Wallabadah, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Wallabadah is a village in the New England
region of New South Wales
, Australia
.
The town is located 55 kilometres south of Tamworth
on the New England Highway
and is in the Liverpool Plains Shire. At the 2006 census
, Wallabadah had a population of 746.
Aboriginal people. Wallabadah’s name was derived from an aboriginal word meaning 'stone'.
The first European squatters arrived in the region in about 1830 and Wallabadah Station was established in 1835 on 44000 acres (178.1 km²) of land. During the 1850s the settlement began to develop at the intersection of two mail coach runs which came from the north and northwest, and
Wallabadah Post Office opened on 1 October 1856.
In August 1866 Captain Thunderbolt
’s third daughter, Mary Ann was born at Wallabadah. On 30 May 1867 he robbed the northern mail coach at Wallabadah.
Thunderbolt also worked on a property west of Wallabadah during that period.
Australia's first country racing club was established at Wallabadah in 1852 and the Wallabadah Cup is still held on New Year's Day (the current racecourse was built in 1898).
The Marshall MacMahon Hotel was constructed circa 1867 and a part of it is still in use. In 1877 Wallabadah was larger than Quirindi, 15 kilometres away, but a rail connection to Quirindi reduced Wallabadah's expansion. A public school was opened in 1867 with the residence dating from 1898. In 1896 the Anglican Church of the Ascension (with 1912 additions) was established while the Catholic Church was constructed in 1910 on the New England Highway.
Agriculture is the dominant industry in the area with livestock, especially beef cattle and some sheep being reared there. Wallabadah now has a primary school, a pub and one shop.
Garden, a memorial to the First Fleet immigrants was created on the banks of Quirindi Creek. Stonemason, Ray Collins, carved 1,520 names of all those who came out to Australia on the eleven ships in 1788 on tablets along the garden pathways. The stories of those who arrived on the ships, their life, and first encounters with the Australian country are presented throughout the garden. The surrounding area has a barbecue, tables, and amenities.
Near the historic Wallabadah Cemetery is one of the largest undisturbed whitebox woodlands remaining in Australia, along with the indigenous trees and grasses that peculiar to these woodlands.
New England (Australia)
New England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...
region of 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...
.
The town is located 55 kilometres south of Tamworth
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...
on the New England Highway
New England Highway
The New England Highway is a highway in Australia running from Hexham near Newcastle at its southern end to Yarraman near Toowoomba at its northern end. At its southern end it connects to the Pacific Highway and at its northern end it connects to the D'Aguilar Highway. It traverses the Hunter...
and is in the Liverpool Plains Shire. 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,...
, Wallabadah had a population of 746.
History
The Wallabadah region was originally known as 'Thalababuri' by the KamilaroiKamilaroi
The Kamilaroi or Gamilaraay are an Indigenous Australian people who are from the area between Tamworth and Goondiwindi, and west to Narrabri, Walgett and Lightning Ridge, in northern New South Wales...
Aboriginal people. Wallabadah’s name was derived from an aboriginal word meaning 'stone'.
The first European squatters arrived in the region in about 1830 and Wallabadah Station was established in 1835 on 44000 acres (178.1 km²) of land. During the 1850s the settlement began to develop at the intersection of two mail coach runs which came from the north and northwest, and
Wallabadah Post Office opened on 1 October 1856.
In August 1866 Captain Thunderbolt
Captain Thunderbolt
Frederick Wordsworth Ward was an Australian bushranger renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island, and also for his reputation as the "gentleman bushranger" and his lengthy survival, being the longest roaming bushranger in Australian history.-Early years:Frederick Ward was the son of convict...
’s third daughter, Mary Ann was born at Wallabadah. On 30 May 1867 he robbed the northern mail coach at Wallabadah.
Thunderbolt also worked on a property west of Wallabadah during that period.
Australia's first country racing club was established at Wallabadah in 1852 and the Wallabadah Cup is still held on New Year's Day (the current racecourse was built in 1898).
The Marshall MacMahon Hotel was constructed circa 1867 and a part of it is still in use. In 1877 Wallabadah was larger than Quirindi, 15 kilometres away, but a rail connection to Quirindi reduced Wallabadah's expansion. A public school was opened in 1867 with the residence dating from 1898. In 1896 the Anglican Church of the Ascension (with 1912 additions) was established while the Catholic Church was constructed in 1910 on the New England Highway.
Agriculture is the dominant industry in the area with livestock, especially beef cattle and some sheep being reared there. Wallabadah now has a primary school, a pub and one shop.
Attractions
In 2005, the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
Garden, a memorial to the First Fleet immigrants was created on the banks of Quirindi Creek. Stonemason, Ray Collins, carved 1,520 names of all those who came out to Australia on the eleven ships in 1788 on tablets along the garden pathways. The stories of those who arrived on the ships, their life, and first encounters with the Australian country are presented throughout the garden. The surrounding area has a barbecue, tables, and amenities.
Near the historic Wallabadah Cemetery is one of the largest undisturbed whitebox woodlands remaining in Australia, along with the indigenous trees and grasses that peculiar to these woodlands.