Casino. The Attractive Art Deco School of Arts which still contains the library. A School of Arts was built in 1873. A new built erected in 1907 burnt down in 1932 and was replaced with this third building 1934.
Casino. Pop 10,000. This historic town was named after a pastoral cattle estate on the Richmond River. In early 1840 George Stapleton and Mr Clay took out the Cassino run which Clay named after Monte Cassino in Italy. Stapleton and Clay were unsuccessful as squatters and sold the leasehold in 1844 to Clark Irving who renamed the station with an Aboriginal word Tomki. It comprised 30,700 acres. Irving was the first on the Richmond River to establish a boiling down works to produce tallow from his cattle for the Sydney market in 1847. Irving died in 1865 but his son kept the property. In 1880 most of this estate was subdivided for closer settlement. The district is an important beef region and calls itself the “Beef Capital”. Once a year it holds a “Beef Week” which includes markets, fairs, educational programs, livestock sales and social events including near naked young male body builders showing their “beef” in the Mr Beef competition! The Northern Cooperative Meat Company has an abattoir at Casino.
Casino is the oldest town along the Richmond River. This first settlement emerged in the early 1850s and was known as The Falls. The NSW government surveyed a town in 1853 and later that year a hotel, general store and a rudimentary police station opened. In 1854 the first Courthouse was erected and in 1855 the name was changed to Casino. By 1861 the town had a public school, a doctor and a second hotel- the Tattersalls. In the 1870s more permanent buildings were erected. The Commercial Bank of Sydney opened a branch in 1870; a newspaper began publication; a telegraph station began linking Casino to the world; the first bridge across the Richmond River was built (and a second one in 1908). Selectors came to take up small holdings around Casino after the passing of the Robertson Land Act in 1861. By 1875 Casino could boast an Anglican Church, a school, a Post Office, bank, newspaper, two hotels, saddlery, photographic studio, 3 blacksmiths, slaughter house, Courthouse, four stores etc. A Catholic Church was erected in 1876 and the town had around 600 residents. Once it became a municipality in 1880 the big issues were water supply, kerbing, street paving and drainage during downpours. The first Town Hall opened in 1890 but was replaced in 1937. Drought and three days of temperatures around 47 degrees made the Council do more work on water supply in 1903. One of the far sighted ideas of the local council was to encourage construction in brick rather than easily burnt wooden structures.
Big changes came with the arrival of the railway in 1894. The first wooden railway station opened in 1903 although the railway line from Murwillumbah had reached Casino in 1894. It was 1905 when Casino got a line southwards to Grafton but the Clarence River had no rail bridge until 1932. The Casino to Kyogle line was built in 1910. When it was extended to Brisbane trains could travel from Sydney via Casino to Brisbane from 1930. A new railway alignment and station with refreshment rooms was built in 1930. The old station closed in 1974 and became a museum. Casino has had a roundhouse for engine maintenance since 1928. Undoubtedly the biggest disaster to hit Casino was the Spanish flue pandemic in 1919. The first public hospital in Casino was built in 1886. Although there had been an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1905 the big disaster was 1919. In January 1919 Casino was ready for an outbreak of the flue with a temporary hospital in the showgrounds if needed. In February nursing staff were inoculated and citizens warned of the symptoms. On 5 February some Lismore residents fell ill with the flue and the first death in Sydney was recorded. Street patrols in Casino began late February in case people needed help at home. Confirmed cases were announced in Lismore and Kyogle. A horse race was cancelled and some no longer attended church. On 14th May two cases were confirmed in Casino. On the 21st May the first Casino death was recorded and hospital patients were moved to the Masonic Hall as Spanish flue cases were in the hospital. By then there were 26 cases in Casino. By July 2nd the showground pavilion was also in use for Spanish flue cases. By 9th July there were 150 cases in Casino and 13 people had died. The School of Arts was taken over as another pandemic hospital. Three days later there were 180 cases and 26 deaths. By July 23rd there were 37 deaths from influenza in Casino. Travellers needed clearance papers to enter Casino or leave it. By August the worse was over but 45 people had died out of a few hundred residents but 6,000 people died in NSW. Around 40% of Sydney’s population got the Spanish flue.
Unlike many towns in Australia Casino continued to grow and expand during the depression so it has an array of Art Deco buildings erected in the 1930s. Through much of the 20th century saw milling, the beef industry and slaughtering and dairying were the main economic supports of Casino. Our heritage walk begins at Canterbury Street.
Casino. The Attractive Art Deco School of Arts which still contains the library. A School of Arts was built in 1873. A new built erected in 1907 burnt down in 1932 and was replaced with this third building 1934.
Casino. Pop 10,000. This historic town was named after a pastoral cattle estate on the Richmond River. In early 1840 George Stapleton and Mr Clay took out the Cassino run which Clay named after Monte Cassino in Italy. Stapleton and Clay were unsuccessful as squatters and sold the leasehold in 1844 to Clark Irving who renamed the station with an Aboriginal word Tomki. It comprised 30,700 acres. Irving was the first on the Richmond River to establish a boiling down works to produce tallow from his cattle for the Sydney market in 1847. Irving died in 1865 but his son kept the property. In 1880 most of this estate was subdivided for closer settlement. The district is an important beef region and calls itself the “Beef Capital”. Once a year it holds a “Beef Week” which includes markets, fairs, educational programs, livestock sales and social events including near naked young male body builders showing their “beef” in the Mr Beef competition! The Northern Cooperative Meat Company has an abattoir at Casino.
Casino is the oldest town along the Richmond River. This first settlement emerged in the early 1850s and was known as The Falls. The NSW government surveyed a town in 1853 and later that year a hotel, general store and a rudimentary police station opened. In 1854 the first Courthouse was erected and in 1855 the name was changed to Casino. By 1861 the town had a public school, a doctor and a second hotel- the Tattersalls. In the 1870s more permanent buildings were erected. The Commercial Bank of Sydney opened a branch in 1870; a newspaper began publication; a telegraph station began linking Casino to the world; the first bridge across the Richmond River was built (and a second one in 1908). Selectors came to take up small holdings around Casino after the passing of the Robertson Land Act in 1861. By 1875 Casino could boast an Anglican Church, a school, a Post Office, bank, newspaper, two hotels, saddlery, photographic studio, 3 blacksmiths, slaughter house, Courthouse, four stores etc. A Catholic Church was erected in 1876 and the town had around 600 residents. Once it became a municipality in 1880 the big issues were water supply, kerbing, street paving and drainage during downpours. The first Town Hall opened in 1890 but was replaced in 1937. Drought and three days of temperatures around 47 degrees made the Council do more work on water supply in 1903. One of the far sighted ideas of the local council was to encourage construction in brick rather than easily burnt wooden structures.
Big changes came with the arrival of the railway in 1894. The first wooden railway station opened in 1903 although the railway line from Murwillumbah had reached Casino in 1894. It was 1905 when Casino got a line southwards to Grafton but the Clarence River had no rail bridge until 1932. The Casino to Kyogle line was built in 1910. When it was extended to Brisbane trains could travel from Sydney via Casino to Brisbane from 1930. A new railway alignment and station with refreshment rooms was built in 1930. The old station closed in 1974 and became a museum. Casino has had a roundhouse for engine maintenance since 1928. Undoubtedly the biggest disaster to hit Casino was the Spanish flue pandemic in 1919. The first public hospital in Casino was built in 1886. Although there had been an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1905 the big disaster was 1919. In January 1919 Casino was ready for an outbreak of the flue with a temporary hospital in the showgrounds if needed. In February nursing staff were inoculated and citizens warned of the symptoms. On 5 February some Lismore residents fell ill with the flue and the first death in Sydney was recorded. Street patrols in Casino began late February in case people needed help at home. Confirmed cases were announced in Lismore and Kyogle. A horse race was cancelled and some no longer attended church. On 14th May two cases were confirmed in Casino. On the 21st May the first Casino death was recorded and hospital patients were moved to the Masonic Hall as Spanish flue cases were in the hospital. By then there were 26 cases in Casino. By July 2nd the showground pavilion was also in use for Spanish flue cases. By 9th July there were 150 cases in Casino and 13 people had died. The School of Arts was taken over as another pandemic hospital. Three days later there were 180 cases and 26 deaths. By July 23rd there were 37 deaths from influenza in Casino. Travellers needed clearance papers to enter Casino or leave it. By August the worse was over but 45 people had died out of a few hundred residents but 6,000 people died in NSW. Around 40% of Sydney’s population got the Spanish flue.
Unlike many towns in Australia Casino continued to grow and expand during the depression so it has an array of Art Deco buildings erected in the 1930s. Through much of the 20th century saw milling, the beef industry and slaughtering and dairying were the main economic supports of Casino. Our heritage walk begins at Canterbury Street.