Yarrowitch is a small rural locality on the
Northern Tablelands, New South Wales
The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...
,
Australia. It is located in the picturesque Yarrowitch River Valley on the
Oxley Highway
Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia, linking Nevertire, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, and Walcha to Port Macquarie, on the coast of the Tasman Sea. It was named to commemorate John Oxley, the first European t ...
48 kilometres east of
Walcha. The settlement is included in the
Walcha Shire
Walcha Shire is a local government area located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the junction of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way and is east of the Main North railway line passi ...
Local Government Area in the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
region. The locality is at an elevation of about 995 metres and the area is part of
Vernon County. At the , the Yarrowitch area had a population of 167.
History
John Oxley's expedition passed through Yarrowitch on 17 September 1818. They camped overnight on the eastern side of the River, before traversing the steep, rugged terrain and almost impenetrable scrub on their way to
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...
.
The name, Yarrowitch, was probably derived from the English place name Yarrow, although there is an Aboriginal word 'Yarrawee', said to mean 'gum tree growing in water'.
John Allman and N. Powell occupied the area in c.1836. Shortly afterwards they were joined by Allman's brother, Francis. In about 1839 the Allmans were joined by Arthur Hodgson and by the end of that year the land had been divided into two sections. The following year, 1840, runs were acquired by Alexander Todd and Christopher Dawson Fenwicke. They were the first licensed lessees of Yarrowitch. Todd, licence 114, held east Yarrowitch containing , and Fenwicke, licence 53, held western Yarrowitch containing .
The
Robertson Land Acts
The Crown Lands Acts 1861 (NSW) (or Robertson Land Acts) were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings in New South Wales and in particular to break the Squattocracy's domination of land tenure. ...
introduced in 1861 enabled small farmers to select blocks of
Crown Land, and this further expanded the area. By 1900 the Yarrowitch district was fairly well established and an item from the Walcha Witness in 1898 gave an insight into life at Yarrowitch at the time ... "Yarrowitch News . . . Matters are looking up this way lately as regards selecting and new buildings. The new school building has been erected on a more sheltered situation and reflects credit on the contractor's workmanship. What with wheat and maize growing, pig farming and onion growing, some of the more recent selectors have now fairly lined pockets. The potato crop turned out fairly well but from appearances, wheat is going to be a general favourite with us". As well as these farming crops, cattle and sheep grazing and
Australian Red Cedar cutting were the main sources of income.
In 1948, the
New South Wales Department of Lands
The New South Wales Land and Property Information (NSW LPI), a division of the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation in the government of New South Wales, was the division responsible for land titles, property information, valuation, sur ...
purchased Yarrowitch Station for closer settlement under the Lands Settlement Act. The property was then divided into seventeen blocks which were balloted out to returned soldiers and their families.
Most of the district was able to have a telephone connected in the 1930s. Yarrowitch settlement was connected to 240 volt electricity in 1962, although many outlying areas such as Kangaroo Flat were still unconnected. In 1977, the Oxley Highway was sealed to Walcha and Port Macquarie which made for much better access to these towns. Previously travel along this road was at the mercy of the weather which had sometimes meant that some of the hills became too slippery to negotiate.
During the 1980s the property Glenferrie in the Kangaroo Flat area was split up into many small blocks. Quite a few of the owners of these blocks only visited their land on the weekends and were known as "weekend or hobby farmers".
Yarrowitch has a church, public school, sports ground and a community hall.
Attractions
Werrikimbe National Park
The Werrikimbe National Park is a protected national park located in the catchment zone of the Upper Hastings River in New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1975, the park is situated approximately north of Sydney, north-west of , and ea ...
, a large and remote
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
listed park is situated on the end of the Kangaroo Flat Road about 26 kilometres from Yarrowitch. Most of Werrikimbe Park is protected under the World Heritage list, which recognises places of outstanding importance across the planet. The National Park is home to the rare mammal, the
Hastings River Mouse, considered to be in imminent danger of extinction.
References
*"Yarrowitch Public School, 1887-1987"
*"Walcha Witness", 1898
See also
*
Soldier settlement (Australia)
Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlem ...
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Towns in New England (New South Wales)
Australian soldier settlements