Wikipedia

Wongarbon

Wongarbon is a village approximately 18 kilometres east of Dubbo on the Mitchell Highway between Dubbo and Wellington, New South Wales, Australia. The name is also applied to the surrounding area for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2016 census, Wongarbon had a population of 766.[1]

Wongarbon
New South Wales
Main street
Wongarbon is located in New South Wales
Wongarbon
Wongarbon
Coordinates32°20′0″S 148°46′0″E / 32.33333°S 148.76667°E / -32.33333; 148.76667
Population766 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2831
Elevation390 m (1,280 ft)
Location
  • 381 km (237 mi) NW of Sydney
  • 19 km (12 mi) SE of Dubbo
LGA(s)Dubbo Regional Council
CountyLincoln
ParishMurrumbidgerie
State electorate(s)Dubbo
Federal division(s)Parkes

History edit

The area now known as Wongarbon lies on the traditional lands of Wiradjuri people.[2]

After settler colonisation, the area lay within the County of Lincoln, and the Parish of Murrumbidgerie.[3] There was a large landholding known as 'Murrumbidgerie' in the area, which was a well-established sheep and cattle run by the early 1850s.[4] By 1866, there was an inn on the road to Dubbo, known as the Murrumbidgerie Inn; there was an attempted murder there in 1873.[5][6]

The former railway station predates the village, opening in February 1881.[7] In 1883 a village site was reserved,[8] with the land excised from a landholding named 'Murrumbidgerie',[9] which also became the original name of the village. The village's school opened, in January 1887.[10]

On 20 October 1888, the Village of Murrumbidgerie was proclaimed,[11] and land was reserved for a common[12] and for water supply purposes[13] The latter land is the site of the dam on Eulamoga Creek, known as Wongarbon Tank, which for many years was the village's water supply.[9][14]

In 1908, the name of the village was changed from Murrumbidgerie to Wongarbon,[15] and the names of the railway station and school also changed in that year.[10] It seems that the old name was causing confusion, perhaps with Murrumbidgee.[16] The name 'Murrumbidgerie' is still used in connection with an area closer to the Macquarie River, south of Wolgarbon and west of Geurie.[17]

The name 'Wongarbon' may refer to Wongaibon people,[18] whose country begins further west, around and beyond the Bogan River.[2] If so, it is seemingly misapplied, as Wongarbon is in Wiradjuri country;[2] the old name, 'Murrumbidgerie', is almost certainly derived from the Wiradjuri language, perhaps from the word 'Marrmabidya'.[19] An alternative etymology is that Wongarbon is not an Aboriginal word, but the result of a landholder's suggestion of a new name for the village, and is actually 'no brag now' spelled backwards; there are at least two stories of the reason behind that derivation, which involve rivalry between two local landholders, named Bragg and Rutherford (James Rutherford, the son of prominent American-Australian pioneer and businessman, James Rutherford[20]),[16][21] and a third which relates to Bragg alone.[22]

Following the end of the First World War, the remainder of the old 'Murrumbidgerie' landholding, near to the village, was broken up, under the policy of closer settlement, as soldier settler blocks.[23] Wheat growing became important in the area, and the village's railway siding was used to dispatch the crop by train.[24]

The village had a Uniting (formerly Methodist) church, now a privately owned building.[25] The former Catholic church exists, in an abandoned state, in Boberah Street.[26][27]

The Wongarbon Nature Reserve is an area to the north of the village that was set aside in 1897, as 'temporary' common land for the village's use. The area became a remnant of less disturbed native habitat, as the surrounding area was cleared for agriculture, and a refuge for threatened species.[28][29] In 2022, it was placed under the management of the local Aboriginal group, Pathways Together.[30]

At the 2006 census, Wongarbon had a population of 449.[31]

Amenities edit

The village has a three-teacher primary school, convenience store/post office and a pub, 'The Ploughman's Rest'.

It no longer has a railway station,[7] but has bus services to Dubbo. The nearest railway stations are at Dubbo and Geurie, which are served by a daily train service. There is a grain siding on the Main Western railway line, which has storage sheds and a grain-loader for trains.[7]

There is a cemetery approximately 3 km from the village.[32]

Due to its proximity to Dubbo, the village is expanding.[33]

Notes and references edit

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wongarbon (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 March 2019.  
  2. ^ a b c Studies, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (10 November 2022). "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Parish of Murrumbidgerie, County of Lincoln [cartographic material] : Land District of Dubbo, Wellington & Talbragar Shires, Central Division N.S.W." Trove. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Advertising". Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875). 11 February 1852. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Found Dead". Mount Alexander Mail (Vic. : 1854 - 1917). 11 August 1866. p. 2.
  6. ^ "DREADFUL OUTRAGE AT THE MURRUMBIDGElRIE INN". Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875). 27 May 1873. p. 3.
  7. ^ a b c "Wongarbon Station". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  8. ^ "RESERVES FROM SALE FOR SITE FOR FUTURE VILLAGE". New South Wales Government Gazette. 22 August 1883. p. 4572. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b "MURRUMBIDGERIE WATER SUPPLY". Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate. 25 March 1896. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Wongarbon". nswgovschoolhistory.cese.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Village of Wongarbon (formerly Village of Murrumbidgerie) and adjoining lands [cartographic material] : Parish - Murrumbidgerie, County - Lincoln, Land District - Dubbo, Shire - Talbragar". Trove. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  12. ^ "RESERVE FROM SALE FOR TEMPORARY COMMON FOR THE USE OF THE RESIDENTS AT MURRUMBIDGERIE". New South Wales Government Gazette. 20 October 1888. p. 7423. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  13. ^ "RESERVES FROM SALE FOR WATER SUPPLY". New South Wales Government Gazette. 20 October 1888. p. 7419. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  14. ^ ""PUBLIC WATERING PLACES ACT, 1900."". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 23 December 1908. p. 6763. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  15. ^ "ALTERATION OF NAME OF THE VILLAGE OF MURRUMBIDGERIE". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 1 July 1908. p. 3567. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Wongarbon". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent. 10 April 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Australian Cemeteries Index - Murrumbidgerie (via Geurie)". austcemindex.com. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  18. ^ "NSW Railway Station Names and Origins". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  19. ^ Wagga, Visit (20 December 2019). "Wetland wanderings". visitwagga.com. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  20. ^ "DEATH OF MR RUTHERFORD". Leader. 14 September 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  21. ^ "ORIGIN OF WONGARBON". Wellington Times. 25 March 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  22. ^ "Strange but True". Smith's Weekly. 24 June 1950. p. 30. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Wellington-Dubbo Main Road". Wellington Times. 21 May 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  24. ^ "The Golden Harvest, Wheat at Wongarbon". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932). 4 December 2022. p. 7. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Wongarbon Uniting Church - Former | Churches Australia". www.churchesaustralia.org. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  26. ^ "Wongarbon Catholic Church - Former | Churches Australia". www.churchesaustralia.org. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Wongarbon - An Old Church - 2013-08-13". Mapio.net. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  28. ^ "MURRUMBIDGERIE COMMONS". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent. 30 November 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  29. ^ NSW NATIONAL PARKS & WILDLIFE SERVICE (2019). "Wongarbon Nature Reserve, Plan of Management" (PDF).
  30. ^ "Crown Land to be managed by Indigenous not-for-profit". Daily Liberal. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  31. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Wongarbon (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  32. ^ "Wongarbon Cemetery". Australian Cemeteries Index.
  33. ^ "Tenandra & Barbigal Street, Wongarbon, NSW, 2831 - For Sale". Elders Real Estate. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

External links edit

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