Port Broughton. The former state primary school. Built in 1892. The original school started in 1879.
Port Broughton. Whilst exploring the northern regions in 1839 Edward John Eyre named the Broughton River after his friend William Broughton the first Anglican Bishop of Australia. Broughton served as archdeacon of Australia from 1829-34, and then as the first Anglican Bishop of Australia, not NSW, from 1836-1853. By 1850 there were five Anglican bishops in Australia and the title of Bishop of Australia was dropped. Pastoralists were not attracted to the area around Port Broughton as the bush was so dense and required felling for grazing. However, the area was part of large pastoral runs held by the Bowmans and others. After the passing of the Strangways Act in 1869 for closer settlement, the area was surveyed and the government chose a site in 1871 on Mundoora Arm for a new port. Captain Henry Dale was chosen by the government to name the port and he named it Port Broughton. The township was surveyed in October 1871 and blocks sold in 1872. The rest of the Hundred of Mundoora was surveyed and offered for sale in 1877. Channel beacons were erected in 1871 to guide the ships and the first jetty constructed in 1874 at a cost of £1,200. Dredging of the channels began in 1877 and continued off and on for many years. The big boost to the fledgling port was the construction of a railway from Port Broughton to Mundoora in 1878. This opened up this area to farmers as they could then transport their grain easily to the port. Unfortunately for Port Broughton the railway was not extended further into the hinterland and it was never converted from a horse railway to a steam engine line. It carried passengers as well as freight. One of the carriages is depicted below. A new carriage built in New York city was used on the line from 1907 and its first arrival at Mundoora is also shown. Broughton never became a rail head port like Port Pirie or Port Augusta but the government considered options. In 1886 it considered an immediate extension of the railway through the Barunga Ranges to Redhill and beyond to Koolunga. In 1891 the government was considering extending the line to Blyth. But alas for Port Broughton none of these routes were ever built. The first passenger carriage on the Mundoora line was called the “ Pie Cart” and it had been used on the orginal Port Wakefield to Hoyleton rail service. The rail car service ceased in 1925 being replaced by a motorised charabanc service to the main railway line near Snowtown. The railway line was used for grain until 1939. It was disamantled in 1950. But the opening of the rail service from Redhill to Adelaide in 1925 saw the beginning of the decline of the port of Port Broughton. But the port brought new and different activities to the town. From 1910 until around 1915 kelp and seaweed( Posidonia Australia) from the bottom of the Mundoora Arm were dedged and then processed for marine fibres. Marine Fibres Ltd had their own factory, dredge, jetty and workforce of about ten people. The fibres were used for clothing, upholstery and mattresses when woven in with wool. The operations ceased in 1917. A small fishing fleet was established and after the ice works were built local catches of snook and whiting were shipped to Melbourne. For a while the town even had a butter factory. The ketches transporting wheat to Port Adelaide operated until the 1950s. The pretty aspect of the harbour and coastline brought tourists from Adelaide, espcially after the opening of the second storey of the Port Broughton hotel in 1910. Above all, the port handled grain so the town soon had a three storey flour mill owned by Darlings. It operated until 1914. The jetty also provided the ideal spot for the 1920 World War One memorial. The population of the town reached its first peak around 1901 when it had 400 people. Today it has almost 1,000 residents, many of them retirees. For some years it had its own newspaper. Reticulated water came from Beetaloo Reservoir in 1890 until being replaced by the Murray water from the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline in 1944. The first school opened in 1879 following the Free, Compulsory and Secular Education Act of 1875. A new school buiding opened in 1892 and is still used. In 1929 the school became a Higher Primary School altering to an Area School in 1960. Like most towns, the Institute was the first public hall available for social functions and events. It opened in 1888. It included a local library. Electricity was provided by a private company from 1926 until ETSA took it over in 1959. The first church in the town was the Primitive Methodist Church which opened in 1885. The porch was added in 1934. The Anglican Church of St Phillip followed soon after with an opening ceremony in 1889 but it was 1909 before the town got its own resident priest. The Catholic Church of St Margaret’s was consecrated in 1902. Apart from the school the other government services also were established in the early years. The first Post Office opened in 1873. It has a later addition to the orginal house style building. The police station was built in 1890. At the height of the temperance movement in the 1890s the town had a Coffee Palace to try and rival the hotel! The town Council was formed in 1892. Today the town has a population of over 900 people.
Port Broughton. The former state primary school. Built in 1892. The original school started in 1879.
Port Broughton. Whilst exploring the northern regions in 1839 Edward John Eyre named the Broughton River after his friend William Broughton the first Anglican Bishop of Australia. Broughton served as archdeacon of Australia from 1829-34, and then as the first Anglican Bishop of Australia, not NSW, from 1836-1853. By 1850 there were five Anglican bishops in Australia and the title of Bishop of Australia was dropped. Pastoralists were not attracted to the area around Port Broughton as the bush was so dense and required felling for grazing. However, the area was part of large pastoral runs held by the Bowmans and others. After the passing of the Strangways Act in 1869 for closer settlement, the area was surveyed and the government chose a site in 1871 on Mundoora Arm for a new port. Captain Henry Dale was chosen by the government to name the port and he named it Port Broughton. The township was surveyed in October 1871 and blocks sold in 1872. The rest of the Hundred of Mundoora was surveyed and offered for sale in 1877. Channel beacons were erected in 1871 to guide the ships and the first jetty constructed in 1874 at a cost of £1,200. Dredging of the channels began in 1877 and continued off and on for many years. The big boost to the fledgling port was the construction of a railway from Port Broughton to Mundoora in 1878. This opened up this area to farmers as they could then transport their grain easily to the port. Unfortunately for Port Broughton the railway was not extended further into the hinterland and it was never converted from a horse railway to a steam engine line. It carried passengers as well as freight. One of the carriages is depicted below. A new carriage built in New York city was used on the line from 1907 and its first arrival at Mundoora is also shown. Broughton never became a rail head port like Port Pirie or Port Augusta but the government considered options. In 1886 it considered an immediate extension of the railway through the Barunga Ranges to Redhill and beyond to Koolunga. In 1891 the government was considering extending the line to Blyth. But alas for Port Broughton none of these routes were ever built. The first passenger carriage on the Mundoora line was called the “ Pie Cart” and it had been used on the orginal Port Wakefield to Hoyleton rail service. The rail car service ceased in 1925 being replaced by a motorised charabanc service to the main railway line near Snowtown. The railway line was used for grain until 1939. It was disamantled in 1950. But the opening of the rail service from Redhill to Adelaide in 1925 saw the beginning of the decline of the port of Port Broughton. But the port brought new and different activities to the town. From 1910 until around 1915 kelp and seaweed( Posidonia Australia) from the bottom of the Mundoora Arm were dedged and then processed for marine fibres. Marine Fibres Ltd had their own factory, dredge, jetty and workforce of about ten people. The fibres were used for clothing, upholstery and mattresses when woven in with wool. The operations ceased in 1917. A small fishing fleet was established and after the ice works were built local catches of snook and whiting were shipped to Melbourne. For a while the town even had a butter factory. The ketches transporting wheat to Port Adelaide operated until the 1950s. The pretty aspect of the harbour and coastline brought tourists from Adelaide, espcially after the opening of the second storey of the Port Broughton hotel in 1910. Above all, the port handled grain so the town soon had a three storey flour mill owned by Darlings. It operated until 1914. The jetty also provided the ideal spot for the 1920 World War One memorial. The population of the town reached its first peak around 1901 when it had 400 people. Today it has almost 1,000 residents, many of them retirees. For some years it had its own newspaper. Reticulated water came from Beetaloo Reservoir in 1890 until being replaced by the Murray water from the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline in 1944. The first school opened in 1879 following the Free, Compulsory and Secular Education Act of 1875. A new school buiding opened in 1892 and is still used. In 1929 the school became a Higher Primary School altering to an Area School in 1960. Like most towns, the Institute was the first public hall available for social functions and events. It opened in 1888. It included a local library. Electricity was provided by a private company from 1926 until ETSA took it over in 1959. The first church in the town was the Primitive Methodist Church which opened in 1885. The porch was added in 1934. The Anglican Church of St Phillip followed soon after with an opening ceremony in 1889 but it was 1909 before the town got its own resident priest. The Catholic Church of St Margaret’s was consecrated in 1902. Apart from the school the other government services also were established in the early years. The first Post Office opened in 1873. It has a later addition to the orginal house style building. The police station was built in 1890. At the height of the temperance movement in the 1890s the town had a Coffee Palace to try and rival the hotel! The town Council was formed in 1892. Today the town has a population of over 900 people.