1852
- A further Lands Department letter stated that the first notification of "reserves from lease" was on the 11th March 1852, when the following appeared: - "One section of Tucumival, bounded on the west by a line bearing north one mile distant 10 chains west from Mr Boyd's sheep station, on the north by a line east 1 mile, on the east by a line south 1 mile. This is on Mr Boyd's run at the point where the Tuppal Creek flows from the Murray River to the Edward River. It was noted that in 1852 the district was called Tucumival."
1860
- Edward Hillson arrived in Tocumwal about this date and purchased about 500 acres from Patrick Hennessy, which included the town area.
1861-2
- A communication from the Under Secretary for Lands states: "A plan of the site for the village was transmitted to the Surveyor General by the District Surveyor P Francis Adams, with his letter dated 19th October 1861. As part of the design, Mr Adams measured for sale allotments 1 to 10, Section 1, and 1 to 8, Section 2. Allotments 1 and 2, Section 1, containing improvements were applied for on 15th April 1862, by Edward Hillson under Improvement Purchase.
The improvements are described as public house containing eleven rooms, a six stall stable, kitchen-garden and outhouses. The remainder of allotments in sections 1 and 2 were offered for sale at auction at Deniliquin on Monday 30th June 1862. Five allotments were sold as follows, the remainder not being bid for: -Allot. 3 sec. 1 Edward Hillson, £4 ; lot 4, sec 1, John Taylor, £4; lot 5, sec 1, John Taylor, £4; lot 10, sec 1, Edward Hillson, £2; lot 1, sec 2, James Taylor, £4."
- Tocumwal was notified as a village on the 18th July 1862.
- The big Tuppal Woolshed located on the Tocumwal / Deniliquin Rd as part of Tuppal Station played a central role in the development of the district and even of the wool industry in general through its connection with the Falkiner Family.
When the station was finally split up, the woolshed went with North Tuppal, purchased by the Atkinson family, whilst the homestead remained south of the road. Falkiners took over Tuppal in 1891, comprising 130,000 acres. The shed was mechanised in 1900, and was used as a base for shearing sheep from other Falkiner stations. It was constructed mainly of Murray pine.
At its peak Tuppal Station covered some 180,000 acres, being over 30 miles from east to west, and nearly 20 miles north to south. It early history goes back to Benjamin Boyd (of the Two Fold Bay whaling fame)' Boyd held vast pastoral interests including some 700,000 acres in this general area. When Boyd's empire collapsed in 1855, John Mooney purchased the Tuppal Run, and added part of the Murray Run.
The balance of the Murray became Barooga Run. Held by various owners, the Tuppal Station probably reached its peak in the 1870's when the homestead was built by McFarlane and Brown in 1875. During the 1880's and the 1890's wheat growing was being pioneered in the district and rail links were established with both Sydney and Melbourne. Several attempts at closer settlement failed, but the breakthrough came in 1910 when 55,000 acres of Tuppal was thrown open for settlement by the Government.
This was the beginning of the end for "Big Tuppal" and further settlement of Blighty after 1914-18 war and private subdivision in 1924 saw the huge empire reduced significantly by 1988.
1876
- Thomas Brown built a 16 room homestead on his property at Tuppal Station at a cost of £4000. The property was 170,000 acres and ran 200,000 sheep, shearing over 150,000 sheep a year for twenty years.
1883
Recreation Reserve gazetted.
1885
- Fire north east of the town burnt out 50,000 acres.
1886
- First brick kiln and Chinese market gardener in town.
- Hillson becomes first JP for district.
1887
- Fire burnt from Berrigan to the River.
1888
- Contract let for clearing racecourse.
- First Progress Association, with Francis Manning, President; and John de Lacy O'Reilly, Secretary.
1889
George F Sugden and R Stewart started a wool scouring plant on the river near "Woodsome Lees" and the former secured about 13,000 acres of land.
At a sale of town lots half acre blocks brought up to £185.
1890
- Mechanics Institute formed.
- In February the Victorian Government snagging boat "Melbourne" completed three months work in the area, 300 snags were removed from one quarter mile section.
- The first Macadam roads were laid down in Deniliquin Street.
- June 20th Tocumwal was proclaimed under the Police Offences Act.
- Fire at Tuppal Station burnt out 42,000 acres (owned by Brown & Co at that time).
1891
- Punts were operating at Yarrawonga, Cobram and Tocumwal. Steamer "Resolute" and barge loaded 964 bags of wheat at Tocumwal for Echuca.
- The late H H Casey and others won Tattersall's sweep of £5,000.
- Tocumwal Hotel was built by Mr Hillson and it had what was called the Horse Works to pump water and was situated near the river. It was a large circular frame that the draught horse was harnessed to and the horse walked in circles turning the frame that pumped the water through the pipes to the hotel.
- Population of town, 350.
- April saw the Yarrawonga Shire Council accept tenders from Messrs Warle Bros totalling £653/9/4 to build bridges over creeks on the Victorian road to the Tocumwal punt.
1892
- The earliest survey map in this year of Tocumwal, had the village bounded by Kelly, Hannah, Deniliquin Street and the river.
There was a wool shed where the first information centre stood, and at that time and into the next century, private hospitals were everywhere. They were run by Nursing Sisters, who also acted as midwives throughout the community.
There were hospitals on the corner of Murray and Hill Streets, the corner of Anzac Avenue and Bridge Street, the corner of Deniliquin and Charlotte Streets and in Hennessey Street opposite the Public School.
1893
- Court House and Police Quarters erected. The Police Station, Court House and Public School were opened in the eighties being first located in buildings owned by Edward Hillson.
- Jack Cree (10 tons 13 cwt), Joe Cruickshank (13 tons 7 cwt) and Jack Berry (14 tons 1 cwt), carted heavy loads of wool in their wagons.
- The steamer "Lancashire Lass" returned from Albury after delivering a load of salt from Swan Hill.
- First trading bank opened in leased premises was the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. The first bank manager also started the first Progress Association. A new building was built in Deniliquin St and the bank remained in this building until 1941 when it closed due to the war.
- Showground gazetted.
- In the eighties and nineties customs duties were collected at Tocumwal, Mr Pennefather being the officer. In addition to the punt charge of sixpence a large beast and sixpence a wheel to cross the river on the punt, a tax of 50/- on horses, 30/- on cattle and 9d. on sheep had to be paid.
1894
- The area under crop was 6030 acres, with 13,685 in the Murray Hut (Finley) area.
- First Church of England flower show.
- Coaches running between Tocumwal, Deniliquin, Corowa, Finley, Berrigan and Jerilderie.
- Prize winners at Public School "break up" included Peter, Laura and Gertrude Dunne, Hannah Turner, Mary McConnoughty, James Looney and Frederick Beasley.
- Farmers Arms Hotel was built and was expanded in 1910. The licensee was the Kelly family for 60 years and three generations until they sold it in the late 1980's to Gayle and Gerry Stroud.
1895
- In August 1895, word was received that Daniel Merriott who left his job as engineer in charge of the bridge to join West Australian gold rush, had discovered a rich reef at Kalgoorlie.
- "Tooheys" beer first on tap.
- Bridge opened for traffic.
1896
N.S.W. customs collected £6,000 duty and £1,000 stock tax in this year. The old N.S.W. customs house is now a residence in Anzac Avenue.
Race Meeting gate receipts £49, charge at outer gate 1/-. The proceeds were nearly £100.
- McFarlane Bros, cut the first irrigation channel from the river in the direction of Berrigan. Land on the Jerilderie - Tocumwal stock route was thrown open for selection. Tenders called for fencing the common.
Jack Cree in one wagon carted 165 bags of wheat from Tuppal Station to Yarroweyah, where F S Falkiner stacked 7000 bags of wheat that season in 1896.
1897
There was a sale of village blocks realised from £6/5/- to £26 each.
- Mr F Staples purchased the race booth for £40 and the "settling" for £4/57- "The Paddock" right was sold for E16/10/-
- Severe drought period.
- Fire burns from Berrigan to Murray River.
1898
- Town commons fenced.
- Strathmerton, Cobram, Yarrawonga and Tocumwal bands played at a fancy dress procession.
- Flour mill, owned by Blake .and Dorey, which had been operating on land between Tocumwal Hotel and the Recreation Reserve for a few years, was offered at auction.
- Dr Davies succeeded Dr Bailey Eadon.
1899
- James Burbury transferred Tocumwal Hotel to Frank Staples.
- Wonnue Farmers Union in existence with Mr M Looney,
President, and the late James Harrison, Secretary. This union took an active part in the following years to secure the extension of the Victorian and New South Wales Railways, the Tuppal cutting etc.
- In the referendum for Federation, Tocumwal polled 223 in favour, 2 against and 2 informal.
1901
- Tuppal woolshed built with 72 stands being the second largest and finest in Australia. Pine milled on the property was used to construct the interior of the woolshed and galvanised iron was used on the walls and roof, covering an area of 20,000 feet.
An annex from the old shed was used to house sheep. Altogether 7000 sheep could be housed in the building. Built by Mr William McFadyan at the cost of 3000 pounds, the board area was 238 feet long The wool room which housed the wool tables, two wool presses, which pressed between 100 and 120 bales a day, and the wool bins were 84 by 70 feet, there was accommodation for 160 men, dining room, kitchen and wash areas.
1902
- 207,515 sheep shorn yielding 3244 bales, at Tuppal Woolshed and they marked 65,511 lambs.
1905
- A Government sale of village blocks was held, No 1 Brown Street was secured by Mr J G Wilson for £36, lot 5 by the same buyer for £240 lots 6 and 7 by Mr John Donkin for £47 and £51.
- Victorian Railways reached the south side of the river.
1907
- Double wedding of district interest on Dec 31, when Miss Maude Sugden and Miss Ivy Mignon Sugden, daughters of Mrs And Mr G F Sugden, were married to Mr Kenneth Thornburn and Mr Edwin F Brind respectively at St Alban's Church.
On March 13th, 1908 Miss Ann Hebe Sugden, another daughter of Mr and Mrs Sugden, and Dr Hill were married.
1908
- First Victorian train crossed the bridge.
- Subscribers to purchase of railway land fund voted £80 to Mr Cope to recoup him for land taken for the railway.
- Levee bank, erected in 1906 near Blake's flour mill, strengthened.
- G F Sugden sold 640 acres at £7 per acre and 215 acres at £6/10/- to Messrs Quinton and John Quirk respectively.
- Crs W Quirk, F Hoyle and M Murphy were elected for A Riding on Berrigan Shire Council.
- Silver Jubilee of Rev Fr Vaughan's ordination celebrated at Convent School.
- Tuppal Creek Water Trust gazetted on April 8th 1908.
- Considerable building improvement occurred between 1908 and 1912. F Staples had erected shops and a large wooden building behind Tocumwal Hotel.
F Beasley had made extensive improvements to his shearing shed where now Thomas Lodge Motel stands. F Hoyle had erected the Guardian office in Murray St next to the old bank and now houses Tocumwal Antiques.
J Wilson had gone into the brick store and opened a general store and later took over a building owned by F E Peacock. Bell and Kidd erected a brick shop. McCullock and Co. had erected their large wholesale store. Jensen's store had been improved. H Herberie had erected a studio and shop.
W and P Quirk had erected the brick shops now Haynes Butchery (later owned by J Blomeley) and the Newsagency (later owned by C Merrington). Improvements had been made to the Commercial Bank
1912
- E and J Bevans and E G Henderson each secured 213 acres 1 rood 14 perches from E Hillson's estate under the Closer Settlement Act being the first land secured in the district under that Act.
This lane way is noted as it was reputed to be the main street in the early development of the town. In the adjacent photograph taken in 1936, Gun Alley is the lane left near centre to left of the main street. The shadow is cast from a high back fence at rear of old CBC Bank.
A row of six small cottages were the remnants of this street. They were very small cottages consisting of two bedrooms, kitchen and laundry/bathroom. There is only a part of one cottage remaining. That is situated on south side of lane in back yard of 7 Morris Street Tocumwal.
The cottages were of Murray Pine timber frames, red gum timber weatherboards, corrugated iron roofs and the cottages did not have floor boards.
1913
- Mr F B S Falkiner, M.H.R. presented the band with a set of uniforms costing £120.
1914
- N.S.W. Railways reached Tocumwal.
- 1914-18 War broke out. 111 Tocumwal men served in the armed forces.
1917
- Very bad mouse plague.
1918
- A disastrous fire occurred over Tuppal and Pine Lodge area, and other country, when it was estimated 200,000 acres of grass, and a lot of fencing, etc., was destroyed.
- During the First War a Returned Soldiers' Fund was commenced and at a public meeting in 1918 the financial statement showed that £812/5/6 had been received and there was a credit balance in the Savings Bank of £536/19/6.
1922
- P Quirk, A Erskine and J Howe were elected to the Shire Council.
1927
- Weatherboard shops near Tattersall's Hotel destroyed by fire on 12/3/27. |
