Yambulla

Add links
Coordinates: 37°12′51.5″S 149°33′12.2″E / 37.214306°S 149.553389°E / -37.214306; 149.553389
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yambulla is a locality in the Bega Valley Shire local government area, within the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a mining village of the same name, now a ghost town. The cadestral parish of Yambulla in the County of Auckland includes the old village site The locality is largely forested and is uninhabited.[1] The nearest inhabited place is Towamba. The southern boundary of the locality is part of the New South Wales-Victoria border.

The area now known as Yambulla lies on the traditional land of Bidwell people.[2] It lies in the catchment of Wallagaraugh River, a tributary of Genoa River. Another tributary of Genoa River, Yambulla Creek, despite its name, lies to the west, in the adjacent locality of Nungatta. The New South Wales cadestral parish of Yambulla, in the County of Auckand, should not be confused with the identically named Victorian cadestral parish of Yambulla, in the County of Dargo.

History[edit]

The area was part of the Towamba Goldfield, proclaimed in 1881.[3] It was reported that gold had been found, some years earlier, around what would later be Yambulla, by Rev. W. B. Clarke, a noted geologist. In 1900, reef gold was discovered near to where the mining village would begin to develop in the same year.[4] Locals named the new settlement Ladysmith, in honour of the Siege of Ladysmith in the Second Boer War, and named the main street Haigh Street, after a local mine proprietor, James Haigh.[5] There is also a then newly-named settlement, Ladysmith, near Wagga Wagga, and the village's official name became Yambulla. Confusingly, it was sometimes spelled as 'Yambula'.[6]

Mining village, looking toward Federal Hotel, c. 1909.

By the end of 1900, the village had a population, reported to vary between 150 and 200 people, and already had three stores, a post office, butcher's and baker's' shop, a news and mining agency, and a bootmaker's shop.[7] Later there was a school, a hotel called the Federal Hotel,[8][9] an establishment offering billiards and bagatelle,[10] and land was set aside for a police station.[3]

The village was described in February 1909 as being, "romantically situated in a valley, surrounded on all sides by hills of considerable height, Mount Poole being the highest. Their sides are thickly wooded. The township is small, and the houses are dotted about in the most picturesque fashion".[8] Despite its remoteness, apparently it was a healthy place to live and, reportedly, no deaths occurred there before March 1908, when a five year old girl died.[11] The good fortune did not last; a miner died after being extricated from a ground fall, in March 1909,[12] followed, in September 1909, by the accidental death of the postmaster's three year old daughter from burns.[13]

One of the main mines was the Yambulla Gold Mine, which operated from 1900 to 1912 and produced 234 kg of gold,[14] but there were numerous other smaller gold mines in the area around the village, which became known as the Yambulla Gold Field. Other notable goldmines were Meridian and Pola's mine and the Duchess of York mine.[15][16][17]

There were several crushing batteries in the area.[8] Some batteries were steam powered,[18] but others were powered by a water wheel.[19] A complication was that some mines produced a sulphide ore, which needed to be sent to Cockle Creek[18] or Dapto[20] to be processed in a smelter. John George Gough (1848 – 1907), one of the founders of the Labour Electoral League, the first labour political grouping in Australia and a direct predecessor of the Australian Labor Party, was involved in Gough's Battery and other gold mining ventures at Yambulla.[21][22]

Significant mining was still taking place in early 1916,[23] but activity had essentially ceased by 1920. As mining waned, the village declined. By 1914, the population was down to 80 people and the village still had its school, post office, and hotel, but its last store had been pulled down and taken to Towamba. The village had lost its branch of the Amalgamated Miners' Association, which at one time reportedly had 80 union members.[24] The school had a precarious existence, first opening in 1901, it first closed in 1905. It seems to have reopened in 1906. A new school building was constructed in 1910, but no teacher was allocated to it. The school reopened in 1912, closed again in 1916 and reopened yet again in 1917, before finally closing in 1918.[25] The school building was approved to be pulled down and taken by bullock team to Maharatta, around 1920. The building eventually became a classroom at Bombala Public School.[26][27] The post office closed in 1918. The Federal Hotel, including both building and contents, was for sale in February 1918, with its licence,[28] but had yet to be sold in August 1920.[29] Without mining and not being on the route to any other settlement, the village faded away completely.

Relics from the old village were lost when the school at Genoa was destroyed by fire, during the catastrophic 2019-2020 bushfire season.[30]

The name of the locality officially became Yambulla, in 1996.[31]

Publications[edit]

The Yambulla goldfield is the subject of a short book, by Jack Loney, titled 'Yambulla Gold: A Brief Record of the Colourful Yambulla Goldrush, Near Eden', published in 1987.[32]

Present day[edit]

There is little to show of the village today, except for some partially-cleared land, on modern-day Yambulla Road. A bend in the road follows the approximate orientation of the main streets of the village.[33][3] East of the village's former site, on the left bank of Wallagaraugh River, is the site of the–possibly empty–cemetery.[34][3][35]

Much of the locality is Yambulla State Forest, and the main industry of the area is clear-fell timber harvesting.[36]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2021 Yambulla, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ Studies, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (14 May 2024). "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Parish of Yambulla, County of Auckland [cartographic material]". Trove. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Mining in New South Wales". Bombala Times and Manaro and Coast Districts General Advertiser. 1 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ "IN HONOR OF THE SIEGE". Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 15 March 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Trove - Keyword search for 'Yambula'". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  7. ^ "The Yambulla Gold". Delegate Argus and Border Post. 29 December 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "A VISIT TO YAMBULLA MINES". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. 17 February 1909. p. 25. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  9. ^ "YAMBULLA". Bega Budget. 1 February 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  10. ^ "BILLIARD AND BAGATELLE LICENSES". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 30 August 1911. p. 4737. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  11. ^ "HEALTHY GOLDFIELD". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  12. ^ "SAD FATALITY AT YAMBULLA". Twofold Bay Magnet : and South Coast and Southern Monaro Advertiser. 22 March 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  13. ^ "FATAL BURNING ACCIDENT". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 September 1909. p. 11. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Yambulla Gold Mine (Solomons Mine), Yambulla gold field, Auckland Co., New South Wales, Australia". mindat.org.
  15. ^ "Yambulla, Bega Valley, State of New South Wales, Australia". Mindat.org.
  16. ^ "THE MINER". Australian Town and Country Journal. 25 March 1903. p. 25. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  17. ^ "The Yambulla Gold Field". Bombala Times and Manaro and Coast Districts General Advertiser. 19 April 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Yambulla". Delegate Argus and Border Post. 20 August 1904. p. 7. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  19. ^ "SNAPSHOTS AT YAMBULLA MINES". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. 24 February 1909. p. 25. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  20. ^ "YAMBULLA". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. 6 December 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  21. ^ "YAMBULLA". Wyalong Star and Temora and Barmedman Advertiser. 29 January 1901. p. 2. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  22. ^ "YAMBULLA GOLDFIELD". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 1902. p. 13. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  23. ^ "MINING IN THE STATE". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 February 1916. p. 19. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  24. ^ "FOR THE BAIRNS". The Australian Worker. 26 November 1914. p. 11. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Yambulla School". www.towambavalleyhistory.webhive.com.au. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  26. ^ "News and Notes". Bombala Times. 30 April 1920. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Wilf Ingram's tales of his early life on Nungatta Station and in the Towamba area". www.towambavalleyhistory.webhive.com.au. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Advertising". Southern Star. 20 February 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Advertising". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 August 1920. p. 11. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  30. ^ Mallacoota and District Historical Society (November 2020). "Loss of Genoa School Museum impacts in many ways" (PDF). FAHS Newsletter (50): 5, 6.
  31. ^ "Department of Land and Water Conservation Land Conservation GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1966". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 February 1996. p. 456. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  32. ^ Loney, Jack Kenneth (1987). Yambulla Gold: A Brief Record of the Colourful Yambulla Goldrush, Near Eden. J. Lonely. ISBN 978-0-909191-37-5.
  33. ^ "37°12'51.5"S 149°33'12.2"E · Yambulla Rd, Yambulla NSW 2550, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  34. ^ "Yambulla". Australian Cemeteries Index.
  35. ^ "37°12'56.1"S 149°33'57.3"E · Yambulla NSW 2550, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  36. ^ "Satellite View, Yambulla NSW 2550, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 June 2024.

37°12′51.5″S 149°33′12.2″E / 37.214306°S 149.553389°E / -37.214306; 149.553389

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yambulla.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yambulla&oldid=1226923373"