Michelago, New South Wales
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Michelago is a village in the Monaro region of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia. The village is in the
Snowy Monaro Regional Council The Snowy Monaro Regional Council is a local government area located in the Snowy Mountains and Monaro regions of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a forced merger of the Bombala, Cooma-Monaro and Snow ...
local government area, south of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
on the
Monaro Highway Monaro Highway is a highway in Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia, linking in Victoria to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) via the Monaro region. From its southern terminus, it fo ...
. It was founded in the 1820s, on the main route from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
to the
Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...
. Its name is also applied to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes. At the , Michelago had a population of 642.


Location

Michelago is situated in a valley between two mountain ranges, the Tinderry Range to the East and the Clear Range to the west. The Tinderry Road crosses the Tinderry range from Michelago, leading ultimately to the 1950s silver mining settlement
Captains Flat Captains Flat is a town in the Southern Tablelands of rural New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is south of Queanbeyan. Captains Flat township is bounded by the non-urban parts of the locality of Captains Flat ...
. The highest peaks in the picturesque Tinderry Range reach approximately 1600m above sea level, while Michelago itself has an elevation of around 800m. The
Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...
separates the village from the Clear Range. The Michelago Creek passes through the village, and is a source of water for the residents. Its catchment area is in the Tinderry Range, and after passing the town the creek flows into the
Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...
. It has been claimed that Michelago represents the territorial divide between white-backed and black-backed
magpies Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent cr ...
on the
Monaro Highway Monaro Highway is a highway in Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia, linking in Victoria to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) via the Monaro region. From its southern terminus, it fo ...
from
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
to
Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega, New South Wales, Bega with the Riverina. ...
.


History and bushranging

The area later known as Michelago lies within the traditional lands of the
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. They ...
people.
Currie Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...
and
Ovens file:Double oven.jpg, upA double oven file:Four à céramique - Japan Auréa - 2011-0403- P1070446.JPG, A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means o ...
explored the Michelago region in 1823 and the first settlement proceeded soon thereafter, involving the ex-convict couple, Emmanuel and Catherine Elliot. The explorer Dr John Lhotsky claimed that his journey in 1834 south from the
Limestone Plains Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
toward Michelago represented a descent into what he considered barbarism: no church south of
Sutton Forest Sutton Forest is a small village in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located 5 km southwest of Moss Vale, New South Wales, Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highw ...
, no window pane south of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, no white woman south of Michelago. Six hundred and forty acres of
Crown Land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
at "Meccaligo" were advertised to be sold on 9 December 1835. The community was served by a licensed Inn by 1850. The first Monaro Superintendent of Police, the Corsican Francis Nicholas Rossi, built an ironbark slab homestead in the region called ''Micilago'' on 35,000 acres (14,175 hectares) in 1837; this station was bought in 1859 by Alexander Ryrie who married Charlotte Faunce the daughter of Alured Tasker Faunce the police magistrate at
Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...
; one of their children being
Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...
, later a General in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, knighted and involved with the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
in
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.Vincent, pp. 4–5. Alexander Ryrie kept the name ''Micalago'' for his station, but advocated that new village name be spelt "Michelago" in the hope of avoiding confusion between the Station and the township. He had some influence here and the two spellings diverged. Both Michelago and Micalago are pronounced the same. Alexander built St Thomas' church in the village of Michelago and life for those in the area was very self-sufficient, with income from wool, cattle for meat, milk and butter, locally grown fruit and vegetables, with soap and tallow candles also being made by hand.Vincent, p. 11. A big social event was the picnic races and over 200 people attended the Michelago Public School picnic in 1906. During the 1930-50's eucalyptus stilling was a profitable occupation in the Tinderry Range above Michelago and a drum of eucalyptus oil (44 gallons or 200L) was worth 100 pounds on site in the 1940s.Lisa Ryrie. 'Treasures in the Tinderrys' in ''Michelago Independent'' newspaper Issue 16, August 1997 p1. Notable families of the early years of Michelago include the Kellys, Cotters, Shanahans, Lawlers, McTernans and Poveys. Many of their descendants still live in the region. Lea-Scarlett notes that in October 1840 a gang of five
bushrangers Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia, and applied to ...
broke out of the lockup at
Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...
and police magistrate Captain Faunce had to give chase to Michelago before he recaptured them. On 1 June 1866 a bushranging gang consisting of the
Clarke brothers The Clarke gang was a group of bushrangers active in the mid-1860s in the southern goldfields of New South Wales, Australia. The membership of the gang fluctuated over time, the two core members being brothers Thomas and John Clarke, from the Br ...
, Patsy Connell and two accomplices held up Michelago town (which then consisted of Thomas Kennedy's Hibernian Hotel, a police station and lockup, Abraham Levy's store, a Catholic school house and church and a few houses) and drank its entire liquor supply before staggering off to their rocky hide-out called 'Beefcask' in the Tinderrys. In February 1866, two armed men robbed the post office, destroyed the letters and escaped with three horses, one of them a race horse. St Patrick's Catholic Church was a small building made of stone. It was too small for its congregation by 1906 and it was decided to build a new brick church. The foundation stone for the Michelago Memorial Church was laid in October 1906. Some 75,000 bricks were used made from local red clay. The building was roofed with slate. The cost of construction was £1,134 and six shillings, of which £50 was the architects fee. The architect was James Nangle and the builder Mr J. G. Taylor, both of Sydney. The building had seating for 150 people and it was officially opened on 28 April 1907.


Railway

The railway to the town opened on 7 December 1887 and Bernard Ferris's railway pub at Michelago established during the construction period was called the 'Navvies' Arms'. In the 1920s Michelago was visited by the
Great White Train The ''Great White Train'' was an effort in the 1920s by Sydney based industrialists to convince Australians to Buy Australian Made. Background The concept was put forward by the Australia Made Preference League, a consortium of New South Wales ...
with fifteen exhibition coaches encouraging people to 'Buy Australian Made'. The railway line closed in 1989—along with the rest of the line from
Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...
to
Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega, New South Wales, Bega with the Riverina. ...
. From 1993 until 1997, the
Australian Railway Historical Society The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) has been a railway organisation concerned with history and preservation of railway heritage at a national level. It has had divisions in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, althou ...
ACT Division operated the line to Michelago as a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
. However, as the line deteriorated, services were truncated to
Royalla Royalla is a rural locality on the border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The area takes its name from the nearby Mount Rob Roy, and was originally a railway settlement on the Bombala railway line known as R ...
(approx north). Due to significant damage to some of the older wooden bridges in the 2010 floods near Queanbeyan, the ARHS ACT is unlikely ever to run to Michelago again. The railway was cut in July 2016 by the removal of a bridge over a road just to the north of Michelago station. To the south, the railway is also disused between Michelago and Chakola, and a 1990s resurfacing of the
Monaro Highway Monaro Highway is a highway in Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia, linking in Victoria to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) via the Monaro region. From its southern terminus, it fo ...
north of
Bredbo Bredbo is a village on the Monaro plains of New South Wales, Australia. The village is on the Monaro Highway north of Cooma. The village is in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council and had a population of 352 at the . History Located at the jun ...
, severed where the railway crossed the highway.


Heritage listings

Michelago has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Goulburn–Bombala railway: Ingalara Creek railway bridge, Michelago * Goulburn–Bombala railway:
Michelago railway station Michelago railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Bombala railway line at Michelago, Snowy Monaro Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on ...


Michelago in art, poetry and film

The
George Washington Lambert George Washington Thomas Lambert (13 September 1873 – 29 May 1930) was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a war artist during the First World War. Early life Lambert was born in St Petersburg, Russia, th ...
painting '' The Squatter's Daughter'' was painted at Michelago. Lambert also painted ''Michelago Landscape'' (both paintings are in the
National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
collection) and wrote this poem about it: "The sun is down and 'Micalago' is at rest
Like Chinese silk of faded gold, the grass and all the hills like breasts of turtle-doves
My soul could find a home 'midst blades of grass
And get its music from the whispering trees
These pleasant little hills that lure us on
To ride and ride until we reach beyond." David Campbell wrote a poem ''The Squatter's Daughter'' about the funerals of
Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...
and his daughter at Michelago: "Veterans shed tears and limped the sweet-briar miles
Behind his guncarriage to Michelago
And now The Squatter's Daughter follows him:
The grey lake blurs beneath
Governor's Hill, her candid spirit mourned
By grandchildren with hair of daffodil." The artist Robert Pengilley lives and paints in the Michelago region. In 1986 a painting of ''Ryrie's Creek'' by Pengilley was presented as a gift from the Australian Government to the People's Republic of China. Another of his works ''Storm over the Tinderrys'' is held by the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
in Canberra. The 1999 film ''
Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
'', about the life of
Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and ...
was partly filmed in Michelago. The 2004
Cate Shortland Cate Shortland (born 10 August 1968) is an Australian director and screenwriter. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film ''Somersault (film), Somersault'', her 2012 historical drama film ''Lore (film), Lore'', and he ...
film ''
Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...
'' included scenes filmed at the Ryrie homestead at Michelago; scenes from the
Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary film director, director, best known for ''My Brilliant Career (film), My Brilliant Career'' (1979), ''Mrs. Soffel'' (1984), ''High Tide (1987 film), Hi ...
1979 film '' My Brilliant Career'' were also shot at that location.


Bushfires

There was a big bushfire in the Tinderry Range in November 1957 which burnt out 90% of the reserve and was not contained until 24 December. In January 2003, bushfires ravaged the Canberra region and, spreading from
Namadgi National Park Namadgi National Park is a protected area in the southwest of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), bordering Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It lies approximately southwest of Canberra, and occupies approximately 46 percent of th ...
, devastated much of the flora and bush landscape around Michelago, particularly down from the Clearview Road toward the
Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...
. While the village itself was not affected by the fires, several farms and houses were destroyed and mountains of the Clear Range were left blackened and barren. A bushfire which began on 17 December 2009 devastated the area east of Michelago, burning out over 9,000 hectares and destroying three homes and a sawmill.


Notable residents

* Garrett Cotter * Alexander Ryrie *
Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...
* George De Salis


Future development proposal

Canberra-based developer Geocon has plans to develop land at Michelago into what would be another cross-border satellite suburb of Canberra. The development would change the nature of the village, but may also bring long-awaited infrastructure to the area.


Sources

* Lea-Scarlett, E. (1968) ''Queanbeyan. District and People'', Queanbeyan Municipal Council. * Vincent, P. ''My Darling Mick. The Life of Granville Ryrie 1865–1937'', National Library of Australia, Canberra 1997. .


References


Walkabout Australian travel guide
retrieved 19 July 2005.
Australian Railway Historical Society
retrieved 19 July 2005.


External links


Michelago community siteList of people interred in Michelago CemeteryMichelago Railway Station
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Snowy Monaro Regional Council