Chinese Market Garden of Wingham
Just north of the Cedar Party Bridge at Wingham is the site of an old Chinese market garden that was originally worked by Ben Lee (Yee Sow) in the early 1900s...
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Sander’s DairyChristian Sander, his wife and three daughters, arrived in Brisbane aboard the Japanese steamer “Aki Maru” in December 1923. Sander, an Estonian national, told of colourful adventures in escaping from the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Circa 1926 Sander commenced the production and sale of ice-cream in a small premises in Victoria Street, Taree. The success… -
Those rascally rabbits: Broughton Island rabbit experimentAudiences tend to love fictional rabbits such as Thumper or Bugs Bunny, but in Australia rabbits have caused widespread environmental and economic devastation since their introduction in the 1850s. Governments have spent millions of dollars fighting these pests. In 1906, Broughton Island became the scene of one such attempt. Microbiologist Dr Danysz from the… -
Glenthorne Public School: Segregated historyGlenthorne Provisional School opened in a room on Thomas Trotter’s farm “Orange Grove” in July 1877 with an enrolment of 36 students. Within three years, under the tutelage of Miss Eliza Plummer, the school became a Public school. In 1891 a more permanent brick building was erected, while in 1906 a cottage was moved from… -
Carlyle Hospital Wingham: Nurse Phyllis BidnerIn 1929 Fassifern Private Hospital in William Street, Wingham became known as Carlyle Hospital; a residence transformed into a hospital. As a young woman, Phyllis Bidner joined the nursing staff in 1951 and had one week in which to make her two blue uniforms and cap. The life of a nurse in the 1950s was… -
Manning Steam LaundryIn the mid 1960s whilst undertaking work on the Chapman Place parking area, traces of brickwork were uncovered which were believed to be part of an underground well used by the Manning Steam Laundry. Henry W Alcorn was a local builder who, in 1915, saw the potential in developing a commercial laundry to service Taree… -
Black Head Surf Club or is it River Club?Calls for a lifesaving club at Black Head started as early as 1915 after the near drowning of four people. Ten years later in 1925, the surf club officially opened. While rescues have been a part of regular duty, a special rescue happened in Taree in 1929. Black Head and Taree-Old Bar Surf Clubs have… -
Tuncurry Reafforestation Prison CampIn November 1913, twenty prisoners were sent to the Tuncurry Reafforestation Prison Camp in an experiment which was the first of its kind in NSW. The prison camp was not so much a gaol as the prisoners were serving out the last months of their sentence. Their job was to plant out acres of pine trees for which the area was once famed. Each prisoner had their own little hut with a bunk and sleeping net... -
Castor, a man from MadagascarOn 12 April 1856, an African man died in the vicinity of Tarree Estate. His name was Castor, a labourer aged 50 years, who died from heart disease. Witnesses to the burial were Henry Flett, William Wynter Jnr. and Thomas Dyball. His death certificate states he was born in Madagascar but this story begins in Mauritius… -
Majestic Theatre GloucesterThe history of the Majestic Theatre is as dramatic as the movies that played there for over half a century. In 1926 Albert Augustus Smith, baker, bought the property and built a bakery and a picture show. The theatre, with seating for 400, opened on 21 August 1926 with Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” being one… -
Call of the mermaids at Crowdy Head LighthouseFor centuries watery sirens have lured sailors and their vessels onto Mermaid Reef 10 kilometres off the coast of Crowdy Head creating sadness and destruction. In 1878 the government fought these forces by erecting a lighthouse to warn ships of their impending doom... -
Market Square, CundletownIn November 1854 an advertisement was placed in the Sydney newspaper Empire seeking the services of “a competent surveyor to lay out for sale the township of Cundle on the Manning River” The set out, and probably also the design, of this private township was subsequently awarded to Walter Clayton. Walter came from Sussex, England… -
Brinawa SchoolThe Bulga Plateau in the rugged Wingham hinterland has always been somewhat inaccessible and sparsely populated: however a school was established in the Bulgong (now Elands) village in 1916. In the mid 1920s, the scattered settlers to the west of the village petitioned the government to provide another facility in the locality of Brinawa to… -
Tinonee Broom FactoriesTinonee was once home to no less than four broom factories. Joseph Edward Chapman established the industry when he distributed free seeds to farmers to encourage them to grow millet crops. The experiment was so successful that he opened a broom factory in 1894 which employed 5 people and provided work to local sawmills making broom handles... -
Air Pageant and Aviator’s Ball – Taree 1930In the 1920s the fledgling aviation industry was thriving and progressive towns wanted an aerodrome. Thus it came to pass that a portion of Taree Showground was combined with adjoining land donated by Mr H Beeton to provide Taree’s first in-town aerodrome. The official opening was celebrated with an air pageant and aviator’s ball on 7… -
Taree Literary InstituteTucked away upstairs from the busyness of Victoria Street is a hidden gem that has been operating for over 150 years, the Taree Literary Institute. Also known as Schools of Arts, Literary Institutes were established to provide a combination of adult education and recreation facilities and often became the heart of small town activities... -
The Walter Plummer Hall‘The Walter Plummer Hall’ is a two-storey brick building situated in the heart of the Taree Showgrounds. It was built in 1910 as an exhibition hall for the new showgrounds. Some declaring it ‘the best hall outside the great cities of the state’. Walter Plummer was an auctioneer and one of the most popular men in the district. -
Ghost sign: Lifebuoy soap, WinghamIn the alleyway beside the building at 89 Isabella Street, Wingham you will see a ghost sign. A ghost sign is a hand-painted advertisement on a brick wall from years gone-by. This particular advertisement is for Lifebuoy soap which was popular in Australia between the two world wars. Lifebuoy soap was introduced in 1894 as… -
Mud Bishop, birth of the Australian CrawlYou may have heard stories of the recluse and retired policeman, Mud Bishop, who made his home at the entrance of the Manning River at Old Bar from 1923 until his death in 1944. But have you heard of his amazing place in Australian Sporting History? Wallace James ‘Mud’ Bishop was born in 1878 in… -
Albert Augustus SmithAlbert Augustus Smith was a baker who owned ‘The Old Bakery’ in Comboyne, and a bakery and the ‘Majestic Theatre’ in Church Street, Gloucester. After his wife’s disappearance in 1930 police searched his ovens but found no clues, only a length of fuse which they could not link to the case... -
Westcrag Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd FellowsThe Grand United Order of Odd Fellows was conceived as a friendly society which provided financial support to its members in need and promoted their moral, social and intellectual development. It was established in Australia in the 1840s. Lodges proliferated in Australia and even small communities were able to generate sufficient numbers to form local Lodges… -
The Harrington Maritime Pilot StationThe Manning River is the only double delta river in the southern hemisphere with one entrance at Harrington and the other at Old Bar. Harrington has long been the river’s gateway, but its treacherous bar has been the ruin of many ships. From as early as 1824 vessels have come to complete ruin at Harrington.… -
Trooper Percy Lyon – 7th Light Horse RegimentGenerally speaking, the names inscribed on war memorials indicate that the individual has experienced the horrors of the battlefield, but this is not always the case. For these exceptions, their stories are, nevertheless, poignant. Percival Ernest Lyon was born on 22 November 1891, the fourth son of James and Alice Lyon. His father was a…
