Wattle Flat, New South Wales Explained

Type:town
Wattle Flat
State:nsw
Coordinates:-33.1333°N 149.6917°W
Pop:257
Postcode:2795
Dir1:SW
Location1:Bathurst
Lga:Bathurst Region
Stategov:Bathurst
Fedgov:Calare
Parish:Wiagdon

Wattle Flat is a locality in the Bathurst Region of New South Wales, Australia.[1] It had a population of 257 people as of the . There is a small village of the same name, near the confluence of Big Oaky Creek and its tributary Solitary Creek.[2] [3] [4]

The area now known as Wattle Flat is on the traditional land of Wiradjuri people.[5]

Gold was discovered around Wattle Flat in 1851. The area had both alluvial and quartz reef gold mining. The area known as Red Bank, 3.2 km south of Wattle Flat, had rich alluvial workings.[6] [7] Significant gold mining activities continued in the area up until around the years of the First World War. There was minor revival when unemployed people sought gold in the area during the Great Depression. The longest-lived of the reef mines, the Big Oaky Mine operated between 1877 and 1937.[8]

It is said that, at the peak of the gold boom, the area had a population of 20,000 and Wattle Flat had ten hotels, four large stores and several smaller ones.[9] By 1932, the population had fallen to around 400.[10] The last of the hotels, the Royal Hotel, was destroyed by fire in 1931 and was not rebuilt.[11]

There has been a public school at Wattle Flat since 1858.[12] From 1876 to until 1958, there was also a convent school—St. Joseph's—run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.[13] [14] [15] Wattle Flat has Anglican, Catholic, and Uniting church buildings. The Anglican church is now a private residence. There are separate Anglican, Catholic, and Uniting Church cemeteries, each of which is adjacent to the associated church.[16] [17] [18] [19] On Limekilns Road, there is also a general cemetery that was dedicated in 1884, but little used.[20] [21]

Wattle Flat has a general store that also has a post office agency,

The Wattle Flat Heritage Lands—the former common, consisting of two areas; one just to the north and one just to the south of the village[22] —is set aside for environmental protection and public recreation (bush walking). it is administered by a trust.[23] [24] The village has a nine-hole golf course, located within the land of its racecourse.[25] The racecourse land was dedicated in 1899. From 1983 to 2019, the Wattle Flat Progress Association hosted a bush race meeting called the "Bronze Thong Festival".[26] The village also has a tennis court and recreation hall.[27]

External links

Media at Wikimedia Commons under Category:Wattle Flat, New South Wales

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Extract . Geographical Names Board of New South Wales . 31 October 2018.
  2. Web site: Village of Wattle Flat and adjoining lands [cartographic material] : Parish - Sofala and Wiagdon, County - Roxburgh, Land District - Bathurst, Shire - Turon]. 2021-02-07. Trove. en.
  3. Web site: Parish of Wiagdon, County of Roxburgh [cartographic material]]. 2021-02-07. Trove. en.
  4. Web site: Satellite view - Wattle Flat. 2021-02-07. Google Maps. en.
  5. Web site: Tindale Tribes - Wiradjuri. 2021-02-07. archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au.
  6. Web site: New South Wales. 2021-02-06. www.treasureenterprises.com.
  7. Web site: McRae. Alan. 2020-08-03. Yesterday Today When Wattle Flat had a dose of gold fever. 2021-02-06. Western Advocate. en-AU.
  8. Web site: Big Oakey Mine (Big Oaky Mine; Minis Reef; OK Reef), Wattle Flat, Roxburgh Co., New South Wales, Australia. 2021-02-08. www.mindat.org.
  9. News: 1935-08-02. DIAMOND JUBILEE TO-DAY. 7. National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954). 2021-02-07.
  10. Web site: Wattle Flat's Hotel - Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954) - 26 Sep 1932. 2021-02-07. Trove. en.
  11. News: 1931-06-04. WATTLE FLAT HOTEL. 3. National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954). 2021-02-07.
  12. Web site: 2020-01-29. School history database search - Wattle Flat. 2021-02-07. education.nsw.gov.au. en.
  13. News: 1936-11-26. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH.. 29. Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942). 2021-02-07.
  14. News: 1956-02-24. LIST OF NON-DEPARTMENTAL SCHOOLS CERTIFIED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE PUBLIC INSTRUCTION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1916. (INCLUDED ARE SPECIAL CERTIFIED SCHOOLS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE PUBLIC INSTRUCTION (BLIND AND INFIRM CHILDREN) AMENDMENT ACT, 1944.). 518. Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 2021-02-07.
  15. Web site: St Joseph's, Wattle Flat (1873-1958) National Redress Scheme. 2021-02-08. www.nationalredress.gov.au.
  16. Web site: Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 99 - Wattle Flat Anglican. 2021-02-07. austcemindex.com.
  17. Web site: Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 101 - Wattle Flat RC. 2021-02-07. austcemindex.com.
  18. Web site: Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 100 - Wattle Flat Uniting. 2021-02-07. austcemindex.com.
  19. Web site: Jones. Terry. 2001-06-16. Historic church restoration as family home. 2021-02-07. Western Advocate. en-AU.
  20. Web site: Cemeteries. 2021-02-07. www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au.
  21. Web site: Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 6389 - Wattle Flat General. 2021-02-09. austcemindex.com.
  22. News: 1892-03-03. Wattle Flat Common.. 2. Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (NSW : 1851 - 1904). 2021-02-08.
  23. Web site: Bathurst Region Villages.
  24. Web site: Wattle Flat Heritage Lands Trust. 2021-02-08. www.bathurst.nsw.au.
  25. Web site: Kent. Mitsie. Wattle Flat Golf Club • Golf NSW. 2021-02-08. Golf NSW. en-US.
  26. Web site: Wattle Flat Bronze Thong 2020. 2021-02-08. the Wattle Flat Progress Association presents. en-AU.
  27. Web site: Director Cultural & Community Services' Report to the Council Meeting, 10/15/2008. 2021-02-08. svr-apps1.bathurst.nsw.gov.au.

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