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Mount Drysdale, New South Wales

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Coordinates: 31°10′11.1″S 145°52′19.3″E / 31.169750°S 145.872028°E / -31.169750; 145.872028
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Mount Drysdale is a locality and ghost town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The locality is better known today, by its older name Tindarey, after the original pastoral holding on from which the village site was excised.The site of the former village lies within the County of Robinson, Parish of Moquilamba.[1][2] It lay approximately 4km west of Kidman Way, north of Cobar. The nearest settlement is Cobar, approximately 40 km distant by road.

The area that would become Mount Drysdale lies on the tradtional lands of the of the Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of the Ngiyampaa people.[3]. There is significant evidence of Aboriginal occupation[4] and it has been declared as an aboriginal place.[5] It has been said that a massacre of local people by settlers took place in the area, in 1899.[6][7] There seems to no record of such a massacre[8] and it may be that confusion exists with infamous massacres, near Drysdale River Mission, in Western Australia.[9][10] However, by 1907, there were no Aboriginal people recorded as living at Mount Drysdale.[11]

View of the mining village of Mount Drysdale, c.1895.[12] This view is looking east from the landform known as Mount Drysdale.

In 1887, gold had been found at Mount Billagoe.[13] In 1892, payable alluvial gold was found on the western side of a hill at the northern end of the same range of hills. That caused a rush to the field and prospectors soon started to search for a reef. In October 1892, David Drysdale found the gold reef on that hill and it was named, Mount Drysdale, after him.[14][15][16][17] In August 1893, there were 120 men working on the field.[18]

The site for a village—on the eastern side of the base of Mount Drysdale, downhill from the Mount Drysdale claim—was selected in August 1893 [18] and the village of Mount Dysdale was proclaimed on 18 October 1893.[1] In late 1894, there were around 400 miners working on the field[19] and land was reserved for the village's public buildings.[20] By mid-1895, the village had three hotels , a post office and a school with 90 pupils.[14]

Although there were many claims and mines on the field, two mines would come to dominate the field, the Mount Drysdale mine and the Eldorado mine. These two mines were adjacent[14] and, in time, would come be operated conjointly. The field was a rich one and was prosperous for many years.[21][14][22][23] In 1910, the Mt Drysdale mine had reached a depth of over 500 feet, and had struck water.[24]

By mid 1912, both the Mt Drysdale and Eldorado companies. were in financial difficulty. Mining was suspended and, in March 1913, it was resolved to wind up the Mt Drysdale company.[25] In 1916, a syndicate was formed to dewater the Mt Drysdale mine and recommence operations[26]; it seems to have failed, because the mine's equipment was up for sale in mid-1917,[27] and the syndicate was wound up in May 1918.[28] The machinery at the Eldorado mine was up for sale in August 1918.[29] All attempts to reopen the mines appear to have failed.[30][31]

Mining and exploration continued on a smaller scale, during the 1920s[32][33] and 1930s[34][35] but the heyday of the gold field had been over, once the two dominant mines closed.The police station closed in October 1914.[36] The school building was relocated in 1919.[37] There was also a neighbouring smaller village to be known as West Drysdale[2]—proclaimed in November 1894[38]—but it seems to have not lasted long and its design was cancelled in 1922.[39] There was also a market garden, run by ethnic-Chinese, near West Drysdale.[6]

The village could still raise a cricket team in the late 1920s.[40][41] By 1932, all that was left of the village was a store, a post office, a hall and about four houses "distantly situated". [21] The old school site was resumed in 1946[42] and the reserves of land for public buildings were revoked in 1951.[43] There were only seven voters there at the 1950 election.[44] In 1962, it ceased to be a polling place.[45] The old village faded away. Its last residents were known as 'Dot and Joe', whose deserted hut was still standing in 2006.[46]

McKell Street still appears on maps—now at the locality of Tindarey—as do many allotments of the former Mount Drysdale village.[47] Other now lost streets of the former village included Kelly, Cotton,[20] Waddlell, Goold, Macpherson, Cobar and Carter streets.[48] The village has a cemetery[49][7] and the 'Mine Tank', an in-ground water storage once used by the mines; still exists; both lie to the north of the village on the far side of the hill close to the site of West Drysdale.[50][2] Otherwise, apart from its worked out mines, rusting equipment and some ruins, there is nothing left of Mount Drysdale[6][51].

Reference section

  1. ^ a b "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900). 1893-10-18. p. 8155. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  2. ^ a b c "Map of the County of Robinson [cartographic material] : Western Division, Land District of Cobar, NSW". Trove. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  3. ^ Office of Environment and Heritage. "Cobar Peneplain - regional history". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Bonzle: Mount Drysdale Mine - Aboriginal hearth". www.bonzle.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Witter, Dan C. "Mount Drysdale : Aboriginal place archaeological study : draft 2 - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)". aiatsis.library.link. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  6. ^ a b c "User notes about Mount Drysdale Mine in New South Wales - Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia". www.bonzle.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  7. ^ a b "Bonzle: Mount Drysdale Mine - Cemetery". www.bonzle.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Centre For 21st Century Humanities". c21ch.newcastle.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  9. ^ "SENSATIONAL REPORT". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954). 1914-04-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  10. ^ "Royal Commission of Inquiry into Alleged Killing and Burning of Bodies of Aborigines in East Kimberley and into Police Methods when Effecting Arrests " (PDF). 1927.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "ABORIGINES.(REPORT OF BOARD FOR THE PROTECTION OF, FOR YEAR 1907)" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. 1908. p. 18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "The Mount Drysdale Gold Field". Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907). 1895-06-22. p. 31. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  13. ^ "COBAR". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932). 1887-09-09. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  14. ^ a b c d "The Mount Drysdale Gold Field. - A GEOLOGICAL PUZZLE. RICH ORE BODIES. NO DEFINED REEF. Written specially for the". Trove. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  15. ^ "THE DRYSDALE MINE". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932). 1894-09-11. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  16. ^ "A MESSAGE FOR THE WEEK". Gilgandra Weekly (NSW : 1942 - 1955). 1949-08-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  17. ^ "Mount Billagoe". Google Maps. Retrieved 2020-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ a b "MINING". Western Herald (Bourke, NSW : 1887 - 1970). 1893-08-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  19. ^ "Miscellaneous". Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907). 1894-10-20. p. 24. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  20. ^ a b "RESERVES FROM SALE FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS". New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900). 1894-12-12. p. 7821. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  21. ^ a b "MOUNT DRYSDALE!". Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1954). 1932-06-18. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  22. ^ "Mount Billagoe Field". Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907). 1893-09-30. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-11-01.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Mount Drysdale". Cobar Herald (NSW : 1899 - 1914). 1899-09-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  24. ^ "Mount Drysdale Mine". Cobar Herald (NSW : 1899 - 1914). 1910-04-29. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  25. ^ "MOUNT DRYSDALE GOLD MINING COMPANY LIMITED". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1913-03-19. p. 1783. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  26. ^ "SUMMARY". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1916-05-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  27. ^ "JOHN BRIDGE & CO.'S REPORT". Molong Argus (NSW : 1896 - 1921). 1917-06-29. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  28. ^ "IN THE MATTER OF THE MOUNT DRYSDALE SYNDICATE LIMITED". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1918-05-17. p. 2341. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  29. ^ "BUILDING MACHINERY AND MINING MACHINERY". Wellington Times (NSW : 1899 - 1954). 1918-08-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  30. ^ "THE MT. DRYSDALE AND ELDORADO LEASES". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1919-05-20. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  31. ^ "MOUNT DRYSDALE TO START". Leader (Orange, NSW : 1899 - 1945). 1916-06-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  32. ^ "GOLD NEAR COBAR". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 1924-09-01. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  33. ^ "DRYSDALE GOLD". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1924-09-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  34. ^ "GOLD MINING REVIVAL". Recorder (Port Pirie, SA : 1919 - 1954). 1935-03-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  35. ^ "MT. DRYSDALE MINE". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1932-07-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  36. ^ "NOTICE". New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860 - 1930). 1915-01-20. p. 30. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  37. ^ "Official Correspondence". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1919-12-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  38. ^ "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900). 1894-11-21. p. 7396. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  39. ^ "PROPOSED CANCELLATION OF DESIGN OF THE VILLAGE OF DRYSDALE WEST, PARISH OF MOQUILAMBA, COUNTY OF ROBINSON". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1922-12-15. p. 6619. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  40. ^ "CRICKET". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1928-05-17. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  41. ^ "WARATHAHS v. MOUNT DRYSDALE". Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932). 1929-11-28. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  42. ^ "Government Gazette Notices". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1946-04-05. p. 892. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  43. ^ "REVOCATION OF RESERVES FROM SALE, LEASE, ETC". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1951-10-19. p. 3047. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  44. ^ "Election Result". Western Grazier (Wilcannia, NSW : 1896 - 1951). 1950-06-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  45. ^ "APPOINTMENT, ABOLITION AND ALTERATION IN THE NAMES OF POLLING PLACES". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 - 1973). 1962-06-14. p. 2007. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  46. ^ "Bonzle: Mount Drysdale Mine". www.bonzle.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  47. ^ "McKell St, Tindarey". Google Maps. Retrieved 2020-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ^ "NOTIFICATION OF CLOSING OF UNNECESSARY ROADS". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 1935-05-03. p. 1856. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  49. ^ "Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 1829 - Mount Drysdale". austcemindex.com. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  50. ^ "Mine Tank". Google Maps. Retrieved 2020-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  51. ^ "Pictures relating to Mount Drysdale Mine in New South Wales - Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia". www.bonzle.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.

Example external link

31°10′11.1″S 145°52′19.3″E / 31.169750°S 145.872028°E / -31.169750; 145.872028(After this is no longer a draft it will be linked to WikiMedia Commons category: Mount Drysdale, New South Wales.)

(After this is no longer a draft it will be added to categories Cobar Shire, Ghost towns in New South Wales, Mining towns in New South Wales)

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