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The former McCrossin flour mill in Uralla New South Wales opened in 1870. Now an excellent museum
Image by denisbin
Uralla.
Remember Henry Dumaresq of Saumarez? He took out his run in 1834 and it covered the area that is now the town of Uralla. The government reserved land for a town site here in 1849 as several bush tracks crossed here and Samuel McCrossin had established a bush inn here for the thirsty stockmen, drovers and travellers. A couple of years later a small gold find nearby at Rocky Creek started a mini gold rush to the district. The village of Uralla took shape. 5,000 men were on the goldfields near Uralla and by 1859 the small town had three hotels, a post office (an essential service in the 19th century) and a school. The village was gazetted in 1855 a year before further gold finds in 1856. Chinese miners outnumbered Europeans and the streets of Uralla sang to the high pitch of spoken Chinese. When the surface gold petered out the Chinese moved on to other fields. Some gold mining continued for around 30 years. But Uralla’s early claim to fame as a wheat growing district was short lived as another colony, South Australia outdid it. Uralla was opened up for selectors in the early 1860s and they grew wheat, despite the climate not being ideal. Samuel McCrossin established a large flour mill in the town in 1870 and it now houses an excellent local museum which is well worth visiting. As the area under wheat expanded rapidly in SA in the early 1870s the Uralla-Armidale district could not compete as they had an unfavourable climate, the wheat quality was poor, and they had no railway to transport it out to the coast. But Uralla survived as its hinterland was well watered and excellent for sheep and other forms of agriculture. Once the railway arrived in 1882 the future of the town was assured. It was declared a municipality in that same year. After World War One soldier settler blocks were created near Uralla and many orchards were established thus expanding the town’s population. Main Street of Uralla to left.
Whilst in Uralla look out for:
the Information Centre on the corner of Bridge Street and the New England Highway; Captain Thunderbolt’s grave site in the town cemetery on the eastern side; McCrossins Mill Museum and the Thunderbolt Collection( admission or for a concession); the old Phoenix Foundry which makes wrought iron lacework- it is now a museum and open for a small fee; the town heritage walk which points out a number of 19th century buildings; the amazing sculpture and art work in the Glen Park; the Military Museum in East street; the historic railway station; the Court House built 1885; the antique stores and bookshop along the New England Highway; and the fine old churches- Presbyterian, Anglican, Salvation Army and Catholic; and the many fine hotels, general stores and institute buildings. The town also has two galleries- the Barking Dog in Bridge Street and the Chaucer Gallery in Bridge Street. Note the names of some of the street such as Salisbury which refers to the other main historic property of the district apart from Gostwyck. Salisbury Court station is another of the great pastoral estates of New England. Make sure you look out for Joan Relke’s and Carl Merten’s Constellations of the South sculpture project. Funding came from Armidale and the town of Uralla in 2004. The sculptures are scattered in a set order in the Glen Park on the northern entrance to Uralla. They include a 19 metres obelisk and 8 granite boulders to represent the constellations of the Southern solstice. Metal work on the boulders was cast in the Phoenix Foundry in Uralla. The metal works are called Carina and the Spirit of the Southern Cross and they are not to be missed. Only two of the 8 granite boulders are yet in place. The obelisk is sited to lined up with the axis of the summer solstice and the boulders are arranged in a parabolic arc so that they are all equidistant from the obelisk.
Captain Thunderbolt.
Fred Ward or Captain Thunderbolt as he was later known was born near Tocal Station in the lower Hunter Valley in 1835. He worked at Tocal as a horse breaker in and a drover as he had a love and passion for working with horses. At age 21, Fred Ward was convicted of horse stealing whilst employed at Tocal and sentenced to ten years gaol. Four years later he was released on parole but he infringed his parole conditions by failing to turn up to a parolees muster and he was returned to gaol in 1861. In 1863 he escaped from gaol and began his life as a bushranger and escapee but first he married an Aboriginal woman and lived at Bourke for some time with his wife and two children. As an excellent horseman he could “ride like a thunderbolt” and thus this was the nickname ascribed to him. Between 1863 and 1869 he harassed travellers on the New England Tablelands but his drinking meant that he was nearly captured by police several times. He lived on his wits, his stolen earnings and he survived because of his excellent horsemanship. His escapade however, ended in May 1870 when he was shot by Constable Walker near Uralla. Thunderbolt was 36 years of age when shot. He was buried in the Uralla cemetery and the town now commemorates him with a large statue and his name on some rocks near where he was shot. Thunderbolt often used the granite boulders to hide behind before holding up travellers.