bake bread. One is in Belgrave Street Kempseythe other in Kinchela.

Butter factories took on an important role both inthe economy and also as employmentopportunities. As well as the Macleay RiverCo-operative Dairy Factory in Kempseythere were butter factories at Frederickton,Warneton, Smithtown and at Toorooka. Thefactories opened in the later part of the nineteenthcentury. Cheese was an important industry fromthe early days of settlement.11

Australian Joint Stock Bank

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LAW AND ORDER

The first form of policing was in 1839 when CrownLand Commissioner Major Henry Oakes wasprovided with a small contingent of Border Policeto help maintain order in his district.

From a site in Kempsey roughly from theshowground to the river, the Border Police Stationwas housed in primitive buildings. In 1842 thesecond Commissioner, Robert Massie decided tomove the station to Belgrave Falls, west ofKempsey. It was envisaged that a village wouldbe formed there. It was close to a crossing wheresettlers travelled from Port Macquarie to theMacleay River district. A Court House wasestablished and a Bench of Magistrateswas appointed. (The village never happened butthe site of the Border Police Station is markedby an historical plaque.)

The Border Police was a small detachment whichwas financed by a small annual levy on the stock

depastured by the squatters. The duties of theCommissioner consisted of control over thegrazing establishments, prevention of collisionbetween settlers and Aborigines, andsettlements between settlers, the collection of fees(both livestock and stock taxes) and the inspectionof sawyers’ licences.

The Court House was moved to West Kempseyin 1859. Two other Court Houses were set up later,one at Bellbrook and another at Gladstone. BothKempsey and Gladstone Courthouses are stillimposing structures. The present Police Stationin Kempsey was the second Court House. Itbecame the lock-up keeper’s residence, then theInspector’s residence and later the police station.The shell of the 1864 building is still intact. TheCourt House now standing was built in 1876and has had several internal alterations in fitsof modernisation.12

Inspector Parker - mounted Police - 1892

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The complex includes the police residence inBelgrave Street built in 1906. The ventilators inthe wall are visible from the street and still showthe distinct crown design in the ironwork indicatingit was a government building.

At Gladstone a fine building still stands which wasbuilt as the Court House in 1885. A Policeresidence built in 1897 stands next door. Both arestriking buildings. A police presence was inGladstone in the latter part of the nineteenthcentury13 and on the other side of the riverat Frederickton and Smithtown. Both stationsclosed and are now private residences.A Policeman was stationed at Arakoon (SouthWest Rocks) in 1878.14

The Court House at Bellbrook closed officially in1975. It was set up in 1900 west of the presentpolice station. The last Magistrate to sit atBellbrook was Mr. Rex Meehan in 1972. Afterthat Justices of the Peace dealt with minorinfringements until 1975.15

In 1875, Harold Maclean, Comptroller General ofPrisons reported on a project to establish a prisonat Trial Bay. This was in accordance with animproved prison system. The Trial Bay Gaolopened in 1886. Prisoners would be required towork on the breakwater to provide a safeharbour for ships. Unexpectedly in 1903 all workstopped. It was stated in parliament that the prisonsystem at Trial Bay did not fit in with modern ideasof penology. The prison was disestablished in 1903leaving empty a massive building until the waryears when it housed German Internees

(1915). The building was to be demolished butalthough many of the residences have beenremoved, the main building has been partiallyrestored and is now a main tourist attraction in theKempsey Shire.

Because of the word “cop” it may be fitting toinclude three items of heritage in the Law andOrder theme. Kempsey boasts three SILENTCOPS. These have been superseded byroundabouts in other places but one Cop is intactat the intersection of Polwood and Tozer Streets,one at the corner of Lachlan and Nicholson Streetsand yet another at Sullivan and Rudder Streets.

MINING

The first evidence of mining was that of limestone.In 1831 Surveyor Ralfe had discovered anextensive stratum of limestone about six milesfrom the head of navigation at Maria River. In1834 the police Magistrate at Port Macquarie wasdirected to provide a road from the Hastings Riverto a quarry near Pipers Creek and to construct akiln for the making of lime. The end product wasto produce a mortar to be used in the buildingtrade.17

The site is in Kumbatine National Park.

At Moparrabah, in the upper Macleay an outcropwas mined for marble in 1901. Some of the stonewas used in the columns of the Art Gallery of NewSouth Wales in Sydney.

Mungay Creek Mines

Court House Gladstone

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Whilst gold was found in the upper-Macleay area,Landers Ridge, it was not in sufficient quantitiesto create a “rush”. Silver, tin, copper and antimonywere obtainable.

Antimony mining near Mungay Creek in 1970 gavehope that mining could provide economic stabilityto the district. Munga Creek Mines NL spent overfour million dollars developing the site whichincluded the old Corangula mine opened in 1879.The last figures available for this period are thoseof 1893 when 866 tons were produced from theCorangula Mines.18

A new chapter in local mining grew with thedevelopment of beach sand mining. In 1975Mineral Deposits Limited commenced its highlyprofitable mining of high-grade mineral bearingsands on the coastal beaches around CrescentHead. Rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite wereall recovered from the beaches in great quantities.All these minerals were important in post wartechnology, particularly rutile which was used inthe manufacture of paint pigment, plastics, syntheticfibres and welding rods. It was also important inthe manufacture of metal titanium so valuable inthe aeronautics industry.19

Kaolin deposits are known to be at South WestRocks but the fears that the natural beauty of thearea could be spoilt and pollution occur lessenedthe enthusiasm of the local residents for suchmining.20

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

A progress committee was an important part ofcommunities. Most towns saw the need for apublic hall where entertainment could be held.These buildings took the place of the barn on aproperty and became the hub of social life. Ballsand dances, bazaars and fairs were part ofthe community life. Travelling picture shows in thefirst quarter of the twentieth century were popularand films and slides were shown regularly. Mosthalls were built by voluntary labour. Somechurches saw an adjacent hall as a need to hold

gatherings outside divine services.Practically every Lodge or Friendly Society builta meeting hall.

Whilst Kempsey had many halls put up byorganisations , a town hall was never erected. Theformation of the Agricultural, Horticultural andIndustrial Association in 1881 meant the holdingof an annual “show”. The first show was held onLeamington Estate now Services Park and in1887 this event moved to the present site in SeaStreet. Some of the pavilions are still on theshowground.

Some halls were opened by Vice- regal personnelsuch as the one at Frederickton in 1903 by theState Governor Sir Harry Rawson. Most townscalled the hall “The School of Arts” but Smithtownhad a Literary Institute. Mostly a lendinglibrary was incorporated in a corner of the buildingand employed a part time librarian.

Some of the surviving halls are listed with the dateof construction.

Bellbrook• Mechanics Institute 1892 then School of Arts

1922.

Willawarrin• School of Arts 1946 Country Womens’

Association Room 1958.

Millbank• Millbank Hall 1932

Oddfellows Hall 1884

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Kempsey• Grand United Order Of Odd Fellows 1884• Presbyterian Church Hall restored but part of

1861 structure retained• Showground Pavilion 1887• Catholic Church Hall 1880• Anglican Church Hall• Country Womens’ Association Hall 1970• Band Box Theatre remodelled 1970

built as Band Hall 1959• Scout Hall (3rd hall) 1960• Guide Hall 1946• Uniting Church Hall 1959• Masonic Hall 1969• Christian Israelite Hall 1977

Gladstone• School Of Arts 1893• Masonic Lodge now a craft gallery 1921

Frederickton• School of Arts 1903

South West Rocks• School of Arts 1927

Smithtown• Literary Institute (site 1900) School of Arts

1926

Collombatti• Collombatti Hall 1911

• Kundabung 1953

• Belmore River 1911

• Burnt Bridge 1938

• Sherwood 1911

Kempsey Showground 1903

Frederickton - School of Arts 1907-8

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HOUSING

Another sign of a community’s history andheritage is its housing. Local history can often beread from different eras. In Bellbrook andGladstone some of the houses reflect a lifestyleof the late nineteenth century, cottage typebut with the graceful verandahs which brings tomind evenings spent there after “tea”. In Kempseyhouses built just prior to Federation and after, bothin brick and timber and quite prestigious also hadwide verandahs under “bull-nosed” iron and itwould be easy to imagine afternoon tea “onthe verandah”. Other housing is more timelesswith the bungalow influence of the 1920s.

As the towns and valley grew so did its cultureand its social attitudes. Unfortunately not a greatdeal remains of the buildings of pioneering dayson the the land.

At Smithtown is a single gable constructionof weatherboard. The steeply pitched roof wasmost likely an English custom, a requisite of coldcountry weather. This cottage was built between1870 and 1880 by Henry Croad. He came fromPortsmouth in 1850. Smithtown boasts otherhomes and cottages built a little later but showingthe beautiful woodwork in the ornate barge boardsand the use of timber which was in plentiful supply.

Hat Head, another seaside village which nestlesbetween Korogoro Creek and the ocean still hasexamples of holiday cottages from the 1920s,sturdily built timber cottages with a verandah anda yard large enough to have kept a horse andsulky which would have been the means ofconveyance at that time. The fact that there wasa provisional school at the village for only a fewyears 1950-54 suggests it was truly a holiday placewhere farmers came to spend a break.

In short Kempsey and the surrounding towns arean architectural paradise so representative of latenineteenth and early twentieth century structures.Except for garages being added to the garden areamany of the houses are in the original form.

Costonville at Bellimbopinni

Built for Ernest William Boler 1911

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DEATH

Ten locations in the shire commemorate the dead.Local cemeteries usually dedicated not long afterthe towns were proclaimed, have served thecommunity for many years. There is one privatecemetery on family land and the usuallonely graves in the bush and on properties whichare no longer in the ownership of the original family.Some of the latter are well preserved, others havesuffered the ravages of time and development.

Cemeteries maintained by the Council are atKempsey (2) Frederickton (1) Kinki/Stuarts Point(1) Bellbrook (1) South West Rocks/ Arakoon, oneis a disused cemetery (2) Crescent Head, disused,(1) Euroka (1) Toms Gully (1). There is a privatecemetery at Nulla maintained by the descendantsof the early settlers.21

However there are memorials scatteredthroughout the shire which commemorate thedeaths of people through accident and shipwrecks. As well the war memorials and honourboards represent a symbol of mourning. These tooare important places for community ceremonies

and reflect expressions of community values. Someof the monuments are superb sculptures others arelists of names usually inscribed on a select pieceof timber and placed in a public building.

There were also tree plantings as a tribute to thewar service personnel. These avenues wereplanted in Frederickton and extended across theriver to East Frederickton. Some of these trees arestanding but the plaques which were attached havebeen lost. Eight Norfolk Island Pines were plantedin South West Rocks in 1927 as a memorial to localmen who gave their lives in World War 1. Onlyfour of these pines have survived. The otherswere replaced with New Zealand Christmas Treesbecause their height threatened power lines.22

In Gladstone Memorial Tablets were placed inMemorial Avenue to commemorate the servicemenwho lost their lives in WW2.

Mention should be made of the early undertakerswho were at Kempsey and Frederickton. Wheredeaths occurred in homes situated on the rivers aboat often became the hearse and a cortege ofmourners in boats often followed the hearse toa cemetery. This was referred to as a “boatfuneral”.

Funeral Rev. Father McCambridge 1900

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RELIGION

The first churches in the valley were associatedwith the earliest schools. The little denominationalschool buildings became places for devine worshipwhen visiting preachers arrived to hold services.

As early as 1841 E.W. Rudder had tried to havean Anglican church erected in his township byopening a subscription list for the purpose. Nodoubt the difficult times which followed, delayedhis plans for the record of regular church servicesin the community appears in the history of theMethodist Church.

The late development of church buildings in thedistrict was due partly to the fact that from 1833the main churches in the colony receivedGovernment aid. In 1863 State aid was abolished.The Macleay dwellers had to wait untiltheir numbers grew and times were moreprosperous before they could replace the tinychurches which had been used for church purposeswhen there was no resident clergyman.23

When more substantial churches were built theywere located in West Kempsey and CentralKempsey. The first brick church erected for theWesleyans was established in Smith Street in 1875followed by a new Church of England (Anglican)in Frederickton in 1878. In 1880 a brick churchwhich is now the parish hall was built in KempStreet West Kempsey as the Catholic Church. In

1884 the little Presbyterian Schoolhouse in CentralKempsey was converted into a church until a newone was built in 1890. Until a permanentchurch was built for the Anglicans in WestKempsey, services were held in the Court House,the Good Templars Hall and a temporary buildingwhich later became the Rectory. In 1882 thefoundation stone was laid for All Saints Churchby Mrs Sydney Verge. It is interesting to note thatthis church and the Catholic Church which standas neighbours in Kemp Street are both known as“ALL SAINTS”.

The Salvation Army came to Kempsey in 1889.The “Sallies” had to fight their way through strongopposition but in 1918 they erected the citadel inBelgrave Street.

The history of Churches in the Macleay Valleywould not be complete without mention of thededicated work of the Wesleyan lay preacherswho, from the earliest days of settlement heldregular services and conducted Sunday Schoolsfor all creeds in isolated communities. SilasGill was a colourful character who stood out as apreacher when settlers were flocking to the valleyto take up small farms. He came to the Macleayin 1859. It was no uncommon thing for Mr. Gilland his sons and helpers to be occupied foreighteen to twenty hours on a Sunday, pulling aboat twenty to thirty miles and conducting threeservices.24

An historical marker near Gills Creek is a tributeto this man.

All Saints Anglican Church Kempsey

St. Johns Catholic Church Willawarrin 1896

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A small group of Anglican Sisters belonging to theCommunity of The Sisters of the Church openeda house at Dondingalong in March 1978. This isan Anglican Religious Order. The Sisters set up asmall farm of 44 acres. Solomon Island membersof the community were accommodated toexperience community life and to study English,Biblical Studies and Mathematics. The house wasalso shared with many who wished for a quiet timeout to think over a problem, to recover from ahurtful experience or to be quiet and reflecton their lives. Owing to fewer Sisters entering theOrder, the farm was given up in 1999 and theSisters bought a house on 0.405 of a hectare andthey continue to serve the local community in theKempsey parish.

The Christian Israelite religion was practised inKempsey from a very early time. Walter Gray wastravelling as a piano tuner in the last quarter ofthe nineteenth century and brought this faith tothe town. The Gray family came to live in Kempseyand set up a music store. They were wellrespected citizens and the Christian Israelitefaith commanded a sound congregation for overa hundred years. The members built a church inKempsey in 1977 which is one of only four in theworld.

Over the years new churches were built in outlyingareas and older ones replaced. A new church waserected for the Catholics in 1923 and a Baptistchurch was established in 1950. The Seventh DayAdventist Church acquired permanent premisesin Yaelwood Street. New premises are nowon Crescent Head Road.

Other churches were moved to address changingneeds. With declining numbers in the villages thechurch buildings were sold and became popularas private residences.

Churches in the Shire and their dates ofconstruction are listed below.

South West Rocks

Holy Trinity Anglican 1916

Removed now private residence out of town.

New church 1992.

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic 1926.

Uniting Church 1915.

Removed 1988 now private residence.

Kinchela

Uniting 1913 - now private residence.

St Andrews Anglican 1899.

Frderickton

St Johns Catholic 1905 - now private residence.

St Peters Anglican 1874 - now private residence.

Uniting Church 1882 - now replaced.

Presbyterian Church 1886 - private residence.

Christian New Life Centre have erected a churchin Frederickton in recent years.

Kempsey

All Saints Catholic 1880 - now parish hall. Newchurch 1925.

All Saints Anglican 1885.

St Andrews Presbyterian Church 1890 - nowcommercial premises.

Uniting Church 1953 built when former churchdestroyed 1950.

Uniting Church Commandant Hill 1940 - Churchand hall now private residence.

Baptist Church 1950.

Seventh Day Adventist Church 1950 new churcherected 2002.

Christian Israelite Church 1977.

Salvation Army Citadel First Belgrave St., thenYaelwood St - now in Leith Street.

Smithtown

St.Patricks Catholic 1886 - rebuilt 1974.

Uniting Church 1910 - now a private home.

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St. John The Devine 1901 - moved to secondsite, now residence.

Gladstone

St Barnabas Anglican 1921

Uniting Church 1921

Hat Head

Christ Church Anglican dedicated 1965.Built 1905 Belmore River.

Bellbrook

St Patricks Catholic 1899

St James Anglican 1906

Willawarrin

St Johns Catholic 1896

St Thomas Anglican

Hickeys Creek

Uniting Church 1913

Crescent Head

Uniting Church and Anglican Church 1925

The Star of the Sea Catholic 1968

Dondingalong

Uniting Church 1892

Sherwood

Sacred Heart Catholic Church 1911

St.Johns Anglican Church 1903

Euroka

Uniting Church 194025

EDUCATION

It was not only in the isolated areas of the valleythat the problem of providing education for childrenhad to be faced. Some of the settlers employedtutors. Others went away for their schooling. Itwas not until 1846 that Kempsey acquired a school.In that year the Wesleyan Day School opened with

Mr And Mrs Fowler in charge, but it closed withintwo years.

In 1848 a Board of National Education wasestablished. The Board was prepared to provideup to two thirds of the cost of erecting a schooland to appoint a teacher wherever an attendanceof thirty pupils could be guaranteed. One ofthe conditions was that local patrons were to beappointed to supervise the administration of theschool and to correspond with the Board ofCommissioners on all subjects connected with theschool. Dr.J. Gilbert took the initiative in having aNational School established, one of the first four inNew South Wales. It opened in September 1848in Gard’s Store in East Kempsey with HenryFowler as first teacher. He was followed by HenryMcSwiney in 1849 until the school closed inDecember 1850.

Kempsey High School

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In 1859 Thomas Greenwood Hird arrived in WestKempsey to open a store and conduct a privateschool in the growing township. In August of thefollowing year the residents made an applicationfor a National School to be established at WestKempsey with Mr and Mrs Hird as teachers. Asa result the West Kempsey National Schoolopened on 2nd October 1860. In 1863 a newweatherboard shingle roofed school waserected on the present site of the West Kempseyschool. It was replaced in 1877 by a new schoolwhich cost £1,700. This school building surviveduntil 1971 when it was demolished to make wayfor a dental clinic.

In nearby Frederickton another school associatedwith a store opened in 1860. This was establishedby A. Taylor, a young Londoner who opened theschool to cater for those children whose parentsdid not wish them to attend a local denominationalschool. The Frederickton residents applied for aNational School to be established inMr. Taylor’s schoolroom. This was opened in 1861but the Board of Education did not approve of theschool being under the same roof as the store, soMr. Taylor sold his interest in the store. Althoughit had opened with forty-six pupils this school closedin 1863. From about 1867 John Lancaster,an untrained teacher, taught the Fredericktonchildren at a Church of England school. TheDenominational Schools Board had been abolishedin 1866 so that both State and Independent schoolswere now controlled by the new Council ofEducation. By 1868 eighty-one pupils were beingtaught in the small weatherboard building whichwas used on Sundays as a church. This continueduntil 1877 when the building became so dilapidateda new one was necessary. As the Churchwas unable to provide this, the residents applied tothe Council of Education to make the school apublic one. In 1885 a new Frederickton PublicSchool was completed on its present site to thedesign of the eminent Sydney architect J. HorburyHunt.

The educational needs of other early settlementswere met by the establishment of schools atSummerland or Summer Island (opposite Kinchela)in 1862, Euroka in 1863, Seven Oaks

1865 Dondingalong 1865, Darkwater 1867,Aldavilla 1871 and Kinchela Creek in 1873. Therewas a school at Sherwood, part time withDondingalong in 1872.

Schools were established at Greenhill on theoutskirts of Kempsey and at Uralgurra,Willawarrin, Bellbrook, Comara, Millbank andHickeys Creek. As industry increased such as themines at Corangula and the timber mill atKookaburra a school would be established. Schoolswere erected at localities other than in towns. Onthe Belmore River there were two schools one oneach side of the river.

The pilot at Grassy Head applied for a school asearly as 1891. This became a half-time school withWarrell Creek. Half-time schools existed wherenot even provisional schools were available. Thismeant that a teacher spent two days at one centreand three at another, alternating the followingweek. Millbank school was combined withUralgurra until 1895 and then joined forces withHickeys Creek until 1912. In 1893 Millbank wasdeclared a Public School and is still operating today.

Many of the schools have had a turbulent historyin that of survival. A number of schools reflect theextent of small farming in the valley and small scaleindustry. Files record that small communities foughthard to get schools and once obtained they werecherished. Many people still regret the passing ofsmall schools but better roads and transport haveseen the demise of small schools in favour ofpupils being moved by school buses to biggerschools in the main towns.

Many social events were centred on the littleschools. Enrolments in these schools fluctuatedwith the seasons particularly in the areas wheremaize and potatoes were grown. Children werekept home to help with planting and harvesting.

In 1884 a school was opened by the Sisters ofSt. Joseph at West Kempsey. They weresucceeded by a group of Presentation Nunsbefore the Sisters of Mercy arrived to take overCatholic Education in 1900. A Convent wasset up for girls in Kempsey and a boardingestablishment for boys in Smithtown.

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St.Pauls College for boys opened in 1965in Kempsey.26

Students of both sexes now attend thiscollege and the curriculum extends to Year 12and the H.S.C.

A Presbyterian School was started in 1861 inKempsey. Part of the old building still remainsin Smith Street.

With the closure of the bush schools thebuildings became popular as residences. Thedistinctive departmental architecture can stillbe seen in many country settings.

The following list comprises the schools whichhave endured over the years.

Kempsey East .1881

Kempsey West ps.1860-86; sps 1886-1905;ds 1906-12. ihs1920-29 ps 1930-

Kempsey High 1930-

Kempsey South 1960-

Melville High 1983 -

St.Josephs Convent 1884-

St.Pauls Regional Catholic High 1965

Technical And Further Education 1955

Crescent Head 1921

Bellimbopinni ps (Seven Oakes) 1865

South West Rocks ps 1897 Macleay Entranceuntil 1910

Frederickton ps 1861-92 ;1877-

Gladstone ps 1877

Smithtown ps 1891

Willawarrin prov.1901-02 ps 1902-05 ht w

Hickeys Creek 1905-1910; prov.1920-27; ps1928

Millbank prov.1891-92; ps 1893-

(Uralgurra until 1895 Hickeys Creek until1912)

Bellbrook prov.1883-87; ht w Pee Dee 1887-90 ht w Nulla

Nulla 1910-11; prov 1911-13; ps 1913-

Aldavilla ps 1871-1963 closed. New site1992-

Collombatti Rail prov.1909-27; ps 1928-38;prov.1948-53; ps

Yarrabandinni until 1927

Stuarts Point ps 1891- Macleay Heads until1899

ps - Public schoolsps - Superior Public Schoolds - District Schoolprov - Provisional School

Convent - Kempsey 2003

Lower Belmore River School Centenary 1967

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SPORTS

In small communities sport was an integral partof social life. Horse racing was one of the earliestorganised sports. The race course at Gladstonewas established in 1866. The bell is now in thegrounds of the Gladstone Hotel and originallycame from Trial Bay Gaol after its closure in 1903.Warwick Park Racecourse in Kempsey wasgazetted in 1894 and races are still held there.

Foot races were popular with gaslight meetingsset up in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Tennis courts were a part of town life and someof the clay courts survive today (Catholic Schooltennis courts and South Kempsey). Team sportswere part of social life and after the coming of therailway a special train could be arranged totransport players to foot-ball and cricket matchesin neighbouring towns.27

As much of the Kempsey Shire borders on theseaboard, surfing was a sport which has seenmany a local excel at state and national level insurf and surf lifesaving events. Swimming has hada place in the history of Kempsey. Before thefirst baths were built in the town, swimming wasorganised in the Macleay River. A popular placewas “The Stones” in West Kempsey. TheMunicipal Council was divided on the issueof bathing sheds for the areas set aside forswimming but several places in the river weredesignated for the pleasure and strict rules wereset for behaviour, dress and the hours of swimmingfor individual sexes.

Kempsey Baths are now a fine complex with anolympic standard pool added in recent years. Thebaths were built in 1938 and named The McElhonePool. Dr. McElhone, a medical practitioner inKempsey was a keen advocate for this facilityand argued that even if it saved one lifefrom drowning in the river it would be a rewardingventure. The baths were substantially funded bythe community.

At South West Rocks bathing machines wereadvertised as early as 1885 and ‘Competent LadyAttendants would supervise’. South West Rockswas described as ‘The Manly Of The North’.Sculling was a regular event on the riverand regattas were held at each of the river towns.Gladstone, Frederickton and Kinchela all heldannual regattas.

Not much remains of these important social sites.Sheds and grandstands were often primitivestructures but that does not reduce the importanceof sport in small rural communities.

Warwick Park Race Course Kempsey

Jodie Barsby Crescent Head

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Horse Sports have been part of the sporting scenein the Kempsey Shire and at present time remaina strong sport. A special arena has been set upfor camp drafting and bullock riding at Kundabung.

Golf has been played formally from 1930 and hasseen a number of sites. Bowls was well establishedby 1950.

Boxing was an early sport with bouts held in oneof the early theatres. The renown boxer DaveSands and his brothers all received their earlytraining in Kempsey. They reached theirprofessional heights in late 1940s.

HEALTH

Skilled medical care was of necessity centred inKempsey. In isolated areas women had to bemidwives and dispensers of remedies in times ofillness.

In 1880 a public meeting was held in KempseySchool of Arts to consider building a hospital.Voluntary subscriptions were called for and beforethe end of the year the foundation stone was laid.The hospital opened in 1881 to serve thecommunity until a new hospital replaced it in1914. This hospital still stands.28

Standing in the hospital grounds is an obelisk, amemorial to the work of Dr. Brabazon Casementwho provided valuable medical services in theearly days of the hospital and who encouraged

local midwife Mary Kirkpatrick to study andtrain as a registered midwife (1903). 29

The first maternity hospital opened in River Streetin 1905. Before this women were attended in theirown homes or that of the midwife. Some maternityhospitals still stand in Kempsey and Smithtown andare private residences. Private hospitals whichtook in general health cases also operated inSmithtown and Kempsey.

Nurse Mary Kirkpatrick - Midwife

Baby Health Centre 1949

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1907 saw a devastating epidemic of pneumonicplague reach Kempsey. Matron Gulliford’sdevotion to her calling caused her to be personallyresponsible for the nursing of these victims withthe result that she died after contractingthe disease. She is commemorated by a plaque inthe foyer of the hospital.30

In June 1945 the accommodation for the nursingstaff was so obsolete it reached a crisis point. Thestaff was housed in a building in Polwood Streetdescribed as a hovel. After negotiations brokedown between the Hospital Commission and theHealth department, the nurses went “onstrike”...an event without precedent in a countrytown. Nurses went to Sydney and carriedplacards to demonstrate the plight of the staff. Thestrike action resulted in one sister being dismissedand escorted from the hospital. Sister Swiftwas president of the nurses’ council. The staffmet the following day and threatened to resign ifshe were not reinstated. In an ensuing court case,the judge in the arbitration court made trenchantcriticism of conditions at the hospital, saying theyshould be remedied immediately.31

An ambulance wagon was put into service in1934. The present building in Belgrave Street wascompleted in 1948 and replaced a timber structureopposite the medical centre in the business partof town.

Recognition should be given to “baby health”. Sonamed this service scheme began in Sydney in1903. In 1936 the service was begun in Kempseyand run by a health worker in a room in theMunicipal Library. A purpose built centre wasopened in 1949 solely through the efforts of a smallgroup of women who campaigned for the serviceand raised funds by donations. This building stillstands in Memorial Avenue. In 1964 3,734 babiesattended the clinic.32

A special building in Smithtown for the sameservice was built in 1973.

At Greenhill on the western outskirts of Kempsey,a small building was erected to house the first

Aboriginal Health service in 1977. Growingconcern over the health of the Aboriginal peoplewho had a fear of approaching the medical clinicor the hospital led the health authority to triala centre staffed by a doctor.33

The centre grew in popularity and was a success.The centre has now moved to the centre of thetown.

DEFENCE

Trial Bay gaol closed since 1903 opened its gatesas an internment camp during World War 1. In1915 all German subjects in Australia wereinterned. Men were detained at Trial Bay. Thefirst internees arrived at Jerseyville onthe steamer Yulgilbar. Their number grew toover five hundred and included men who came

War Memorial Gladstone

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from Ceylon, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Britishand German Islands in the Pacific, Borneo,New Caledonia, Fiji, New Guinea, and theSolomon Islands. The gaol accommodated rubberplanters, ship’s officers, military officers and evensome Buddist priests from Ceylon whowore yellow and brown robes and took little partin the activities shared by other internees. Thosewho died in the centre were buried on the hillabove the gaol. Their fellow country men erectedan elaborate granite memorial above the graves.34

During World War 11 gun batteries were put inplace along the coast at Crescent Head and SouthWest Rocks.35

A submarine net was placed in the Macleay Rivernear Jerseyville.36

In 1942 Kempsey prepared for invasion. Plans toevacuate the coastal areas were outlined andarrangements were made to evacuate cattle andfoodstuffs. A scheme evolved to remove or destroyproduce in milk and butter factories. Cropswould have to be harvested or destroyed. Menfrom the ‘top of the river’ had offered to guidemobs of cattle over recognised routes intothe hills.37

Slit trenches were dug at Kempsey schools andin Elbow, Belgrave and Smith Streets. All signsof these places and precautions have nowdisappeared. Local people are still able to identifythe lookouts which provided vantage points for spotters who were on duty to watch for enemyaircraft.

At the Aldavilla Aerodrome an Airforce CadetTraining Corp was formed. This was known asthe 123 Squadron and lasted from 1942-1945.

endnotes

1 Major Lionel Rudder, edited Patricia Riggs,Magnificent Failure,The life and times of Enoch William Rudder 1801-1888,Founder of Kempsey,Kempsey Shire Council, 1986, pp 6-19.

2 Ibid.pp 4-5.

3 Ibid.p 10.

4 Ibid.p 13

5 Ibid.p 15

6 Ibid.p 13.

7 Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972, p 48.

8 M.R.H.S.Journal , Gladstone, August 2002, p 7.

9 M.R.H.S.Journal, Smithtown, May 2002, p 6.

10 M.R.H.S.Files, (Hotels).

11 Ibid.Dairying.

12 Patricia Riggs, Portrait of Kempsey, Robert Brown and Associates, Bathurst, p 14.

13 M.R.H.S.Journal, Gladstone, August 2002, p 7.

14 Caroline Carey,Tales of Trial Bay, An Early History of South West Rocks, 1993, 1995, Australian Print group, Maryborough, Vic., pp 42-43.

15 Macleay Argus Newspaper, 7 October, 1975.

16 Marie H.Neil, Trial bay gaol, Macleay River Historical Society, publication, Kempsey, 1966,1975.

17 Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972, p 21.

18 Ibid, p 84. Macleay Argus Newspaper, 1 December,1964. Valentine Schlaah, to Department of Public Instruction, Corangula Mines School, 1885, State Records.

19 Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972, p 84.

20 Ibid.p 86.

21 MRHS.Files.

22 Caroline Carey, Tales of Trial Bay, An early history of South West Rocks, Australian Print Group, Maryborough, Vic., 1993, 1995 .

23 Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972, p 68.

24 Ibid p 71.

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25 M.R.H.S Files for individual locations. An overview ofmaterial regarding religion.

26 Marie H.Neil, Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972, pp 64-67.

27 Paddy Mayhew, Kempsey Shire Council BicentennialOral History Project, 1986.

28 Marie H.Neil.Valley of the Macleay, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972.

29 Noeline Kyle, Memories and Dreams, A Biography ofNurse Mary Kirkpatrick, Mullimbimby, 2001.

30 Patricia Riggs, A Century of Caring and Beyond,KempseyDistrict Hospital, 1981, p 18.

31 Ibid.pp 66-69.

32 Macleay Argus Newspaper, 30th June, 1964.

33 Interview , Dr.Dick Copeman, Durri Medical Centre, Greenhill, 1979.

34 Marie H.Neil, Trial Bay Gaol, MRHS., publication, Kempsey, 1966,1975.

35 Australian War Memorial, Series no AWM 54.

36 Ibid. AWM, 61.

37 Macleay Argus Newspaper, 27th Feb., 1942.

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The increasing awareness of Tourism is evidencedin numbers of people seeing the Kempsey Shireas a destination. Tourism is an industry whichgenerates a large slice of the economy in the shire.Although larger towns are a threat to thedeveloping area of tourism, visitors are keen tofind a calmer alternative from the high profile up-market centres either side of the KempseyShire coastline.

The coastal towns and villages are the main centreswhere tourists congregate. The sea side attractsfamily groups. Photographers and bush walkersfind the hinterland a paradise for their activities.

The strengths of local tourism are diversity andquality of natural attractions, unspoilt and protectedcoastline and a climate which is conducive toholiday activities.

Two Visitor Information Centres operate in theShire, one at Kempsey, the other at South WestRocks.

The first official information centre was set up in1969 and Mrs Val Melville was appointed manager.In the early 1970s a purpose built centre wasconstructed in the town beside the Post Office.1983 saw a move to the cultural centre adjacent tothe Museum in South Kempsey Park.

Tourism goes back a long way in Kempsey Shire.In 1906 the Government Tourism Bureauorganised a trip for seventeen tourists to visit theMacleay.1

At South West Rocks in 1889 this quiet place tookon a busy appearance. There were three hundredpeople visiting and fifty to sixty tents were erectedthere.

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Horseshoe Bay

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George Lawson was building six cottages andthere was a whisper that a ladies swimming bathswould be built. Land was selling for two pounds afoot.

The Jubilee Guest House was described as ‘oneof North Coast's top accommodation houses’.It was built in 1887 and opened by William Arthurwho met the steamers at Robinson's Wharf atJerseyville and conveyed guests to theGuest House. Later it became known as thePacific Guest House and is still standing to-dayas a private residence.2

Bathing machines were advertised as early as1885 and 'competent lady attendants wouldsupervise.'3 South West Rocks was described as'The Manly of the North.'4

Crescent Head has had an association with leisureand tourism from an early time. It was proclaimedas a village 3rd March 1894, according to a noticein the Government Gazette of that year.

A raconteur writing in the Macleay Argus 1938was to note that in 1841 Enoch William Rudderand a small party of friends and attended by twoserving men and gun carriers, made a hazardousday's journey to a sea beach at a point on thecoast chart marked Crescent Head where theyspent a week wild game hunting, exploring,fishing and taking the waters.5

Diving at South West Rocks- Courtesy South West Rocks Dive Centre

Bush walking upper Macleay

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The village was a popular place for country peopleto spend Boxing Day. Farmers packed up earlyand made the long trip with horse and sulky. JackJeffery remembered everyone drove there fromEuroka, a farming settlement west of Kempsey.His humourous comment was that ‘you could havetaken Euroka with a catapult’.6

Holiday camping at Christmas and Easter broughtto the village whole families from all parts of thevalley for the summer period. The camping andcaravan area is now strictly monitored by StateGovernment regulations. The village has had asurf club in one guise or another since 1910.7

Hat Head was a sea side retreat for many years.It has a sheltered beach and caravan park. Bushwalking in the national park leads through coastalrainforest and affords spectacular views up thetrack to the trig.

Stuarts Point and Grassy Head are side by sideand boast a holiday atmosphere away from therush and bustle of the highway. Boating andassociated leisure activities for residents andholiday makers is a far cry from the first PilotStation at Grassy head and the ship buildingindustry at Stuarts Point in earlytimes.

1 Macleay Argus Newspaper, 3rd.November, 1906.

2 MRHS files, Pacific Guest House.

3 Macleay Argus Newspaper, adv.14th November, 1885

4 Macleay Chronicle Newspaper, adv.,20 December, 1916.

5 Patricia Riggs, A Short History of Crescent Head, 1992, p3.

6 Jack Jeffery, Kempsey Shire Council Bicentennial OralHistory Project, 1984.

7 Patricia Riggs, A Short History of Crescent Head,1992,p 18.

Camping at Black Bird Flat - upper Macleay

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