Early Jottings of the Upper Page and Isis River Districts
In 1840, the Crown offered allotments for sale in Murrurundi. The Crown wrote asking Thomas if he would consider selling some of his land on the south side of the Page River.
After consideration of the plan he agreed, calling the township Haydonton.
His first purchasers were Benjamin Hall, a Yeoman though a ticket of leave holder. He bought 2½ acres for One hundred and forty pounds. John Bevan bought one acre for Eighty pounds, on which Bevan built a store. William Roach, also a Yeoman, bought 2½ acres for Ninety-one pounds Ruth Phelps, one of the town characters and reputed to have been the first woman to cross the Liverpool Range by dray, bought three-quarters of an acre for Forty-six pounds. Alexander Wightman bought 1½ acres for One hundred and fifty pounds, on which land he built the White Hart Inn. John Faveil bought ½ an acre for Forty pounds. This Subdivision was so successful that Thomas engaged a Surveyor to layout a township. The Surveyor was George Boyle White, surely the father of our solicitor, George Boyle White, of my time.
By 1845 Haydonton had developed more quickly than the Government town of Murrurundi. Thomas was able to write to his father: “My township is improving rapidly. It has completely left the Government town in the shade. I expect before many years a railroad will corne as far as this. If such is the case, it will make it very valuable.”
Other land was also sold. 1 acre to William Wightman, where he erected a Slaughter House. It was where the Wilson Memorial Hospital now stands, going back further towards Paradise Park, but on the left on Halls Creek. Abbous bought land for a farm. They had a store in town. You can imagine how these small farms helped provide provision for the settlement.
One of the Abbott women married Tom Eley. Tom Eley left the family for twenty years ~ went off carrying his swag ~ and in the interval Gypsy Eley raised poultry and eggs and Mrs Dey earned money sewing. Mrs Eley inherited the farm.
Benjamin Hall’s home in Haydonton was opposite Bridge House. It was the first purchased in Haydonton. Ben Hall later become the famous bushranger.
Richard Ambrose Shannahan also bought land in this area. He was also an agent, who had been born and raised on Boxtree Creek. His descendants are still there, but the Eley house was just about eaten out by white ants.
Further back, at the entrance to Paradise Park, Tim had a farm. He grew fruit and vegetables. The Mountain behind his farm was called Tim’s Mountain.
Benjamin Hall, father of Ben Hall the bushranger, lived in Old Murrurundi Hospital, near the Bowling Club, Murrurundi for some years. Ben was a small boy when they left Murrurundi and went to Forbes, but did not stay long returning to the Murrurundi area. They had land over the Range on the Liverpool Plains. Ben’s father was a ticket of leave holder. He stole a horse of my grandfather’s called Deception, painted out the horse’s markings and added his own camouflage. Grandfather went off in hot pursuit and they must have become scared as they let Deception go and he made his way back to town. Someone recognised him and stabled him in the stone stables at the Royal Hotel.
They also stole thoroughbred mares and foals belonging to Mr White at Glenalvon. They dug a pit on the Warrah Plain and put the foals in the pit, destroying the mares. They were caught and stood trial at Darlinghurst Police Court, and sentenced to 4 ½ years gaol. A diary entry says - “We are all surprised at the leniency of the sentence.”
Tom Eley became an agent in Mururundi, driving in each day in a spider sulky and a great big chestnut horse. He had a notice up on his mantlepiece, “Please don’t poke the fire.”
Dooley’s Store was started by Mr Cohen, opening in 1872. The original building is still operating. It was later taken over by Joe Dooley trading as J Dooley and Co. The Dooley Store was a very influencing one. They helped the settlers and never pressed for payment. Once a year when the wool was sold, the bill was paid. They were like a Bank. An order boy rode around the district taking orders, then the delivery team delivered and goods by either spring cart, dray or horse team. The Store had their own stables. There were quite a few people employed by Dooleys in the town’s boom days. Mrs Dooley was an Engine Driver’s daughter, a nice looking lady and they had a good looking family. All the girls married well, and the four boys each worked in the Store. Raph was manager for a long time and Frank also, but Frank went to Sydney and was for many years working in David Jones menswear department The youngest one, John, managed the store for a long time. It was a great sadness to him to have to sell J. Dooley & Co. John and Leila went to live at Forster a few years ago.
After the railway reached Haydonton in 1872, it became quite a big railway centre, having a repair shop and barracks where the drivers and guards could sleep in between shifts. It was the terminus for quite a while. A tunnel had to be excavated through the mountain. Quite a job, with picks and shovels: one wonders how on earth these early marvels happened, comparing them with the mechanical tools available today. A lot of railway employees had their homes in Haydonton It was a great sorrow when the railway workshop was moved to Werris Creek. Murrurundi has never been the same since then.
Of the notable buildings in Haydonton , Bridge House must come first.
It was built by Caroline Wightman and is still a doctor’s residence today. It carries a National Trust plaque. Quite a few of the houses were built on the English style with the houses right on the street. One old building, (sadly it has gone now), was known as the Old Stone Building, right on the southern end of the town. Made of stone, it was eight tenement houses with a large archway in the middle. It had been an Inn and a posting station for the coaches. They used to swing through the arches and change horses in the
Dr. Rufus Bell doing his rounds in Haydonton, driven by Pat Purcell. (Bloomfietd Archives)
Commercial Bank, Murrurundi. (Bloomfield Archives). yard behind. John Gill ran a coach service before Cobb & Co. came on the scene. Cobb & Co. at one time owned 60,000 horses, which was incredible. They had horses in use, horses spelling, horses breeding and horses being broken in for coach work. Although the horses nearly always went full gallop, the coaches were reasonably comfortable. They were swung on wide leather straps so there was no jarring. The coaches were the link with the outside world and folk used to wait about for the coach to arrive. The coach drivers were magnificent whips and real characters. There is a book written about the Cobb & Co. coaches.
Across the road from the old stone building is an old home. It was owned by the O’Brien family. There was a butcher’s shop with a machine for making sausages and a horse was harnessed to a wheel, and as the horse walked around it turned the mincing machine. It is the only one I ever saw.
Paddy O’Brien, the butcher’s son, lived across the street in the old stone building. He had land over the range called Vena Park, after Stewart Haydon’s property in the Gulf Country, where he worked at one time when a young fellow.
The town’s doctors deserve a mention. They had to ride or go by sulky or buggy, sometimes for great distances They had to maintain stables. The first doctor was Dr Charles Hallett who died in Haydonton, then I think Dr Rufus Bell, Dr Gordon, Dr Oliver, Dr Rogers, Dr Fullerton, Dr Middleton and then his son, Lucas, Dr Beith, Dr Begg, Dr Ingle, Dr Abram, and Dr Redmayne.
There was a picture show and skating rink combined. It was our main outing — skate on the rink and then line up for a picture show, with the music supplied by Mrs Smith.
The picture show and rink was owned and operated by Fred Wilkie, who also had the first and only taxi for a long time.
It was completely open to the elements, but we loved it, and a drive six miles home by sulky did not worry us at all.
A few years ago, the National Trust declared the whole town of Murrurundi a National Trust town.
Bobadil House rear view, formerly the Mountain Velt.
Bobadil House, comer of Boyd and Mayne Streets built by Alexander Brodie in front of Bobadil House.