The Oriental Bank which became the police station and lock-up in 1862 is now a private residence.

 

Windeyer
Tiny goldmining town which is nearly a ghost town.
Windeyer is an old goldmining town which is now a tranquil rural hamlet of less than 50 people in the Meroo River Valley. It is located 300 km north-west of Sydney and 40 km south-west of Mudgee via a sealed road. To get there proceed towards Gulgong from Mudgee then turn off into the Hill End Rd. Take the left fork at the Grattai CWA Hall.

It should be pointed out that the town is now a shadow of its former glory. There are a small number of interesting buildings but many have been removed and the spread of the original town (over some kilometres) means that the visitor looks at isolated buildings rather than some kind of coherent historic village. However it is true that the town, particularly in spring, enjoys a beautiful riverside setting.

Windeyer began as a farming district consisting of a few large properties. Gold was first discovered in the area late in 1851. Both alluvial and, to a lesser extent, reef mining were successfully carried out and the returns proved considerable.

From 1852 to 1862 there were six main settlements in existence as well as numerous Chinese tent villages. 29 hotels, 10 schools and numerous Chinese joss houses were established at this time.

The settlement at Richardsons Point was gazetted as the village of Windeyer in 1859. It was named after either Charles Windeyer, a prominent Sydney magistrate, or his son Richard, an agricultural pioneer and barrister. In 1853 it had three inns, three stores and a collection of stringybark huts and tents. A school, church, police station, post office and cricket club were also in existence by the mid-1860s.

Tensions developed between the Europeans and the Chinese on the fields. The latter became the object of riots in 1854. The Chinese are known to have been hard-workers. They built aqueducts out of river stone, including one that is 2 km in length, though all remnants are now on private property. These structures were erected, using only a plumb-bob and wooden bow, at just the right angle for water to trickle down from a creek to the diggings.

It is said that the bones of the Chinese dead were hollowed out and filled with gold, either because they believed the gold would be useful in the afterlife or because the bodies were exhumed and returned to China. There were two burial sites but, unfortunately, most of the headstones (except two which were transferred for safekeeping on to the grounds of the caravan park) were vandalised and destroyed. The graves were apparently rounded to ensure evil spirits could not hide in the corners.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s there was something of a revival as hopefuls picked over the old mullock heaps. The Eaglehawk mine was operating as a working reef mine and tourist attraction until 1989. It is currently under probate though locals hope it will be reopened soon.

Today the area is noted for its farming and its superfine wool (in 1983 a local grazier received the highest price ever secured on the Australian mainland for a bale of wool). There is an hotel and a caravan park with tennis courts and a general store.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Bushlands Caravan Park, Main Road (adjacent the Windeyer Hotel), tel: (02) 6373 8252. There are two old Chinese headstones in the park which were moved to this site for preservation. They reflect the significant presence of the Chinese on the goldfields in the 1850s and 1860s.

Fossicking
Windeyer has four or five fossicking areas where both gold pans and metal detectors are popular. The caravan park can tell you of their whereabouts. They will demonstrate the fine art of panning for gold and can sell or hire out the necessary equipment.

 

The Windeyer Trail
The Windeyer Trail is an historic walk around the village. A related pamphlet is available from the caravan park.

The walk starts at the Mudgee end of the settlement. Adjacent the bridge over the Meroo River is Windeyer Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1856. It is in bad disrepair but is still an interesting old cemetery to visit.

To the right, as you head south, is an old brick building which started out as the Oriental Bank. It became the police station and lock-up in 1862. The police escorted the gold, checked licenses and carried out other administrative duties. The lock-up has slab timber walls and it retains the original door. It is now an attractive private residence.

Nearby, on the same side of the road, is a chimney which is all that remains of the Good Woman Inn. It was licensed in 1854 although it may have been operating as early as 1852.

 

The Anglican church (The Church of the Redeemer) was built of local stone between 1866 and 1873

 

The Anglican church (The Church of the Redeemer) was built of local stone between 1866 and 1873 to replace the first, short-lived church and rectory (1859). It was consecrated and opened by noted ecclesiastical figure, Samuel Marsden. It is a very simple and unpretentious building.

The brick public school was built in 1859, the only survivor of ten schools which once operated in the district. 53 students enrolled in 1859. Numbers were down to seven in 1877, peaked at 100 in 1900 and were back down to 25 in 1997. The teacher originally lived in the school building but a residence was built in 1899 which is to the left of the school.

The ruins of a wooden house, a little further south and on the other side of the road, mark what was originally Windeyer's southern boundary (the boundaries were redefined in the early 1960s).

Down the road is Wingrave Gully which originally marked the northern boundary of the village of Long Creek. A marker denotes the site of the Long Creek town hall. Opposite, next to the creek, is the likely site of the Digger's Arms. There is an old brick home and St Killian's Catholic Church was erected on the site of the original weatherboard church which was built before 1884.

Further south, on the left-hand side of the road, is the Windeyer Hotel, built in 1911 on the site of an older inn at what was once the centre of Long Creek. The community hall to the left (1911) was once used for travelling picture shows and the house over the road was formerly a bakery. A butcher's, two stores and an inn were once located nearby.

Further south again, to the left, is an old chimney with Eaglehawk homestead over the road. This was the northern boundary of the Devil's Hole settlement, later named Clarkes Creek.

Further south, again to the left, is a mound of stones moved from the creek to facilitate alluvial mining. The stone retaining walls were constructed to redirect water.

Opposite stood the 1860 weatherboard Union Church which fell down in 1996. The font, pulpit and two pews have been relocated to the caravan park. This was the centre of the village of Clarkes Creek where there was once a school, a store, a butcher's, a blacksmith's and several inns.

 

 

 

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Windeyer