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Stockinbingal
Tiny township on the South West Slopes of New South
Wales.
Located midway between Cootamundra and Temora and 426 km
from Sydney via the Hume Highway on the South West slopes,
Stockinbingal is a tiny settlement comprising one hotel, a
takeaway cafe (in the old Bank building) a few shops, a post
office and a small population of 250.
Like most Australian towns with Aboriginal names no one
knows exactly what the word 'Stockinbingal' meant. Local
mythology says it means 'full belly' but equally it is
believed that the local water supply, now known as Bland
Creek, was known to the Aborigines at Tocumbidgie or
Tocumbimbil with 'tocum' meaning deep hole and either 'bingara'
meaning creek or 'bimbil' meaning white leafed box tree.
Somewhere in the past someone added an 'S' and changed a
letter or two so that the result is a word no Aborigine
would recognise.
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| The countryside to the
east of Stockinbingal |
The area around Stockinbingal was first settled sometime
before 1848 but the village of Stockinbingal was not
proclaimed until 1885. By the turn of the century the
village had grown to become a significant service centre for
the surrounding pastoralists who concentrated their
attentions on wheat and sheep. There was a bank, a pub, a
blacksmith, a doctor and dentist, and numerous small
businesses. There was even a local photographer.
The local hotel was built in 1892 to cater for the Cobb &
Co coaches which used the village as a stopover on their
journeys from Harden to Temora. The following year the
branch line from Cootamundra to Temora was completed and the
town became an important railhead. In the years that
followed the town grew rapidly and so, in 1893, a local
police station was established and the local school was
opened in 1894.
Undoubtedly the most interesting hotel in the region was
that at Dinga Dingi which played host to bushrangers and
Cobb & Co at various times. To get to Dinga Dingi take the
Milvale road at the western end of Stockinbingal.
James Troy opened the Dinga Dingi (originally spelt Dingy
Dingy) Hotel in late 1879 to take advantage of the
Scrubyards goldrush. But Dinga Dingi (which was the legal
spelling of the settlement) goes back much further than
that. On 22 June 1859 Catherine Dacey purchased 320 acres
for £320 at Yeo Yeo Creek (now known as the Bland Creek). By
1865 the homestead had a publicanıs license and was known as
the Shamrock Inn. The bricks for the Dinga Dingi Hotel were
made just 300 m away on the creek and all the nails were
hand made. Bushrangers frequented the old hotel and one of
the doors was holed by a bullet allegedly fired by one of
them.
All that remains of the Scrubyards settlement now are two
graves, some broken china and rusted tin. Yet at the end of
1879 there were as many as 1400 men on the goldfield with
the usual facilities - butchers shop, general store etc.
There was a lack of water on the field and by February 1880
(only 9 months after the initial rush) people were leaving
the area.
By March 1880 things were so bad that one account
reported: 'We are at present dull...nothing to enliven us
not even a fight. We have no money to get drunk...the
butcher must see us through now...in one hotel a notice is
posted in the public room announcing that all drinks are to
be paid for on delivery.' The Scrubyards field closed
completely in 1881.
The first and only bank in Stockinbingal was the Bank of
New South Wales which set up an agency in 1907 and
eventually built on the corner of Hibernia and Martin
Streets in 1921. The premises were closed in 1974. It has
recently been converted into a cafetakeaway hoping to
attract custom from the increasing flow of tourists
(particularly people from Canberra) who pass through the
town.
Today the town is a small centre with many empty shops
and houses and no new development. Time and transportation
have changed Stockinbingal from a thriving township to a
quiet community.
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Sale, Motels for Sale, Management Rights & Resorts for Sale, Farms for
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Stockinbingal
