Tumut. All Saints Anglican church and spire. Architect Edmund Blacket. Started 1875 completed 1878. Tower added 1881. Note dark bricks used for patterns on the walls.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney.
the Anglican Church. A church barn was built in 1857 and this grand church was designed by architect Edmund Blacket who designed the Carcoar Church, the University of Sydney quadrangle etc. It was started in 1875 and completed in 1878. Note the dark brick work patterns beneath the quadruple façade windows. Tower completed in 1881. Have a look inside too.
Tumut. All Saints Anglican church and spire. Architect Edmund Blacket. Started 1875 completed 1878. Tower added 1881. Note dark bricks used for patterns on the walls.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney.
the Anglican Church. A church barn was built in 1857 and this grand church was designed by architect Edmund Blacket who designed the Carcoar Church, the University of Sydney quadrangle etc. It was started in 1875 and completed in 1878. Note the dark brick work patterns beneath the quadruple façade windows. Tower completed in 1881. Have a look inside too.