Darlington Point, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Darlington Point is a small town
on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River
in the Riverina district of western New South Wales
, Australia
. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Shire local government area. The township centre is four kilometres from the Sturt Highway
, along Kidman Way. Darlington Point is 631 km west of Sydney
and 33 km south of Griffith
. At the 2006 census
, Darlington Point had a population of 1,026 people.
tree. On the south bank John Peter also leased the "Tubbo" run, a property he had formed in the 1850s by the amalgamation of several runs. The site where the township later developed was a crossing-place over the Murrumbidgee River used by stockmen and teamsters
. The Surveyor Townshend laid out reserves near the crossing-place during the 1850s.
to Hay
road and the track leading to the river-crossing. Rogers soon became discontented; he sold out a year later and left the district. The new publican of the Darlington Inn was Jacob Abrahams. Another hotel (probably the Waddai Hotel) was built on the southern bank at the crossing (eventually leading to the development of the Waddai township). A report published in August 1865 claimed that Darlington Point, by "the growth of free selection", was "fast assuming the dimensions and appearance of a township"; there were two hotels, one on either side of the river, which the writer concluded "can hardly be regarded as a favourable sign".
In 1866 a punt
(previously operating at Wagga Wagga) was purchased for use at the Darlington Point-Waddai crossing; the owner of the punt was Jacob Abrahams, previously publican of the Darlington Inn, who had opened a general store at the township. The punt was said to be one of the largest in the colony, with the capacity to carry 1,700 sheep in a single trip. The license of the Darlington Inn was held by Thomas Linsell from 1866 to 1868. Edward J. Flood held the license of the Darlington Inn in 1869 (the last year this hotel appears in the annual list of licenses granted).
In about 1870 a second hotel was built on the southern bank at Waddai; for the year commencing 1 July 1870 Edward Grimley held the license there for the Riverina Hotel. From mid-1871 Alexander Beaumont held the license of the Waddai Hotel. The licenses for the year commencing 1 July 1872 at both settlements were: Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point (Keyran C. H. Cumming); Waddai Hotel (John White) and Riverine Hotel (Edward Grimley), both at Waddai. At Darlington Point by this stage the Coach and Horses Hotel had apparently replaced the Darlington Inn (possibly just a name-change). Keyran C. H. Cumming remained the licensee of the Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point from 1871 to early 1879 (after which John Bowman held the license). The licenses for the two hotels at Waddai were held by a number of different persons over this same period.
In 1876 the steamer company McCulloch and Co. leased 5 acres (2 ha) on the river where they established a wool receiving store, a general store and erected a small wharf. By 1880 the timber trade was booming with a high demand for railway timber; G. H. Risbey from Narrandera
erected a small mill near Darlington Point to cut red-gum. Darlington Point Post Office opened on 1 November 1876.
Darlington Point township was half a mile from the punt where, on the opposite bank, the southern township – “called by the native name ‘Wadai’” – was located. In April 1881 it was reported that “Darlington and Wadai collectively contain a population of about 120”. The adjoining townships had three hotels, three stores, “and the usual concomitants of a bush town”.
From 1881 onwards it appears the Punt Hotel replaced the Riverine Hotel at Waddai (possibly a name-change of the existing hotel). The licenses at both townships for the year commencing 1 July 1881 were: Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point (John Bowman); Waddai Hotel (William Whyte) and Punt Hotel (James Slattery), both at Waddai.
In 1882 a public school was opened with Mrs. J. Carroll in charge. In June 1882 it was reported that a move had been instigated to have the Government buildings removed to the south side of the river. By 1883 a post-office, courthouse, police barracks, school and telegraph service had been established at the township.
As the town centre became established in the southern township the name 'Darlington Point' was eventually used for the settlements on both banks of the river. The town's main street is called Punt Road, a reminder of the public transport service that operated to ferry vehicles, stock and passengers across the river. The place-name of ‘Waddai’ seems to have been transferred; the small cluster of buildings at the junction of Kidman Way and the Sturt Highway became known as Waddi.
A lift bridge was built in 1905, joining the communities on either side of the river. The structure was replaced in 1979 by a concrete bridge. Part of the old bridge was reconstructed for the Australian Bicentenary
celebrations and can now be found at the entrance to the Darlington Point Caravan Park.
The annual report of the Aborigines Protection Board for 1911 in regard to the Warangesda mission reported “a quiet and uneventful year, though five convictions had been obtained for the supply of liquor to the Aborigines”. As of 31 December 1911 there were 151 residents on the station, comprising “full-bloods: 26 adults and 5 children” and “half-castes: 73 adults and 47 children”. The area of land under cultivation was 100 acres (40.5 ha), mostly of wheat but also including 5 acres (2 ha) of barley. The yield included a quantity of hay and 40 bags of wheat.
The Warangesda mission was closed by the Aborigines Protection Board in 1924 and the Aboriginal residents were moved to the 'police paddock', a plot of land behind the police station. The remains of an adobe building from this time can be seen in a paddock on "Warangesda" station (between Darlington Point township and the Sturt Highway). The mission bell now hangs in St Paul's Anglican Church in town.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River
Murrumbidgee River
The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...
in the Riverina district of western New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Shire local government area. The township centre is four kilometres from the Sturt Highway
Sturt Highway
The Sturt Highway is an Australian highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is part of the Auslink National network and is part of the main highway route between Sydney and Adelaide.-Route:...
, along Kidman Way. Darlington Point is 631 km west of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and 33 km south of Griffith
Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Darlington Point had a population of 1,026 people.
Pastoral runs
The first pastoral run near present-day Darlington Point, on the north bank of the Murrumbidgee, was taken up in 1844 by John Peter; he named the run "Cuba" after the Aboriginal word for a locally-common AcaciaAcacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
tree. On the south bank John Peter also leased the "Tubbo" run, a property he had formed in the 1850s by the amalgamation of several runs. The site where the township later developed was a crossing-place over the Murrumbidgee River used by stockmen and teamsters
Bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. The American term for a bullocky is a bullwhacker.-History:...
. The Surveyor Townshend laid out reserves near the crossing-place during the 1850s.
Darlington Point & Waddai
In 1864 George Rogers acquired 56 acres (22.7 ha) of "Cuba" station. He built the Darlington Inn about two miles (3 km) west of "Cuba" homestead at the junction of the Wagga WaggaWagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
to Hay
Hay, New South Wales
Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales , Australia. It is the administrative centre of Hay Shire Local Government Area and the centre of a prosperous and productive agricultural district on the wide Hay Plains....
road and the track leading to the river-crossing. Rogers soon became discontented; he sold out a year later and left the district. The new publican of the Darlington Inn was Jacob Abrahams. Another hotel (probably the Waddai Hotel) was built on the southern bank at the crossing (eventually leading to the development of the Waddai township). A report published in August 1865 claimed that Darlington Point, by "the growth of free selection", was "fast assuming the dimensions and appearance of a township"; there were two hotels, one on either side of the river, which the writer concluded "can hardly be regarded as a favourable sign".
In 1866 a punt
Punt (boat)
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole...
(previously operating at Wagga Wagga) was purchased for use at the Darlington Point-Waddai crossing; the owner of the punt was Jacob Abrahams, previously publican of the Darlington Inn, who had opened a general store at the township. The punt was said to be one of the largest in the colony, with the capacity to carry 1,700 sheep in a single trip. The license of the Darlington Inn was held by Thomas Linsell from 1866 to 1868. Edward J. Flood held the license of the Darlington Inn in 1869 (the last year this hotel appears in the annual list of licenses granted).
In about 1870 a second hotel was built on the southern bank at Waddai; for the year commencing 1 July 1870 Edward Grimley held the license there for the Riverina Hotel. From mid-1871 Alexander Beaumont held the license of the Waddai Hotel. The licenses for the year commencing 1 July 1872 at both settlements were: Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point (Keyran C. H. Cumming); Waddai Hotel (John White) and Riverine Hotel (Edward Grimley), both at Waddai. At Darlington Point by this stage the Coach and Horses Hotel had apparently replaced the Darlington Inn (possibly just a name-change). Keyran C. H. Cumming remained the licensee of the Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point from 1871 to early 1879 (after which John Bowman held the license). The licenses for the two hotels at Waddai were held by a number of different persons over this same period.
In 1876 the steamer company McCulloch and Co. leased 5 acres (2 ha) on the river where they established a wool receiving store, a general store and erected a small wharf. By 1880 the timber trade was booming with a high demand for railway timber; G. H. Risbey from Narrandera
Narrandera, New South Wales
-Transport:Narrandera is well served for transport. The Sturt Highway and the Newell Highways cross, just south of Narrandera. Greyhound buses pass daily - note that the destination can be listed as Jillenbah....
erected a small mill near Darlington Point to cut red-gum. Darlington Point Post Office opened on 1 November 1876.
Darlington Point township was half a mile from the punt where, on the opposite bank, the southern township – “called by the native name ‘Wadai’” – was located. In April 1881 it was reported that “Darlington and Wadai collectively contain a population of about 120”. The adjoining townships had three hotels, three stores, “and the usual concomitants of a bush town”.
From 1881 onwards it appears the Punt Hotel replaced the Riverine Hotel at Waddai (possibly a name-change of the existing hotel). The licenses at both townships for the year commencing 1 July 1881 were: Coach and Horses Hotel at Darlington Point (John Bowman); Waddai Hotel (William Whyte) and Punt Hotel (James Slattery), both at Waddai.
In 1882 a public school was opened with Mrs. J. Carroll in charge. In June 1882 it was reported that a move had been instigated to have the Government buildings removed to the south side of the river. By 1883 a post-office, courthouse, police barracks, school and telegraph service had been established at the township.
As the town centre became established in the southern township the name 'Darlington Point' was eventually used for the settlements on both banks of the river. The town's main street is called Punt Road, a reminder of the public transport service that operated to ferry vehicles, stock and passengers across the river. The place-name of ‘Waddai’ seems to have been transferred; the small cluster of buildings at the junction of Kidman Way and the Sturt Highway became known as Waddi.
A lift bridge was built in 1905, joining the communities on either side of the river. The structure was replaced in 1979 by a concrete bridge. Part of the old bridge was reconstructed for the Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
celebrations and can now be found at the entrance to the Darlington Point Caravan Park.
Warangesda Mission
In 1880 the Rev. John Brown Gribble, a Congregational minister, established an Aboriginal mission on “Warangesda” station, three kilometres from Waddai township (near the crossing-place on the south bank). The New South Wales Government granted a reserve of 600 acres (243 ha) for the purpose, which became known as the Camp of Mercy.The annual report of the Aborigines Protection Board for 1911 in regard to the Warangesda mission reported “a quiet and uneventful year, though five convictions had been obtained for the supply of liquor to the Aborigines”. As of 31 December 1911 there were 151 residents on the station, comprising “full-bloods: 26 adults and 5 children” and “half-castes: 73 adults and 47 children”. The area of land under cultivation was 100 acres (40.5 ha), mostly of wheat but also including 5 acres (2 ha) of barley. The yield included a quantity of hay and 40 bags of wheat.
The Warangesda mission was closed by the Aborigines Protection Board in 1924 and the Aboriginal residents were moved to the 'police paddock', a plot of land behind the police station. The remains of an adobe building from this time can be seen in a paddock on "Warangesda" station (between Darlington Point township and the Sturt Highway). The mission bell now hangs in St Paul's Anglican Church in town.