Mudgee Town

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Mudgee (Co. Wellington) 32°36’S. 149°35’E., 88 km NE of Orange, on Cudgegong R.; (incl. South Mudgee); disc. 1821 by Lieut. William Lawson and John Blackman, settled by George and Henry Cox, surveyed 1836 by Richard Lewis, estab. 1837 by James Blackman, resurveyed 1837 by Peter Grant Ogilvie, laid out 1837 by N. H. Lewis, jun., village gaz. And first lots sold 1838, thrived 1851-65, munic. 1860-1975; orig. wool, lucerne, maize, then goldmining (alluvial and reef, gold rush 1851), wheat, barley, oats, beef, hort., potatoes, tobacco, wine с.1858+, butter, cheese, ham, bacon, poultry, honey, fruit, textiles; abattoir 1965, extended 1971, 1975, 1978, closed, bought 2003 by Fletcher International Exports Pty Ltd; ambulance station b. 1944 by P. G. Flack; Angl. C. (St John the Baptist) b. 1839-41, d. by James Hume, demolished 1860, replacement b. 1858-60 by James Atkinson, d. by William Weaver and William Edmund Kemp, tower added 1870, church altered and re-roofed 1877 by Duncan McFarlane, re-roofed again 1912, additions 1938, re-roofed again 1956, upgraded 1991; Assemblies of God C. (Frontline Christ.) 1973, in former Rom. Cath. C., closed, sold, removed and reused 1996; Baha’i C.; baking powder factory (Champion’s); Bapt. C. 1951; bicycle works (Byrnes Bros.); biscuit factory (William Lang Nicholson), closed, reused 1901, sold 1908; boot factories: Cohen Sons and H. Schipp, McCamely and Burgess, Nelson and Stephens 1923, A. E. Thomas& Co.; breweries: Broombee, Crossen’s 1857 (taken over 1864 by J. K. McArdill and renamed Tipperary Brewery), Mudgee Brewing Co. (estab. 2007 by Garry Leonard), Victoria (estab. 1871 by George John Southward, closed 1888, bought 1891 by George Douglas Young and Robert Heather Ferrier and renamed Federal Brewery, fire 1892, sold 1901 to George Henry O’Connor, bought back from O’Connor 1904 by George Douglas Young and Robert Heather Ferrier, sold 1916 to Henry Smith, Alfred Cornelius Wade and Jack Birtles, sold 1946 to Federal Brewery Pty. Ltd., taken over by Hungerford, Spooner & Co., sold to Robert Thomas Hook and Robert Mitchell, taken over 1953 by Dressler Aust. Pty. Ltd. And renamed Dressler’s Brewery, closed 1956, sold 1958); bridges: first one b. 1859 by James Atkinson. Second one b. 1876 by John Ahearn, third one (Holyoake Bridge, timber beam spans) 1913, replacement (concrete girder spans) 1954, 191 ft (58.2 m), over Cudgegong R., and Neville H. Paine Bridge over Lawson Ck.; butter factory (Mudgee Dairy Co. Ltd.) b. 1876, new one b. 1890 on new site by Adam Spies, ice-making plant added 1899, extended 1961, butter production ceased 1965, chimney demolished 1872; carriage-works: A. Hartcher (burnt down 1918, rebuilt), E. H. Deane 1888 (additions 1899 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, fire 1901, Frederick Leslie became a partner 1902, taken over 1917 by P. G. Keighran, taken over and remodeled 1919 by C. Collier & Co.), J. G. Gallatley, Keegan and Casimir (Keegan left partnership in 1912, taken over 1917 by W. Bowen, jun.), Kelly and Milton, Premier (J. F. Bax, additions and alterations 1899, acquired 1901 by H. Hoyle), W. Rope (taken over 1921 by Alfred Singleton), West End Coach Factory (taken over 1917 by Kelly and Milton); cemeteries: general (7,829 graves 1850+) 1863, incl. columbarium, lawn (800 plots) 1993, memorial park; CH 1845, new one b. 1860-62 by Andrew McCauley, d. by Alexander Dawson, additions 1874 by Silas Winter, additions 1875 by A. M’Lean, additions and alterations 1877 by D. McFarlane and G. Henry, d. by James Johnstone Barnet, additions 1896 by John Dunkley, d. by Walter Liberty Vernon; Christ. Outreach C.; clock tower (war memorial) 1952; confectionary factory (McFarlane Bros.) b. 1910 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, d. by Harold Robert Hardwick; cordial factories: E. A. Brigden, H. O. Butler 1928 (acquired 1938 by R. Lord), Byrne and Stevens, Allan Fitzgerald Cameron, sen. 1881 (brewery added 1901, acquired 1913 by A. J. Lunt, ice-making plant added 1915, taken over 1925 by E. T. Webster), H. J. Collins, Crystal Fountain (Henry Meers, bought 1899 by Charles Gentle), J. Curran 1904 (in former store), Great Western (bought 1899 by Thomas H. Brady, bought 1904 by Charles Gentle, taken over 1905 by George Beckton, sold 1913 to Alan Fitzgerald Cameron, jun.), Robert F. Milne (fire 1863); diphtheria 1887, 1909, 1935; dust storms 1882, 1893, 1902; earth tremors 1862, 1866, 1937; 2 FB (stations b. 1901 and 1974); fibrous plaster works (L. J. Lawsen); fires 1895 aqnd 1897 (2 boys died); floods 2000 and 2003; flour mills: Thomas Chappell 1857 (acquired 1865 by Dickson and Burrows, sold 1885 to George Rouse, substantially rebuilt 1885, modernized 1890, sold 1899, moved to Gulgong and operated by James Loneragan & Co.), Henry Dare (taken over by Arnold, man killed 1857, known as Wilton’s 1857-59, closed, bought by James Loneragan & Co. and reused), Great Western Steam Flour Mill (b. 1865 by R. Crossing, modernized 1898), Mudgee Farmer’s Co-op, Patent Steam Flour Mills (b. 1863 by James Stodard Casimir and Collier, taken over by James Loneragan & Co., bought 1911 by Great Western Milling Co. Ltd., burnt down 1913); foot-bridges over Cudgegong R.: Glen Willow (suspension) 2014 and Holyoake 2018; foundries: Spies’, Stearn’s, West End (C. N. Hanson, taken over 1902 by Tom Laing and renamed Phoenix); freezing works: Currabubula Freezing Works Co. 1933 (bought 1934 by Thomas Borthwick A’sia Ltd., demolished 1937) and Mudgee Freezing & Dairying Co. (b. 1907 by Thomas Borthwick & Sons Ltd., closed 1915, reopened, closed 1920, reopened 1921, burnt down 1931, demolished 1932); furniture factories: Dickson & Sons, sold 1890, and William Schnalke, closed and sold 1905; gale 1877; gaol b. 1862 by Arundel Everett and William Stephens, d, by Alexander Dawson, wall b. 1862 by Alan Scot, additions 1873 by J. Dwane, additions 1875 by A M’Lean, additions and alterations 1877 by D. McFarlane and G. Henry, additions 1896 by Rigby Bros., closed 1904, reused, demolished 1936; gastroenteritis epidemic 1952; gasworks estab. 1885 by Mudgee Gaslight & Coke C. Ltd., closed 1930, sold 1937; Germen measles epidemic 1936; hailstorm 1892; heatwave 1882; home furnishings and clothing factory (Jeldi Pty. Ltd.) o. 1945 in former munitions factory; hospital 1840, (second) 1852, (third) 1858, (fourth) b. 1875 by Silas Winter d. by Edmund Thomas Blacket, re-roofed 1895 by John Miller, additions 1910 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, d. by Harold Robert Hardwick, alterations 1913 also by Collyer and Carmichael, additions 1946 by Fuller, closed 1955, demolished, (fifth) 1955, extended 1967, additions 2010; Jehovah’s Witnesses C.; joineries: George Knight 1917, R. Piper, Silas Winter; lock-up b. 1883 by M’Farlane and Stoddart, demolished; meadery (Mount Vincent) estab. 1972 by Jane Nevell, closed; measles epidemic 1928; meat works (Bourke Meat Preserving Co.) 1892, new works 1938; monumental stone works: T. W. Collier & Son and W. M. Reynolds 1932; PO: Mudgee1840 (new one 1963 d. by Alexander Dawson, new one b. 1875 by Silas Winter, alterations 1887 by John Miller, sen., d. by James Johnstone Barnet, additions 1888 by John Miller, jun., additions and alterations 1902 by Alfred Stephens, d. by Alfred Moser, repairs 1907 by Albert Murphy) and South Mudgee 1936; police barracks 1867, new barracks b. 1893 by C. B. Smith, additions and alterations 1897 by John Miller, sen., alterations 1899 by Stoddart and Casimir; pound (stock) 1842; POW control centre 1944; powerhouse (A. E. Grace, taken over 1928 by local council) 1912; Presb. C.: St Luke’s (b. 1951, sold 1962 to Anglicans), St Pauls (b. 1858 by Andrew McCauley, reused, demolished 1991, replacement b. 1875-78 by John Webb, d. by Thomas Rowe, restored and re-roofed 1942); Prim. Meth. C. 1874, sold 1902; PS (incl. lock-up) b. by Thomas Purdy, demolished, replacement b. by Silas Winter, d. by James Johnstone Barnet, additions 1868 by James Atkinson, repairs 1916 by John Belford, new one b. 1925 by Manuel, additions and alterations 1931; railway barracks 1883, new barracks 1987; railway coal stage b. 1883 by John Ahearn; railway engine shed b. 1883 by John Ahearn; railway locomotive depot 1891, demolished 1987; railway turntable, 50ft (15.2 m), replaced (William Sellers & Co.) 1903, 60 ft (18.3 m), derelict; reservoirs (incl. The Malakoff b. 1870 by Thomas Chappell, 300,000 gal. or 1,363.8 kl, demolished 1970, and one b. 1932); rifle range (3 km SW); Rom. Cath. C.: St Mary’s 1843 (demolished) Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (b. 1860 by Trier and Anderson, d. by William Munro, rebuilding and enlargement 1876 begun by John Webb but completed by Henry Donaldson, d. by Edward Gell, alterations 1903, steeple 1911 d. by Arthur John Paul Watson, restored 1989), St Martin de Tours (removed from Dungeree, rebuilt by James Hoctor and reopened 1936, closed, sold 1973); RS 1884, station b. by John Ahearn and John Miller, sen., d. by John Whitton, refreshment room 1911, services ceased 1985, station closed 1992, reused; sale-yards b. 1899 by John Bedford, d. by Harold Robert Hardwick, extended 1905 and 1906, new yards (H. A. Chick) 1937; Salv. Army C. b. 1889 by Collier and Cassimer; sawmills: W. Watterson (sold 1929) and Woolpack (William Smith); scartlet fever 1876 and 1927; schools: Cudgegong Valley 1984 (b. by White Industries Ltd.), Mudgee 1855 (new one b. 1857, replacement 1878 d. by George Allen Mansfield, additions 1896 and 1903, alterations and repairs 1907 by Albert Murphy, repairs 1908 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, additions and alterations 1910 by Arnold Rigby, additions 1914 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, additions 1929, 1956, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1986, 1989), Mudgee HS 1916 (additions 1956, 1966, 1973, 1976, major upgrade 1996), South Mudgee (Redbank till 1885) 1884, repairs 1898 by G. Collyer and W. Carmichael, enlarged 1912, closed 1964; SD Adventist C. b. 1924 by Michell and Behrens; sewage works b. 1931-35 d. by Fleming, new treatment plant 2013; small arms factory (World War II); soap-works estab. by Samuel Henry Wilton, leased 1900 to William Selff, bought 1914 by Blundell and William Selff, Selff later bought out Blundell’s share, taken over by Henry Thomas Selff, sold 1918; storms 1880, 1903, 1916, 1933, 1939, 1946, 1951, 2017; streets gas lit 1886; tanneries: Crossing’s and A. E. Thomas & Co.; TC, erection of building 1954 by Carmichael and Rickwood, additions 1958 and 1969, became a campus of Western Institute in 1992; telegraph 1861, new office 1862 d. by Alexander Dawson, new one b. 1875 by Silas Winter, alterations 1887 d. by James Johnstone Barnet, additions 1888 by John Miller, sen., additions and alterations 1902 by Alfred Stephens, d. by Alfred Moser, repairs 1907 by Albert Murphy; telephone (South Mudgee) 1937; TX 1900, new one 1948, automatic 1964; typhoid 1901, 1902, 1903; Unit. C. (orig. Wes. Meth.) b. 1863-66 by Silas Winter, d. by George Allen Mansfield, renovated, renovated 1918, extensions 1927 d. by Harold Robert Hardwick, renovated 1946, re-roofed 1975, later extended; waterworks b. 1886 by Adam Spies, new works 1899, water supply augmentation 1986; weir on Cudgegong R.; Wes. Meth. C. 1853, closed, reused 1927; whooping cough epidemics 1907, 1928, 1945; winery (Elliot Rocke Estate) estab. 1987 as Seldom Seen Wines; wool-scour (Bruce, Rouse and Sykes) 1902; wool stores; Blackman and Conway, Crossing and Cox (fire 1878), C. F. Saunders; pop 131 (1846), 292 (1851), 803 (1856), 1,507 (1861), 1,786 (1871), 2,492 (1881), 2,410 (1891), с.2,840 (1895), 2,789 (1901), 3,621 (1911), 3,993 (1933), 4,160 (1941), 4,178 (1947), 5,294 (1954), 5,312 (1961), 5,372 (1966), 5,583 (1971), 5,724 (1976), 6,015 (1981), 6,576 (1986), 7,447 (1991), 8,195 (1996), 8,619 (2001), 8,249 (2006), 9,830 (2011). (See also Bombira Hill and Redbank.1 )

1829

The town of Mudgee was surveyed in 18292 .

1837

The first allotments wore not sold till 1837, and for some years after this, two buildings comprised the town of Mudgee3 .

1851

It made but slow progress till 1851, when the gold discovery, which at first emptied it, afterwards proved the making of it. A demand soon sprang up for land, which was met by the land-owners leasing their large properties in farms, to the manifest interest of the district and building of the town4 .

1856

In 1856 the population of the district was 4208, and of the town 803, or nearly four times that of 18515 .

1857

27 June 1857
MUDGEE.
Mudgee is a large straggling town of some 200 or 300 houses. There are no ? that it would be utterly impossible to arrive at any correct estimate of number without counting them. Some fifty dwellings, however, have been erected since the census returns were taken, and nearly as many more were in course of construction. Still with all this, there was a great dearth of house accommodation, many persons having to live at the inns in the town, through the impossibility of obtaining residences. Houses, two were to my knowledge taken by some persons before even the foundations for them had been laid. With such a constant demand for residences, rents have reached a somewhat exorbitant figure. Some little two-roomed brick cottages were letting at 20s. a week - 15s. a week being the lowest rent at which even a slab hut was procurable. The Government reserve for the township is a square mile, and rather more than two-thirds of that area have been already sold, but as is the case of so many instances in the interior, very much of the land has fallen into the hands of persons who make no use of it. Owing to this, there is no continuity in the streets, gaps of vacant land occurring at every twenty paces, breaking up and scattering the town over portions of the whole area, and taking off very much from the appearance of what would otherwise look a really important place. A very large quantity of suburban land has also been sold in the immediate vicinity of the town; and many of the purchasers from the Crown have, since the great demand for building sites has risen, cut up their land into small lots and disposed of them, thus farther dispersing the population, and adding to the straggling look of the place. Since the last census was taken, it is imagined that there has been an increase in the population by additional arrivals in the town, or, if I may so term it, by immigration, of at least 5 per cent. At the same time, the natural increase by births must have been very large, for Mudgee, like most of the country towns I have visited, seemed perfectly swarming with children. In addition to the regularly settled population there is a large fluctuating population of travelers, carriers, diggers, drovers, &c. The number of these is so great that the inns are regularly filled every night with lodgers, whilst an air of bustle and activity is given to the streets by day.
The town is laid out on some sound dry undulating gravelly ground, on the western bank of the Cudgegong River, which here forms a very considerable stream. The eastern bank of the river is formed by rich and extensive alluvial flats, running back to the base of the heavy ranges, that close in the country to the north-east. The larger proportion, if not the whole of these flats, belong to the Cox family, and have for some time past been subdivided and let out in farms. These have been eagerly rented, the neighbouring diggings offering a large and steady market for every description of farm produce. In addition to these a very large quantity of land has been sold by the Government within the last two years, in this district, in lots of from 30 to 60 acres. The amount thus disposed of reaches within a few acres of 5000 acres, and the price at which it has been sold has averaged £1 15s. per acre, having been put up at £1. The town lots have been put up in half-acres at the usual upset price of £8 per acre, and the average price at which they have been sold has been £45 the half-acre. One most encouraging feature in this sale of land has been that nearly the whole of the country lots have been sold to bona fide occupants, and are now for the most part under or in course of cultivation.
There are not in the town any buildings pretending to anything beyond convenience, although an exception must be made in favour of the very handsome Roman Catholic Church in course of erection, which, when completed, promises to be an ornament to the place; it is being constructed of a very beautiful white sandstone, brought from a distance of seven miles, very carefully cut and dressed. The Episcopalian Church is an unassuming edifice of brick, that has become too small for its fast increasing congregation. This has caused so much inconvenience for some time past, that it is intended almost immediately to commence the erection of a larger and more handsome building. I was informed that funds almost sufficient for the purpose had been already collected. The Presbyterians, who form a numerous body here, have also raised sufficient for the erection of a place of worship for themselves, and this was to be at once commenced. There is also a neat little church, of red brick, belonging to the Wesleyans. The National School is a most commodious building, though left from the sudden withdrawal of funds in a somewhat incomplete state. As a school, it has obtained an excellent reputation in the town, the number of scholars on the books being 114, with an average daily attendance of 90. There is also a Church of England School under the Denominational Board, together with a private school, both well attended. The Court-house is a melancholy-looking remnant of times gone by, being a slab hut, in the rudest bush style. More consideration, however, is shown to the prisoners than to the magistracy, for the lock-up is of red brick, and apparently a very good building. The only other public edifice is the Hospital, a very comfortable and commodious brick building, in which beds for twenty patients can be made up. The average number of patients in the institution is about twelve. There are eleven licensed public-houses in the town, some two or three of them being commodious buildings, and houses generally are built of brick of a very good quality, made from clay obtained on the township. The lime, however, has to be brought from a considerable distance, and is burnt from stone. Labour is not over plentiful, at the same time it is obtainable much more readily than in many country places, owing, no doubt, to the very great traffic through the town to the various diggings. The wages of mechanics range from 12s. to l5s. per day, a sober steady working man being always preferred at the higher rate. Such men, however, are somewhat difficult to obtain, for the township bears the reputation of being one of the most dissipated places in the country. This may be attributed to the fact that it is made the rendezvous for successful diggers, and that their sprees are sure to induce evil consequences to some others resident on the spot. Whilst I was in the town, a grand supper, in honour of her Majesty's birthday, was given by a benefit society recently established here. All classes seemed to join in this demonstration in a most fraternal manner - magistrates, clergymen, masters, mechanics, and labourers, all sitting down together at the one table in true patriarchal style.
The community, however, is not one of the most orderly in the country, for the average number of cases, of every kind, disposed of by the Police Court, ranges at about 72 per month, whilst the committals for trial average two per month. I was given to understand that the great majority of the offenders were persons passing through the town, diggers, up-country men, or carriers, but more particularly the latter, who bear amongst the police here, the reputation of being the most troublesome and disorderly characters that frequent the town. There may, however, be great excuses made for whatever disorder may, for a time exist amongst a community composed of so many various conflicting materials, all thrown together within so very recent a time. Some three or four years back, Mudgee was all but unknown, and it is only within the last two years that the greater part of the buildings in the place has been erected. Now, it has its Institutions and its buildings; it possesses a local paper through which to make its wants and its importance known to the colony at large; it engrosses a very great share of the business with the diggings; whilst the road to many of the Western gold-fields being better by way of Mudgee than by Bathurst and the line from Maitland running through the town, it has a large proportion of the traffic to them6 .

1870

The population is now about 2000, and that of the district about 8000. There is no estimate can be made as to what the population will be, for the compound multiplication of a new generation, which must be going on where children "swarm" as they do here, must be astounding-nevertheless, New South Wales is large enough at present.
The streets of the town are well laid out, roughly parallel with the river, and on its south bank, the cross streets intersecting at right angles. At the end of Church-street (the main cross street) a wooden bridge spans the river, the road-way of which is twelve feet wide. Over this goes the road to Cassilis and Maitland, to Gulgong and the race-course. From the east end of Market-street (the principal street) goes the road to Sydney, and out of the west end the way to "Wellington.
Mudgee boasts several very good buildings, both public and private among which are the English, the Romish, and Wesleyan churches, the Mechanics Institute, the N.S.W. and Joint Stock Banks, the Post-Office, the Courthouse, the Belmore, Hughson's, Tattersalls and the Royal hotels, the English, R.C., and Public schools, Chappell's and Crossing's mills, Mr. Dickson's immense store and establishment, as well as those of Messrs. Woods and Co.'s (Sydney house), Ellman (General store), Potter (Beehive store, opposite the Bank of N.S.W.), Kellett (Old Flagstaff stores, near the Belmore Hotel), and Wilson's General store, next Tattersalls. Mudgee supports two "locals," and Gallatley's coach factory is a local and a flourishing institution, which is well and deservedly patronised by the wealthy residents of the surrounding district. Three tanneries find employment in the bitter occupation of tanning hides, and the energetic inhabitants, or, rather, a few of them, have got up a machine for the manufacture of ice, which is about to be let to the late manager thereof on uncommonly advantageous terms. Ice is undoubtedly a great luxury in the three hot months, for it may be used in so many ways, in cooling water, butter, wines, and drinks, but I fancy this company has "paid pretty dear for their ice" to paraphrase an old proverb about a " whistle."
The Church of England Church and schools stand at the north-west angle of Market and Church streets.
The Romish Church stands at the south-east angle of Market and Church streets.
The Wesleyan Church has the most showy exterior, and would be the handsomest if it were a bay or two longer.
The Church of England schools presented 130 pupils in attendance, fifty-one of which were infants, the number on the roll being 163.
The Public School, which is in three divisions, numbered last quarter on the roll 132 boys and 101 girls, the attendance I saw was ninety-ono boys and seventy girls.
The Roman Catholic school, under Mr. Kevin, is in excellent order, the discipline being unusually good.
The Hospital probably makes up by the useful for lack of the ornamental, its supply of the latter being small.
The Post-office is an attractive little building and well-ordered with regard to punctuality and dispatch.
The Court-house is roomy, and well-ventilated.
The glory of Mudgee is in its Mechanics' Institute.
The Joint Stock and New South Wales Bank are also a credit to the town.
There are several good houses of business in Mudgee; perhaps the leading establishment is that of Mr. Dickson, known by the name of Dickson and Sons.
A mill belonging to Mr. Dickson stands at the east end of Market-street.
The mill of our enterprising friend, Mr. Chappell, is found at the other end of the town.
Mudgee boasts several good hotels, among which the principal are The Belmore, a handsome new building, opposite the court house; Hughson's, opposite the post-office; Tattersalls, opposite the bridge, a large well built hotel, with well kept yards and premises is the rear, and good racing stables; the Royal, and the Maitland.
But the stay and the beauty of Mudgee, like that of a precious stone, lies much in the setting; and it does not take long to discover that the town is figuratively and literally set in diamonds. The rocks I have already described as abounding in mineral wealth sufficient to support a large population, while the soil and climate are admirably adapted for the cultivation of the olive, the fig tree, and the vine, the mulberry and the silkworm; while the deep alluvial deposit covering the limestone and the greenstone throws fruit of an astonishing size and flavour, the native grasses even being of a superior quality and sweetness, upon which sheep and cattle appear to thrive uncommonly. By the friendly aid of Mr. Atkinson we will commence an examination, necessarily very imperfect and cursory, of the jewellery and sotting of Mudgee7 .

1880

30 October 1880
Views in Mudgee.
MUDGEE may be regarded as one of the most enterprising and flourishing townships in the colony, and the prosperity of which it is naturally so proud must inevitably become largely increased when the line connecting it with the Western Railway is completed, thereby giving the town the advantage of direct communication with Sydney. The town is situated on the Cudgegong River, about 153 miles N.W. of Sydney, and about 80 miles from Bathurst. It is located in the centre of a very rich auriferous district, and has besides the advantage of being environed by country valuable alike to squatter and farmer. The diggings are both alluvial and quartz, and the latter may be considered as practically inexhaustible. The wool from the Mudgee district has long had both a London and colonial reputation. The town, which is built with streets laid out at right angles, is presided over by a mayor and aldermen. Of the general character of the thoroughfares, a fair idea may be obtained from our views of Market Street and Church Street. The town has been a municipality since February, 1860. Mr. Clarke is the present mayor and is deservedly highly popular. There are in the town several substantial stores and shops, and numerous hotels; the principal are Hughson's, the Belmore, the Club House, and the Royal. The public buildings include the Hospital, the Mechanics' Institute, with an extensive library, the Court House, Public Schools, and religious edifices. The Church of England is a fine edifice. At the corner of Market and Church Streets is the Roman Catholic church, a towered stone structure with a peal of bells; but the Wesleyan chapel has the most pretentious aspect of all. Several of the banks and insurance companies are represented by important branches. Both the structures tenanted by the New South Wales and Joint Stock Banks are fine buildings. The mining capabilities of the Mudgee district are not limited to gold, as iron-ore, coal, slate, and other minerals abound, and only need capital and better communication with a market for their profitable development. There is a large breadth of land under cultivation, wheat and maize being the staple crops. The fourth estate is vigorously represented by the Western Post and the Mudgee Times. The manufacturing interests in the town are represented by a coach factory, three tanneries, and several mills. At present a coach runs daily to and from the Wallerawang station of the Western line, but this will soon become a thing of the past, to the great comfort of the travelling public.
1. - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
2 - PUBLIC SCHOOL.
3. - CHURCH STREET, LOOKING SOUTH.
4. - MARKET STREET.
5. - WESLEYAN CHURCH
6. - HOSPITAL
7. - MECHANICS' INSTITUTE.
8. - ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
8 .

1895

20 December 1895
ROUND ABOUT THE TOWN.
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HAVE you never been to Mudgee? Come then, take the trip, for the name of Mudgee has been honored in many parts of the world, and a glimpse at the town, even if in imagination only, will make you wiser than you were. Mudgee wheat won the grand prizes at Paris exhibition of 1878, Mudgee wine was awarded high honors at the same great show. Mudgee wool and Mudgee rams have been sought for far and wide, and their descendants may be found from the sunburnt plains of northern New South Wales to the cold and well-named Snowy Mountains of the South, and in all the climes between. Mudgee butter quickly attained to the level of the best, and is much sought after by consumers. Mudgee sharpening stones " knock spots" (in shearers' parlance) off the best imported Turkey stones, Mudgee marble has been pronounced by Government experts to be quite equal to the best Cartara, and Mudgee district goldfields have filled the world with wonder. Then come, make the acquaintance of the town, around which clusters honor and memories of victory, if you only see it through our eyes, and trace through our poor words the natural beauties of the neighbourhood. Mudgee has an honored past, and Mudgee will yet have a splendid future, let us therefore introduce you.
First impressions are said to be the most lasting, therefore, let us bring you to the town by way of the old pathway of coaching days.
The Sydney Road.
I dMfHNat that we just left old snbpirnb and have climbed the scdbvebve. There away on our gdvc stands old Mount Frome, hbvb sbwn and grim, standing fvfvv bvry to guard the charming hfbvly, the wonderfully rich and fertile valley or basin in which Mudgee is built. Note how the mountain range there to the west, almost in front of us, with its round topped, tree clad hills, scored by deep gullies, forms the high western edge of the hollow, look right beyond there to the north and you see that Range beyond range, the hilly prospect lies bounded in circuit by the bending skies. But between those hills there lies splendid tracts of country, suitable for grazing, wool, the plough, or Igftftrd. That black topped, sdcvged mount you see is Lowe's Peak. Did you ever see two mountains more resembling Round Top and Little Round Top, overlooking the famous American battlefield of Gettysburg? Now look, as soon as we clear these trees on our right. There are the Burrundulla Flats spread like a many colored carpet beneath us. Did you ever see a prettier picture! Note the winding Cudgegong, fringed by the sombre-tinted gum trees, the chain brightened here and there by the lighter willows, see how clearly defined are the beautiful green lucerne paddocks, alternating with cornfields, with land ready plowed for planting, or with the white fields which have just yielded their crop of hay.
Distance lends enchantment to the view, for the serial tints blend all the colors of the map at our feet into one harmonious whole, while the haze which rises from the town fih one shade deeper than the blue of the distant hills beyond. Like a flat-bottomed oblong saucer the landscape lies beneath us. No wonder the first pioneers selected this charming spot as the pick of the country, and well named was the locality by the blacks "Muzhyee" signifying "nest," for the town is indeed situated as a nest between the hills.
The western waves of ebbing day light up the landscape in a mellow gleam, and all is radiant beauty. We soon drop from the hill which furnishes this lovely view, and in half an hour are in the town.
But there are other pictures to see before we inspect the town itself. Let us in fancy hie across to Mount Frome railway station and enter the train as it comes to Mudgee in the early sunlit hours of a summer’s morn. A quick run down the incline from the platform, and dashing through the deep cutting we rumble over the wooden bridge which spans the Cudgegong, here at its narrowest. Instantly we are speeding between the lucerne patches, corn-fields, or hay cocks, we saw from Pine Ridge. On either side a view is obtained worthy of any artist's canvas and as we thunder along the viaduct, high over the telegraph wires, we have indeed a magnificent view. There to the left we trace the river as it winds along the narrowing flats until we see from where it comes between the high mountains. The receding range of hills in the west gives quite a study in blue tints, a lesson in middle distance, and distance. The oaks and willow and gums along the river add a charm to view. The happy, comfortable looking homesteads suggest that "peace and plenty," which "cheers the laboring swain," the sleek herds of dairy cattle in their proper paddocks add picturesqueness to the view, while a snorting colt shams fright as he capers around his dam, and gazes with head and tail erect at the passing train. This side of the hills is still in shadow, cool and sweet, the clear blue sky overhead, lightly flecked with fleecing clouds, the air cool, and keen, and bracing, and we can come to no other state of mind than admiration for the glimpse we get of the Burrundulla Flats. But turn to the other side ere the speeding train carries us beyond the view. Yon the high mountain range, the town nestling this side, the white spire of St. Mary's, the red tower of St. John's, the shingled spire of St. Paul's, the high roof of the Wesleyan Church, all catch the rays of the rising sun, and stand out bold and clear. The iron roofed buildings just appear above the trees between. The weeping willows, rich in trailing green streamers, the lofty poplars, piercing the sky, the oaks and other evergreens, scattered here and there in the "river paddocks," The Red House, of the Burrundulla squire, thrown into bold relief by its backing of appletrees, the long, low milking-sheds, the haystacks and the waiting herds, all combine to make another charming picture. Here in the foreground the flood-swept copse, the tufty grass just changing tint enough to throw some color into the picture, the group of grand old gums away on the right, and we see a picture of peaceful rural life, sweet in its peaceful suggestiveness and charming in its effect. In five minutes we draw into one of the finest railway stations one could wish for, and all is hurry and bustle as we prepare to take cab or coach down into town for breakfast. The traffic goes down Church-street to the last street but one on the northern side, called Market-street, which is the principal business place. In this street, running east and west, we have eight fine hotels, three large emporiums, the Town Hall, Commercial Bank, Post and Telegraph Offices, Police Barracks, Cudgegong Council Chambers, Court House and Gaol, and a large number of fine business premises, while the two fine churches, St. John's C.E., and St. Mary's R.C., are imposing structures. We should have mentioned that Church-street is planted nearly its whole length with trees, which are doing well, though young. Already the street looks very nice, but when the trees have aged a bit, and aldermanic wisdom has discarded river gravel for blue metal, this entrance into town will be one calculated to make the very best impressions. Directly below the station there is Victoria Park, a "block," bounded by four streets, and nicely planted, though yet to be further improved. A white picket fence surrounds the whole, while diagonal and boundary walks are cut and planted.
Breakfast over, let us to wheels again, and see all we can, while the day is young, the air crisp and clear. We will drive over the river, and Lawson's Creek, and up Bombira Hill, and a little way on the Cassilis road "for effect." As we turn, we find we have lost sight of the town, but away to the left we can see the long viaduct over which our train came this morning, and the flats on each side, with old Mount Frome still glum and sombre. Ahead we see the sheltering range of hills to the west of the town, which seem higher than we thought them, and grander far. At once the town is opened to our view, and we gaze with admiration on the scene. From extreme right, where "West End" homes show as spots of light, where the steam from Rouse's mill tells that the staff of life may be an entirely local production, our eye sweeps around over cottage and shop. Once bare and bald Flirtation Hill is bald no longer, for the aldermen have planted trees and erected seats for the comfort of the scores of Sunday afternoon promenaders. Ascending the slope of this hill, we see quite a number of pleasantly situated homes, and the many trees around them show that the residents have an eye for the beautiful. The public buildings, too, are sheltered and nestling in foliage, much to the beauty of the town, while along the river bank the weeping willows hold their own. The fine old bridge looks well in its coat of white paint. The highway (called by some "Nardill's Folly") looks well, but will look better when the trees planted on either side have grown up and form an avenue.
The distant Co-operative Roller Mill (the third in town), stands boldly prominent by the railway line; nearer, the brewery, then the butter factory, with its already long string of vehicles awaiting to deliver the loads of milk, presents an animated scene, and further along we see the fine old Bleak House, and opposite Beverley House, amidst its wealth of foliage. Along the northern side of the town we see the remnants of old Mudgee in the neglected and decaying buildings which were such grand places in the old days. The stream of trade has gone further west, and these blocks are now awaiting for an increased population, when they will be most desirable sites for dwellings, presenting as they do one of the prettiest views about, from the front. The stately poplars at the Holyoak Inn (through which successive floods have flowed) show how long there has been a hostlery at the junction of the Rylstone road with this (the Cassilis and Home Rule) road. More lucerne paddocks, more corn fields, then the winding Lawson's Creek (which joins the Cudgegong beneath a canopy of willows just under Putta Bucca House there), and the rise to Bombira Hill commences. Mudgee's natural beauties are indeed grand, and the spot is a pretty one without doubt, and in a few years time, when a gravitation scheme of water supply, from a big dam in that gully right across ahead there, is available to further beautify the homes of the people, and to prevent the occasional clouds of dust, the town and district of Mudgee will be a most desirable place to live in.
Pages could be written about Objects of Interest in the days gone by. As we cross the bridge we see a hundred yards down a few bricks amidst a little shrubbery. The washing away of the river bank by the heavy floods which sweep around that curve has reduced considerably the area of the block on which the first Post Office stood. Though within biscuit toss of the stream, this spot was never touched by floods, which, nevertheless, surged over all the land around, even to a sufficient depth to cause the river and Lawson's Creek to unite as one large stream though over quarter of a mile apart. In those days the floods were no trifling matter. A couple of inches of rain at Rylstone sent the police in hot haste down either bank, warning residents to seek safety on higher ground, but though for days Bailey's cottage was cut off, its inhabitants never got wet feet from the flood. That round tower, at the rear of the Post and Telegraph Offices, always arouses the curiosity of visitors. We call it the Malakoff, after the famous round fortress of Sebastopol, but instead of a place from which to send the leaden or iron hail, we use it to supply pure good water to any residents whose domestic supply runs out. The pumping engines lift the water from an iron-cased well on the river bank into this tower, and water carts draw from this to those needing water. It is a primitive arrangement, 'tis true, but, nevertheless, it has saved many precious lives. Years ago, the town was supplied with water taken from that large hole under the bridge, and in the height of summer, when the river had almost ceased to flow, and constant traffic and dipping stirred the mud, the water people had to drink was none too pure. Then the Malakoff water was available, drawn through the natural drift filter bed, the death rate from typhoid went down with a thump, and has kept down ever since. Just now, however, the aldermen and ratepayers of the borough are agitated over the question of a thorough water supply which will be worthy of the town and district, and when you come this way again next Christmas, dear readers, we hope to be able to conduct you to Redbank to show you, in progress of construction, a grand reservoir from which the town will be supplied9 .

1896

24 October 1896
The Town of Mudgee.
CENTRE OF A RICH DISTRICT.
The important and pleasant town of Mudgee is situated on the Cudgegong River, and is only 190 miles by rail from Sydney. A good deal of the early fame of Mudgee was based on its rich alluvial gold, and though a good many years have elapsed since the district first attracted the attention of the miner. Its great mineral resources have not only not been worked out, but cannot be said to have even been fully developed. But the district has other claims to attention, for it also rejoices in being a very rich pastoral and agricultural area. The wool sent from the district has long enjoyed a very high reputation, and, in fact, is not excelled by the product of any other part of the world. The pastures contain many valuable species of grasses, such, for instance, as Andropogon affinis and Andropogon protusus (locally known as blue grasses). The soil is exceedingly fertile, and farming is carried on extensively. The town itself has the merit of elevation. It is 1635ft above sea level. It is well built, and the streets are laid out at right angles. It has been a municipality since 1860, and is presided over by a Mayor and eight aldermen. The town possesses some well-built public buildings. Among these are the hospital, the Mechanics' Institute, the courthouse, the gaol (with accommodation for eighty prisoners), the various churches, the Town Hall (which cost £5000), and the Cudgegong Council Hall. The Roman Catholic Church stands at the corner of Market and Church streets, and is a very fine structure of stone. St. John's Church of England is also a fine building. The Presbyterians have erected a splendid building at a cost of £4000, and the Wesleyan Chapel is a roomy structure. There is also a Primitive Methodist Chapel.
The Mudgee Superior Public School is a fine structure, with extensive playgrounds, and its total enrolment of scholars numbers 560, with an average attendance of about 475. The headmaster (Mr. G. A. Blumer, B.A.) has been in the educational service of the colony nineteen years, and came to his present post from Emmaville, where he held a similar position. In his present duties he has twelve assistants, who share with him the honors which the school has so persistently earned. Mr. Blumer has been singularly successful in preparing pupils for junior and senior examinations, one of his Mudgee pupils (Colin Davidson) qualifying last year at the senior examination for matriculation and entrance to the Faculties of Medicine and Science at Sydney University.
Mudgee Hospital is a handsome building just across the railway line, and occupies a nice, airy situation, with an isolation building constructed on the principle of the Coast Hospital slightly in the rear. The institution, which is presided over by a matron, assisted by a nurse, wardsman, and domestic, keeps an average of about sixteen patients, the accommodation being for twenty-five. There are three public wards and one private, and the general appearance of the interior is in every degree creditable to those in charge. Dr. Harvey Nickoll is medical officer, Mr. J. M. Cox hon. Sec., and Mr. F. J. Bird hon. Treasurer.
The Young Men's Club is the infant institution of the town - a very vigorous old man kind of infant. Suggested by Dr. Arthur when recently visiting Mudgee, the idea was warmly taken up by leading spirits of the town, who lost no time in useless preliminaries. The large hall of the School of Arts having been secured for a gymnasium, the club was promptly formed and affiliated to that institution - one subscription entitling members to the privileges of both. The School of Arts member’s roll has thus been increased by almost the whole membership of the club, the very respectable total of 120. The subscription was fixed for youths under 21 at 2s 6d per quarter, over that age 5s, and all males over 12 are eligible. That the institution has "caught on" is evidenced by the average attendance of over sixty members. The gymnasium, which is provided with Roman rings, horizontal and parallel bars, trapeze, single sticks, clubs, dumbbells, gloves, chess, draughts, &c, is open three evenings each week, and members enter into the exercises with great zest and good temper. The management maintains strictest discipline, and good conduct is insisted upon. The officers, to whom every credit must be given for the success which has attended the club, are: President, Dr. Lester; vice-presidents, Messrs. Kellett, Lonargan, and Blumer; hon. sec., Mr. A. Carpenter; hon. treasurer, Mr. H. Clark; committee, Messrs. Kennewell, Holden, and Ward.
Mr. Allan F. Cameron, Mayor of Mudgee, was born in Sydney in 1858, and at the age of 12 came with his parents to Mudgee, where, with the exception of about two years spent in his father's branch businesses on the Gulgong, Forbes, Grenfell, and Temora Gold Fields, he has since continuously, resided. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of the trade from his father, he established his present steam cordial and aerated water works in 1885, being associated with a partner during the first four years of business. Always taking an active interest in local public affairs, the subject of our sketch hearkened to the invitation of his fellow-townsmen, and was elected to a seat in the Mudgee Council in 1892, and again three years later - each time at the head of the poll. That the councillors shared with the ratepayers their confidence in Mr. Cameron, was evidenced by his early election to the civic chair, the duties of which he has invariably discharged with intelligence, firmness, and fearlessness. He has on two occasions attended as delegate to the Municipal Conference held in Sydney, and is an advanced thinker with strongly defined views on all important municipal questions of the day. In 1886 Mr Cameron was married to Miss Janet Smith, of Ryde, who enjoys with her husband the goodwill and respect of a very large circle of friends.
Mr. Allan F. Cameron's aerated water and cordial factory is the principal business of its kind in the district, and has a capacity much greater than most metropolitan concerns. The plant is complete with all modern improvements, and it is apparent to the most casual observer that no expense has been spared in keeping pace with the times. The works are a model of neatness, and employment is found for six hands. Raised tanks at the rear of the building furnish a supply of water to all parts, including stables and yard. In this respect the proprietor is much in advance of his fellow townsmen. few if any of whom enjoy such conveniences. The products of the factory include every kind of cordial which, with Cameron's famous soda, successfully defy all other brands in the market. In the busy season this establishment dispatches large orders far beyond the limits of Mudgee district, and great preparations are now being made to cope with the summer trade.
Prominent among the pioneer provincial press of New South Wales is the Mudgee "Western Post," now in the thirty-seventh year of its establishment and it is a noteworthy fact that at no period of its existence has the paper been more popular than at present, it finding its way into almost every home in the broad expanse of country between Coonabarabran and Bathurst and Wellington and Wallerawang. During its time it has seen the birth and death of a dozen or so rivals. From the advent of Messrs. Shaw, Kear, and Garling as proprietors, wonderful advancement has been made. A couple of years ago they purchased their oldest contemporary, the Mudgee "Independent," and the incorporation thereof with the "Post" has made the latter unquestionably the most widely circulated and repre-sentative newspaper in the north-west. In politics the "Post" is Protectionist; but its columns are principally devoted to mining, pastoral, agricultural and general news, its readers being kept well posted up in the doings of all parts by reliable correspondents. Its literary staff includes some of the oldest and smartest pressmen to be found out of the city, and it is by no means an uncommon thing to find extracts from the "Post's" articles quoted in the metropolitan papers. It is published bi-weekly (Mondays and Thursdays), and each issue contains the latest telegraphic and cable news procurable up to the hour of going to press. The plant is one of the most complete of any country office in the colony, and the class of work turned out from the job printing department is quite equal to anything from the best city jobbing establishments. The principal issue of the week is, of course, that printed on Thursday, as it contains twenty pages, while the Monday's contains but eight pages. The "Post's" last Christmas issue was a most creditable production, and was generally acknowledged to be the best publication ever turned out from a country office, being profusely illustrated from process blocks. As an advertising medium the "Post" stands unrivalled among country papers, by reason of its long establishment and large circulation. Its Sydney agents are Reuter's Telegram Company, Gordon and Gotch, and Hennessy, Harper, and Company, at whose offices copies of the "Post" may always be seen and advertisements arranged for.
One of the institutions of the town is Messrs. Kellett and Sons' Old Flagstaff Stores, Market street, West End. Established by the present head of the firm, Mr. W. Kellett, as far back as 1859 in a little cottage - now forming a centre, around which the present commodious premises have grown piece by piece as the ever increasing trade demanded, the business has become one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, embracing grocery drapery, boots, ironmongery, crockery, furniture, building material, agricultural implements, farm produce &c. That the firm does a very extensive trade is amply evidenced by their ever running and well laden delivery vans which are to be met with in every part of the district. In this establishment waste space is unknown, every available inch of floor; wall, and ceiling being,made to do its full part in displaying the innumerable articles which go to make up the stock of a first-class country store. A very important feature of the business is the marsupial skins and hides branch, conducted in a special large building close at hand, the firm being very large buyers. They are also sole agents in the district for John Bull teas and the Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machinery Company. Mr. Kellett is accountant of the local branch Savings Bank of N.S.W., the business of which is transacted in a wing of the stores.
Messrs. T. H. Marks and Company, Market and Church streets, conduct the business originally established in old Mudgee House in 1851 by Dickson and Sons, from which it was purchased Sons, from which it was purchased some ll years ago by the late Mr. Marks. The present buildings, which were built by Mr. Marks in 1890, occupy the very best position, and are the most striking business pile in the township. The fittings and fixtures in every department have been arranged with judgment, and the large plate-glass, brass-fitted, and neatly dressed windows help to make up a front equal to many of the most pretentious Sydney establishments. On the death of the late proprietor, three years ago, the business was left to Mrs. Marks, with Mr. F. J. Bird as managing partner; and from the many evidences of its extensive operations, it is clear that the prosperity which distinguished the firm in its earlier days has by no means diminished under the present popular management. In fact, the extensive alterations and enlargements which have been effected during the past twelve months point to a considerable increase in the volume of trade. As well as being general storekeepers on a very large scale, Messrs. Marks and Company are buyers and sellers of every description of colonial produce, wool, &c. The large well-stocked wine cellars have the, for Mudgee, unique feature of being always perfectly dry, the great majority of such receptacles being in a continual state of dampness and often half full of water. Dressed with the new season's goods, the establishment just now presents a very animated and vigorous appearance.
Millett's Club House Hotel (Tatt.'s) ranks amongst the best conducted, conveniently situated, and most comfortably appointed hotels in the western district. lt contains twenty-five well furnished rooms, has large sample rooms, billiard room, deep cool balconies, coach and buggy houses, splendid, stabling accommodation, and is headquarters for all coaches plying between Mudgee and Cassilis, Hargraves, Hill End, Cudgegong, Capertee, Ilford, Windeyer, Long Creek, Wellington, Gulgong, Cobbora, Mundporan, Coolah, Leadville, Denisontown, and Mount Stewart. Secure, well-grassed paddocks are provided for visitors' horses, and, in addition to the house cab, which meets every train, vehicles of every description are kept in readiness to meet travellers at the station and take them at once to their destination. The genial host, Mr. W. Millett, has just completed his seventeenth year of management. He is an active force in all movements for the advancement of the town, has occupied the Mayoral chair in Cudgegong Council, is chairman of the Gas Company, vice-president of the Agricultural Society, and a member of the Jockey Club committee. The other hotels of the town are the Paragon, Federal, Sydney, Post Office, Miner’s Arms, Imperial, Tattersall’s, Mudgee, Railway, Woolpack, Commercial, North Shore, Inverness, Contingent, West End, Farmer’s Arms, and Park View.
Messrs. Bax and Bray, coach and buggy builders, Lewis and Mortimer streets, are amongst the best established firms. Their factory, which is shown in our illustration, is fitted with all modern appliances for rapid execution of high-class work, many specimens of which are to be seen in various stages of completion. A special feature of the plant is an ingenious though simple contrivance for tyring, the invention of Mr. Bax. Tyres fitted by the aid of this apparatus are cooled almost instantaneously, and as all rim-scorching is thus avoided they cling to the wood and never require recutting a fact which, to the firm's profit, has become widely known. By good workmanship and the use of well-selected and properly seasoned material, Messrs. B. and B. have gained a leading position in the local trade, and find regular employment for twelve hands. The woodwork is under the direct supervision of Mr. Bray, while Mr. Bax attends' to the smithy. Both are tradesmen of long experience, and, with the appliances at hand, may be trusted to give their patrons complete satisfaction.
The Mudgee Farmers' Co-operative Patent Roller Steam Flour Mills afford an object lesson in lukewarm co-operation, amongst the shoals of which it became stranded almost at the moment of its birth. Early in 1892 a co-operative company was locally formed to bring the concern into existence, capital £10,000, of which no less a sum than £8000 was promptly subscribed. For a time all went merrily. Land was purchased, designs approved, and building contracts entered into. A plant of the most perfect and costly pattern was straightway ordered from the famous milling engineers, Simon and Company, Manchester, and in due course it arrived in Sydney. Trouble now began. Owing to a difficulty in obtaining girders exasperating delays occurred in the building operations, but these being eventually overcome the machinery was brought along, and the work of fitting entered upon. Then, alas, the engineer's agent did not proceed, and further progress was stayed pending the arrival from Manchester of a special representative to' complete his work. This being done, milling was begun, and continued about three months, some 10,000 bushels being put through. The quality of the flour turned out is said by local bakers to have been the very best it has ever been their privilege to use. By this time heavy engagements came due, and efforts were made to call in the balance of capital (£2000), but disheartened by the vexatious delays, or hampered by the banks, shareholders made no response, and all attempts to collect the money proved futile. The mill was brought to a standstill, forced upon a strangled market, and sold for one-fifth its cost, the purchaser being Mr. Wilton, one of the directors, who, having made large advances to the company, bought the property to save himself. The fine brick building stands on 2½ acres, near to the railway station, a siding running up to the verandah for convenient loading. The dimensions of the main structure are: Ground floor, 30 x 46ft; fourth floor, 31 ft 10in x 47ft 10in. The capacity of the grain store is 20,000 bushels. The machinery, which cost over £6000, is the famous Simon system, and, roughly described, consists of a 40 h.p. (nom.) compound tandem type engine, with condenser, 40 h.p. (nom.), milled steel, 86 tube, ½ in plate boiler, and 14 pairs reduction rolls, 2 reform purifiers, 2 gravity ditto, 4 scalpers, 7 centrifugal grading reels, germ separators, grain cleaners, warehouse separator, scourers, brush machine, flour mixers, flour and bran packers, 15 sets patent boot elevators, bran-duster, &c. The capacity of the mill is twelve sacks per hour, and can be worked by four men. The magnificent property, to which there is a splendid supply of water is now for sale at about one-fourth its first cost, and as the area under wheat crop in this district is estimated at more than double that of last year, and the prospects of a splendid season are particularly good, it should not he many months before the perfect machinery will be moving merrily to the tune of "Jolly Miller." Inquirers should write to Mr. W. Wilton, McDonald's Creek, Mudgee.
Messrs. A. E. Thomas and Company's Australian Tannery was established by the present proprietor some forty years ago. In 1880 a boot factory, in which twenty-five hands are regularly employed, was added to the business, and later on the now well-known Boot Palace stepped into the current of Mudgee commerce. All told, this firm employs about thirty-eight hands, and is a very large purchaser of all kinds of skins. An average of ninety-five hides pass through the tannery every week, and large quantities of kip, tweed, yearling, calf, and kangaroo leathers are manufactured. The machinery, which is complete throughout, is driven by an 8 h.p. engine, and includes a large steamroller for hardening and finishing heavy leathers. This was recently erected by Pullin and Company, of Melbourne, at very heavy expense, and has exercised a very beneficial influence on the trade. Indeed, so highly are the products of this tannery estimated, the proprietors invariably command the topmost figures in the metropolitan market, some of the heavy buyers even asking to be informed of the dispatch of consignments. In the boot factory nothing but local leathers are used, and a ready sale is found for all the goods turned out. In this department many orders to measure are fulfilled, Mr. Thomas even receiving letters from former patrons, now resident in other colonies, requesting to be supplied.
W. L. Nicholson, baker, confectioner, and steam biscuit manufacturer, takes a leading place in his line of business. Settling in Mudgee in 1865 he established in a small way, launching out with, or rather always in advance of the district's progress. About 1885 he added steam power to his biscuit, bread, and confectionery plant, which is of the most complete description, and it may be said that the establishment commands a very large proportion of the trade. The biscuit list includes Abernethys, captains, nicnacs, coffees, picnics, arrowroots, kings, Derbys, lemons, and other varieties, of the very finest flavor and quality. Every kind of pastry and confectionery is manufactured, but the proprietor specially prides himself upon wedding cakes. He has turned out some "boomers," too, in the lavish times. Mudgee's chief caterer has now attached to his business a light refreshment room furnished in the very latest fashion, where the best attention is given to his numerous patrons.
Most of our illustrations are from photos, by Mr. G. W. Kenniwell, Mudgee10 .

1899

23 September 1899
Mudgee is 190 miles by rail from Sydney, and enjoys a salubrious position on a splendid stretch of country, watered by the Cudgegong River and Lawson's Creek. The district embraces a large area of country, much of which is of a very fertile description. The town, which is built near the Cudgegong River, has interesting and diversified surroundings - mountains all round, and rich, undulating, park-like country adjacent to the town. Along the north of the town meanders the course of the present sluggish Cudgegong, flanked on its further side by fine, rich pastoral country, gently undulating, which disappears against the slopes of the distant dark blue-moulded ridges.
To obtain anything like a panoramic view of Mudgee, one needs to mount one of the neighbouring hills. Viewed from any of these, Mudgee presents a very fine picture, indeed. The whole town, with its roofs and church spires aflame with the glow of the rising or setting sun, its well-formed blocks of buildings, with fine streets bordering them on all sides, and its bounteous health of foliage and flowers, seems to stretch away from your very feet; the hills all round forming picturesque backgrounds, while the country intervening makes the panorama still more delightful. Of the early history of Mudgee I was able to glean some interesting particulars from some old residents, also from records kept by the Hon. G. H. Cox, M.L.C., of Burrundulla, a descendant of Wm. Cox, the explorer, who opened up in 1815 the road between Emu Plains over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, at the request of Governor Macquarie.
EARLY HISTORY.
It appears Mudgee was first discovered by Wm. Lawson about the year 1820. There had been a succession of dry seasons at Bathurst, and the country around as far as then known had become overstocked. As far as the old chronicles go, Mr. Lawson had no partner in his discovery. A general rumour said a fine country lay to the northward, and Lawson being an enterprizing man, as well as one of the first discoverers of Bathurst, determined to try and succeed in making his way as far as the Talbragar River, where he shortly afterwards formed a station, faint traces of which may still be found about three-quarters of a mile from the junction of the Coolah Creek. On his return to Bathurst he gave such a glowing description of the country he had seen that George Cox, then at Bathurst, determined upon following Lawson's route, and accordingly soon after with Richard Lewis and a Mr. Lee set off, having for a guide a native named Aaron, from whom the narrow pass at the bottom of the Tabrabucca range was named, he calling himself the chief of that part of the country. This party also travelled as far as the Talbragar, and returning to Bathurst seemed inclined to think more highly of Mudgee than the country further to the North, and soon determined on removing part of their horned stock to the newly-discovered country. On the sixth day after leaving Bathurst Broomley was reached. On the following day, leaving the cattle in charge of the footmen, the Coxes rode out to explore, and after some uncertainty finally determined to settle on Menah Flat, near Mudgee. When they returned to meet the cattle they found the men had camped them at Mudgee waterhole, exactly where Mr. Blackman's house (Bleak House) stood afterwards. The following morning Froom came to the hut and called out in a rough way, 'You may sleep as long as you like now, for the cattle are gone.' In the afternoon they discovered the whole herd amongst the reeds in the centre of Burrandulla Swamp. In driving the cattle up they could only follow in their tracks without seeing more than a few in the rear. The situation for the stockyards and hut was fixed on the rising now occupied by the Hon. G. H. Cox's tenants at Burrundulla, and the spot can still be seen by the redness of the earth where the hut stood. On the second day they camped at Mudgee waterhole a tribe of blacks, the first they had seen, came on the scene. The chief they called 'Saturday,' and a most dangerous and ferocious character he turned out to be in after times, committing many murders, and as a natural consequence fell a sacrifice himself. They were, however, friendly enough at the time, but the whites could not by any signs or attempts at using the Bathurst language make them understand. There was one particular word, Michelite (discover, find out, understand), which the Coxes could not make out for many days. In the meantime Mr. Lawson was taking a second trip outwards, and called to see the Coxes, when, as a matter of courtesy as first discoverer, he was asked which side of the river he preferred, for at that time they fully expected that no other person would interfere with them. Mr. Lawson chose the land on the eastern side of the Cudgegong, and the Coxes the land on the western side. Lawson said - 'Let us take up the country around the Cudgegong. You take the land on the south side of the river, and I'll take the north side.' They agreed loyally. A hut was next erected. The blacks were getting troublesome, and the stockmen frightened. It was reported that one of the men was murdered by the blacks, the hut was robbed, and the cattle dispersed. The supposed murdered man, however, had only gone away for a spree among the blacks, and the store was all right, having been faithfully guarded by a blackfellow named ' Friday,' who subsequently fell in one of the fre-quent wars among the blacks. Like all other newly settled parts of the colony, continual collisions took place between the blacks and whites, caused by the interference of the latter with the gins. As the establishment in which the Cox family settled increased, trouble with the blacks, as a matter of cause, grew worse. A man named Chamberlain was the first overseer, and is described as an active, intelligent man, but through his cruelties to the blacks he was shifted, and a Mr. Lahy took his place. Part of the Coxes herd was removed to Guntawang, but the blacks proved so extremely troublesome, and such dreadful scenes took place, that it was thought advisable to abandon it, and Dabee Station was selected, yards built, and the herd divided, and this place was for many years Cox's breeding station, under the management of Tom Frome. The Cox brothers - George, Edward, and Henry - were the first stockholders at Mudgee, Guntawang, and Dabee. Then came the Lowes, Baylys, Rouses, Blackmans, and Bowmans. On one of these occasions, and some time after the establishment had been removed from Menah to Burrundulla, a tremendous attack from the Bathurst blacks on those of Mudgee took place, and, as usual upon those occasions, the strife began at daylight in the morning. Lahy, who was superintendent to the Coxes, came thundering to the door where the latter was sleeping, saying the blacks were upon them. Lahy called out that if his master wanted to be killed that he did not, and he asked to be let in to get powder and ball. The door was opened and a rush of gins took place, and finding the store door open, they clambered into the loft and made a terrible clatter from pure fright. Presently several painted warriors seeking for a disputed lady demanded admittance. In the meantime some of the black women cleared out across the swamp to seek a hiding place, and off the dark warriors went in full chase. Two Mudgee blacks were killed, and the Bathurst tribe carried away the gin that the dispute was about, followed the next day by all the Mudgee tribe, and for several days kept at a respectful distance.
Mr. Ogilvie was the first surveyor, and he laid out the town in 1829. The first land sale took place in the year 1830, Burrundulla and Broomley having been purchased at this time. From Mr. John Bax, an officer of the Mudgee Borough Council, I gleaned some interesting particulars of the early days when he came to Mudgee, as far back as 1837. Lue Station, now owned by Mr. V. Dowling, belonged to James Walker; Havilah was owned by old William Hayes, and the place was then known as Hayes's Gap; old James Blackman was squire of Cooyal Station; William Lawson owned the flats along the Cudgegong; Henry Cox owned Putta Bucca; the Hon. G. H Cox's uncle owned Broomley; William Bowman Ton a Butter, on the Mudgee side of Cudgegong, also Big Hill Station, adjoining Broomley; Mr. R. Lowe, Wilbertree and Ballana sheep station; C. Lowe had Goree; Edwin Rouse, Guntawang; Mr. George Rouse, Berrigambil; he afterwards purchased Beau Desert (now the property of Mr. Murphy) from Mr. William Blackman, formerly the property of Henry Bayley. In Mudgee, Wm. Blackman built the first public house and store; a Mr. Sampson erected the second pub, on the site where Dr. Lester's now stands. Tobacco then was 10s per lb., tea 5s, a pair of socks cost 2s 6d, and a silk handkerchief 25s. William Lawson was the first station owner who settled on the Barwon; old William Blackman owned Bullarora Station, on the Castlereagh; George Edgar lived at Apple Tree Flat. Mudgee is a town with a population of some 5000 souls. It was incorporated 39 years ago. The railway was opened on September 10, 1884. Mr. Daly, the genial boniface of the Club Hotel, has reason to remember the date, his takings over the bar on the opening day having amounted to £209 15s 6d. Mudgee possesses to-day many of the attractions incidental to city life, and in commerce, education, and refinement is equal to any other country town of the same population in the colony. Churches, music halls, financial institutions, recreation grounds, shows, race club, and all the humanizing influences which for the most part constitute the luxuries of human life, exist within its limits. The town - a mile square - is well laid out, the principal streets, measuring 13½ miles, are well kept. The municipality of Mudgee is lighted by gas, supplied from the works of the local gas company. During Alderman Cameron's regime as Mayor it was decided to erect waterworks, which are situated about 2 miles to the south of the town. The dam, which has a capacity of storing forty-five million gallons, erected under the supervision of Mr. H. Fleming, Engineer of the Public Works Department, has been completed for some time and pipes laid, and after the first heavy rainfall the reservoir is sure to be filled. The cost to the rate-payers is £17,000. The position of the Council financially is good. Market-street is the main artery of the town, and Church-street comes next. Market-street contains a splendid lot of shops, the p0st and telegraph office, town hall, hotels. The business houses are numerous and metropolitan in character, and not a few of them are architecturally a credit to the city. Market-street always bears an air of commercial activity, but on Saturday evenings its thronged footway and roadway present a particularly interesting sight. A nice tree-covered reserve (Robertson Park) is located in the centre of the town, opposite the post-office. It is the favourite rendezvous of women and children in the summer afternoons, and is a pleasant resort, Mudgee is well represented as far as churches go. There is St. Mary's Catholic Church (a detailed reference to which appears elsewhere), also Anglican, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan churches.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The medical officers are Dr. Nickoll (Government Medical Officer), Dr. Weekes, and Dr. Lister. The Engineer for Roads is Mr. F. Archer, and Mr. G. F. Lindeman assistant. The Roads Super, is unquestionably the most practical and competent officer that has ever been in charge of the district. There are two chemists, viz., Messrs. E. Sheppard and W. Lester. The legal men are Messrs. C. D. Meares, G. Clarke and Son, and G. Davidson. The Land Board sits at Mudgee at regular intervals, the members being C. E. Finch and H. A. Lowe, Goree. Mudgee is an Assize and District Court town. The gaol comprises a splendid block of buildings, and is situate on the main street. This penitentiary is capable of accommodating 45 persons, and was erected at a considerable cost. The Post and Telegraph Offices are a fine pile of buildings, and are a striking ornament to the town. Contrary to custom in most places, the work of two of the branches is performed in different buildings. These, however, adjoin each other, the only opening between them being a doorway, constructed to permit of ingress and egress. Both offices are commodious. The names of the officials are: Post and Telegraph officials - Mr. Oliver Haydock, Post and Telegraph Master; Mr. Albert W. Sheppard. William Jones, assistants; Thomas Keelty, Ernest Hume, operators. Stores: - Messrs. James Loneragan, Commercial Warehouse; T. H. Marks and Co., Universal Emporium; W. Kellett and Sons, Old Flagstaff Stores; Tait and McDearmid, Mudgee House; Maurice Vale; Arthur Herdwick, and A. M'Kessar. The boot warehouses are Messrs. A. E. Thomas and Co. and F. Edwards. The local tanneries and boot factories, employing a large number of hands, are owned by Messrs. A. E. Thomas and Co., and Cohen, Sons, and Schipp. The iron founderies are Messrs. C. N. Hanson and E. Scifleet. The engineering establishments are Messrs. T. D. Campbell and A. Spies. There are three roller flour mills, the owners of which are Messrs. R. Rouse, G. Crossing and Co., and the Mudgee Milling Company. The hotels are: Mr. E. Daly, Club House Hotel; the Paragon, Mr. P. A. Webb; Post Office Hotel, Mr. W. W. Millet; Imperial Hotel, Mrs. Albert; Royal Hotel, Mr. John Coleman; Farmers' Arms, Mr. W. Waterford; Belmore Hotel, Mr. W. Miller; Sydney, Mr. W. Rogerson; Commercial, Mr. S. Burt; Miners' Arms, Mr. A. R. Waite; Federal, Mr. H. J. Hall; Railway, Mr. A. McIntosh; Woolpack, Mrs. Smith; Oriental, Mrs. Freestone; Inverness, Mr. W. Imber; Mudgee. Mr. C. Harper; Tattersall's, Mrs. Holden; West End, J. O'Malley; Holly Oak; Mr. C. Gentle; Contingent, Mr. W. Langleridge; Park View, Mr. J. Gossage. There are four jewellers, viz., Mrs. Richardson, Messrs. A. F. E. Merkle, J. Kreutzberg, G. A. Smith, and W. Mason. As regards butchers and bakers, Mudgee is well represented, there being seven of the former and five of the latter, which is quite adequate for the town. The Police-station and Crown Lands Office are substantial buildings, the former adjacent to the Courthouse. Mudgee is favoured with a fine Courthouse. The C.P.S., a painstaking and obliging officer, is Mr. D. G. McDougal, and the assistant, Mr. E. R. Haydock. The Police Magistrate is Mr. T. H. Wilkinson, who is also Mining Warden. I am indebted to this gentleman for much valuable information with regard to mining in the district, particulars of which will be found elsewhere.
Sub-Inspector Isaac Morrow, in charge of the police (consisting of two mounted men and five foot men), is a gentleman who is highly respected in the district by all classes of the community, and he has as auxiliary a zealous and able officer in the person of Senior-Sergeant James Harvey11 .

1904

29 June 1904
Mudgee and its Industries
THE railway terminal town of Mudgee, 190 miles north west of Sydney, is picturesquely situated on the banks of the Cudgegong River, in the centre of a pretty mountain panorama. A brief retrospect brings before the mind a vivid scene of speedy transformation from wilderness to populous and prosperous settlement. Mudgee was discovered in 1820 by the intrepid William Lawson, to whose explorations New South Wales owes so much. A year later George and Henry Cox and K. Lewis set out from Bathurst, with 500 head of cattle to establish the pastoral industry in the newly-discovered district. In those days blacks were a factor with which the sturdy pioneers had to contend. The Burrundulla swamps, where the first herd of cattle got lost amid a luxuriant growth of rushes, are now thickly populated by a farming tenantry on the late Hon. G. H. Cox's estate, and is one of the State's most fame as lucerne-producing centres. Closely upon the arrival of the Coxes there came to Mudgee the founders of the Lawson, Blackman, Lowe, Rouse, and other families whose names are so prominently identified with the pastoral industry, not only of the Mudgee district, but of New South Wales. Who is there interested in sheepbreeding who is not familiar with Burrundulla, Wallinga, Cullenbone, Gunnagawah, Havilah, Lue, Biragambil, Guntawang, and Galambine strains of merino blood? But it was to mining that Mudgee owed its first great impetus in settlement. Being in the centre of wonderfully rich auriferous country, population teemed hither in thousands, rushing to the Gulgong, Hargraves, Windeyer, Two Mile Flat, Merrindee, Home Rule, and other alluvial goldfields which yielded their tons of the precious metal.
It is true that as these rushes were worked out the great mining population mostly drifted away to fresh fields, but there remained behind a numerous array of farmers, who had been enabled to establish homes by reason of the ready markets for their produce which the gold diggings provided. Gradually from among these settlers, at first purely agricultural, has evolved the dairying industry, for which the district is admirably adapted. Indeed, with the low prices which farm produce now commands in normal times, the profits to be derived from wheat-growing on small areas are little at best and precarious at all times, and had it not been for the establishment of butter factories it is certain many hundreds of 'the old hands' would have been compelled to abandon their holdings and sell out to the squatters, a process which had made and was continuing to make considerable inroads on the district's populace till stemmed by the dairying industry. Within a radius of about 30 miles of the town there are now seven butter factories, three cheese factories, and a number of creameries in full swing; while one butter factory which had closed down at Cooyal is about to re-open and a new one is in course of erection at Yamble. On the Sydney market Mudgee butter invariably commands top prices, and it is a healthy circumstance that the demand is always equal to and usually in excess of supply. If further evidence were needed of the quality of this district's butter, show records at once furnish it, for to Mr. W. Wurth, of the McDonald's Creek factory, belongs the proud distinction of having won 23 first prizes for butter at shows held in various parts of the State.
Though mining has been dull for a long time, there is just now moderate activity due to important reefing developments at Long Creek, Tucker's Hill, and Hargraves, and there being two alluvial rushes, one at Ford's Creek, on the Gulgong-road, and the other at Combandry, between Home Rule and Gulgong.
The town is well laid out, having fine wide streets, liberally planted with ornamental trees. There are many fine buildings, the churches being particularly attractive edifices. These are St. John's C.E., St. Mary's R.C., St. Paul's Presbyterian, and the Methodist. The Salvation Army has also a commodious brick barracks. The public buildings are the Hospital, Town Hall, Cudgegong Council Chambers, Mechanics' Institute, and various Government offices. The education of the rising generation is well provided for with a Superior Public School, a Convent, Grammar School (Mr. W. C. Carter principal), Braeburn Ladies' School (Mrs. Coates-Wilson principal), and Miss Richard's private school. There are three banks - New South Wales (C. J. Baker manager), Commercial (B. Stacy), and A.J.S. (W. B. Heath) - all located in splendid buildings, while a branch of the Savings Bank of New South Wales is also established, with Mr. W. Kellett as manager.
The business premises embrace some very spacious structures, notably Messrs. Jas. Loneragan, Limited, Messrs. T. H. Marks and Co's., Messrs. W. Kellett and Sons, and Wm. Tait and Co s. general stores, while the Paragon, Post Office, Club House, Royal, Imperial, and Sydney Hotels are also commodious buildings.
The manufacturing industries are represented by two flour mills, two boot factories, four coach factories, two tanneries, one soap factory, two foundries, and three engineering establishments. The town is lit by gas, the works at present being owned by a company, but negotiations are now going on for their purchase by the council. Water is reticulated from a magnificent reservoir, constructed at Redbank Creek, its capacity being such as to easily withstand the late severe drought.
There are two councils, the Borough of Mudgee, embracing the town proper, while the Cudgegong Borough surrounds it for a radius of about nine miles. The Corporation sale yards established by the Cudgegong Council a few years ago have proved an unqualified success, and to-day Mudgee is regarded as the best stock market in the west. The yards at present cover 10 acres, and it is proposed to extend them at an early date, the present accommodation occasionally proving inadequate for the quantity of stock yarded.
Being the railway terminus, Mudgee is an important coaching centre, mail coaches running to Hargraves, Hill End, Home Rule, Gulgong, Denison Town, Coolah, Cobbora, Coonabarabran, Mundooran, Gilgandra, Stony Creek, Wollar, Cassilis, Cudgegong, Capertree, Windeyer, Guntawang, Yamble, Goolma, Wellington, and intermediate localities.
Mudgee district lays claim to numerous celebrated blood-stock studs, notably those of Mr. R. Rouse (Birigambil), H. C. White (Havilah), and J. A. Buckland (Pine Ridge), while Mr. James Thompson, of Lochiel fame, has recently made this town his head-quarters. There are two flourishing racing clubs, viz., the Mudgee District Racing Club and the Bligh Amateur Racing Club, the former holding bi-annual, and the latter annual, sports gatherings.
Our illustration depicts H. E. A. Wells and Co.'s premises in Lewis-street, Mudgee, on one of their regular 'Paddy's Market' sales, held every Saturday. The firm started in this line about 11 years ago, and the business has steadily increased every year. Farmers and buyers from the surrounding districts attend in large numbers, and, in addition to their market sales, the disposal of landed property, merchandise, etc., receives regular attention.
The firm of T. H. Marks and Co. is the oldest established business concern in the district, being successors to the great firm of Dickson and Sons, who founded their colossal business in the early '40's. About 20 years ago the late T. H. Marks, who had shortly before sold his business at Inverell, purchased the assets of the firm of Dickson and Sons, and carried on business for about six years in the old premises. About 12 years ago he built the splendid store, replete with every modern convenience, at the corner of Church and Market streets. The fine plate-glass show windows artistically dressed with goods representing each of the various departments, are equal to anything to be seen in George-street, Sydney and the latest system of cable cash tramway is installed not only throughout the main store, but the produce and other outside departments also.
The store, as will be seen from our illustration, has a very large frontage to each street, and separate buildings have been erected for the machinery and produce departments. The machinery building is the finest in the district, and contains samples of all the latest agricultural machinery, ploughs, cultivators, drills, harrows, and all other tillage goods being at this time of the year well to the front. The produce store is fully stocked with all sorts of forage and seeds.
When Mr. Marks died, about 10 years ago, Mrs. Marks took in a partner, in order to carry on the business. The present managing partner is Mr. J. W. Duesbury, a gentleman well known in Sydney business circles, having been for many years manager of the Hay market Building and Investment Company, and more lately manager of the Merchants' Association in Sydney. Since he took charge in 1898 the business has greatly developed, and large additional premises, commodious and substantial, have been erected to provide accommodation for the continually increasing operations of the firm.
In addition to the ordinary storekeeping business, where everything is sold (including drapery, clothing, boots, groceries, ironmongery, furniture, wines and spirits, etc.), if not from the proverbial "needle to an anchor," at any rate, from a pin to a threshing machine, the firm buys largely of produce of every description. Lucerne hay, a distinctive product which has made the Mudgee district famous throughout the State, chaff, maize, wheat, wool, sheepskins, marsupial skins, beeswax, gum, and every other product of the district - also gold - are largely purchased by the firm. The business transactions have more than doubled within the last seven years, and the firm, being popular among all classes, is one of the most important and flourishing in the district.
The Imperial Hotel, of which Mr. M. J. Cooney is proprietor, is situated at the busiest spot in the town, being at the corner of Market and Church streets. The Imperial is a well approved house, and is the booking office for the principal lines of coaches running from Mudgee. Commercial rooms, bathrooms, billiard rooms, etc., are all quite up to date, and the arrangements are such as to ensure the convenience of visitors. Mr. and Mrs. Cooney give their personal attention to all the details of the business, and the attention and comfort of the Imperial are known throughout the great North-western district. Visitors to Mudgee will find the hotel sociable at the station on the arrival of all trains.
In the year 1870, at Wallerawang, a small town on the Western line, Mr. James Loneragan, the senior partner of the well-known firm of James Loneragan, Limited, general merchants, of Mudgee and Gulgong, commenced business in an unpretentious way. Previous to starting on his own account, he successfully managed the large forwarding business of Wright and Co., afterwards the well-known firm of Wright, Heaton, and Co., Limited. Wallerawang at the time was an important centre, being the railway depot for all goods coming from Sydney or West for the Mudgee district. Some extent of the quantity of goods sent through Wallerawang can be estimated by the fact that the Mudgee, Hill End, and Gulgong goldfields were in the height of their prosperity, and thousands were flocking thither to seek their fortune.
Mr. Loneragan, after conducting a successful business at Wallerawang, chiefly in produce, of which he handled immense quantities, opened an important branch at Lithgow. When the railway was finished to Mudgee he foresaw the possibilities of the place, and opened business there, selling out the Wallerawang and Lithgow branches. By dint of great energy, and an indomitable will to face the difficulties of repeated droughts and consequent commercial depression he managed to forge ahead. In 1868 fine and commodious business premises were erected in Church-streets and with these extra facilities for the conduct of business the volume of trade continues to grow rapidly. In 1898 the business, which by this time had assumed considerable proportions, was floated into a limited liability company, all the shares being taken up by the members of the family, with the senior as managing director. Shortly after this Mr. Loneragan took a trip to the old country, chiefly as a well-earned holiday, his son, Mr. Edward Loneragan, taking up the management during his absence.
In 1902 a very important development took place in the business, the company buying out the business, stock, and magnificent store properties and complete up-to-date roller flour mill of Mr. C. R. Young, of Gulgong. This was a very big venture, and entailed a considerable outlay of capital, and an immense amount of work in the construction of the new business on the commercial lines of the Mudgee house.
Mr. James Parker, who had been closely associated with the firm for many years as manager of the produce and machinery section, and who proved himself a capable business man of sterling integrity, was sent by the firm to take up the management of this important branch. One of the chief features of this enterprising firm is its ability to handle the immense quantities of colonial produce produced in the district. Capable representatives are sent out as far as 150 miles to cater for the wants and buy the produce of the settlers; and, it is often remarked that no matter how large the quantity of produce to deal with, Messrs. Loneragan, Limited, find that they are able to effectually place it to the advantage of their customer and themselves. The employees at the Mudgee house number 57, and at the Gulgong house 36.
Although the depression at the present time is somewhat severe, still the outlook is hopeful, and the firm confidently look to a return of the prosperity which a few successful seasons will undoubtedly bring. Amongst our illustrations will be found one of Messrs. Loneragan, Limited, splendid business premises. Only recently they have been added to, and the front now occupies 120ft. There are 10 large plate glass windows of the most effective and up-to-date design, and each department is carefully planned out to secure satisfactory and speedy conduct of business.
One very important section of this fine business we should say a word about, and that is the agricultural machinery department. This, together with the whole of the produce section, is managed by Mr. R. Loneragan. Immense quantities of the latest and most scientific implements are sold every year to the farmers, the firm purchasing the goods right out from the manufacturers and dealing direct with the farmers. When the crops of all kinds are ready for the market the firm send special representatives to treat with the growers for the purchase of them. Given more facilities in the way of railway extension to Cobbora, into the richest wheat-producing part of the State, the advance of Mudgee should be rapid and lasting12 .

1905

6 September 1905
Situated on a flat patch of ground, watered by the Cudgegong River, and surrounded by an amphitheatre of low, broken hills, stands the town of Mudgee, one of the most " solid " in the west, and the centre of a rich district. The town, which has a population of about 3500, is 189 miles by rail and 153 miles by road from Sydney, To the north is Gulgong, to the west Wellington, and to the south (80 miles distant) is Bathurst. To the east, on the north bank of the Cudgegong, and only about four miles from Mudgee, rises Mount Frome, a conspicuous feature of the landscape of the district. Mudgee is 1635ft above sea level, and the town enjoys a very fine climate.
A good deal of the early fame of Mudgee was based on its rich alluvial gold, and though a good many years have elapsed since the district first attracted the attention of the miner, its great mineral resources have not yet been worked out. But the district has other claims to attention, for it also rejoices in being a very rich pastoral and agri-
cultural area. The wool sent from the district has long enjoyed a very high reputation, and, in fact, is not excelled by the product of any other part of the world. The pastures contain many valuable species of grasses, and the soil being exceedingly fertile, farming is carried on extensively. The dairying industry is also assuming large proportions, and there are numerous butter factories in the district.
THE TOWN.
The Borough of Mudgee, having an area of one mile square, was proclaimed on February 21 1860. The town is well built, and the streets (of which there are about 15 miles, valued at about £13,000) are laid out at right angles. The capital value of rateable property is set down at about £306,615 and the rates collected annually amount to about £2220, as follows:- General rate (at 1s), £945; lighting rate (at 4d), £315; water rate (at 1s), £960. Mudgee possesses a gravitation water supply, which cost £17,129, and the streets are lighted by means of incandescent gas lamps.
The town is presided over by a Mayor and eight aldermen, the present council being composed of Messrs. A. P. Cameron (Mayor), L. Cohen, W. J. Hall, H. R. Hardwick, R. Jones, J. Keegan, W. Little, J. Loneragan, and W. Spence. Mr. T. J. Lovejoy is the council clerk. The Mayor, Mr. Allan P. Cameron, was born in Sydney in 1858, and at the age of 12 years went with his parents to Mudgee, where, with the exception of about two years, he has since re-sided. Mr. Cameron was first elected to the Mudgee Council in 1892. He has now occupied the Mayoral chair for five consecutive years, and the present is his eighth year in the position.
Mudgee possesses some very fine buildings, among them being the Post and Telegraph Office, the Hospital, the Town Hall, Superior Public School, Mechanics' Institute, the Railway Station, the various churches, and many private business establishments. The Post and Telegraph Office, which is shown in one of the illustrations, is a fine roomy structure, situated in Market-street, and is in charge of Mr. O. Haydock, post and telegraph master13 .

1907

2 January 1907
IN AND AROUND MUDGEE.
The stranger visiting Mudgee for the first time is likely to be agreeably surprised, for mining towns, as a rule, are laid out in a hurry, regardless of plans and heedless of future requirements; here, however, is a pleasing exception to the rule. The town of Mudgee, which is by rail some 190 miles from Sydney, is beautifully situated, nestling, as it were, among the hills. It is splendidly laid out, the streets being unusually wide, and in most instances planted with ornamental trees. The town has been incorporated for many years, and possesses an excellent town hall, which it is proposed to further enlarge. Mudgee is a mile square, and has one decided peculiarity, inasmuch as it is situated in the borough of Cudgegong, the boundaries of which extend some eight miles all around. The Cudgegong body has also a hall in the Mudgee Borough. The town possesses many other fine buildings, such as the Mechanics' Institute (which ranks as the third best in the State), the railway station, post-office, public school, hospital, Australian Joint Stock, and Commercial Bank, and Bank of New South Wales. In places of worship Mudgee is well off, the denominations represented being the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Roman Catholic, whose edifices are all handsome structures for a town of this size. The Salvation Army has also a neat and well-built barracks.
Mudgee has four large general stores. The oldest is that of Messrs. W. Kellett and Sons, of the old Flagstaff stores. This business has been successfully carried on since the year 1859. Only recently Messrs. Kellett and Sons purchased a block of land in Market-street, in the centre of the town, and a handsome warehouse is now in course of erection thereon. The firm of Messrs. T. H. Marks and Co. is the successor of the old-time flourishing firm of Dickson and Sons. Mr. T. H. Marks died on July 6, 1893, and Mrs. Marks and Sons are now carrying on a splendid business. The third store and warehouse is Lonergan's, Limited, which is represented by Mr. James Lonergan and his sons. The ware-house is undoubtedly one of the finest in any country town in the State, and has a branch at Gulgong. The two places combined employ over 100 hands. The other large general store is that of Messrs. Tait and Co. There are two flour mills (the Mudgee Roller Milling and the Great Western), a tannery, soap factory, two boot factories. three cordial factories, an excellent brewery (Mr. Young), several coach and buggy factories, and two newspapers - the "Western Post," and the "Mudgee Guardian," which attend well to local wants.
Some 20 years ago a company was formed for the purpose of lighting the town with gas. The venture was successful, and dividends have annually been declared. The town has a gravitation water supply, the reservoir being situated in the hills, on the southern side of the town, two miles from Mudgee. Owing to so many dry seasons the scheme has been severely tested, but the supply has never given out. For years it has not overflowed, and the situation became so grave last July that the council were discussing the advisability of putting down a pumping plant, and a trial shaft was placed at Holyoak Bridge, but on the night of August 17 the rain came, and overflowed the dam, which at present is carrying a two-years' supply.
The want of proper saleyards for stock has long been manifest, and a few years back the borough of Cudgegong borrowed the sum of £1000 from the Bathurst Church Society for the purpose of erecting yards. The venture has proved a thorough success from its inception, and Mudgee is now a noted centre for the sale of stock, many thousands of sheep and cattle passing through the yards annually.
The town possesses a telephone exchange of some 66 subscribers, and is connected with most of the stations within a radius of 20 miles, and has a special condenser system connected with Gulgong and Rylestone. Residents hope for the time when Sydney will be in direct connection with Mudgee.
There are five friendly societies in the town - Manchester Unity, Grand United Order of Oddfellows, Ancient Order of Forresters, Protestant Alliance, and the A.H.C. Guild, the membership of all totalling over 800. Mudgee is noted for the successful way in which it runs so many building societies. For some years these useful institutions have been in operation, the payments amounting to something like £10,000 per annum.
In 1900 a Caledonian Society was formed. Dr. J. L. Fenton being the first president. The society has continued to rapidly advance ever since, and now enjoys the reputation of being one of the most enterprising of its kind in the State.
On September 10, 1884, Mudgee was connected with Sydney by rail, and the day was rendered even more memorable by the extraordinary fall of rain that took place. Prominent among the visitors on that occasion were the late Sir Alexander Stuart and the late Sir George Dibbs. The terminus has remained at Mudgee ever since, but at last, there seems a probability of its being extended to Dunedoo, near Cobbora, as a resurvey of the proposed route is now being made. It is excellent country from both a pastoral and agricultural point of view.
Although, perhaps, not actually the first to propose it, to Mr. John Haynes, ex-M.P. for Mudgee, is due credit for vigorously advocating the establishment of a butter factory for Mudgee. This was some 16 years ago. Many forebodings were expressed at the time as to its ultimate success; but these have long since been dispelled. The factory (now under the able management of Mr. Edgar Doswell), has been an unqualified success, as up to November 30, 1906, it has distributed to suppliers the large sum of £11,326 18s 3d. Many other factories have since been established, one of the most successful being that, at Burrundulla. Despite the many bad seasons experienced the two factories mentioned have always been able to keep the shafting humming, both summer and winter.
From a viticultural and agricultural standpoint, the district is also famous, and one vineyard especially worthy of a visit, is that of Mr. W. Roth, who has one of the finest, young vineyards it has been my pleasure to visit.
The Mudgee Agricultural Society is an aged institution, of which Mr. V. D. Cox (son of the late Hon. G. H. Cox), is the popular president. A good half-mile trotting track has lately been laid down, and will be officially used for the first time at the annual show in March, 1007, in connection with which an attractive programme of £58 will be offered.
The district has gained considerable distinction in the past in the breeding of blood stock and sheep. Many locally-bred horses have been prominent, as noted performers on the Australian turf. There is a good racecourse a few miles from town, on which the Mudgee District Race Club and Spring Flat Club hold annual meetings. The Bligh Amateur Racing Club also holds an annual meeting on the first Tuesday and Wednesday in the month of May.
But it is in connection with the production of wool of splendid quality that Mudgee has long been chiefly famous. The progeny of the Mudgee flocks have been eagerly sought after by flock masters throughout the Commonwealth. Last year some 20,000 bales of wool wore despatched from the local railway station, and it is hoped that this year those figures will be surpassed. While talking of wool and stock, many famous breeders and politicians (who might well be termed the early pioneers of this district) have passed away in the personages of the late Daniel Credin, late Hon. G. H. Cox (Burrundulla), the late A. H. Cox (Oakfield), the late V. J. Dowling (Lue), the late H. C. White (Havilah). the late H. A. Lowe (Goree), the late T. R. Rouse (Guntawang), and the late R. Rouse, jun. (Biragambil), James Atkinson, besides many others. The district at present presents a very beautiful appearance with the long green lucerne flats extending as far as the eye can reach down the valley, and everything, with fair success, good management, and good seasons, can hold its own with any town in the State.
The country schools around this district show the visitor ample illustrations of what a little care and patience can do with children in the agricultural line. In many cases experiments are extensively carried out by the masters. Two schools especially worthy of praise are those conducted by Mr. England, of Burrundulla, and Mr. Schute, at Lawson Creek.
The Mudgee district presents innumerable attractions to tourists. The scenery of the district is varied and evokes admiration. At every turn one meets park-like lands, not too thickly wooded, with gently undulating slopes. The visitor who has been accustomed to see the dense masses of foliage on the coast appreciates the change to the open woods, amongst which are luxuriant grasses. Here and there small rivers intersect, which water large tracts, and add immensely to the wealth of the district. The climate is bracing for the greater part of the year. Those suffering from lung troubles find great benefit by the change to the districts under notice. Sportsmen cannot go wrong in taking their guns and dogs with them. A favourite pastime of local residents is duck-shooting in the pretty Cudgegong River, with its open spaces, where wildfowl of various kinds are frequently found in abundance14 .

1910

13 April 1910

A Cudgegong Highway 1910

1915

14 January 1915
In conclusion, just a word about Mudgee itself. The town has grown during past years, and some of the buildings will compare more than favorably with most of those in our principal cities - and this remark applies particularly to two or three of the leading business establishments. The streets and footways are a credit to the Council, and the only thing that struck writer as peculiar was the circumstance that in such a well, appointed town as Mudgee cyclists ride with impunity along the foot ways, while in less important towns if such a thing were attempted the Inspector of Nuisances would not forget the Local Government Ordinances bearing on such matters. The matter is merely mentioned by the way, however. Years ago there used to be two flour mills in the town. Today, I understand, there is not even one. There must be something radically wrong, in the State of Denmark to permit of this retrograde step - but perhaps the future will usher in a different state of affairs. With a splendid wheat, wool, lucerne, and dairying district behind it, the town of Mudgee should never "lose its punch" - it should keep on growing in size and prosperity and it is a town worth working for and fighting for.
Met here several acquaintances of former days. There are some people who will just as conveniently and readily forget old friends as they do their just debts. Not so with the writer - though, like frail humanity the world over he cannot claim to be one of whose angelic wings have just sprouted. There's music in the following lines by Berton Braley, and they express pretty correctly the feelings of many a man in this wicked old world: -
If I had my life to live over, I wouldn't be canny and wise,
But I'd rove when I felt like a rover,
I'd feast on the world with my eyes.
Whenever the fever was on me, I wouldn't say, stubbornly, "No,"
But I'd throw off the fetters upon me,
I'D Go, and I'D Go, and I'd Go. If I had my life to live over, I wouldn't be staid and discreet,
I'd scamper about in the clover, While clover was fragrant and sweet.
For youth is the season of blisses, (Too fleeting a season by half),
So I'd never lose dances or kisses, I'd Laugh, and I'd Laugh, and I'd Laugh.
For now that my tresses are graying, I know that my thrift was all wrong,
I wish I had known more of playing, I wish I had learned more of song.
If I had my life to live over, A gift which the fates cannot give,
A jovial, lover, and rover, I'd Live, and I'd Live, and I'd Live.
But, as I previously remarked, I met several acquaintances of boy hood days in Mudgee. There crossing the street yonder goes Walter Nelthorpe, now associated with a long-established and admirably conducted business in Market-street. The Hand of Time has touched him, just as it has left its mark on others. Then there is Jimmy Baskerville, who was first initiated into the art of reading and writing, spelling and fighting, at the Public School at Windeyer. Then there is D. B. Acton, a keen Liberal and a fine platform speaker. Several other names might be mentioned - but never mind. Those who have gone may be forgotten by the younger generation of today, but it might, be well for them to remember that the pioneers of any district were the ones that laid the foundation-stone to present day prosperity. What applies to other centres in this respect just as aptly applies to Mudgee: -
For the valleys that smile to our tillage,
The Hills where our banners unfold,
Were won by the men of the village, And bought with their axes of old.
Only one thing now remains for me to do, and that is to "ring-off" - and in what better way can I do this than by expressing the hope that the future, of Mudgee and its productive district, will be prosperous in the extreme.
F. A. FITZPATRICK.
Wingham, Manning River, January, 191516 .

1917

28 November 1917
IN THE TOWN.
Mudgee has its electric light, gas, and telephone system. Some of the roads may need a bit of attention, but industry is not lacking. The social side is encouraged, local bodies are always at work, not forgetting the war effort. The bowling green is admittedly the best out of Sydney. The compliment is ungrudgingly given by visiting bowlers. They are now building a clubhouse at the green - a convenience which has been needed for a long time past.
GOING BACK A BIT.
The writer was informed that some of the buildings in Mudgee were more than 60 years old. The Belmore Hotel, still on the original site, was erected before that period - the first hotel in the town. The "new" Royal Hotel is 60 years old, and the original Royal, now the Victoria, is still in existence on the opposite corner. This place runs the Belmore a good second from the point of view of years. Now the town has 21 hotels. The oldest business house, W. Kellett and Sons, Limited, was established in 1859, but since then other houses have become firmly fixed in Mudgee - some of over 30 years' standing17 .

1922

6 July 1922
The impression one gets of Mudgee when they first go there is that it is progressive, for it has nice streets, could be cleaned up a bit in places, and the fact that the town is lit up by electricity gives it a much nicer appearance than those which have adopted gas in their street lighting. Both Wellington and Dubbo fail to impress the traveller as much as they should do owing to their being lit by gas. Mudgee's open night is Friday and a visitor being in town on that evening cannot fail to be impressed by the stores and buildings lit by electric power. J. Lonergan's Ltd., Stores, or I should say Universal Providers, is one of the finest I have seen West, and they do a deal of business with branches at Gulgong and Dunedoo. Mudgee puts one a good deal in mind of Dubbo as both towns have nearly all their businesses confined to two streets. Marks, Kelletts and several other stores seem to be thriving places of business. Years ago there was a number of coach factories etc., but these seem to have died out in this town as well as every other country town. One is struck by the number of Stock and Station Agents, Mudgee like every other place seeming to have a full share of them. The hotels are many, but they do not appear to be too many for the requirements of the place. One or two of the old ones have passed out. The old Holyoake near the bridge is one. In the olden days this was a great place of call especially for people going out Wollar way and to Cassillis and Leadville. Mudgee has two Municipal Councils, the Mudgee Town Council and the Cudgegong Municipal Council. Meroo Shire has also its headquarters in Mudgee. I should imagine, the division of the town into two bodies corporate would not add to the best progress and development of the town but it is so. One thing, if you come on a particularly bad piece of road and remark on it, "oh, that's not Mudgee street, that belongs to Cudgegong" is the invariable answer. Cannot say if the other Council gives the same answer if one is in the other Municipality. Mudgee streets are not planted as much with trees as one would wish. They have a nice fountain in the junction of the two main streets and also an obelisk to commemorate the Centenary and in honor of Blaxland and Lawson. The design could be nicer. The Churches are mostly very fine, giving one the impression of it being a Cathedral town, and are a credit to the parishioners and clergy. The court house is one of the old type built most substantially, but it is in the old part of the town, the more modern part, as is nearly always the case in country towns, going to ward the railway. While at the Court House I met a once Wellington resident, Mr. Blackmore, who is C.P.S. there. He made very many enquiries of Wellington and its people. Of course Mudgee being a Circuit Court town his position is much higher than at Wellington. Attached to the Court House is the gaol, which has many gruesome memories of felons who paid the death penalty within its walls. It is some years since an execution took place in Mudgee and it is to be hoped no more will ever take place there. It is said a peculiar thing happened in regard to the scaffold in Mudgee gaol - that is that the man that hewed the timber for it and the builder of it were the first two to suffer the dread penalty on it. Mudgee has a nice Park, Victoria, I believe the name of it is. At the time of my visit it looked very well. Two modern and up-to-date newspapers cater for the town and district and much further, practically having a monopoly from Mudgee to Baradine in the north west. Mudgee race course is a very good one, much better than their showground, which is rather cramped through being close to the town. The Show Association is a very progressive body of men, and they hold a three days show at which are always a large attendance of visitors and exhibits18 .

1924

6 June 1924
Mudgee is the capital of this rich heritage of the people, but instead of showing the dash of activity one would expect, it somewhat lags superfluous on the stage. The establishment of a Chamber of Commerce will perhaps result in a change of a character devoutly to be wished. Mudgee ought to boom, with all the natural and other advantages which it possesses. Mudgee is one of Australia's oldest centres of population, and it boasts of many fine buildings - its surrounding districts has been, and is still, rich in precious metals, whilst agricultural and pastoral pursuits are followed with excellent results. Forty years ago it was almost circled by a cluster of goldfields which attracted many thousands of miners representing the world's nationalities - there were Gulgong, Hill End, Tambaroora, Hargraves, Crudine, Windeyer, Pyramul, and others of more or less importance - alas, today the most important are but mere shadows of their former selves. The town is destined by reason of its situation in a district of such picturesqueness and productiveness, to be one of this State's best-provided, of course, that the wants of the tourist tribe are properly catered for, in the matter of the conveniences of civilisation - Municipal and otherwise. It possesses one newspaper, "The Mudgee Guardian", which has a big family - that is a sheaf of sons and daughter journals, circulating in several of the smaller centres of the great surrounding district19 .

References