Decrepit Booborowie store in South Australia. Was Affolters and Sons store. Locals often call the town Boob.
In the nineteenth century the owners of the great pastoral estates in the Mid North played the role of the English gentry. They employed people, funded local churches and charities, led local and state political life and contributed to the growth and functioning of their communities. They were all very wealthy men. Here is a brief story of William and John Browne. They grew up in England of modest means but they both studied medicine in Paris but were examined in Edinburgh. William arrived in SA in 1839 and his brother John and sister Anna arrived in 1840. William farmed for Joseph Gilbert of Pewsey Vale in his first year. Anna later married Joseph Gilbert in 1848. In 1843 they jointly acquired Booborowie run. They took out other leases at Streaky Bay and in the South East. By the 1850s they had extensive tracts of freehold land at Booborowie, Mt Gambier and Buckland Park near Two Wells and they had more leaseholds in the Flinders Ranges (Arkaba and Wilpena Stations). They became the biggest exporters of wool from SA. In 1860 William was a state MP and campaigned hard for local roads and bridges etc. When the great drought of the mid 1860s struck they lost money on Arkaba Station and the brothers dissolved their partnership. William bought out Booborowie from his brother but moved his family to Moorak near Mt Gambier. He then lost his seat in the parliament. He was a financial founder of the Christ Church in Mt Gambier and he did other charity work. He eventually retired to England and died in 1894 as a wealthy man but he visited SA several times to check on his proprieties including Booborowie. He played a major role in cross breading sheep in SA and was recognised as a leading Australia stock breeder and the owner of the second Merino stud established in SA after the Hawker stud at Bungaree. The fourth Merino stud in SA was started by John Howard Angas at Hill River station in 1845 who also started the first cattle stud with his Angas Shorthorn cattle from 1854. When William died in 1894 he left Booborowie Station to his two sons Percival Browne and Arthur Browne. They were the ones who sold North Booborowie to Henry Dutton and George Melrose in 1897. Booborowie Station was resumed by the government in 1910 and became a small property with a large homestead and shearing shed.
Brother John was a good bushman and went on Charles Sturt’s 1844/45 trek to Central Australia. Dr John was credited with saving Sturt’s life with his medical knowledge. He too supported the local Booborowie district. In 1851 he became a justice of the peace. In 1854 he imported rams from England and made Buckland Park his headquarters between 1856-64. He married a local girl at Burra in 1857. He travelled the state visiting his pastoral properties which also included properties in the Northern Territory, the Gawler Ranges and Eyre Peninsula. Buckland Park had regular horse hunts and other upper class English pursuits. In the 1870s he returned to live in England but made several trips back to Australia. He died in 1904. The Buckland Park property was named after brother William’s Devon property. Even in the 1880s from England through the SA press John Browne was advising against settlement in the Flinders Ranges as his experience at Arkaba Station showed the rainfall would not be sufficient for farming. His comments were ignored.
These brief stories show the role these gentry characters played in being the centre of the social, economic and political life of their communities. They often married into other wealthy pastoral families and they took an active interest in their stock and cross breeding stud animals. They generally sent their sons to Prince Alfred College or St Peter’s Boys College in Adelaide followed by university in England. The pastoralists often retired to England as wealthy gentlemen despite their relatively humble origins. They then became absentee landlords of their great estates with managers on site. Where owners never lived permanently on site such great estates never had a grand house erected on the property as the stations only needed a manager’s residence. The grandest houses were built where the owners lived more or less on site such as Anlaby, Bungaree, Bundaleer and Hill River. The Brownes never lived permanently at Booborowie and the Duncans never lived at Gum Creek. Obituaries for both the Browne brothers appeared in the SA press when they died in England. Many of these wealthy northern pastoralists had their town mansions in North Adelaide or Medindie for easy access to the north road.
Booborowie.
Booborowie is 1,320 feet (402 metres) above sea level, so about 300 feet higher than Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. It has an average of 380 mm of rain a year, compared with 550 mm for Adelaide. It not only grows cereals but also extensive paddocks of lucerne for fodder. The town has Booborowie Seeds factory which employs several men who process and sell lucerne seed. In March 1877 the township of Booborowie was declared but the Hundred of Ayers had been declared earlier in 1863. The name Booborowie was adopted by the Drs Browne for their property and is an Aboriginal word for “round waterhole.” There is a natural spring not far from Booborowie. The new town was just one mile from the Booborowie homestead of the Drs Browne. Although the town never had a railway it grew and prospered. The locals tried hard to get a railway and formed a committee to achieve this around 1911 because they had to cart their wheat to Farrell Flat. The government considered a railway from Farrell Flat to Booborowie but decided an extension of the railway from Riverton to Clare, then to Spalding and finally to Booborowie would be better. This did not eventuate but a railway came north from Riverton in 1914. It reached Spalding, in 1922 but went no further. Again the locals in Booborowie organised to get a rail line to the town but to no avail. The local Council was established in the 1875 but the Council Chambers were not completed until 1889 to the north of the town. The Booborowie Council is now amalgamated with Burra. The first Chairman of Booborowie Council was Robert Giles who became the District Clerk for 17 years. He was also a lay Wesleyan preacher at Burra for 20 years. He died in 1894 and was buried in Burra as the Booborowie cemetery did not open until 1925.
The northern half of Booborowie Run which was bought by Henry Dutton and George Melrose was resumed by the government in 1909 and small farms created for sale by 1911. 93 farms were created boosting the small town of Booborowie. At that time the government also retained part of the lands to create an experimental training farm for boys. Mr. W.R. Birks was placed in charge of the 300 acre government farm which surrounded the North Booborowie homestead. The farm opened in 1912 and operated until around 1930. The press said: 'There will be room for 20 boys and, £2.10s. will be paid each half year into a Savings Bank account to the credit of the respective boys...' The government operated the farm, but not as a training farm for many years. One manager was Mr Waddy who designed the first automatic sheep feeder. The government sold the farm and it was called “Lorraine” by its new owners.
Buildings in Booborowie.
(a) The Soldiers Memorial Hall was opened in 1921 but it has some later additions.
(b) St Edmund’s Anglican Church opened in 1923 but services were held at Booborowie Homestead for many years. (c)The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the first building in Booborowie opening in 1891. It was used as the school from 1892 until the new government one opened in 1919. A second stone class room was added in 1935.
(d) The former hardware store on the corner of Third Street and Fifth Street was opened in 1920 for John Bacon. In latter years it was run by the Affolter family.
(e)The Catholic Church Endowment Society Incorporated bought land in Booborowie in 1896 and St Dymphna’s Catholic Church opened in 1903. Before then mass had been held in the Booborowie Station shearing shed. A porch and chancel was added to St Dymphna’s in the 1920s.
(f)The hotel was built in 1917 and was used by consulting doctors from Burra as a surgery for many years.
(g) The old General Store. It began in 1915 on the veranda of Mr Charlie Fahey’s house. A stone store was later built. In 1950 John Martins took it over. In the 1970s it became a supermarket and more recently the Post Office, and a hardware store.
(h) The former Bank of Adelaide. The bank opened in 1917 and operated until 1986 albeit as an ANZ Bank agency for many years. It is now a private residence along from the general store.
Decrepit Booborowie store in South Australia. Was Affolters and Sons store. Locals often call the town Boob.
In the nineteenth century the owners of the great pastoral estates in the Mid North played the role of the English gentry. They employed people, funded local churches and charities, led local and state political life and contributed to the growth and functioning of their communities. They were all very wealthy men. Here is a brief story of William and John Browne. They grew up in England of modest means but they both studied medicine in Paris but were examined in Edinburgh. William arrived in SA in 1839 and his brother John and sister Anna arrived in 1840. William farmed for Joseph Gilbert of Pewsey Vale in his first year. Anna later married Joseph Gilbert in 1848. In 1843 they jointly acquired Booborowie run. They took out other leases at Streaky Bay and in the South East. By the 1850s they had extensive tracts of freehold land at Booborowie, Mt Gambier and Buckland Park near Two Wells and they had more leaseholds in the Flinders Ranges (Arkaba and Wilpena Stations). They became the biggest exporters of wool from SA. In 1860 William was a state MP and campaigned hard for local roads and bridges etc. When the great drought of the mid 1860s struck they lost money on Arkaba Station and the brothers dissolved their partnership. William bought out Booborowie from his brother but moved his family to Moorak near Mt Gambier. He then lost his seat in the parliament. He was a financial founder of the Christ Church in Mt Gambier and he did other charity work. He eventually retired to England and died in 1894 as a wealthy man but he visited SA several times to check on his proprieties including Booborowie. He played a major role in cross breading sheep in SA and was recognised as a leading Australia stock breeder and the owner of the second Merino stud established in SA after the Hawker stud at Bungaree. The fourth Merino stud in SA was started by John Howard Angas at Hill River station in 1845 who also started the first cattle stud with his Angas Shorthorn cattle from 1854. When William died in 1894 he left Booborowie Station to his two sons Percival Browne and Arthur Browne. They were the ones who sold North Booborowie to Henry Dutton and George Melrose in 1897. Booborowie Station was resumed by the government in 1910 and became a small property with a large homestead and shearing shed.
Brother John was a good bushman and went on Charles Sturt’s 1844/45 trek to Central Australia. Dr John was credited with saving Sturt’s life with his medical knowledge. He too supported the local Booborowie district. In 1851 he became a justice of the peace. In 1854 he imported rams from England and made Buckland Park his headquarters between 1856-64. He married a local girl at Burra in 1857. He travelled the state visiting his pastoral properties which also included properties in the Northern Territory, the Gawler Ranges and Eyre Peninsula. Buckland Park had regular horse hunts and other upper class English pursuits. In the 1870s he returned to live in England but made several trips back to Australia. He died in 1904. The Buckland Park property was named after brother William’s Devon property. Even in the 1880s from England through the SA press John Browne was advising against settlement in the Flinders Ranges as his experience at Arkaba Station showed the rainfall would not be sufficient for farming. His comments were ignored.
These brief stories show the role these gentry characters played in being the centre of the social, economic and political life of their communities. They often married into other wealthy pastoral families and they took an active interest in their stock and cross breeding stud animals. They generally sent their sons to Prince Alfred College or St Peter’s Boys College in Adelaide followed by university in England. The pastoralists often retired to England as wealthy gentlemen despite their relatively humble origins. They then became absentee landlords of their great estates with managers on site. Where owners never lived permanently on site such great estates never had a grand house erected on the property as the stations only needed a manager’s residence. The grandest houses were built where the owners lived more or less on site such as Anlaby, Bungaree, Bundaleer and Hill River. The Brownes never lived permanently at Booborowie and the Duncans never lived at Gum Creek. Obituaries for both the Browne brothers appeared in the SA press when they died in England. Many of these wealthy northern pastoralists had their town mansions in North Adelaide or Medindie for easy access to the north road.
Booborowie.
Booborowie is 1,320 feet (402 metres) above sea level, so about 300 feet higher than Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. It has an average of 380 mm of rain a year, compared with 550 mm for Adelaide. It not only grows cereals but also extensive paddocks of lucerne for fodder. The town has Booborowie Seeds factory which employs several men who process and sell lucerne seed. In March 1877 the township of Booborowie was declared but the Hundred of Ayers had been declared earlier in 1863. The name Booborowie was adopted by the Drs Browne for their property and is an Aboriginal word for “round waterhole.” There is a natural spring not far from Booborowie. The new town was just one mile from the Booborowie homestead of the Drs Browne. Although the town never had a railway it grew and prospered. The locals tried hard to get a railway and formed a committee to achieve this around 1911 because they had to cart their wheat to Farrell Flat. The government considered a railway from Farrell Flat to Booborowie but decided an extension of the railway from Riverton to Clare, then to Spalding and finally to Booborowie would be better. This did not eventuate but a railway came north from Riverton in 1914. It reached Spalding, in 1922 but went no further. Again the locals in Booborowie organised to get a rail line to the town but to no avail. The local Council was established in the 1875 but the Council Chambers were not completed until 1889 to the north of the town. The Booborowie Council is now amalgamated with Burra. The first Chairman of Booborowie Council was Robert Giles who became the District Clerk for 17 years. He was also a lay Wesleyan preacher at Burra for 20 years. He died in 1894 and was buried in Burra as the Booborowie cemetery did not open until 1925.
The northern half of Booborowie Run which was bought by Henry Dutton and George Melrose was resumed by the government in 1909 and small farms created for sale by 1911. 93 farms were created boosting the small town of Booborowie. At that time the government also retained part of the lands to create an experimental training farm for boys. Mr. W.R. Birks was placed in charge of the 300 acre government farm which surrounded the North Booborowie homestead. The farm opened in 1912 and operated until around 1930. The press said: 'There will be room for 20 boys and, £2.10s. will be paid each half year into a Savings Bank account to the credit of the respective boys...' The government operated the farm, but not as a training farm for many years. One manager was Mr Waddy who designed the first automatic sheep feeder. The government sold the farm and it was called “Lorraine” by its new owners.
Buildings in Booborowie.
(a) The Soldiers Memorial Hall was opened in 1921 but it has some later additions.
(b) St Edmund’s Anglican Church opened in 1923 but services were held at Booborowie Homestead for many years. (c)The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the first building in Booborowie opening in 1891. It was used as the school from 1892 until the new government one opened in 1919. A second stone class room was added in 1935.
(d) The former hardware store on the corner of Third Street and Fifth Street was opened in 1920 for John Bacon. In latter years it was run by the Affolter family.
(e)The Catholic Church Endowment Society Incorporated bought land in Booborowie in 1896 and St Dymphna’s Catholic Church opened in 1903. Before then mass had been held in the Booborowie Station shearing shed. A porch and chancel was added to St Dymphna’s in the 1920s.
(f)The hotel was built in 1917 and was used by consulting doctors from Burra as a surgery for many years.
(g) The old General Store. It began in 1915 on the veranda of Mr Charlie Fahey’s house. A stone store was later built. In 1950 John Martins took it over. In the 1970s it became a supermarket and more recently the Post Office, and a hardware store.
(h) The former Bank of Adelaide. The bank opened in 1917 and operated until 1986 albeit as an ANZ Bank agency for many years. It is now a private residence along from the general store.