National Australia Bank and William Drummond Memorial in the main street

 

Lockhart
Attractive and historic Riverina town
Located 530 km south-west of Sydney via the Hume and Sturt Highways Lockhart is a charming Riverina town of around 1000 people. The main street (Green St), with its continuous shady verandahs, decorative iron lacework and beautifully restored facades has been deservedly classified by the National Trust as a repository of turn-of-the-century architecture. Plaques on the shops list the historic details. A wander along the town's main street reveals the history of the district etched in pavers and at night the outline of the buildings is etched in fairy lights.

The first station in the area was 'Brookong' taken up by Henry Osborne in the 1840s and managed in the 1860s by Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh whose memoirs After Many Days (1917) represent a rare first-hand account of the growth of the pastoral industry in the Riverina. His meeting with 'Blue Cap' the bushranger was made into the subject of a ballad by poet Barcroft Boake who worked as a surveyor in the area in 1891.

Brookong was also the scene of a major shearer's strike in 1888. The station owner, William Halliday, used his influence as a Member of the Legislative Council to draw, from Wagga, Police Magistrate Henry Baylis, once robbed by Mad Dog Morgan (see entry on Urana), and thirty policemen. They read the shearers the Riot Act, then arrested ten of their number. Nine were found guilty and sentenced to prison with hard labour. Shearing continued with non-union labour under police protection.

The townsite was known as Green's Gunya in the 1850s after the hut of a Mr Green which was situated where the road to Narranderra crossed Brookong Creek. In true entrepreneurial spirit Green turned his hut into a roadside shanty around 1865 to cater to the trough-traffic. A store and blacksmith's soon emerged nearby and the inn became a changing post for horses working the coach routes. The old stables, although deteriorated, can still be found at the rear of the New Gunyah Hotel, built on the same site in 1939. The present owner has purchased an old woolshed which he has converted into an impressive beer garden. The building can be found at 19 Urana St.

By 1883 there was a post office at the village which was, by then, known as Ferrier's after the hotel's landlord. The village was proclaimed in 1896 as Lockhart after the commissioner of crown lands. The arrival of the railway in 1901 sped up settlement and opened up new markets for local wheat cultivation.

Lockhart is now a commercial and business centre for the rural community. Wheat is still a major source of income and the town has bulk handling facilities. Sheep, wool, cattle and poultry are other sources of remuneration.

Things to see:  

Lockhart's Historic Buildings
The National Bank building (originally the Commercial Bank) at 90 Green St is a stately brick building characterised by its first-floor arches. Built in 1912 it retains its original wooden counters and brass fittings. The Railway Hotel at 33 Brookong St was erected in 1908 and the Commercial Hotel (1906), at 111 Green St, is a splendid old pub with a balcony of iron lacework and carved woodwork.

 

 

The Pioneer Memorial Gates

 

The Pioneer Memorial Gates
The Pioneer Memorial Gates, a tribute to the early settlers, form the entrance to the showground on the road to Urana. The pillars consist of 22 replica wool bales with the names of the area's original homesteads stencilled on each. The gate takes the form of a bullock cart. The grandstand, built of local Murray pine, and nearby bar pavilion date back to the turn of the century and are really quite impressive.

 

Lockhart Historical Society Museum and other attractions
Also in Green St are the Lockhart Historical Society Museum, open every day from 10-5, tel: (02) 6920 5393 or (02) 6920 5380, and Heckendorf Bird Aviary, tel: (02) 6920 5305. Brooklock Studio is located 3 km east of town on the Wagga Road. It specialises in cottage crafts such as weaving, spinning, leather plaiting and paper making. The owner offers demonstrations and works for sale., tel: (02) 6920 5545.

 

Galore Hill
Bushranger 'Mad Dog' Morgan is said to have hidden in the caves on the northern side of Galore Hill, 16 km north. This 510-ha recreation reserve rises 215 m from an almost flat plain. It has grey kangaroos, echidna and lizards, 140 species of birds, and 850 types of native flora including a proliferation of flowering native plants from August to October and a large and varied arboretum. There are several walking tracks and a road leads to the summit where there are picnic, toilet and barbecue facilities and excellent views from the lookout tower.

 

Lockhart's Festivals
The town's agricultural show is held in September showcasing the district's produce, arts, crafts and schoolwork. The annual picnic races are held in October.

 

 

Broadwalk Business Brokers

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Phone: 1300 136 559

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Lockhart