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Old Yass and the First Settlers
Old Time Resident Looks Back
(By M.J.R.)
I have always considered Yass one
of the most picturesquely situated
towns in New South Wales. At the
same time it may have been more so,
if built on the rising ground on the
north side of the river and extending
to the "little plain" (a small tract of
country near the railway pumping
station). The best view of Yass can
be obtained from a bluff of rocks in
the Manse paddock.
From this spot you can see a beautiful
and picturesque landscape.
Looking westward, your eye is arrested
by Mount Bowning, turning a
little to the left, the eye passes along
the Black Range, across to the
Murrumbidgee ranges to the nearest
of the snow covered Alps; looking toward
the south east, the Yass Plains
lie undulating before you and in the
distance the Gundaroo Mountains,
where the source of the Yass River
rises, and casting an eye toward the
east, the Gap Ranges come into full
view, from the top of which, white
man first gazed on the plains below.
Facing the north, the Bango
ranges are to be seen, and the town
fills up the picture. Nothing is
wanted to complete the picture but a
mansion, not a 'haystack' with a verandah
round it, but an edifice that
will fit the picture.
My grand-parents were amongst
the first settlers to arrive at Yass in
the "thirties" and both my parents
were born at Yass In the early "forties"
and I have watched the rise
and progress of the "old town" for
the past sixty years.
Early in the Thirties
It was very early in the "thirties"
that the first settlement was made
in what was called the "New Country"
The first record of any settlement
at Yass was made by a gentleman
named George Shelly who formed
a cattle station and named it
"Warrambaloolah," (said to be the
aboriginal name for the locality).
The street reserved between the town
alignment and the riverbank is named
after it. The greater part of the
land occupied at the present time by
Dr. English and Messrs. Hill and
Houghton, was the site of Mr. Shelly's
stock yards. His homestead, a
very humble bark hut, stood a little
way back from the gas works. The
foundation can still be traced.
Mr. Shelly sold out to a Mr. Hanly.
The latter gentleman gave up
cattle breeding and built the first
hotel erected in the old town. The
site of the hotel is about 100 yards
from the present power station, and
in the paddock at the rear of it. Very
little was known of the country on
the north side of the river at this
time, as the aboriginals had possession,
but being peaceably inclined, the
new arrivals in the "New Country"
took quiet possession, and the "natives"
gradually faded away.
Remnant of The Old Tribe
A remnant of the original tribe
hovering around the district, under
the guidance of King "Jacky" and
Kitty his "Queen." Both of their
"Majesties" were of diminutive stature,
thin and emaciated; Kitty with
a warty protruberance on her nose
that gave her an uncanny appearance.
For many years the annual
corrobberie was held on the "little
plain" and on "Douro." It was no
uncommon sight, on Queen Victoria's
birthday, to see the gradually dwindling
tribe assemble to collect their
blankets at the Court House, "the
generous gift of a benevolent Government
in exchange for "their country."
Very few of the descendants of
the first pioneers remain, but their
works are left as records of their
faith in the land of their adoption.
Amongst the arrivals in the "New
Country" after the advent of Mr
George Shelly, and, with Mr. Hanley,
came such men as Cornelius and
Henry O'Brien, in search of new pastures
Thomas Laidlaw, Merchant,
the first man to establish a business
in Yass; Captains G. Allman and
McCallum. One of Captain Allman's
sons was a solicitor in Yass for many
years, and Captain McCallum selected
and formed Woolgarlo and Good Hope
properties, where his descendants lived.
Amongst others were the McFarlane
Brothers, McKinnons, Calvert,
Castles, Davidsons, Hardys, William
and Mallyon.
Pastoral Pioneers
With the exception of Messrs. Laidlaw
and Allman, these pioneers were
chiefly associated with pastoral pursuits.
The people connected more
closely with business pursuits, were
Thomas Laidlaw and George Allman,
referred to above, together with
such men as Owen and Felix Hilly
John Hanley, Charles Quail, John
and Moses Moses, Henry Godfrey,
Harry Hart, James Cottrell, Henry
Turner, H. Appleton, David Davies,
Thomas and John Colls. The latter
came in the early fifties, and were
followed by Rees Jones, H. Broughton,
Remington, Davis, James, Andrews,
Doncasters and others.
Amongst the first businesses to be
established was that of tailoring.
James Wood, with his wife and
daughter arrived from Scotland, and
after a very short stay in Sydney
came to Yass in 1838, where he plied
his trade as tailor for many years.
His second daughter (afterwards
married to Richard Gorman, a partner
and part-owner
of Taemas station), was the first
white child born in Yass.
Old Yass, in the thirties did not
possess many notable buildings, the
dwellings and shops being chiefly
constructed of the material supplied
from the surrounding forests, stringy
barks, and rough hewn slabs. At this
period Yass was the furthest inland
settlement south of Sydney, and the
kick off for the unknown land extending
to Port Phillip and the Out
Back West.
Mr. Henry O'Brien was the first
official representative of the Government
of that period appointed as Justice
of the Peace, and together with
Captain Allman he had been instructed,
owing to the gradually increasing
population to lay out a township
which he did. The site was at a later
date surveyed by Surveyor Layton,
the town boundaries being laid from
a point on the river bank, just behind
tbe present Police Barracks
then following a line south to a point
near Mr. J. Cusack's coach factory,
thence west to a point near the Methodist
Parsonage, thence north to the
riverbank near the gas works, thence
following the bank of the river to
the point of commencement.
Shortly after the laying out of the
township a further influx of settters
came to the district, including such
names as McQuires, stone masons,
Graces and Leggers. farmers, Taylors,
Captain Potter and his family, and
many others long since departed. By
this time Thomas Laldlaw was well
established both as merchant and
banker, and many pioneers seeking
adventure and fresh pastures, replenished
their stores at his depot, leaving
any surplus cash with him on trust
until their return at some future
date.
Many never returned.
The Moses Brothers were energetic
people and were responsible for the
erection of some of the oldest buildings
In the town, which still stand
as a monument to their forethought
and reliance in the district as a sound
proposition for business.
Cattle Breeding Main Industry
Cattle breeding was the chief
source of revenue in the early days
and many stations were established
around the district and far back into
the mountains. Communication with
the City, through Goulburn, was a
slow and hazardous journey, weeks
being taken during wet seasons to
complete the trip. For delivery of
goods as long as six months was not
an uncommon passage, due to boggy
roads and uncrossable streams. Bridges
had not been erected.
The first bridge of any consequence
to be erected on the old South
Road was the stone structure over the
Orphan School Creek, near Canley
Vale. The balance of the road was
merely a bush track and remained so
for many years after. At the latter
end of the "thirties" there were no
buildlngs south of Rossi Street. The
first structure to be erected, was
a small bark hut on the spot where the
arch under the Old Globe Hotel exists.
This habitation was erected to
accommodate the first Chief Constable
(Norman) appointed at Yass.
Appointments to the office of Chief
Constable were then made by the local
Justices.
Shortly after the erection of this
hut, John Moses erected a small
stone store in Comur Street (part of
the building now occupied by Mr. A.
J. Crowe).
This was considered to be quite
out of town; so much so, that
the bushranger Holloway stuck
up young Moses, robbed the till,
and got away in broad daylight.
Holloway had been employed on
one of the neighboring stations
and took to the bush through
sheer flashness, but his career
was short and he was banished
to Tasmania.
Up till the end of 1838, the whole
of the business portion of the town
was confined to Comur Street, close
to the bridge and to Rossi Street and
round to the Gas Works. Amongst
the earliest hotels erected were Owen
Hilly's Squatter's Arms, near the present
power house; Grogan's Golden
Fleece, Quail's Globe, and several
smaller buildings.
No Bridge
There was no bridge over the
Yass River, and the road traversed
Comur Street, crossing several
creeks, round the Corner Store site,
along Rossi Street, across the site of
J. A. Davis's and J. Houghton's
bulldlngs to Hilly's and Hanley's
hotels then over the river below the
present tram bridge following the
river down to a point opposite Cliftonwood
house, and connecting up
with the main road near the site of
the Plume oil depot, thence out into
the interior.
Business began to prosper, and
buildings began to grow up like
mushrooms. Joe Robertson built a
butcher's shop in Rossi Street, near
the Rectory. Charles Quail completed
the Globe Hotel. Henry Turner
erected a shop on the vacant lot at
the corner of Rossi and Dutton
Streets. James Grosvenor (one of
the progressive pioneers in business)
built a brick cottage near the bridge
site. James Cattrell built a small
store on the site where Mr. T. P.
William's house now stands. Thomas
Colls built a small stone structure in
Comur Street, the initial movement
in the present Commercial Hotel.
Thomas Laidlaw's store was well established
on the site between W.
Burden's factory and the stone house
near the bridge. Part of the bulk
store still stands at the rear of the
block, the main building being washed
away in the '70 flood.
A race club had been formed and
many keen contests had been tried
out against time and weight, on the
old and first race course established
south of Goulburn. The Grandstand
stood at the rear of the present Commercial
Hotel, and starting from
this the course passed over Lead
Street, through the Club House Hotel
ground, over Comur Street, through
the land where E. O. Moore and Co's
garage now stands, through the tram
yard and Fifield garden, down Dutton
Street, turned through where the
R.C. Boys' High School stands, down
to Loomes and Leonard's shop, over
Comur Street, and followed the valley
up to the starting point.
Amongst the supporters of the old
club may be mentioned Mr. W. H.
Broughton, a true lover of sport.
was the soul of the club. Another
prominent member was Mr. Henry
O'Brien, not forgetting his mount,
Devil Dick, who would take his master
over a five bar gate "like a bird."
Mr. Con O'Brien also patronised the
race club, and usually came to the
course, driving a splendid pair of
greys. Then there was Mr B C
Harrison, a gentleman rider and a
keen sport. Mr. Hume also took a
hand with his mare Xantippy, one of
the fastest horses in the State in those
days.
The first "smithy" to be erected
and worked in Yass was situated in a
depression in Rossi Street near the
present Rectory.
Pioneer Ministers
The first minister to visit the
"New Country" was the Rev. Father
Therry, and the Rev. Mr. Cartwright
in the year 1837. Their visits were
periodical, and the first resident
clergymen arrived in the latter end
of 1838. They were the Rev. Dean
Lovett, of the R.C. Church, and the
Rev. F. C. Brigstocks, of the Church
of England. It may be said of Dean
Lovett, that whilst earnest In his
discharge of the duties of his sacred
calling to his own people, his truly
christian spirit enabled him to embrace
all sections of his fellow men.
Hence he was beloved by all. The
Dean was a man of great erudition,
and a deep thinker. The onerous
duties of his office impaired his
health and he finally removed to
Liverpool. Dean Lovett was responsible
for many improvements in the
accommodation provided for his congregation.
For a number of years he
conducted his services in the private
residence of one of his congregation.
He was instrumental in having the
first part of St. Augustine's church
erected, and the bell which now calls
the faithful to their religious duty,
was erected by the parishioners to
his memory in recognition of his
splendid service whilst in charge of
the parish.
Mr. Brlgstocke held divine service
in the old Court House (this
stood at the rear of the present Lockup
Keeper's cottage), and he lived in
a bark hut, that stood in the middle
of Rossi Street, nearly opposite the
gate leading into the Rectory garden.
Subsequent to this, and before the
present church was built, services
were held in a bark building between
St. Clement's and the river
(close to the rear of Mr, William
Burden's residence). Speaking of
Charles Ferdinand Brlgstocke, a
more generous and charitably disposed
man could hardly be found,
generous to a fault, and often grossly
imposed upon; one of the best
neighbours; always ready to oblige,
and never above being obliged; a
thorough christian gentleman, without
one particular "meanness" to
mar his whole composition and personality.
A reader with few equals,
he was a great preacher. The Rev.
Brigstocke was incumbent of St. Clements
from 1839, the year he first
took charge, up to the date of his
death on October 11, 1859; he died at
the Rectory at the age of 63, after a
long and painful illness.
Witnessed Many Changes
During his long career, he wltnessed
many gratifying changes in
the district. During his incumbency
the accommodation for worshippers
had been vastly improved and the
part of the present church
erected, also portion of the present
rectory.
The first resident Presbyterian Divine
in Yass was Rev. Mr. Ritchie
(grand-uncle ot Mrs. A. B. Triggs),
and of whom it was said: "If ever
on honest worthy man be the work
of God, then Mr. Ritchie was a portion
of God's noblest works." He was
a learned man, sound and well versed
In the doctrines of his church, a
faithful and zealous minister. On
the occasion of one of his journeys
to Queanbeyan in the discharge of
his duties, he was overtaken by a
thunderstorm, got wet and caught
cold, which brought on ill-health. He
suffered long and patiently and continued
his ministrations, against the
wish of his intimate friends, but one
day his health failed in the pulpit,
and he had to be assisted home. The
services of the Presbyterian church
was conducted in a room attached to
Hanley's Hotel.
The first Methodist Minister in
Yass was Mr. Lightbody, then came a
Mr. Crawford, and held service in the
Court House. On the first evening
of his arrival, the Court room was
Illuminated with tallow candles. Mr.
Crawford afterwards went as a missioner
to the Fiji Islands and such
were the introduction of the churches
to Yass.
The scholastic side of Yass life was
first introduced by private Individuals
who gave both time and money to
accomplish this purpose. Shortly after
Rev. Brlgstocke arrived in Yass
(I839), he consulted several of the
local heads on the subject of education,
and it was not difficult to take
a census of "Young Australia" at
this period, especially those located
in Yass, the town was canvassed and
fifteen scholars mustered, the Rev.
Brigstocke remarking "That will do.
I must have a school, if I pay the
schoolmaster out of my own pocket",
the fees will amount to something."
The Bishop promised a small fund
to assist the object. A Mr Barrow
was engaged as teacher and guaranteed
£100 per annum including fees,
but the fees fell far short of the required
amount. Mr. Barrow was a
good teacher and his wife was better.
This was the first school establlshed.
The old school house was a
small bark hut not far from the present
St. Clement's Sunday school,
Rev. Dean Lovett also set a school going
for all classes, and eventually
built the schoolhouse attached to
St. Augustine's at his own cost or
nearly so. The schoolhouse still
stands near the present Presbytery.
"God's Acre"
Passing to "God's Acre," the resting
place of departed pioneers, the
first cemetery was on that portion of
land immediately behind the present
police barracks, and near the bank of
the river. The greater part of the
original surface has been scoured out
by flood waters, especially during
the flood of 1870, when tombstones
and graves were washed away; a few
remained, and it is not an unusual
sight, even to the present date, after
a fresh in the river, to see human
bones exposed. Burials in this cemetery
were prohibited in the fifties.
The Church of England cemetery
was then established at the rear of
St. Clement's church, the Roman
Catholic cemetery removed to its present
site, together with the Jews'
cemetery. It was not until the early
"sixties" that the C. of E., Methodist
and Presbyterian burials were taken
to the site now used. All the three
last denominations were interred in
St. Clement's cemetery. Many of
the old pioneers found their last
resting place here.
ln the north-east corner, for many
years a mound of crumbling bricks,
in the form of a tomb, weathered and
neglected, with inscription barely decipherable
marked the grave of an
English gentleman. Many old residents
thought that during life he
was an eccentric, but withal one of
the best informed men of the period.
He was a nephew of Lord Nelson,
one of England's greatest naval officers.
Horatio Matcham was his
name. He lived for many years at
Barren Jack, his only companion being
his valet. Just near the grave
of Horatio Matcham, in another
grave reposed the remains of another
English gentleman, a native of Nottingham,
but after a different type
to H.M., and who made some noise
in his day. Isaac Reid, or "Big Ike"
as he was more intimately known
was the champion pugilist of New
South Wales. The grave of Horatio
Matcham is now marked by a tablet
erected to his memory by the women
of Yass. There are many others who
could be mentioned as worthy of a
place in the historic records of the
New Country and who passed away
during the early history of the settlement,
but little time or thought
was given to these matters and many
interesting personages and events
were for ever lost to posterity.
TOWN GROWS
From the early "forties" to the
middle "fifties" the population of
Yass and district increased considerably
and the township began to extend
its boundaries. Amongst the new
arrivals during this period, many
of whom took a very active part in
the progress of the district, were
such names as Campbell, Blake,
O'Connor, Crago, Colvin, Bates, Harper,
Hartigan, Moore, Leathart, Weatherby,
James, Crossley, Grosvenor,
Watson, Barber, Shaw, Tate, Myle,
Wilson, Cusack, Collison, Sidebotham,
Eliott, Mead, Burton, Smith, Reardon,
Besnard, Grogan, Hennessey,
Reid, Murphy, Meldrum, Benjamin,
Dean, Downey, Hart, Collins, Buckland,
Beverley, Jacob, Barry, Jackson,
Worden, Faulder, Tanswell,
Nash, Vallance, Sarcen, Remmington,
Sampson, Fonville, Sheekey, Foot,
Scanes, Wuelfing, Werne, Walker,
and scores of others. Many of their
descendants still reside in the old
town.
ROUGH CONDITIONS
During this stage in the history
of the old town no concerted attempt
had been made to improve the
means of access. Although the town
site had been officially surveyed and
the street alignments marked, no
attempt had been made to form any.
Comur street to the river (no bridge
existed before 1864) and Rossi
Street as far as the present gas
works, were the chief thoroughfares.
These were simply bush tracks and
quagmires in wet seasons. Down
each side of Comur Street were two
deep gutters, which, as each new
building was completed, had to be
spanned by a small bridge, to give
access from the centre of the track
to the premises. This expense had
to be borne by the Individual owners.
There was no municipal or other controlling
power over roads in these
strenuous times. During the spring
season of the year, it was no uncommon
sight to see business people and
residents mowing paths to their
respective homes, through fields of
thistles several feet high.
The isolated position in the early
history of the town, was the means
of bringing the residents into closer
touch with each other. The settlements
on the Murumbldgee and other
localities, were on the communal
basls, not by any organised body
control, but rather by common consent
to share each other's joys and
sorrows to help in the division of
labour, and share alike in adversity
and prosperity. There was a christian
charity, a christian toleration,
a brotherhood, that held the community
in the bond of friendship and
goodwill to all men. These old
pioneers had no time for the evil-
disposed, mischief-maker, the poltroon,
the waster, these had no
place in these small communities.
The pioneers were generous-minded
social, cheerful, kindly disposed toward
the stranger, but woe to the
unhappy wretch who dared to impose
on their generosity, the means adopted
against such impositions were
swift and sure in their action, as
many an unfortunate remembered.
The first election of a representative
for what was then called the Southern
Boroughs, created great interest,
and meetings in support of favoured
candidates were numerous and well
attended, many settlers riding miles
to hear the various candidates express
their views. Amongst those
honoured by selection for the position
of first Representative, were Mr.
Hardy, of Hardwicke, Mr. Thomas Laidlaw
and Mr Henry Godfrey,
both business men of the town, were
also nominated, also Mr. T. A. Murray,
who was elected as member.
COOMA STREET IN THE 'SEVENTIES Help
COOMA STREET IN THE 'SEVENTIES
YASS IN 1870 Help
YASS IN 1870
LOWER END OF COOMA ST., 186<r' Help
LOWER END OF COOMA ST., 1860
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