Moulamein, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Moulamein
state = nsw


caption = The Tattersalls Hotel and General store at Moulamein
lga = Council of the Shire of Wakool
postcode = 2733
est =
pop = 423 (2001 census)
elevation= 74
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
county = Wakool
stategov = Murray-Darling
fedgov = Farrer
dist1 = 68
location1= Swan Hill
dist2 = 105
location2= Denilquin

Moulamein is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Wakool Shire. In 2001 it had a population of 423. Moulamein is the oldest town in the Riverina. [ [http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=MnjLjzUlMa Geographical Names Board of NSW] ]

The town is located between Balranald, Hay, Deniliquin and Swan Hill, at the junction of the Edward River and Billabong Creek. The name Moulamein is derived from a local Aboriginal word meaning "the meeting of the waters". [ [http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=MnjLjzUlMa Geographical Names Board of NSW] ]

The climate of this area is semi-arid, and the area is rich in birdlife such as waterfowl, wedge-tailed Eagles and emus. This area also has quite a lot of kangaroos.

History

Further accounts of Moulamein’s history make unsourced statements such as: “settled as early as 1830 Moulamein is the oldest town in the Riverina”. However it seems unlikely the township was established as early as 1830 considering that this was about the time of Charles Sturt’s exploration along the Murrumbidgee River just to the north of this region.

In about 1842 Augustus Morris came to the Riverina seeking grazing land in association with the entrepreneur and speculator Benjamin Boyd. Morris took up pastoral runs on the Edward River and explored the country surrounding the site of present-day Moulamein. [Buxton, Gordon L., "The Riverina 1861-1891: An Australian Regional Study", Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1967.] Morris was apparently the first European to describe the confluence of the Edward River and Billabong Creek as “The Moulamein”.

, so prisoners were brought there to be tried from far-flung regions of the Riverina. Richard Edward Wright established the Moulamein Inn at the location in 1848 and was granted a license for the hotel in February 1849. In November 1849 approval was granted for Moulamein to be laid out as a township. It was surveyed by Thomas Townsend 1851 and its township status gazetted on 9 September that year. Moulamein's first court-house was demolished in 1860. ['The Western Riverina: A History of Its Development' by James Jervis ("Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings" Vol. XXXVIII 1952), pp. 239-40.]

During the period 1864 to 1866 George Ashcroft held the license of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel at Moulamein. [Listing of hotel licensees, New South Wales Government Gazettes]

In 1866 it was reported that Moulamein had a population of 100 persons. At that time the township had two hotels, a post-office and "some stores". A tender was accepted for a school to be built at Moulamein in June 1866. ["The Western Riverina: A History of Its Development" by James Jervis ("Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings" Vol. XXXVIII 1952), pp. 240 (citing "Pastoral Times", 23 June 1866).]

References