Barmah Historical Snapshot

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This purpose of this Web Page, is hopefully to attract people to Barmah, Australia. If you are interested in this snapshot of Barmah's Heritage and History, PLEASE NOTE.

In 1961 power eventually arrived at Barmah. Celebrations and events were planned and consequently a program was set up for a weekend of activities. A Booklet, "SPOTLIGHT ON BARMAH", was published. All the information below, unadulterated was extracted from this booklet including the tourist styled map at the bottom of the page. I have enjoyed reading this and I hope you will also. Keep in mind it was really written in 1961. Enjoy!

BARMAH a heritage and Historical snapshot(1961)

australia

THE LITTLE TOWNSHIP of Barmah is set in pleasant surroundings on, the, banks of the Murray and on the fringe of the Barmah State Forest. It is 157 miles from Melbourne and almost due north from it. Although Barmah Township is in Victoria it is north of New South Wales! All four points of the compass lead to the Murray River! The name Barmah is believed to have been the aboriginal word meaning "Home of the Plover." "Meeting Place" is another meaning according to some authorities.

ACROSS THE RIVER. opposite the township, is the Cummeragunja aboriginal settlement, where many descendants of the Yorta Yorta tribe still live. Many citizens of that settlement work with the Forests Commission and some are skilled shearers. Anthropologists have been interested in many relics of aboriginal origin that have been discovered throughout the Barmah district, including many burial grounds. Trees in the forest still bear the scars made by tribal aborigines when removing bark for canoes.

A Home on the Murray for Sportsmen and Campers BARMAH DISTRICT offers a wide variety of attractions to the visitor. Like other northern districts the climate is mild in winter, and the river and the shade of the gums make Barmah a popular holiday resort even in the hot summer season.

HUNDREDS of sportsmen and campers visit Barmah during' holiday seasons and at the opening of duck shooting and fishing seasons. On these occasions the river bank is dotted with tents and caravans, for many miles upstream and downstream from the township. At night the campfires and their reflections in the river make a wonderful sight. Weekend motorists and picnickers, ornithologists, naturalists, anthropologists and historians also find the district of much interest.

BARMAH IS PROBABLY one of the few places in Victoria where the city-dweller who is a "Bushwacker" at heart, can still enjoy the kind the holiday he likes - in the quiet atmosphere of bush country that is still in its unspoiled, natural state; away from the overcrowded resorts. He is not against progress but hopes that Barmah will never become just another "modern" holiday resort, otherwise he will be driven further inland in the search for the "simple, carefree life."

PICNIC SPOTS. Many beautiful picnic spots are to be found both close to the township and further afield. At low river a sandbar under the shade of gums, provides a good family swimming spot in the township and is popular with picnic parties. And a trip up the Murray by boat is a memorable experience.

SCENIC BEAUTY of a special kind has impressed many visitors. To view the Barmah Lakes, teeming with bird life, is a unique experience, while the Cumbungi Reed beds on "Top Island" are also a picturesque sight. The Lakes, "Narrow River", Bunny Digger Creek and Tarragon, are some of the popular beauty spots. Speaking of the Budgy Creek, one. visitor said:"Creeks may come and creeks may go, but the Budgy will stay in memory forever. Never a hot day is with us that I don't think of the Budgy."

LAKE BARMAH at dusk was described by one writer in this way: "The last glimpse before nightfall hundreds of swans and pelicans are moving away in the background, with a few in the air. Marsh Terns are still swooping and turning and plunging, and higher still flies wave after wave of Nankeen Night-Herons from the rookery, going out to feed."

FISHING for Murray Cod, Redfin (English Perch), and Callop (Yellowbelly or Golden Perch) brings thousands of fishermen, expert or amateur, to the district every fishing season. Fresh water crayfish are also caught. Most bait, including the famous Bardi and Witchetty Grubs, is procurable locally. Many huge cod have been landed, but the largest have possibly been landed in the local hotel.

SHOOTING in season, for wild duck, snipe and quail, attracts shooters from all parts of the State. Barmah Lakes and surrounding swamps are amongst the most popular spots in Victoria during the duck season. Even when the season is poor, shooters usually go away very happy.

WILD LIFE: EMU and kangaroos in their natural surroundings and an abundance and great variety of bird life await the nature lover or the ornithologist. The platypus abounds along the banks of the river and the Broken Creek. A writer in the "Riverlander" magazine said, after a visit to Barmah: "All along the Murray there are places of great interest to ornithologist, but no one area is quite so rich in bird life as the system of lakes at Barmah: The Barmah Forest area provides an ideal breeding ground for innumerable varieties of birds. Another visitor in recent years listed the birds seen during his Christmas holidays. He listed 99 species. After a visit to an Egret rookery , he estimated that "several thousand pairs must have been nesting there." Ibis and Cormorant rookeries are also of great interest to the bird observer.

BARMAH PUBLIC HALL was officially opened on September 2nd, 1925. It was financed by public subscription. The first Trustees were Messrs. H. Moor Snr., H. Moor ]nr. (President), C. M. Maloney (Secretary), I. V. Conway, J. W. Rice and E. I. Moor, The hall has been the venue for many .dances, pictures (from silent to talkies), and variety shows by travelling artists. In the days of p.s. Coonawarra, dances were held in the hall fortnightly for the entertainment of passengers. The present secretary of trustees is Mr. Lawford.

ALL SAINTS' CHURCH OF ENGLAND was originally the Union Church near the town of Picola. It was brought to Barmah in 1915 on a log buggy towed by a steam traction engine, supplied by Mr. R. I. Evans. The present Minister of the Church is the Rev. C. H. Partridge, Rector of the Parish of Nathalia.

STATE SCHOOL NO.3260, BARMAH, is believed to have been opened in 1895. The new school residence was erected in 1953 and the 2 room modern school in 1954. The first Head Teacher to occupy the new buildings was Mr. J. F. Cregan. The present Head Teacher, Mr. J. Adams, is this year completing seven years with the school. A small but enthusiastic Mothers' Club has assisted in providing the new school with modern equipment and other improvements worth about 200 pounds! The old school building was demolished in a private dwelling at Picola.

THE first FERRY CROSSING at Barmah was established by W. T . Maloney, who was one of the earliest residents of the district. By the eighties he was established in business in the store and hotel which were the only buildings at the time. Mr. Maloney built the original ferry (hand operates the punt under contract with the NSW Department of Main wheel and a 1/- a horse) - until it was then taken over by the NSW, Government about 1920. The present punt man is Mr. I. Goddard, who operates the punt under a contract with the NSW Department of Main Roads.

THE RIVER RED GUM FOREST, extending from Barmah to Tocumwal along both sides of the Murray, occupies about 150,000 acres, and is the largest forest of its kind in the world! The River Red Gum requires annual flooding, but is killed by excessive flooding. During normal years most of the forest area is under water for several months. The flood water level is plainly visible on the tree trunks.

PRODUCTS OF THE FOREST include sleepers for railway tracks. These are "passed" every fortnight at Picola, Nathalia and Echuca Railway stations. In recent years, using modern mobile circular saws (known locally as buzz-saws), annual production of sleepers has averaged about 60,000 since 1930" Mill logs taken from the forest total about 3 million super-feet annually and provide sawn timber for construction work. Minor products include beams and piles for bridges and wharf construction, electric light poles, fencing timber, firewood and charcoal for the chemical industry.

ON THE VICTORIAN side of the river, about 70,000 acres of forest is administered by the Forests Commission of Victoria which maintains access roads, conducts silvicultural operations and supervises timber felling. The Commission also controls the grazing of cattle on the Barmah Common and supervises the annual Cattle Muster. This Muster creates great interest and it is the only muster of its kind in Victoria apart from the one carried out in the Alps country.

BARMAH'S MAIN INDUSTRY is timber. Farming, mainly wheat and sheep is carried on in the surrounding district. Tobacco growing is a recently established industry in the neighbouring Bama area (NSW). Cotton growing has just been commenced there. The Township has had no saw-mill since 1922 when the one owned by Mr. R. I. Evans was closed This mill commenced operations in 1898, and after closing in 1922 was set up in Echuca. It continued working there until destroyed by fire in 1960. But now the Swan brothers, local men who have been associated with various aspects of the timber industry , plan to establish a saw-mill in the town in the near future.

THE first WHITE RESIDENT in the area is believed to have been "Governor" Joseph Waldo Rice. The term "Governor" was affectionately applied by the tribal aborigines around the Moira Lakes where he lived and fished as a member of the Murray Fishing Company. He was born at Boston, U.S.A., and set out from the Californian gold fields, in a vessel which he chartered with several others, to try his luck on the Australian gold fields. Hearing that fish were very plentiful in the Murray, he left the gold fields and after a short time settled on a spot near the "Lakes Weir". The fig trees which he planted still stand there. From there he supplied the Bendigo gold fields with a ton of fish a week, transported over 80 miles by spring cart. It is said that the fish caught in those days were all "whoppers", and that aborigines spearing fish for "Governor" Rice, near where the windmills now stand in the town, told him that the fish were as thick as the leaves on the gum trees. Guests would come for many miles to enjoy the great spread which "Governor" Rice always provided on American Independence Day. An "Illuminated Address" was presented to him by the residents of Barmah and surrounding districts on April 4tll, 1906, to honour his 50 years of residence on the Murray. He was buried in the Barmah Cemetery .Many of his descendants still live in Barmah district and many stories - "handed down", are still told about him.

An Old Friend The paddle steamer "Adelaide" has long been known to the people of Barmah. During a long and active life on the Murray, she mainly worked in the Barmah Forest area - hauling logs and towing barges. For almost a century, she faithfully served the Red Gum industry which has been so closely connected with the lives of the people of this district. The p.s. "Adelaide" is now owned by the Echuca Apex Club which is making a very worthy effort to preserve her for posterity. This famous Murray steamer is a fine example of the durability and versatility of the River Red Gum timber from which she was built. (Sponsored by Swan Bros., who plan to re-establish the saw milling industry in Barmah in the near future.

Mr. John Vincent Conway is 82 years of age. He is well known and respected throughout the district and also by visitors to Barmah. He was born oh February 1, 1879, at Echuca. Moving to Barmah district at 9 years of age, he attended the Lower Moira School. He worked for 45 years in the forest-hewing sleepers with the old broad-axe, felling mill logs and working with the Forests commission clearing tracks through the forest. Both his parents came from County Clare in Ireland.

*WHEN the "Coonawarra" used 10 come steaming up from Echuca and it would go up as far as the Lakes. They would camp there over-night and have sing-songs. They even had their own pub on board the steamer .

*WHEN the old Barmah School was brought from Picola North by bullock teams. That was in 1895, the same year as the railway came through to Picola. Before that the Barmah children went to schools at Cummeragunja or Barmah East. Before the Barmah school was shifted from Picola North, one pupil there was a son of "Governor" Rice. The first teacher at Barmah was Mr. Brisbane.

*WHEN I was a boy in the early nineties and used to watch the Native Companions dancing and prancing in the paddocks a few miles out of town. And there were hundreds of them-they were countless! There used to be many native cats and kangaroo rats around here too.

*WHEN the bullock teams used to cart wheat to Nathalia to the grain buyers. I've been told of the very early days when they carted wheat and barley to Echuca, and once a bullock team went right through Stewart Bridge with a load of barley. Only a couple of the poor bullocks survived.

*WHEN the Barmah Race Club used to hold meetings every year, nearly always on New Year's Day. And there would be a great crowd. And there were good fields too-as many as 17 in the trial stakes-even as far back as the nineties. The meetings date back earlier than the eighties.

*WHEN the Race Club Ball was held every year for many, many years. It would sometimes be a fancy dress affair and with good old-time music too. These were held in a grain shed near the punt.

*WHEN the old saw-mill was here, along the river road, and they used bullock teams and teams of horses to bring in the logs.

*WHEN the pontoons used to bring the logs out of the forest during flood months. They would chain the logs underneath, between the two floats, and take them to the landings.

*WHEN the people of Cumber used to gather of an evening on the sandbar over from the windmills. I could hear them singing from homes and they could sing!-like a real choir.

*WHEN the only way we could get about was by horse and gig or on horse-back, or else we had to walk. In those days we had to make our own fun in the district-and there was always plenty of music and singing.

*WHEN I was told that in the very early days there was a township near Tarragon. That is now a picnic place some miles up the river. In those days the town there was called Cornella and it had over 1000 inhabitants. They had saw-mills along the river, a hall, a store, a school, a church and everything. They were cutting sleepers for India.

*WHEN the roads were so rough that even in a gig you had to hang on to your seat.

*WHEN there was a blacksmith in Barmah about 40 years ago on the river side of the tennis courts that are there now. Later another blacksmith, Mr. Jeffrey, who is still at Picola, was at Barmah East next to the old wine shop.

*WHEN the river level was so low that we used to drive the horse and gig across the river near the "hard bank." On the way home again we would cross by moonlight. The horse we had was a great mare and she was a great swimmer too. We bred her ourselves and another six or seven. We had the breed since 1908.

*WHEN the river was so low that they had to erect brush fences in the middle of the river bed to prevent the sheep from crossing into NSW .

*WHEN the big flood of 1917 was on. You could row a boat from Kotupna to Mathoura and you had to row right to the store to get the mail. Of course that flood was before the weirs were all built.

BARMAH'S OLDEST Resident certainly has "seen a lot of water flow under the. . . . ferry! "

Many people from the city

Visit Barmah Town,

By the banks of Old Man Murray

Who never wears a frown. . . .

Where red gums nearly reach the sky

And the sun, that always shines,

Where snakes play snakes and ladders,

And the fish eat hooks and lines

Where crows sing such a happy song

And lizards have a laugh

At magpies who build nests of wire