Old hay cart at Carrieton South Australia. Carrieton settled 1877 for wheat farmers but beyond Goyder's Line. Good years stopped and farmers walked off the land.
Carrieton.
The Carrieton district has a highly unreliable but average rainfall of around 300mm per annum and the elevation at 395 metres (or 1,300 feet) made it an attractive area for early pastoralists. The first leasehold in the district, the Coonatto Run near Hammond was taken out in 1851 by Alexander Grant and Hugh Proby of Kanyaka Run. Then in 1853 James Grant, one of Alexander’s brother also bought into the leasehold. The town of Carrieton stands on what was part of the Yanyarrie Run. In 1853 the Grants sank a well and built a large stone tank around- the Yanyarrie Whim which is located on the northern outskirts of Carrieton. Yanyarrie Run and Coonatto Run made up the main runs of the Grant brothers. By 1859 the combined runs exceeded 900 square miles. In 1866 the Grants bought property near Millicent for pasturage during times of drought. This was needed in that year as in 1864 they had shorn 87,000 sheep but in 1866 they only had 18,000 to shear. Their wool was carted by bullock dray down to Port Augusta. Another run in the district was Yalpara Run east of Carrieton run by John and Richard Ragless. They had their own desalination water plant in the 1870s to make the well water potable. They faced tough years and during the drought of 1866 half of their 250,000 sheep died. Their run was resumed in 1875.
Despite being many miles beyond Goyder’s Line (even Orroroo was beyond Goyder’s Line) the government resumed the Grant family runs in 1877 to survey the Hundred of Yanyarrie and establish the government towns of Carrieton and Eurelia. Both towns had settlement begin around 1878 just a couple of years before the railway to Quorn was pushed through the area in 1881. With the land sales the Grants bought some freehold land and maintained a small station on Coonatto finally selling up in 1903. As one local newspaper reported in 1880 before the droughts set in “farmers will reach the banks of the Finke River and the McDonnell Ranges”! Beyond Carrieton the town of Johnburg was established in 1882 in the Hundred of Oladdie in the Hills of the same name. But 1882 proved Surveyor General Goyder correct. The grain and the top soil blew away in a terrible drought throughout this region. It was a terrible start to the little towns of Johnburg, Carrieton and Eurelia. Yet they survived.
By 1879 Carrieton had a post office, a general store, Davies blacksmiths and coach builders- the largest operations north of Gawler. (In 1890 this business employed 31 men in Carrieton.) The Carrieton Hotel opened in 1879 with Michael O’Grady being the first publican. The Eureka Hotel opened in 1880, but closed in 1946 and was then demolished. When the government conducted a census in 1881 Carrieton had a population of 120. (Today it has around 130 people.) By then it had a railway siding. Carrieton was an important stop as the carriage lamps were all taken out at Carrieton to have their wicks cleaned and trimmed and the lamps polished before being replaced in the next train. In the early 1880s during the drought Carrieton acquired a school (1882), a police station (1884), St Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church (the large presbytery was built in 1889), a small Methodist Church (1882), an Anglican Church (1888) and the railway station, built in 1885 at a cost of £1,500. The first agricultural show was held in Carrieton in 1882. These days the town has an annual night time rodeo which started in 1953.
After the droughts of the early 1880s came the rabbit plague, the dust storms, the grasshopper plagues, the mice plagues and outbreaks of typhoid. The story of one local farmer, Mr Evans, exemplifies the effects of the drought. It takes 4 bushels to fill one bag of wheat.
Old hay cart at Carrieton South Australia. Carrieton settled 1877 for wheat farmers but beyond Goyder's Line. Good years stopped and farmers walked off the land.
Carrieton.
The Carrieton district has a highly unreliable but average rainfall of around 300mm per annum and the elevation at 395 metres (or 1,300 feet) made it an attractive area for early pastoralists. The first leasehold in the district, the Coonatto Run near Hammond was taken out in 1851 by Alexander Grant and Hugh Proby of Kanyaka Run. Then in 1853 James Grant, one of Alexander’s brother also bought into the leasehold. The town of Carrieton stands on what was part of the Yanyarrie Run. In 1853 the Grants sank a well and built a large stone tank around- the Yanyarrie Whim which is located on the northern outskirts of Carrieton. Yanyarrie Run and Coonatto Run made up the main runs of the Grant brothers. By 1859 the combined runs exceeded 900 square miles. In 1866 the Grants bought property near Millicent for pasturage during times of drought. This was needed in that year as in 1864 they had shorn 87,000 sheep but in 1866 they only had 18,000 to shear. Their wool was carted by bullock dray down to Port Augusta. Another run in the district was Yalpara Run east of Carrieton run by John and Richard Ragless. They had their own desalination water plant in the 1870s to make the well water potable. They faced tough years and during the drought of 1866 half of their 250,000 sheep died. Their run was resumed in 1875.
Despite being many miles beyond Goyder’s Line (even Orroroo was beyond Goyder’s Line) the government resumed the Grant family runs in 1877 to survey the Hundred of Yanyarrie and establish the government towns of Carrieton and Eurelia. Both towns had settlement begin around 1878 just a couple of years before the railway to Quorn was pushed through the area in 1881. With the land sales the Grants bought some freehold land and maintained a small station on Coonatto finally selling up in 1903. As one local newspaper reported in 1880 before the droughts set in “farmers will reach the banks of the Finke River and the McDonnell Ranges”! Beyond Carrieton the town of Johnburg was established in 1882 in the Hundred of Oladdie in the Hills of the same name. But 1882 proved Surveyor General Goyder correct. The grain and the top soil blew away in a terrible drought throughout this region. It was a terrible start to the little towns of Johnburg, Carrieton and Eurelia. Yet they survived.
By 1879 Carrieton had a post office, a general store, Davies blacksmiths and coach builders- the largest operations north of Gawler. (In 1890 this business employed 31 men in Carrieton.) The Carrieton Hotel opened in 1879 with Michael O’Grady being the first publican. The Eureka Hotel opened in 1880, but closed in 1946 and was then demolished. When the government conducted a census in 1881 Carrieton had a population of 120. (Today it has around 130 people.) By then it had a railway siding. Carrieton was an important stop as the carriage lamps were all taken out at Carrieton to have their wicks cleaned and trimmed and the lamps polished before being replaced in the next train. In the early 1880s during the drought Carrieton acquired a school (1882), a police station (1884), St Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church (the large presbytery was built in 1889), a small Methodist Church (1882), an Anglican Church (1888) and the railway station, built in 1885 at a cost of £1,500. The first agricultural show was held in Carrieton in 1882. These days the town has an annual night time rodeo which started in 1953.
After the droughts of the early 1880s came the rabbit plague, the dust storms, the grasshopper plagues, the mice plagues and outbreaks of typhoid. The story of one local farmer, Mr Evans, exemplifies the effects of the drought. It takes 4 bushels to fill one bag of wheat.