Tumblong is a village community in the central east part of the
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
and situated about south east from
Mundarlo
Mundarlo is a farming community in the central east part of the Riverina and situated about 13 kilometres south east from Wantabadgery and 18 kilometres north west from Tumblong. At the 2006 census, Mundarlo had a population of 218 pe ...
and northwest of
Adelong
Adelong is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Adelong Creek.
Adelong sits on the Snowy Mountains Highway and is a part of the Snowy Valleys Council. At the , Adelong had an urban popul ...
. It was known as Adelong Crossing until 1913. At the , Tumblong and the surrounding area had a population of 338.
History
The area now known as Tumblong lies on the traditional lands of the
Wiradjuri
The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, ...
people.
Tumblong was first claimed around 1831 by Robert Pitt Jenkins (1814–59), the son of a wealthy colonial family. The squattage was a property that he called "Bangus" Station. As with most squatters of the time, he would have had an overseer take care of the property. Jenkins had other land granted to him in 1831 in the Sydney area and also claimed "Bramballa" in the Marulan area at a similar time. Jenkins built a 10-room home on Bangus and moved his family to Bangus in 1848, becoming the magistrate in Gundagai until 1853 when he left the region for his mother's estate, Eagle Vale, near Campbelltown. Unable to sell the Bangus property and the 3,000 head of sheep, he let out the residence and it became a public house called the Bangus Inn. In 1856 he managed to sell the inn and an acre of land for £1,000 and in the same year was appointed as member of the NSW Legislative Council.
![Tumblong pub](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Tumblong_pub.jpg)
With the 1856 sale of the Bangus Inn the new owner renamed it the Home Hotel before William Williams of Adelong purchased the property in the 1870s. He built a new hotel called the Coach and Horses in 1873; this lasted until it was replaced in 1905 with the Adelong Crossing Hotel, currently the Tumblong Tavern.
In 1859, Robert Pitt Jenkins, his wife and four sons were lost in the sinking of ''Royal Charter'' off the English Coast, while going to visit his daughter Alice Jenkins who was at school in Paris at the time. Alice later inherited Bangus and it was sold off by her husband Hubert de Castella to finance his vineyards in Victoria.
In 1874, a flour mill known as the Victoria Flour Mill was opened at Adelong Crossing by William Williams. It was not a great success but seems to have operated sporadically, until around 1880. It was still standing, unused, in 1910.
Adelong Crossing Place was renamed Tumblong in 1913 to avoid confusion with the town of Adelong. The name came from the neighbouring property across the Adelong Creek originally owned by Henry Stuckey that he had named Tumblong.
The Adelong Crossing railway station opened in 1903, was renamed Tumblong in 1913, and closed in 1975. There was a 40m long platform and a siding serving stockyards with a loading bank. The
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
closed in 1984.
The Adelong Crossing school opened as a provisional school in 1869, became a public school in 1870, was renamed Tumblong in 1913, and closed in 1990.
Adelong Crossing Place Post Office opened on 1 August 1864, was renamed Tumblong on 15 April 1913, and closed on 30 November 1973.
Today
Tumblong consists of a wrecking yard, a few private residences on the road to Adelong and a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, one of only a few remaining directly on a part of a road called the
Hume Highway
Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...
, though another such pub is situated in
Coolac
Coolac is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Gundagai Council. At the , Coolac had a population of 216.
History
The place name ''Coolac'' is derived from the local Aboriginal name for a plant which was abundan ...
.
![Tumblong Vineyard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Tumblong_Vineyard.jpg)
The Tumblong area is also home to a reasonably large vineyard area which is a part of the
Southcorp Wines
Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, Vi ...
group which includes well known Australian
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
names such as
Penfolds
Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently p ...
and
Lindemans. The vineyard known as Tumblong Vineyard is on the Tumblong to Mundarlo road.
References
External links
{{authority control
Towns in the Riverina
Towns in New South Wales
1830 establishments in Australia
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council