Blanchetown. The fine old Georgian style Post Office and Telegraph Station built in 1865 when the government was still considering this town as a rail terminus to link into the river boat trade up the Murray Darling Rivers.
Blanchetown and Paisley.
This usually bypassed Murray River town is one of the oldest river towns in SA but with two modern bridges across the Murray few ever venture into the old town. It was named after Lady Blanche, wife of our 6th Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell. Blanchetown replaced an earlier settlement a few kms south of this spot called Moorundie. More of that later. Blanchetown was a very isolated spot being the only settlement between Truro and Wentworth in NSW when it was established. The nearest settlement was Mannum established in 1856 and the earliest town along settled along the Murray was Wellington established in 1840. Blanchetown was surveyed as a government town and laid out in 1855 and like Wellington it had a police presence and a police station from 1859 as there were no other law officials between Wellington and Blanchetown. This was frontier country. The government had decided to act and create a town at this place because of the birth of the River Murray boat trade after 1854 (Captains Randell and Cadell had had their race up the Murray to Wellington with paddle steamers and the Governor of SA Sir Henry Fox in 1853). Suddenly this areas were more attractive to pastoralists and traders. And as noted above the government had commissioned a rail survey and feasibly plan in 1856 for the extension of the railway line from Kapunda to Blanchetown. This was a very preliminary study as the railway line from Adelaide did not reach Gawler until 1857 and although it had been planned earlier the railway did not reach Kapunda until 1860! Despite this drawback the town of Blanchetown progressed because of the river boat trade and the opening up of trade links to the pastoralists up the Darling River beyond the early settlement of Wentworth. But its dreams of being a rail terminus and major port along the Murray never eventuated. Morgan got that prize and consequential wealth in 1878.
Blanchetown was created out of Edward John Eyre’s 1839 Moorundie Special Survey of around 4,000 acres. Town lots were first sold in 1857 and the town soon had a hotel (1858), which was the license from Eardley Heywood’s Old Whipstick Inn which was first licensed in 1845 on his Portee Station. In Blanchetown it was named the Heywood arms which was later changed to the Blanchetown Hotel. Later came a Post Office and Telegraph Station (1865), a general store and Police Station. The current Police Station built in 1969 is not in the town but on the main highway near the roadhouse. A proposed Customs house for the river trade to NSW in 1856 never eventuated as it was later built in Morgan. Attempts were made to build paddle steamers in Blanchetown but only two ever completed. But the commercial ferry service across the river (from 1869) bought some business and trade to the town as did the mail and coach service from Truro to Wellington and sheep stations away from the riverbanks via Blanchetown. The government took over the punt service in 1879 as a sop to the town after the opening of the port of Morgan and the town losing its Sub Collector of Customs. In the same year 1879 the state school was built. No early churches were built here despite the growing size of the town. But like later Riverland towns Blanchetown would have been serviced the church paddle steamers. The Methodists had the paddle steamer Glad Tidings from 1894. This was a very appropriate name for a church boat. This was later replaced by the Endeavour in 1909. Once the Riverland towns were established between 1910 and 1920 the church paddle steamers were stopped. The Anglicans had the paddle steamer the Etona which operated up and down the river, including stops at Blanchetown, from 1891 to 1914 conducting baptisms, marriages, masses and even occasional funerals if they were in port when needed. Eventually Blanchetown got a church – the Paisley Lutheran Church on the eastern bank of the Murray which opened in 1903. Paisley was an early area for irrigated fruit orchards at Blanchetown. The Hundred of Paisley was declared in 1860 but it attracted few settlers until irrigation was possible after the completion of Lock One at Blanchetown in 1922.
Blanchetown. The fine old Georgian style Post Office and Telegraph Station built in 1865 when the government was still considering this town as a rail terminus to link into the river boat trade up the Murray Darling Rivers.
Blanchetown and Paisley.
This usually bypassed Murray River town is one of the oldest river towns in SA but with two modern bridges across the Murray few ever venture into the old town. It was named after Lady Blanche, wife of our 6th Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell. Blanchetown replaced an earlier settlement a few kms south of this spot called Moorundie. More of that later. Blanchetown was a very isolated spot being the only settlement between Truro and Wentworth in NSW when it was established. The nearest settlement was Mannum established in 1856 and the earliest town along settled along the Murray was Wellington established in 1840. Blanchetown was surveyed as a government town and laid out in 1855 and like Wellington it had a police presence and a police station from 1859 as there were no other law officials between Wellington and Blanchetown. This was frontier country. The government had decided to act and create a town at this place because of the birth of the River Murray boat trade after 1854 (Captains Randell and Cadell had had their race up the Murray to Wellington with paddle steamers and the Governor of SA Sir Henry Fox in 1853). Suddenly this areas were more attractive to pastoralists and traders. And as noted above the government had commissioned a rail survey and feasibly plan in 1856 for the extension of the railway line from Kapunda to Blanchetown. This was a very preliminary study as the railway line from Adelaide did not reach Gawler until 1857 and although it had been planned earlier the railway did not reach Kapunda until 1860! Despite this drawback the town of Blanchetown progressed because of the river boat trade and the opening up of trade links to the pastoralists up the Darling River beyond the early settlement of Wentworth. But its dreams of being a rail terminus and major port along the Murray never eventuated. Morgan got that prize and consequential wealth in 1878.
Blanchetown was created out of Edward John Eyre’s 1839 Moorundie Special Survey of around 4,000 acres. Town lots were first sold in 1857 and the town soon had a hotel (1858), which was the license from Eardley Heywood’s Old Whipstick Inn which was first licensed in 1845 on his Portee Station. In Blanchetown it was named the Heywood arms which was later changed to the Blanchetown Hotel. Later came a Post Office and Telegraph Station (1865), a general store and Police Station. The current Police Station built in 1969 is not in the town but on the main highway near the roadhouse. A proposed Customs house for the river trade to NSW in 1856 never eventuated as it was later built in Morgan. Attempts were made to build paddle steamers in Blanchetown but only two ever completed. But the commercial ferry service across the river (from 1869) bought some business and trade to the town as did the mail and coach service from Truro to Wellington and sheep stations away from the riverbanks via Blanchetown. The government took over the punt service in 1879 as a sop to the town after the opening of the port of Morgan and the town losing its Sub Collector of Customs. In the same year 1879 the state school was built. No early churches were built here despite the growing size of the town. But like later Riverland towns Blanchetown would have been serviced the church paddle steamers. The Methodists had the paddle steamer Glad Tidings from 1894. This was a very appropriate name for a church boat. This was later replaced by the Endeavour in 1909. Once the Riverland towns were established between 1910 and 1920 the church paddle steamers were stopped. The Anglicans had the paddle steamer the Etona which operated up and down the river, including stops at Blanchetown, from 1891 to 1914 conducting baptisms, marriages, masses and even occasional funerals if they were in port when needed. Eventually Blanchetown got a church – the Paisley Lutheran Church on the eastern bank of the Murray which opened in 1903. Paisley was an early area for irrigated fruit orchards at Blanchetown. The Hundred of Paisley was declared in 1860 but it attracted few settlers until irrigation was possible after the completion of Lock One at Blanchetown in 1922.