Warialda Creek

 

Warialda
Attractive small town on the Warialda Creek
Warialda, population 1285, is the major town of the Yallaroi Shire in north-western NSW. It is situated 602 km north of Sydney and 320 m above sea-level on a tributary creek of the Gwydir River. Warialda also lies at the intersection of two main roads, being 190 km north of Tamworth along the Fossickers Way and 62 km north-west of Inverell via the Gwydir Highway. Surrounded by pleasant bushland it is a service centre to a wool, sorghum and wheat-growing area which also has a number of stud farms.

The town's name is said to mean 'place of wild honey' and presumably derives from the tongue of the original inhabitants, the Weraerai Aborigines. Escaped convicts were probably the first Europeans in the shire, although Allan Cunningham was the first official visitor in 1827.

The first white settlement alongside Reedy Creek dates from 1837. A police outstation was established here around 1840. The townsite was gazetted in 1849. Two years later the population was recorded as being 45. Nonetheless Warialda became the first administrative centre of the north-west with a mining warden, magistrate and lands commissioner based in the village.

The railway arrived in 1901 and the population peaked in 1911 at 1 762 but slowly declined thereafter. The bushranger 'Thunderbolt' (alias Fred Ward) was active in the area in the mid-1860s, holding up the Warialda mail in 1865. The town was also the birthplace of Elizabeth Kenny (1886-1952) who spent her early childhood here and later dedicated her life to helping children afflicted with infantile paralysis, developing a revolutionary polio treatment program. She was christened in the font which is now situated in the town's Anglican Church of Saint Simon and St Jude.

The town's Agricultural Show is held in May.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
The Heritage Centre in Hope St is the local information centre and museum. It houses Well's Gem and Mineral Colection, Aboriginal artefacts, shells and a bottle display. Admission is free. It is open every day but Sunday, tel: (02) 6729 0046. The shire offices at 62 Hope St can also be of assistance, tel: (02) 6729 1016.

 

 

Warialda Convent (1902)

 

Heritage Buildings
The heritage centre and council offices have a sheet outlining the town's heritage buildings and their whereabouts. Unfortunately there is no information about the buildings, such as their year of origin. They are concentrated almost exclusively on Hope and Stephen Sts. The red-brick courthouse (1882) and the post office (1880) are located by the intersection of these two. Carinda House (1889) is a little further south on Stephen St. It is now an arts and crafts centre. Surprisingly it does not mention the particularly attractive St Patrick's Roman Catholic church and the gracious timber convent which was built in 1902.

 

Nature Walk
The Koorilgur Nature Walk (3.6 km) extends from Apex Park eastwards to Rotary Park, passing through pleasant bushland where wildflowers bloom in spring. The whole walk takes about an hour, although there are three clearly-marked exits for those who wish to shorten the walk. The leaflet is available from the Heritage Centre or the Hope St council offices.

 

Pioneer Cemetery Park
Pioneer Cemetery Park features graves dating back to the 1850s situated in a bushland setting. It is located at the southern (top) end of Stephen Street at the Queen St T-intersection. There is a memorial wall with the names of those buried in the 19th century listed on plaques for the interest of those investigating their family history.

 

Cranky Rock Reserve
8 km east is Cranky Rock Reserve where there is an agglomeration of boulders by Reedy Creek which have settled into some interesting arrangements. Cranky Rock is a tall striped rock with a series of boulders perched on the top. The origins of the name are strange. It is claimed that during the goldrush era a Chinese man who was 'cranky' because he had been falsely accused of some crime jumped from the highest rock. Turn off the highway and follow the gravel road to the picnic-barbecue-toilet area from where there is a walking trail which leads over the suspension bridge to an animal enclosure where there are emus, kangaroos and other wildlife, and on to a viewing platform on top of the boulders. Fossicking hereabouts has been known to turn up agate, jasper, opalised and petrified wood, and quartz. Bush camping is permissible.

 

Fossicking
Fossicking maps are available from the shire offices or the Heritage Centre in Hope St. The Tiger's gap area, 5 km east via the Gwydir Highway, is known for its opalised wood. The gravel quarries turn up agate, jasper, chalcedony and petrified wood.

 

Fishing and Gravesend
Fishing is popular along the Gwydir River, about 12 km west via the Gwydir Highway on the Warialda side of the Gwydir River Bridge. 4 km further west along the highway is the village of Gravesend which began as a railway fettlers' camp. There is a store, a hotel, an arts-and-crafts shop and a second-hand shop. 11 km further west is the low-level bridge at Yagobie, another fishing spot.

 

 

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Warialda