Bobadah

By road, Bobadah is 563 km north-west of Sydney, 108 km north-west of Condoblin, 111 km south-west of Nyngan and 153 km south-east of Cobar. The two nearest settlements are Nymagee, 53 km to the north-west, and Tottenham, 76 km to the east. Its location has been claimed to be at the centre of New South Wales, both east-west and north-south.

The site that would become Bobadah is part of the traditional lands of Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of Ngiyampaa people.{{Cite web|last=Office of Environment and Heritage|date=|title=Cobar Peneplain - regional history|url=https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/bioregions/CobarPeneplain-RegionalHistory.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316015805/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au:80/bioregions/CobarPeneplain-RegionalHistory.htm |archive-date=16 March 2008 |access-date=2020-09-24|website=www.environment.nsw.gov.au|language=en}} The area is west of the traditional lands of Wiradjuri people, which extend to around Condoblin. Small stone flakes created by tool making have been found in the area, and it may have been a meeting place.{{Cite web|last=Kass|first=Terry|date=March 2012|title=A Thematic History of Bogan Shire - Draft Report|url=https://www.bogan.nsw.gov.au/images/PlanningAndDevelopment/Heritage/BSC_Thematic_History_-_Draft_March_2012.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217071503/http://www.bogan.nsw.gov.au/images/PlanningAndDevelopment/Heritage/BSC_Thematic_History_-_Draft_March_2012.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2015 |access-date=|website=|page=43}}

The name, Bobadah, is of Aboriginal origin{{Cite news|date=1896-10-24|title=The Overflow Silver Mines.|pages=24|work=Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71300051|access-date=2020-10-05}} and said to mean "never failing water supply". The other name of the village, Carpina, is also of Aboriginal origin and said to mean "a small bird's egg found here in great numbers".{{Cite web|last=State Library of New South Wales|first=Sydney|date=2017-05-20|title=Box 4 Folder 1: New South Wales place names, 1899-1903 - Page 50|url=https://transcripts.sl.nsw.gov.au/page/box-4-folder-1-new-south-wales-place-names-1899-1903-page-50|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513075341/https://transcripts.sl.nsw.gov.au/page/box-4-folder-1-new-south-wales-place-names-1899-1903-page-50 |archive-date=13 May 2018 |access-date=2020-10-22|website=transcripts.sl.nsw.gov.au|language=en}}

After settler colonisation, the site of Bobadah was within the Parish of Cameron in the County of Flinders, about 10km south of the homestead of the famous "The Overflow" sheep station. A deposit of silver-lead ore was found on this station in 1895, near to what would become Bobadah. The deposit outcropped on a ridge to the north of the future village site, over about one kilometre, and contained ores of gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc. The deposit became the site of the Overflow Mine. By 1897, mining and cyanide extraction of silver was underway.{{Cite web|title=Overflow Mine (Bobadah Mine), Bobadah, Flinders Co., New South Wales, Australia|url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-233464.html|access-date=2020-10-05|website=www.mindat.org}}{{Cite news|date=1896-10-16|title=Mining at Overflow|pages=7|work=Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14071162|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite news|date=1897-04-24|title=The Overflow Mine|pages=3|work=Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article238425363|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite journal |last=Kerr |first=Ruth |date=December 2006 |title=An Excursion to Bobadah Mines 2006 |url=https://www.mininghistory.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2006.pdf |journal=Newsletter |publisher=Australian Mining History Association |volume=4 |issue=47}} Multiple shafts were sunk by the Overflow Mine, in its early years.

By October 1896, the Chief Inspector of Mines, William Slee, had laid down a street—probably the one later called Slee Street{{Cite web|title=Parish of Cameron, County of Flinders [cartographic material] : Land District of Nyngan, Central Division N.S.W., Bogan Shire|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-573026976|access-date=2020-10-05|website=Trove|language=en}}—for a mining settlement to be called Bobadah. However, in April 1897, a surveyor, O’Connor, laid out a plan for a village to be called Carpina, at the same general location. The Village of Carpina was proclaimed on 3 November 1897, but the commonly used name remained Bobadah.

By 1898, Bobadah had a population of between 300 and 400—many of whom were children—three hotels, four stores, a boarding house, sawmill, baker, butcher. watchmaker and newsagent, but no clergyman.{{Cite news|date=1898-05-06|title=Bobadah.|pages=15|work=Western Champion (Parkes, NSW : 1898 - 1934)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112288694|access-date=2020-10-05}} From as early as 1907 to at least 1922, the town hosted a day of horse racing.{{Cite news|date=1907-01-23|title=Local and General|pages=4|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213526184|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite news|date=1922-01-25|title=Bobadah|pages=8|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213139929|access-date=2020-10-05}}

A public school opened in August 1897, closed in May 1923, and reopened in 1943.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bobadah|url=https://nswgovschoolhistory.cese.nsw.gov.au/schoolHistory?schoolId=810|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-19|website=nswgovschoolhistory.cese.nsw.gov.au}} A police station opened in 1900. Bobadah's post office opened in 1897.{{Cite web|title=Post Office Details - Bobadah|url=http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&filter=*Bobadah*}} Bobadah interests agitated for a railway to run via Bobadah, for many years,{{Cite news|date=1909-06-30|title=Bobadah|pages=2|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213355933|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite news|date=1916-07-19|title=Bobadah Railway|pages=13|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214222553|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite news|date=1947-03-13|title=Burcher-Nyngan Railway Extension|pages=4|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214416806|access-date=2020-10-05}} but the railway was never built.

Bobadah's growth never met the early expectations, with its fate tied to that of the Overflow Mine. There were issues with treating the complex ores—containing silver, gold, copper and lead ores and pyrite—and an early attempt to use a water-jacket blast furnace around 1899 was an expensive and complete failure. The mine was an early adopter of the cyanide process, and the grinding its ores in a ball mill, but had difficulties applying these technologies.{{Cite news|date=1898-11-29|title=OVERFLOW SILVER MINE.|work=Sydney Morning Herald|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14187480|access-date=2021-10-23}} The presence of lead and copper in the ore being treated using cyanide prevented effective processing by that method.{{Cite news |date=1902-01-24 |title=The Mining Outlook. |pages=2 |work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213300929 |access-date=2022-11-27}} The mine's operator seemed to have had difficulty in determining which of the various minerals present should be the object of the mining.{{Cite news|date=1898-06-11|title=Bobadah.|pages=4|work=Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW : 1882 - 1962)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101308951|access-date=2020-10-05}}{{Cite news|date=1899-10-27|title=Bobadah|pages=11|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213498851|access-date=2020-10-05}} An attempt in 1899 to auction 110 residential lots in Bobadah met with little interest, perhaps due to their cost{{Cite news|date=1899-05-19|title=Bobadah|pages=7|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213499362|access-date=2020-10-05}} or to the doubtful future of the mine.

By 1900, the first phase of mining was over and there were said to be only 40 people left in the town.{{Cite news|date=1900-04-13|title=Brief Mention.|pages=8|work=Western Champion (Parkes, NSW : 1898 - 1934)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112284785|access-date=2020-10-05}} Its other problems were compounded by a lengthy drought that deprived the mine of water need for operation.{{Cite news|date=1899-04-27|title=BOBADAH.|work=Wagga Wagga Express|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145434687|access-date=2021-10-23}}{{Cite news|date=1900-01-12|title=BOBADAH.|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213239730|access-date=2021-10-23}} Mining resumed at the Overflow Mine, in 1901, under new ownership but with the same mine manager,{{Cite news|date=1902-01-24|title=The Mining Outlook.|pages=2|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder (NSW : 1899 - 1952)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213300929|access-date=2020-10-20}} and in May of that year, the population was 96.{{Cite news |date=1901-05-25 |title=Local and General. |pages=2 |work=Cobar Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103836948 |access-date=2023-08-29}} Mining continued, sporadically, and the village population grew once again. During 1912 and to at least early 1913, the Overflow Mine was being worked by tribute miners, but there was also a second mine, 'Sullivan's Wonder', to the south of the town.{{Cite news |date=1912-05-24 |title=Mines Report. |pages=7 |work=Cobar Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116960947 |access-date=2023-01-15}}{{Cite news|date=1913-02-14|title=Bobadah|pages=3|work=Cobar Herald (NSW : 1899 - 1914)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116967315|access-date=2020-10-05}} The Overflow Mine was not worked to any significant extent between 1914 and 1922.{{Cite news|date=1914-09-25|title=BOBADAH MINE.|work=Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75295598|access-date=2021-10-23}}{{Cite news|date=1922-01-24|title=OBITUARY|work=Daily Telegraph|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article246456040|access-date=2021-10-23}} A Prospecting Miners' Association Mining was formed and mining resumed during the 1930s.{{Cite news|date=1931-05-13|title=Bobadah|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212702866|access-date=2021-10-23}}{{Cite web|title=BOBADAH DEVELOPMENT, N.L. - The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) - 12 Apr 1935|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17159333|access-date=2021-10-23|website=Trove|language=en}} The Overflow Mine closed for the last time in 1942.

File:Bobadah, N.S.W. - Postmark (Last Day of PO).jpg

The story of Bobadah after the mine closed is one of a gradual decline. The plan of the village was altered more than once to reduce its size and more realistically reflect its diminished future prospects.{{Cite news|date=1930-11-14|title=Proposed Alteration of Design of the Village of Carpina|pages=4609|work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220233288|access-date=2020-12-28}}{{Cite news|date=1949-05-06|title=Proposed Alteration of Design of Village of Carpina|pages=1334|work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224789288|access-date=2020-12-28}}{{Cite news|date=1959-01-09|title=Cancellation of Design of the Suburban Lands of the Village of Carpina|pages=94|work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220270393|access-date=2020-12-28}} In 1931, Bobadah's population was 547.{{Cite news|date=1931-03-12|title=Dubbo Has 12,862 Population|pages=3|work=Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230976598|access-date=2020-10-05}} In 1947, after mining had ceased, the village no longer had a hotel and, aside from the hall, there were less than a dozen buildings left. It was said of Bobadah that, "The decadent buildings, general dilapidation of surroundings tell the sad story of years of decline."{{Cite news|date=1947-04-14|title=BOBADAH NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO|work=Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article214415557|access-date=2021-10-23}} In 1954, Bobadah was described as a 'ghost town', and the population had sunk to 143, although some hopes were raised by the discovery of uranium in the area.{{Cite news|date=1954-10-24|title=Uranium found in N.S.W. 'ghost town'|pages=11|work=Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248945906|access-date=2020-10-05}}

Although there was grazing in the area, Bobadah's remoteness, lack of employment, and the economic gravity of other settlements caused it to fade away. The school closed in December 1972, followed by the post office in December 1979.

Like other smaller settlements, its last remaining building is its community hall; locals from the surrounding area successfully fought a demolition order and raised money to restore the hall.{{Cite web|title=The Bobadah Community Hall Fund|url=https://www.eastershow.com.au/charity-brunch/charity-brunch-fundraiser-recipients2/the-bobadah-community-hall-fund/|access-date=2020-10-04|website=www.eastershow.com.au}}{{Cite web|last=Downey|first=Emma|date=2013-05-05|title=Banking on brunch|url=http://www.farmonline.com.au/story/3592823/banking-on-brunch/|access-date=2020-10-05|website=Farm Online|language=en}} North of the hall, in 2006, were an open-cut pit, a tunnel and a ventilation shaft, two concrete cyanide tanks, cyanide-process sand tailings, and some other remnants of previous mining activity.

The street plan and the residential lots of Bobadah are still visible in modern day maps, near the location of the Bobadah Hall.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bobadah|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bobadah+NSW+2877/@-32.3090249,146.6886316,17.2z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x6b0344e64bdc1fa7:0x40609b490437060!8m2!3d-32.2731562!4d146.6849633|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-04|website=Google Maps|language=en}} Two intersecting roads, at the old village site, still carry the names of village streets; Condoblin Street and Bindiguy Street. Another remnant is the Bobadah-Carpina cemetery.{{Cite web|title=Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 1083 - Bobadah|url=https://austcemindex.com/cemetery.php?cemid=1083|access-date=2020-10-04|website=austcemindex.com}}

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• [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-573026976/view Map of Flinders County with inset map of the Village of Carpina (Bobadah)]

{{Bogan Shire}}

Category:Mining towns in New South Wales

Category:Ghost towns in New South Wales

Category:Bogan Shire