Dalgety is a small town in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia, on the banks of the
Snowy River
The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...
between
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and
Sydney.
The town is located at what was once an important river crossing along the Travelling
Stock route
A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquially ...
from
Gippsland
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...
to the
Snowy Mountains High Country dating from the 1840s.
History
The first settlement was originally known as ''Buckley's Crossing'' after Edward Buckley who established a farm near the river crossing in 1832.
It was renamed ''Barnes Crossing'' in 1848,
by which time it had become an important waypoint on the stock route between
Gippsland
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...
in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and the
Snowy Mountains in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. In 1874 the town was formally
survey
Survey may refer to:
Statistics and human research
* Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population
* Survey (human research), including opinion polls
Spatial measurement
* Surveying, the techniq ...
ed and named Dalgety after the maiden name of the wife of surveyor J. R. Campbell. Like the
founder
Founder or Founders may refer to:
Places
*Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium
* Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...
of
Dalgety and Company she was a grandchild of a Colonel Alexander Dalgety.
At the time of the survey the population was 23 and it was recorded that a
punt was operating across the river. A
Catholic school opened in 1874 to cater for the children of Irish gold
prospector
Prospector may refer to:
Space exploration
* Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962
* '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft
Trains
* Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
s, and the first bridge over the river was constructed in 1888.
The town also became a meeting place between white settlers and local
Aborigines, who would camp along the river bank on the way to the Snowy Mountains.
The
Thaua people
The Thaua/Thawa, also spelt (also spelled Dhawa) and also called Yuin-Djuin, were an Aboriginal Australian people living around the Twofold Bay area of the South Coast of New South Wales.
Language
Thawa is an extinct member of the Yuin–K ...
and
Ngarigo
The Ngarigo People (also spelt Garego, Ngarego, Ngarago, Ngaragu, Ngarigu, Ngarrugu or Ngarroogoo) are Aboriginal Australian people of southeast New South Wales, whose traditional lands also extend around the present border with Victoria.
Langu ...
people lived in this area seasonally.
Location for national capital
Section 124 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth ordained that the 'Seat of Government' 'shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney', with the specific location to be decided by the Commonwealth Parliament. In 1903 a Federal
Royal Commission proposed Dalgety as the location for Australia's national capital city. The choice was ostensibly based on several criteria, including climate, food supply, land ownership and ability to support major industries, although official investigators conceded the site was 'very rough', 'treeless', and 'somewhat exposed
ohigh winds'. Nevertheless, the recommendation was implemented in the ''
Seat of Government Act 1904
The Seat of Government Act 1904 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which provided that the "seat of government of the Commonwealth" (i.e., the national capital) should be within of Dalgety, New South Wales.
The site turned out to be un ...
'', and emphatically supported by the prime minister,
George Reid
Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...
, and the Minister for the Interior,
John Forrest, even though he had told the Federal Australasian Convention of 1897 that 'only lunatics' would site the federal capital in the interior of the Commonwealth. The decision was immediately opposed by the
Parliament of New South Wales which argued that Dalgety was too close to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and too far from
Sydney. A more practical objection was the distance to the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line and the expense involved in constructing a spur to the proposed capital. Dalgety's cause had strong advocates including the local member
Austin Chapman
Sir Austin Chapman (10 July 186412 January 1926) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 until his death in 1926. He held ministerial office in the governments of Alfred Deakin and Stanley Bruce, servi ...
,
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...
, and
John Forrest, as well as more general support from Victoria.
The matter eventually was settled, in October 1908, when parliamentarians voted on the capital site in a series of ballots, during which sites were eliminated progressively. In the ninth and last ballot, Dalgety had lost to 'Yass-Canberra' by 33 votes to 39. Subsequently, the ''
Seat of Government Act 1908
The Seat of Government Act 1908 was enacted by the Australian Government on 14 December 1908. The act selected the Yass-Queanbeyan region as the site for Canberra, the new capital city of Australia.
The act repealed the earlier '' Seat of Gover ...
'' was passed, and
Canberra became the capital.
Considerable planning effort was made, during the period that Dalgety was the selected site of the new capital, including planning for the water supply and hydro-electric power generation—a large reservoir was proposed for the Snowy River at
Jindabyne
Jindabyne () is a town in south-east New South Wales, Australia that overlooks Lake Jindabyne near the Snowy Mountains, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is a popular holiday destination year round, especially in winter. This is due to its ...
—and the routes for future rail lines.
Geography
Situated on the
Monaro Plains and in the rain shadow of the Snowy Mountains, Dalgety is a relatively dry area of rolling hills with granite boulders scattered across the landscape.
The town depends on the
Snowy River
The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...
for water supplies. In October 2007 the
New South Wales Department of Water and Energy recommended a cut in river flows through the nearby
Lake Jindabyne
Jindabyne Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise ...
, to a level which may require Dalgety to import drinking water.
References
External links
Dalgety Public SchoolDalgety Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Snowy Mountains
Snowy Monaro Regional Council
Proposed sites for national capital of Australia