Baradine

History of Baradine

It is acknowledged that the town of Baradine is located on the lands of the Kamilaroi people. The word Baradine means ‘red wallaby’.

The surveyor-general John Oxley was the first European to visit the region on his 1818 expedition to explore the course of the Macquarie River. Following shortly on the heels of John Oxley came squatters seeking grass for their growing numbers of sheep and cattle. Andrew Brown, acting as agent for James Walker of Wallerawang, took up the run Baradean, obtaining a licence to depasture his stock there in 1837. It was upon this run that the town Baradine was later gazetted as a reserve in 1862 with the first blocks being sold in 1865. Baradine, situated at the confluence of the Bugaldie and Baradine Creeks was located on the road from Coonabarabran to Walgett and Bourke. By 1866 about 30 people were living in the village. With the growth in population came the demand for services and a post office was established in 1867 and a public school in 1876. By 1885 the town had 80 people and a courthouse and police station.

Although it was originally intended that Lachlan Street would become the commercial centre of the town, most of the commercial premises built prior to World War I were located in Narren street, as was the public school. After World War I the construction of the Memorial Hall and other buildings located in or facing Wellington Street led the way for further commercial development in that street.

As the forest industries in the Pilliga developed after World War I Baradine grew accordingly as timber getters and sleeper cutters used the town as a base. The town also rapidly developed as a commercial centre following the construction of the Wallerawang to Gwabegar railway line which reached the town in 1923. Following State government decisions in the early Twenty First Century to lock up much of the Pilliga for conservation the town’s reliance on the timber industry has disappeared and now is focused towards being a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district and on tourism.

Heritage Map

Baradine Heritage Map.PNG

Heritage List

1. Baradine Memorial Hall

Baradine Memorial Hall.jpg The Baradine community undertook extensive fundraising to raise money for its memorial hall which was officially opened in November 1926. Extensions to the hall were opened in 1953 in memory of the men and women of this town and district who served in the Second World War. The wording FIDELIS AD URNUM, within the entablature, means faithful unto death.

2. Baradine Hotel

The Baradine Hotel was constructed by John Leitheid in 1926 who had taken over the licence to the Sportsman's Arms Hotel from Mrs. Ryan. In 1938 the hotel narrowly averted disaster when a fire destroyed the two adjoining buildings but was fought by a bucket brigade made up of boarders staying in the hotel.

3. Embassy Theatre (former)

The Embassy theatre in Wellington Street, Baradine was built at some time during the early 1930's by Roy and Bruce Pincham. Upon completion the lease was taken up by Joe Cowen, a local businessman who owned the Garage across the street. He bought and installed the machinery needed to show films, and remained the proprietor of the business until the mid 1960's when the advent of television made the venture unprofitable.

4. Tattersalls Hotel

In 1905 Mr. John Leitheid became the proprietor of the Tattersalls Hotel. In 1910 it was then taken over by Mr. Thomas Harford. In April 1920 Mr. Hardford was to soon have his new hotel in course of construction. The hotel was taken over by Mr. McDonald in 1923 who later added a billiards room, a hairdressers shop and additional offices in 1926.

5. The Tin Shed

The Tin Shed is constructed on land originally purchased by Alfred Davis in 1884. The existing building was constructed c.1920s and was variously occupied by Jack Howlett’s Saddlery and Hermann Bower, The Mercer during the Twentieth Century.

6. CBC Bank (former)

The Baradine branch of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney first operated from a small timber building in Wellington Street. In 1920 the bank purchased a site on the corner of Darling and Lachlan Streets from Mr John Witter for the sum of £420. Three years later a new bank building with attached manager’s residence was erected there at a cost of £5,000. The bank ceased operating in July 2001 and is now a private residence.

7. St Andrews Anglican Church

The land on which the church was built was dedicated for this purpose in 1878. It was not until 1928 that the building was constructed. Early Anglican services were held in the back of an old hotel in Narren Street, then in the Union Church. On 15 December 1928 the foundation stone of St Andrew’s was laid. On 19 June 1929 a congregation of around 250 people, led by Bishop Wentworth Shields, held a dedication ceremony for the new church.

8. Baradine Forestry Office

Commercial timber getting began in the Pilliga as early as the 1870s. The Pilliga Scrub was dedicated to forestry in 1907 as Pilliga East Block and Pilliga West Block. Small communities developed around sawmilling operations and declined as these mills moved to different parts of the forest. Baradine became a centre for forestry and the Forestry Office was established there in 1937.

9. Lodge Baradine St Andrew

It was in 1950 the Lodge Baradine St. Andrew came into existence. Lacking premises the members met in Coonabarabran for the next five years but in 1955 their plans to erect a building of their own in Baradine came to fruition. Hubert Leydecker was the local builder responsible for the actual construction. Now a private residence.

10. St Andrews Presbyterian Church (former)

The first step towards the construction of a dedicated Presbyterian Church was taken on 8 August 1932 when a congregational meeting was held to discuss the proposition to build a church. The foundation stone was laid on 19 July 1939. The opening and dedication took place in September 1940. Now a private residence.

11. Baradine Tennis Club

The Baradine Tennis Club building originally served as a school building at Junee Vale (later renamed Kenebri) that was opened and occupied on the 26th October 1909. The school was closed in February 1972 when a school bus run was established to bring the Kenebri students to the Public School in Baradine. The Baradine Tennis Club subsequently purchased and moved the original school building where it has since served as their clubhouse.

12. St John’s Catholic Church

The existing St John’s Catholic Church, the second church building on this site, was built 1923-24 at a cost of £1630. Like most public buildings in Baradine the money required to fund its construction was raised by public Subscription.

13. Heatherbrae, Federation Period Dwelling

Heatherbrae is a vernacular example of Federation era domestic design. It provides evidence of the continuation of this popular style in regional areas long after new styles of building design had been introduced. The house was built by local builder Thomas James for himself. Begun in 1920, it wasn't until late 1923 that the basic work was finished.