'This scale model of the B11 submarine was unveiled by Admiral Sir Victor Smith, Chairman of Chiefs of Staff, Canberra on 11 September 1971' in the Commander Holbrook Memorial Park

 

Holbrook
Small service centre on the Hume Highway near Albury
Holbrook is a rural town of some 1400 people located 499 km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway between Tarcutta and Albury. It sits at an elevation of 262 m. Holbrook has benefited greatly from the opening of a softwood timber mill in 1998. The district also produces wool, wheat and other grains, lucerne, fat cattle and sheep.

Prior to European settlement it is thought the area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people. Hume and Hovell passed through the district in 1824 (they passed into the Holbrook shire on 10 November, 1824) during their ground-breaking trek to Port Philip Bay (i.e., Melbourne) and a plaque on the highway, about 6 km south-west of Holbrook, marks the spot along their route.

Holbrook has been known by a number of names over the years. In 1824 Hume and Hovell named it Friday Mount and Camden Forest. In 1836 it was known as Therry's or Billabong after the Rev John Therry. It was known as Ten Mile Creek by 1838. In 1858 it was known as Germanton. By 1860 some maps were referring to it as Kings after King's Public House. In 1876 the name Germanton was officially gazetted. This was changed in 1914 after a number of meetings. The locals didn't like the name particularly given the war in Europe at the time and so the name was changed to Holbrook after Submarine Commander Norman Douglas Holbrook.

The first district leases were granted in 1836-37 and the first resident was German-born Johann Pabst who had arrived in Australia in 1825 as a sheep expert working for the Australian Agricultural Company. He settled here with his family in 1838. In 1840 he became the licensee of a grog shop known as the Woolpack Inn on the southern bank of Ten Mile Creek. Other inns then began to open on the Sydney-Melbourne Rd.

The emergent settlement was known as 'The Germans' and a town reserve was declared in 1848. A post office opened in 1857 and, the following year, after the townsite was surveyed, land sales commenced. At this time the telegraph office took the name 'Germanton' but the post office was known as 'Ten Mile Creek' until 1876 when the settlement was officially gazetted as 'Germanton'. A national school opened in 1868.

When the railway arrived in the area in 1883 it diverted the road traffic which had enabled the town's formation. A branch railway reached Holbrook in 1902 (it closed in 1975).

The town's name was changed again on 24 August,1915 amidst a wave of anti-German feeling related to the First World War. The new name was chosen to honour Lieutenant N.D. Holbrook of the Royal Navy who had recently become the first submariner to receive the Victoria Cross after he piloted his 43-metre submarine through five rows of mines off the Dardenelles and torpedoed a Turkish battleship. He subsequently visited the town on three occasions.

The National Beeffest Festival is held in May, the Agricultural Show in November and the Ultra Fly-In at Eastertime.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information and Woolpack Museum
The Woolpack Inn Museum is located in the main street (83 Albury St). It is situated within the old Criterion Hotel which was built in 1895 with the upper storey added in the 1900s. Within are twenty rooms which develop a turn-of-the-century theme. There is a schoolroom, the complete plant of an old cordial factory, a bakery and other items of local interest, including documents relating to Lieutenant Holbrook. Outside is a large collection of horse-drawn vehicles and farm implements. Devonshire teas and souvenirs are available and lunch can be served on the balcony by prior arrangement.

The museum also serves as the local information centre. It is open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., tel: (02) 6036 2131. Enquire here about day trips which take in local lookouts, picnic areas and natural attractions.

 

 

Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building

 

Historic Buildings and Grimwoods
Over the road is a block of buildings classified by the National Trust. Adjacent is Grimwoods, a replica of the first store in Holbrook (i.e., Germanton). It displays local arts and crafts and is open daily.

 

Ian Geddes Walk
Holbrook has numerous rest areas to encourage the traveller on the Hume Highway to stop and revive. On the western side of the highway, behind Grimwoods, is the start of the Ian Geddes Bushwalk which follows Ten Mile Creek away from the highway into a tranquil bushland domain. The entrance features a shelter with a map of the walk and the names and pictures of the birds which you are likely to observe along the trail. The walk can be comfortably completed in half an hour.

 

Ten Mile Creek Gardens
Ten Mile Creek Gardens are located on the other side of the highway to the museum and a little further north. There are parking and barbecue-picnic facilities, as well as play facilities for children.

 

Holbrook Park and Replica Submarine
Further north, at the corner of Albury St (the highway) and Wallace St, is Holbrook Park where you will find an 8.5-m replica scale model of the 43-m B11 submarine which Lieutenant Holbrook piloted through the minefields off the Dardenelles to torpedo a Turkish battleship in December 1914. The craft, operated by a battery-driven electric motor, was limited to six knots for two hours and it was, moreover, not easy to handle. After Holbrook sunk the ship the craft came under fire, the compass was shattered and it took nine hours to get out. Yet all of the crew emerged unharmed. For his efforts Holbrook became the first member of the navy (and the first submariner) to receive the Victoria Cross. So inspired were the locals that, with overt symbolic intent, they changed the name of their town from Germanton to Holbrook.

 

Germanton Park
Over the road from Holbrook Park is Germanton Park which is a tribute to the European pioneers of the district. The memorial features Pabst and Purcell and a bronze statue of Lieutenant Holbrook.

 

 

HMAS Otway in a park on Albury Street

 

HMAS Otway
Rather more overtly noticeable than the B11 is the 'Otway', a 90-metre submarine adjacent the main road. Intended to reinforce the submarine theme it was financed by public donation and by a $100 000 gift from Holbrook's widow. The boat was shipped to town in sections by semitrailer then reconstructed.

 

 

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Holbrook