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Quirindi & District Historical Society

Name: Quirindi & District Historical Society
Address: 44 Station Street, Quirindi, NSW, 2343, AU
Telephone: +61425272289

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Quirindi & District Historical Society

Historical Cottage museum houses collections from many parts of Quirindi & District history and offers local family research facilities.

When the Quirindi and District Historical Society was formed in 1960 it set out to collect and record the history of Quirindi and district, and to publish this information for the benefit of local people and researchers. This important aspect of the Society’s work began in 1965, and 12 journals (“Historical Notes”) were printed before the society turned to publishing local history books. This impo

rtant activity continues today, and publications are on sale at the Cottage and elsewhere in Quirindi. It was soon realised that it was also necessary to preserve and display items of historic value and local interest, for the better understanding of our heritage, especially for our young people. The building at 44 Station Street Quirindi was constructed in 1887 from locally made sand stock bricks and had many close associations with Quirindi history, one of which being in fact that it was once the home of Quirindi’s first Mayor and Mayoress. It was bought by the Society from Mr G.A. Wheeler in 1967, and opened as a museum by Mr Ross Symonds of the ABC on 26th April 1970. Additions to the frontage include wrought iron which was once part of the Commercial Hotel balcony, iron pillars were donated by Mr Muir Taylor, (Mayor of Quirindi 1966-1980), and window shutters from Mrs L.P. Wilson of Woodton Quirindi. As the Society’s collection grew, more buildings were added at the back of the Cottage. The land at the back was bought from Mr Wheeler in 1985, making one block from Station Street to Railway Avenue. Several sheds to house larger items were built on this land, making up the “Town and Country Building”, a workshop, and an outdoor display of agricultural implements. A brick Archives Room was added in 1988.

02/09/2026

THE OLD HOME

Following are more reminiscences from Keith Lord, remembering life in a country home on the Liverpool Plains, from around 1879.

On quiet winter nights when there were no visitors, mother and my sisters would sit in front of the fire knitting or reading, but my brothers and I would crowd right into the fireplace and make bullets for our sporting rifles. Here we would melt lead and pour it into a bullet mould, and load cartridges. We did a lot of shooting, of wallabies and kangaroos principally, for from the sale of their skins came the only pocket money we ever had.

Making bullets and loading cartridges was a most absorbing pastime. The spent firing cap would be pushed out using a re-loading tool, and with this tool we would also press in the greased bullets on top of the measured amount of powder. We would load a lot of cartridges for the many rifles we had, for we spent a lot of time in the scrub after skins; but we never seemed to make as much money from them as we would like to spend.

Father had his own big chair and with his pipe and a book was quite content to be aloof.

These were the days when card playing was very popular. At one time we boarded the school master, and he and two of my brothers would sit in night after night playing a game called pedro. They seemed to get a lot of fun out of it, not only from the playing but from the post mortems after a hand had been played. Sometimes though thee was mild disagreement. “If you had only led your king instead of that stupid little card, we would have downed them”, would be the complaint.

Cards and the making of bullets, loading cartridges, sing-songs round the piano, little dances and plays, just about made up the recreation of those days. We knew of nothing else, and never dreamed that a way of life as lived now could ever come about, and we were content.

We didn’t have a separator, to have cream as soon as the cows were milked. I remember the great dishes of milk set out in rows in the dairy, the cream being skimmed off in the morning, and the old wooden churn with its handle to be turned, at which we all toiled when the butter would not come.

I remember the great copper in which the clothes were boiled, and the long lines of clotheslines stretching into the distance, filled from end to end. There were a lot of us at home then, for the family had not scattered as it was to scatter later, and the wash was a monster.

There was the making of yeast to be held in the bottles by a line around the neck of them and tied over the cork, and how the yeast would froth over when the cork was removed! The great mounds of dough and the many bread tins, set aside for the dough to rise before going into the oven. Then there were the brownies, especially at harvest time – big as buckets – that made our mouths water. We hadn’t a thought for the over-worked cook whose day was so long, cooking in quantities bordering on mass production.

Gradually members of the family drifted away. The little place would not support us all, and life for the cook became less hectic. Gradually life changed. The numbers of visitors who made up the happy parties lessened as some of them married and moved away; and a more subdued way of life followed.

Reference: Road Through Life, Reminiscences by Keith Lord

Photos: Butter churn and milk separator from QDHS Museum display

24/08/2026

QUIRINDI & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY presents

QUIRINDI MAIN STREET HERITAGE WALK

Date: 9 September 2026
Time: 1.00pm (meet at Heritage Motel)
Duration: 1 hour approx.

NO COST

Join our museum volunteers on a guided tour of the Quirindi Main Street to celebrate History Week 2026. Discover the fascinating history of the local business premises along Quirindi main street from the Heritage Motel to the Quirindi and District Historical Cottage Museum and learn how the town has evolved from the 1800s to the present day.

The walk will be followed by a light afternoon tea at the museum.

RSVP to 0413078664 or email [email protected] by 7 September.

18/08/2026

WAR SERVICE – SIGNALLER SID CAINE & GUNNER DAPHNE CAINE

Prepared by Julie Yeomans for Quirindi and District Historical Society

Joseph Cyril “Sid” Caine and Daphne Viola Caine (née Bailey) both served their country during the Second World War, Sid in the Australian Army’s signal corps and Daphne in the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS).

Born in Barraba in 1918, and raised at Wallabadah, Sid Caine enlisted in the Australian Army on November 5, 1941. After training, he was posted to the 103 Tank Attack Regiment Signal Section, a unit tasked with communications support for anti-tank operations. The training and early service of this unit occurred around the Hunter/Newcastle region. They were later transferred to Darwin, where he witnessed the Japanese air raids that brought the war to Australian soil.

In 1944, Sid returned south and married Daphne Bailey, who he had met whilst in the Newcastle area, before Daphne enlisted.

Shortly afterwards, Sid was posted to New Guinea, where he saw active service. He was present at Wewak during its capture in May 1945 and the subsequent surrender of Japanese forces in the Pacific.

Sid Caine was discharged in January 1946, living in Newcastle before returning to Wallabadah in 1950. He remained at Wallabadah until he passed away in 1984 at the age of 66.

Whilst working for an Accountant in Newcastle, Daphne learnt of the bombing of Darwin and, at 18 years of age in 1942, joined the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS).

The AWAS was relatively new, having been established on August 13, 1941. It enlisted over 24,000 women and was the first non medical women’s service to serve overseas. The Service recruited women between the ages of 18 and 45. Women served in a variety of roles ranging from clerks, typists and cooks to signals, intelligence and fixed defence units.

Daphne was recruited and, with 25 other women, travelled by troop train to Sydney, where they undertook their training at Victoria Barracks. Upon completion of training, these women were returned to Newcastle as an “experimental group”, undertaking tasks previously performed by men, which enabled the men to be utilised elsewhere.

With training complete, Daphne was posted to Newcastle Air Base, working in the Operations Room as a computer operator. This role, despite its name, involved no modern machinery but rather complex calculations for anti-aircraft batteries. The work was highly technical and classified, with strict secrecy maintained even from family members. Many assumed the women were cooks.

Later she was sent to 3.7 Ack Ack Battery at Fort Scratchley, a unit where women helped operate anti aircraft guns. The fort was built on the headland at Newcastle in 1882 to defend Newcastle against a possible Russian attack. The Fort Scratchley site was occupied by the Australia Army until 1972 and is now a museum.

When the threat of air raids was over in 1944, Daphne was transferred to Coastal Artillery as a Plotter, where she remained until she was discharged.

In World War II plotters played a crucial role in the air traffic monitoring system in Australia. The majority of plotters were female.

As a guest speaker for Quirindi & District Historical Society in December 2016 Mrs Caine described her service as a wonderful experience where she learnt so much. Strong friendships were formed with support for each other through some difficult and sad times.

Daph Caine was very involved with local community, working with Wallabadah Red Cross, Wallabadah Public School P&C, Cancer Council, Legacy, Quirindi CWA and wherever else her help was required.

The couple raised a family of five in Wallabadah, three daughters and twin sons. Daphne Caine passed away in 2018, aged 93. Both she and her husband are buried at the Wallabadah Cemetery.

Reference: Quirindi 1939-1950, Courage and Commitment by Dorothy Durrant; QDHS Archives; Website – Battle for Australia Association

09/08/2026

The following reminiscences are from Keith Lord, remembering life in a country home on the Liverpool Plains, from around 1879 and recorded in his book ‘Road Through Life, Reminiscences by Keith Lord’

THE OLD HOME

Life and living was so very different in the days before refrigeration and motor transport. I remember when my grandfather died, a messenger on horseback brought the telegram from Quirindi advising father of his death.

When Queen Victoria died a messenger, also from Quirindi and on horseback, gave the news to two ragged urchins, to wit my younger brother and myself, and how we raced, barelegged and barefoot, home to tell the family.

I remember our old home, a four-roomed slab cottage with hessian ceilings kept white with whitewash. The slabs were pit sawn by hand, and stood vertically with thin strips of board tacked over the cracks where the slabs met.

Timber was still being sawn by hand when I was a youngster; I remember seeing the way it was done. There was a pit with logs across, and the logs to be cut were rolled onto these cross logs and clamped. One man in the pit, and one above. The teeth of the saw were so fashioned that the saw only cut on the down stroke. The man below wore a veil to keep out of his eyes the cascades of sawdust that came tumbling down all over him.

Our big dining room was detached from the cottage and there was a fireplace at one end, a fireplace occupying the full width of the room and several feet deep. At one end of that big dining room was mother’s fine old piano, then the long dining room with chairs drawn up, then some space, and beyond, the huge fireplace in which great logs with glowing coals would burn on winter nights.

There was no lounge room, no drawing room. This room had to serve their purpose, which it did, and many others as well. Often young people of families living around would come horse riding and in buggies for tea, and afterwards spend the evening singing around the piano, mother accompanying. Or perhaps the table would be pushed away to make room and dancing go on for hours, mother playing the old dances of the day. The party at times even indulged in little plays, all fun and hilarity.

I remember the big lamp that hung from the ceiling by four thin chains which ran over rollers, allowing the lamp to be raised and lowered. Near the ceiling, directly above the hot draught from the burner of the lamp, there hung what looked like a little bell, and the heat from the lamp would set it swinging to and fro in endless motion. I recall as a youngster, watching and being fascinated with this swinging bell-like thing, for it was always a wonder to me what set it in motion and kept it going.

More of Keith Lord's reminiscences will be published in future posts.

The photograph is taken in the QDHS Museum kitchen.

30/07/2026

WHEAT GROWING COMPETITION – APRIL 1944

Prepared by Julie Yeomans for Quirindi and District Historical Society

The winners of the wheat growing competition conducted by Quirindi Pastoral Agricultural and Horticultural Association (PA&H Assoc) were announced in April 1944, with a summary of events published in the Quirindi Advocate. Trophies were presented by the Association President, Mr T F Upperton, during an afternoon tea event at Taylor’s A1 tearooms. Mr S Squires was awarded the Smith Po***ck Memorial Cup for his 50 acre wheat plot, whilst Mr H N Po***ck received the F and S Cup for his 20 acre plot.

The competition created much interest amongst local wheat growers, with evidence of good farming practices noted. Judging was undertaken by Mr Tom Scott, who was commended by Mr H Hawker for his careful and competent approach and willingness to share his agricultural knowledge.

Mr J R Taylor who hosted the presentation, expressed his particular interest in wheat, as a baker, and considered that the north western districts of New South Wales grew the finest wheat in the State.

Mr Geo Worboys, as a steward travelling with the judge, noted some outstanding crops, particularly those of the competition winners. He emphasised the educational value of such competitions and their contribution towards greatly improved farming methods and practices over the past twenty years.

Upon accepting his award, Mr. Po***ck provided an informative account of local agricultural history, detailing improvements in farming practices since his father first cultivated wheat in the district in 1867. The land was ploughed with a wooden plough without wheels, and drawn by six bullocks. It was reaped with a sickle and threshed with a flail. The farm was now growing wheat for a third generation in this family of wheat farmers.

Flails were replaced by a threshing machine, operated by a team of men. As the railway had not reached Quirindi, the wheat was taken across the range to Murrurundi to be processed then returned to Quirindi. A bullock team was used to undertake this journey; not an easy task for the bullocks or the teamsters.

Mr Alf Kelly and Mr R J Po***ck were the first in the district to introduce the stripper on their local farms. Mr H N Po***ck recalled being kept from school, over fifty years ago, to help on the farm with the stripper. He reflected on the challenges his father had faced, including the weather, both heavy rain and drought, and variability of the crop yields. He acknowledged the contributions of plant breeders, working together with the Department of Agriculture, in developing wheat varieties suited to different districts and varying rainfall patterns.

Mr. Po***ck further recognised the educational significance of the PA&H Association’s efforts in organising these competitions, which he viewed as a contributing factor in promoting better farming practices.

In closing, Mr Po***ck noted that in all his years of wheat farming, this was the first cup he had won and he valued it highly. He also mentioned that his sons had previously won cups as Junior Farmers, and concluded with a smile that his own cup was bigger than any won by his sons.

Reference: Quirindi Advocate – April 21, 1944

08/07/2026

Caroona Walhallow Gate of Memory and Honour Roll

Prepared for the Quirindi and District Historical Society by Ann Roworth

This article contains names of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Caroona Walhallow Gate of Memory stands at the entrance to Walhallow Public School. Eighteen men from Walhallow enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, most between 1915 and 1916.
In 1934, the Walhallow community formally recognised the names of its servicemen through the Gate of Memory and Honour Roll. This was at a time when recognition of Aboriginal service was either inconsistent or non-existent.

The gates were unveiled on 19 November 1934 by Mr E. H. Harkness, Deputy Director of Education. On 23 November 1934, The Scone Advocate reported:
“Police Commissioner, Mr. W. H. Childs (Chairman of the Aborigines Protection Board), accompanied by Mr. E. B. Harkness (Deputy-Director of Education, and a member of the Board), Mr. Petit (Secretary to the Board), and Mr. Smithers (Inspector), on Monday visited the Walhallow Aboriginal Mission Station for the purpose of unveiling an Honor Roll and War Memorial Gates. It is said to be the first aboriginal memorial in the State.

The entire population of the mission, 258, was present, together with the manager and the matron (Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Caldwell), Mr. H. C. Carter, M.L.A., Mr. A. G. Hague (President of Quirindi sub-branch of the Returned Soldiers’ League). Addresses were made by Mr. Carter and Mr. Hague, and Mr. Harkness then unveiled a bronze Tablet and Gates of Memory at the entrance to the school, while inside the school an Honor Roll was unveiled by Mr. Childs.”

The Honour Roll was lost for more than fifty years, but was subsequently restored when a group of researchers, descendants, and community advocates came together to recreate it. Ray Saunders was noted for his involvement in this important project. The project was recognised with an Honourable Mention in the 2020 Aboriginal History Prize.

The names listed on the metal Honour Roll are:
1. William Allan Irwin DCM
2. William Archie Leslie
3. Lawrence Leslie
4. Thomas Porter
5. Russell Johnson
6. Alexander White
7. Oliver White — aka Norman Frederick Briggs
8. John Talbott
9. William Beale
10. Robert Beale
11. Vincent Wortley — aka Vincent Watley
12. James Donald Matheson
13. John Duncan Matheson
14. James Henry Morris
15. Ernest Williams
16. Henry William Williams
17. Thomas Williams — aka Matthew Revenew
18. Frederick John Briggs MM

The individual stories of these servicemen reflect a wide range of experiences.

Private Russell Johnson, born at Walhallow, survived the war but during his return to Australia in 1919 was severely injured in an accident in Cape Town. He died later that year in Sydney and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

Thomas Williams enlisted in January 1916 but was discharged as medically unfit. He later re-enlisted under the name Private Mathew Revenew and served with the 6th Light Horse Regiment in Egypt. He continued in service after being injured in a wagon accident and was noted for his skill as a driver and horseman.

Private Vincent Watley was killed in action in France and buried at Villers-Bretonneux. He is commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial among the 10,696 Australians and other Commonwealth soldiers missing in France.

Private William Archie Leslie enlisted in the AIF’s 35th Battalion. The battalion fought in the mud and devastation of Passchendaele in October 1917, where many men were killed or buried by shellfire. Leslie was buried in an individual grave at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.

Private Oliver White, (aka Norman Briggs) was initially reported missing before being confirmed killed in action in 1918. Sadly, his family’s request to correct his name was not reflected on overseas memorial records. Frederick Briggs was awarded the Military Medal for bravery before being killed later that year.

Private William Allan Irwin DCM served in the 33rd Battalion. On 31 August 1918, during the Battle of Road Wood in France, William advanced under heavy machine-gun fire, capturing three enemy positions before being fatally wounded while attacking a fourth. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions, yet on the same day another solider serving in the same battalion, Private George Cartwright VC, was awarded the Victoria Cross for capturing one machine-gun post.

While there is no doubt George Cartwright was an Australian hero who deserved his Victoria Cross, why wasn’t Private William Allan Irwin also awarded the Victoria Cross? A petition is currently being made to encourage the government to upgrade William's medals to a Victoria Cross.

While it’s not possible to share every serviceman’s story in such a short article, it’s important to acknowledge the continuing significance of the Caroona Walhallow Gate of Memory and Honour Roll in commemorating all the individuals who served and remain deeply connected to this community. Today, the Honour Roll stands once again as a testament to Walhallow’s resilience and the enduring pride in the men who served.

Lest We Forget

Sources:
History Council of NSW (2020), The Forgotten Indigenous Soldiers of Walhallow,https://historycouncilnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Honourable-Mention-Aboriginal-History-Prize_Cate-Hayton.pdf
AWM Places of Pride, https://placesofpride.awm.gov.au/memorials/255901
Sydney Morning Herald (1935), https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17174317 #
The Scone Advocate (Friday 23 Nov 1934), https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/158066426 #
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Find war dead | War graves search | CWGC

29/06/2026

SNOW FALLS AT QUIRINDI AND VILLAGES

Prepared by Julie Yeomans for Quirindi and District Historical Society

Snow can transform our landscapes into winter wonderlands which are not frequently experienced on the Plains. For snowfalls to occur, we need to experience extremely cold weather with ground temperatures cold enough to prevent melting.

Front page news in the Quirindi Advocate in July 1965 was “the heaviest fall of snow in living memory” marking the first recorded snowfall in the town since 1948.

Crisp white snow began to fall around 4.30 on a Sunday morning, covering an extensive area of over a hundred miles from Newcastle to the Queensland border. In Quirindi, six inches of snow covered the streets, gardens and footpaths. Residents, children and adults alike, excitedly built snowmen, including a huge “Mr Iceman” which was constructed outside Taylor’s Bakehouse. This snow structure lasted until late morning before melting in the sun.

The weather significantly disrupted local sporting events, leading to the cancellation of the Pennant Games at the Bowling Club. Golf games were cancelled, with club members bringing their skis to the Golf Course instead of their golf clubs. The Rugby League games continued as scheduled and junior sports on the Number One oval proceeded after a six ton grader was utilised to clear the snow from the playing surface.

For public safety the Council despatched a truck to clear snow from the main street and bridge approaches in an effort to make travelling less hazardous.

The landing strip at Quirindi Airport was obliterated by snow, necessitating use of the landing lights to guide the East West Airlines Fokker Friendship flight to Sydney, scheduled to arrive at 9.20 am. The plane landed safely, and right on time, with a smooth take off ten minutes later.

Assessment of stock losses had not yet been carried out at the time the article went to print.

Historical newspaper records from Trove also document notable snowfalls in the district. In August 1895 the surrounding mountains remained capped with snow for about a week, with the snow falling lower down on the Plains than had previously been observed.

Snow on the mountain tops was not an unusual sight, with falls frequently recorded throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In June 1896 the Maitland Mercury reported a significant event at Quirindi with six inches of snow making the roads impassable. Expectations were that once the snow melted it would be impossible to cross the creeks for several days.

Entering the 1900s, Basin Creek beyond Wallabadah experienced the heaviest snowfall in many years. Again, in 1905 were reports of all the surrounding hills covered in beautiful snow, creating the visual effect of a silver belt encircling Quirindi and transforming the horizon into a striking panorama of dazzling white. Mr Tassell at Currabubula reported that snow lay all over the ground on his property and drifted against his back door, deeming it a record fall in his thirty years in the district.

The snow photos used with this article were taken in 1965 and were given by Kerry Rooney to Mary Roberts, who passed them on for the Museum archives.

Reference: The Quirindi Advocate, July 20, 1965; Newspapers sourced from Trove

21/06/2026

The Marshal MacMahon Hotel and Early Hotels of Wallabadah

Prepared for the Quirindi and District Historical Society by Ann Roworth

The earliest reference to a hotel in Wallabadah appeared in 1856 when Samuel Haigh mentioned the Coach and Horses Inn in his petition for a post office to be established in Wallabadah. At this time mail coaches were stopping regularly overnight at Wallabadah and it’s possible that the Inn was located near the mail stables, which were on the corner of Maria and Coach Streets.

The 1866 N.S.W. Gazzetteer listed two hotels in Wallabadah: The Post Office and The Royal Oak. The proprietor of the Royal Oak was Jonathan C**k, and later John Fuller of Kangaroo Flat.

The Post Office Hotel was run in the early 1870s by Mrs Chambers, a widow from Goonoo Goonoo. After her husband’s death, she moved to Wallabadah and ran the hotel until it was taken over by her nephew for four to five years.

The Maitland Mercury reported this account of the local establishments in 1896:

“Public houses soon began to increase with the large amount of traffic to the North, whence came Mrs Chambers, who combined the sale of strong drink with general merchandise and flourished like a green bay tree. The next comer was one Jonathan C**k, who also thought it advisable and remunerative to retail whisky, in view of which, no doubt, he has much to answer for…”

The Marshal MacMahon Hotel was built by Denis Hogan at the end of the 1860s. According to the Archives Office of NSW, the first official licensee was William Cropper, who held the licence from 1 July 1873 to 1877.

Why the name Marshal McMahon was chosen remains a mystery. We do know that Marshal MacMahon was a French military leader of Irish descent. He became the first President of the Third French Republic in 1873, the same year the licence was issued to William Cropper for the hotel in Wallabadah. As far as we know, the Cropper family had no French affiliations. It is possible the name was chosen to commemorate a significant event in world history at the time.

In 1877, the licence to the hotel was transferred to Denis Hogan, who held it until 1883. Denis married Jane Cropper who worked at the hotel and was also a postmistress up until 1889 alongside her sister Annie Cropper. The 1867 official post office directory lists both the Croppers and the Hogans as storekeepers.

Wallabadah continued to be an important mid route rest stop on the northern mail line between Tamworth and Singleton. Coaches leaving Tamworth at 4 a.m. typically reached Wallabadah around late morning, where passengers stopped for breakfast and horses were changed. The township’s hotels provided meals, fresh teams, and basic accommodation for those continuing further north or south. The stop was long enough for passengers to stretch their legs, for drivers to check harness and equipment, and for mailbags to be sorted or transferred. In this period, Wallabadah functioned less as a destination and more as a practical service point on a demanding overland route, and the presence of multiple hotels reflects the steady flow of traffic through the district.

The bushranger Captain Thunderbolt (Frederick Ward) would undoubtedly have known this when he and his accomplice Mason held up the northern mail coach on its route south from Tamworth to Singleton just 4 miles out of Wallabadah in 1867.

Significant alterations to the Marshal MacMahon occurred in 1896, when the licence passed to Ahasuerus Schofield. Schofield added verandas, altered the roofline, and made other structural changes that gave the building a more typical late‑nineteenth‑century hotel appearance. He also renamed the establishment the Wallabadah Hotel. In 1896, the Quirindi Gazette reported that a new kitchen and dining room were being erected at the hotel.

Further improvements continued throughout the twentieth century. A. Tanner built a timber veranda floor in the 1930s, which was later replaced by a concrete one by Mrs Tugwood in 1953. She also added six bedrooms and enclosed the verandah on the northern side. In 1967 the name reverted to the Marshal MacMahon Inn.

From 1977 Herman Kanters and Tony Maurer renovated the building to restore its historic character, including rebuilding the attic windows. Further improvements were made by more recent owners to enhance the heritage aspect of this iconic pub and it is classified by the National Trust.

Over the decades, the hotel passed through many hands. Licensees included Michael McNamara, Steve Tucker, Albert Lonsdale, Ahasuerus Schofield, Thomas Eley, Newell, F.J. Shaw, George Baldock, A. Tanner, D. Pearce, R. Lewis, C. Weik, E. Sandral, Thomson, L. Baker, E. Follington, Mrs Greenhalgh, Mrs Wren, Mrs Tugwood, H. Baines, Mrs Tugwood, D. Wilkinson, L.P. & N.J. Molloy, W.S. & J.M. Webb, A. Geale, D. Kellock, H. Kanters and A. Maurer, M. Dale, D. & A. McEnroe and the Edwards family from 1989.

Though not Wallabadah’s first hotel, the Marshal MacMahon Inn (now the Wallabadah Hotel) is definitely it’s longest‑standing. The original stone building remains as one of the most intact physical reminders of the township’s early development.

Sources
Quirindi Gazette, April 1896 (reprinted in The Quirindi Advocate, 14 August 1931)
The Story of Wallabadah and its Immediate District by Ronal Croker; revised and edited by Dorothy Durrant. (1992)
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, Tuesday 4 June 1867, page 3 [from the Tamworth Examiner June 1], TROVE

Photo caption: The Marshal MacMahon Hotel when kept by William Cropper (1973-1877)

26/05/2026

THE ROLE OF FARMERS DURING WORLD WAR 2

Prepared by Julie Yeomans for Quirindi and District Historical Society

With the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, and Australia’s call to assist, there was much pressure placed on the agricultural industry. Farmers were expected to maintain domestic food supplies and support the war effort by exporting meat, dairy, and canned goods.

This role did not come without challenges. Eastern Australia suffered record low rainfall from 1937 to 1945, causing sheep to die in large numbers and wheat crops to fail in several regions. Wool production dropped and dairying suffered badly. The Quirindi Butter Factory made only 6 tons of butter in 1940, compared to its usual 20 to 30 tons. By 1945 the Hunter River was virtually dry. Additionally, there were shortages of seed stock, fertiliser, fuel and rubber.

Agricultural organisations, which were already active in Quirindi and surrounding villages did their best to assist farmers. Country shows and field wheat competitions were urged to continue by the governing Council of the Agricultural Associations, with a view to encouraging a high standard of production. The Pastoral Agricultural and Horticultural Society (PA&H) was responsible for organising Quirindi Agricultural Shows. Their role was to promote best practices in farming, animal husbandry and horticulture and to foster innovation and pride in rural industries. The Quirindi Branch had a close association with Junior Farmers who were very active locally during this period, with clubs at Bolah Gap, Borambil, Braefield, Castlemountain, Quipolly and Wallabadah

By 1942, however, the pressures of wartime restrictions, labour shortages due to enlistment, and ongoing drought made it impossible for the PA&H to continue the annual show. The district field wheat competition was also abandoned that year due to a lack of petrol for crop inspections. The Quirindi Show resumed in 1946.

Labour shortages on farms became a serious problem as thousands of men enlisted. The Manpower Directorate, established in 1942 as a Division of the Australian Government, was responsible for allocating labour where it was most required, particularly during busy times such as shearing and harvesting. The Directorate also worked with local agricultural committees and managed applications for agricultural necessities including tyres, machinery, petrol and transportation of wheat to silos. It also held the power to decide who worked where. Employers in the rural industry were instructed to request identity cards from casual workers and to notify the National Service office if these could not be produced.

A committee was formed in Quirindi in 1942, with representatives from agricultural groups. Together, these groups gave the rural community a stronger voice and helped shape farming policy and education. E Cadell headed The Graziers’ Association of New South Wales, representing sheep and cattle producers and large scale pastoralists. J D York spoke for the Farmers & Settlers Association on behalf of small scale farmers and land selectors who were pushing for land reform and rural infrastructure. A T O’Donnell acted for the Agricultural Bureau, R Cansdell for local businesses and Messrs Lowry and Worrad on behalf of employees. Additional committee members were F Kimber, W McInnes and M T Ford.

One solution to overcome the shortage of workers was the Women’s Land Army, who performed tasks from milking cows and bagging wheat to driving tractors. Women were not accepted as workers by all farmers however a few local properties did employ them. Local girls who enlisted included Joan Elsley, Joan Shoobert, Marie Harris, Edith Maunder, Shirley Boyle and Beryl Squires. Merrigula, in the Premer district was among the properties that employed Land Army women.

Reference: Quirindi 1939-1950, Courage and Commitment by Dorothy Durrant; QDHS Archives

Photo: Women’s Land Army girls at Merrigula

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Quirindi, NSW
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