I have literally 10's of kgs of receipts for purchases and sales. Yes they ate Koala. Life was pretty tough.. For long
periods the bar at Nambucca was unpassable for the coastal steamers so provisions needed to be bought overland from
Kempsey and Port Maquarie. It's 40 minutes by car to Kempsey these days...but back then (1860's) at best it was a 72 hour extremely hazardous trip.
So Kangaroo, Wallaby and Koala (and pretty well anyrthing else that moved and could bleed) was on the menu..... have
a read of this article below.....and all over a pig. I wrote a piece on it for the local historical society...."Wild Wild East" way
back when
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/30581799?searchTerm=londergan+pig+nambucca+griffin+murder&se...
rove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13238628?searchTerm=londergan+pig+nambucca+griffin+murder&searchLimits=sortby%3DdateAsc
dredge the river request
copy and paste from letters to the editor the Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 26 June 1886
THE NAMBUCCRA AND ITS REQUIREMENTS.
-«
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
Sir,Wo crave your permission to make the following facts known, through the columns of your paper, to the general public.
This river, the Nambuccra, is situated about midway between the Macleay and Bellinger River, and has been settled for nearly 30 years past.
There are three townships, viz., Nambuccra Heads, Central Nambuccra, and Bowra.
A number of people are settled off the river banks, and the population of the whole river has been estimated at about 2000 souls.
The Nambuccra bar, which in its present state is a great hindrance to trade could at a comparatively small cost be made capable of admitting vessels at high water with very little risk.
There are two flats about half a mile inside the bar which prevent vessels from coming up to this township and those flats could be dredged at very little expense.
The services of a dredge would only be required for about three months and a channel would be made enabling vessels to sail up here ten miles from the Heads and thus save the business men, mill-owners, and farmers the ruinous freight they are now paying for puntage to the Nambuccra Heads.
Some years ago, before the existence of the flats above mentioned, vessels sailed past this township taking freight from places further up the river.
As an instance of the trade done here, in spite of adverse circumstances, we may mention that about a fortnight ago there were 22 vessels inside the Heads, some discharging and some taking in cargo.
During the year 1885 -103 arrivals and departures of vessels took place at the Nambuccra Heads, which fact shows that were the bar improved and the two flats dredged, more than double the amount of trade could be carried out than is done at present.
During the same year (18S5) 5,150,000 feet of,hardwood, 810,000 feet of cedar, and 16,000 bags of maize were shipped from here. The back freight during the same year was 1000 tons.
With regard to the shipment of maize during 1885 from this river, it must be borne in mind that those shipments do not represent the total amount raised.
In consequence of the drawbacks of getting it to market, thousands of bushels of maize are consumed here. We have about 40 bullock teams engaged in drawing timber, and a great percentage of the maize grown is used in feeding the working bullocks.
This loss, if proper facilities were to hand in getting the maize to a market, could bo obviated, and the
graze turned into money.
The services of a dredge for this river have more than once been distinctly promised us, but that promise has not yet been fulfilled though there is a sum of £3600 on the Estimates for 1886 for a dredge for the Nambuccra, which vote we hope you will assist us in getting put to the purpose for which it was intended by the Parliament.
We may also state that in consequence of the bad state of the bar at the Heads as many as 12 and sometimes more vessels have been detained inside for weeks, the shippers of corn thus losing the market, and very often the maize rotting in the bags to the further loss to the producers.
It must be understood that the present state of affairs here is not due to apathy on our part. We have brought under the notice of the powers that be on many occasions our wants and grievances, but no substantial assistance has been granted us.
Hoping you will use your powerful influence in furthering our interests
We are, &c.,
° " " ' THOMAS BOULTON, Chairman.
D. W» MOGFORD, Secretary. Progress Committee, Central Nambuccra,
Macleay District, June 19 1886
The nambuccra bar and Deburghs monument, I wrote and researched this piece for a local FB group called Nambucca
Old Gaurd
This is an interesting piece from trove. There is a pic somewhere in old guard that I think is "deburghs monument" which were some wooden pylons that were driven on the southern side of the river in an attempt to create a southern wall at Nambucca prior to 1903 and this report which was presented in 1912.
It appears the original work on the first northern rock wall built by the rock that was mined from the surrounding cliffs was completed by 1903.
The advent of the railway line and lack of parliamentary approval for funds working in unison with the affirmation that a better central sea transport hub could be developed at Coffs Harbour and the fact that the Nambucca River was too shallow and would require constant dredging hammered the final nails into the coffin of Nambucca rivers' southern breakwall idea... and I guess ? the onflow derived meant that Coffs Harbour ended up a city while Nambucca and the Bellinger remained much more hidden, unexplored and unexploited.
....... Soooo, maybe no Southern breakwall ended up being a gooooood thing !!????
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/15349674?searchTerm=de burgh training wall nambucca&searchLimits=
MATTER OF MONEY.
ENGINEER.
The Chief Engineer for Harbours and Rivers (Mr. de Burgh) has submitted an im- portant report to tho Minister for Works regarding the difficulties of navigation on the Bellinger and Nambucca rivers.Dealing with the Bellinger bar, Mr. de Burgh, among other things, says:
With regard to the general question, £66,300 was spent on this place, mostly on training walls. Inside the river, and on portion of the southern breakwater.
No improvement whatever would bo effected unless the northern breakwater were carried out at a cost of about £30,000. Even if this were done, there would be a bad bar in front of the entrance requiring constant dredging, and no absolute guarantee could be given to maintain traffic, even on an 8ft draft at low water.
As to building the breakwater itself, there Is no short road; it is simply a question of putting in stone, and if the work was authorised today it would be years before It became effective, even to the minor extent which I have indicated.
"I wish to make it quite clear to tho Minister that even if he gave me, or any other engineer, a free hand tomorrow, no more could be done inside of a year or eighteen months to relieve this trade than I am doing now.
Apart from the breakwater, the biggest dredge in the world would be of no use, because she could not float there. (LMAO)
In referring the construction of a harbour at Coffs, and pushing on the section of the North Coast Railway between that place and the Bellinger, a distance of 13 (18??) miles. The Minister has done everything, in my opinion, possible to give relief.
If the railway could be expedited, the shining facilities at Coffs Harbour at present are amply sufficient to admit of the supplies for the district being landed therewith regulary, the interruptions to loading at the Coff's Harbour jetty even without the projection of the proposed breakwater being comparatively rare.
In view of the construction of the North Coast Railway, and the excellent facilities which it is proposed to give for shipping at Coffs Harbour only 13 (sic 18?) miles distant I cannot recommend the Minister to expend money on the improvement of an entrance which has no natural advantages, and docs not lend Itself in any way whatever to harbour construction.
The inland waters of the Bellinger will form valuable feeders to the railway and its outlet at Coffs Harbour is certain.
The entrance may be used for the timber trade when natural conditions, assisted by a little dredging, will permit, but beyond this I do not propose to utilise the river for trade purposes.
With regard to the Nambucca River, works wore stopped at the entrance in May, 1903, the expenditure to that date having been £27,208.
A further sum of £26,052 was recommended by the Public Works Committee to be spent on a southern breakwater, but was not authorised by Parliament.
The committee were strongly of opinion that the construction of a southern breakwater was absolutely necessary to effect any permanent improvement to this port, and to do this would cost not only the £26,000 which they recommended; but also the £26,000 of the unexpended authorisation indeed,
I put the cost of the wall down at present prices at about £60,000.
"The present depth af water on the Nambucca bar is 4ft 3in at low water. The average depth taken over a number of years is 8ft 3In. The expenditure of the sum of £60,000, to which I have referred, would result in small steamers drawing up to about 11ft working the river, but dredging would always be required, and there would always be a bar to contend with."With regard to immediate relief, to carry out the harbour works (if authorised) would take just as long as at the Bellinger, and I certainly cannot promise any relief by means of dredging at the present time.
It is very dangerous to work a dredge under existing conditions at this entrance, as it is at the Bellinger.
Indeed, I doubt If it is possible. I have Just had to return the Tethys to Sydney for repairs on account of her touching the wall at the Macleay, and to risk one of these valuable plants in the present condition of the coastal rivers would be a suicidal policy."
atheism is a non prophet organization
