Mathoura

Mathoura is on the Cobb Highway named after the Cobb & Company Coach services that ran along the same route from the Murray River to Wilcannia on the Darling River.

Cobb & Co took over the coach run between Moama (Maiden's Punt) and Deniliquin from Bevan and Co after the opening of the Melbourne Echuca rail line in 1864 and ran the service until the opening of the Echuca-Deniliquin rail line in 1876.Riverine Grazier (Hay) Friday 13 June 1947

Along this section, there were horse-changing stations at Yellow Waterhole (near the present Barmah turnoff),{{Cite web |last=Tourism information |date=2024 |title=Mathoura's pubs |url=https://assets.visitthemurray.com.au/rivercountry/images/Mathouras-Pubs.pdf}} Moira Inn (just north of Moira Station{{Cite web |title=Accommodation {{!}} Moira Station {{!}} Mathoura |url=https://www.moirastation.com.au/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=Moira Station |language=en}}), Mathoura, and Hill Plain.{{Cite web |last=NSW Roads & Traffic Authority |date=June 2005 |title=Long paddock self-guided tour |url=https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/system/files/media/documents/2023/cobb%20%26%20co%20country.pdf }}

In 1848 a reserve was established on Gulpa Creek by Surveyor Townsend.  The locality became known as Redbank.  By 1853 W. Moore Carter had established an inn at Redbank and in 1856 he was permitted to purchase {{convert|12|acre|ha|1}} at £2 10s. per acre.  By 1860 Carter had about {{convert|40|acre|ha|1}} under cultivation, including a {{convert|5|acre|ha|1}} vineyard.

A petition in 1859 called on the Government to put up the reserve at Redbank for sale.  However, there were others who considered a more suitable position for a village was at Hill Plain, where Mr. Stuckey had erected an inn (opened in June 1860 and managed by John Atkinson).

In 1860 Surveyor McCulloch laid out the township of Redbank near the site of Carter's Redbank Inn.  In 1864 Carter was growing tobacco at Redbank (from which cigars were manufactured).A very interesting sale will be conducted by McKenzie and Co. on Saturday when a very old landmark known as 'Old Red-bank ' will be submitted at public auction. Situated on the banks of the Gulpha, it was first selected in the sixties by one W. M. Carter, who built a fine brick residence and opened a hotel, which for years was the coach change between Deniliquin and Echuca, where travellers were well-catered for, and where one could see one of the finest gardens in the State.

Mr Carter brought from France six expert tobacco growers and was the first man to grow tobacco in New South Wales. Cigars were manufactured and sold, but the venture was not a success. Later on, the property was sold to the late Henry Burton, of circus fame, and for several years was the winter resting place of his troupes, and where horses and performers trained for the coming season, much to the delight of the local youngsters, who could daily see a circus free of charge.

…Subsequently, the late Mr W. R. Crump purchased 'Old Redbank,' and it has remained with the family ever since. It would make an ideal spot for a sanitorium or a resort for tourists, as there is good shooting and fishing; close at hand in ordinary seasons. If views were taken of the old homestead with the giant Moreton Bay fig tree close by which is a lovely spot to lounge under in summertime, they would appeal to anyone with an eye for beauty and comfortable surroundings.

Independent (Deniliquin), Friday 6 April 1923

A traveller passing through Redbank in mid-1865 stated that "Mr. Carter has established a brick public-house… situated on the bank of the Gulpa Creek".  The writer added: "I observed three or four acres fenced and stocked with fruit trees, withered and dried up".’A Tour in the Riverine District’ (letter to the editor), Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July 1865, p. 2.

In 1865 Henry Burton, a circus proprietor, purchased the Redbank Inn; he held the licence until 1878 when it was transferred to T O'Sullivan.Leaving "the hill plain," a roadside inn ... we came to Mathoura. The hotel here is called the Red Bank, kept by Mr. Henry Burton, the well-known proprietor of "Burton's Circus." Mr. Burton has a most comfortable home, and besides paddocks, a capital orchard of four acres adjoins the house.

Australian Town and Country Journal Saturday 8 June 1872The Riverine Herald (Echuca) Thursday 13 Jun 1878

Mathoura Post Office opened on 1 September 1867.{{Citation |work=Phoenix Auctions History |title=Post Office List |url=http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&filter=*Mathoura* |access-date=22 March 2021 }}

On 4 July 1876 the Deniliquin & Moama Railway opened. The station in the township of Mathoura was called Redbank. The line was quite flat, rising only 5m between Deniliquin and Moama. Redbank Station was at the summit (13m above Deniliquin) and initially was the only other station on the line.Geelong Advertiser Wednesday 28 Jun 1876 Redbank Station had a 76,000 litre tank which could be filled by a steam pump from the Gulpa Creek in 5 hours.The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser Sat 27 May 1876

1877: A visitor returning in that year noted several changes including a powerful new crane at the Redbank Railway Station, a new and commodious refreshment room adjoining the ticket office, and a drinking fountain drawing on the pure sparkling water from the Gulpha Creek. As well as the Redbank and Bowtell’s Mathoura hotel (frequented generally by selectors) there was a butcher, draper, general store, blacksmith, and wheelwright. The extensive fish hauls from the Gulpha were sold into Melbourne via Echuca. The Redbank Saw-mills including Barbour’s supplied nearly the whole trade of Deniliquin with red-gum piles, sleepers, and building timber.Riverine Herald (Echuca), Tuesday 31 July 1877

1879: On 2 June 1879, the Redbank Railway Station was renamed Mathoura. One reason was that Mathoura was the Government name for the town and parish. The other was that there was another Redbank (near Hillston) in NSW and one in Victoria and goods and parcels intended for Redbank, Victoria were frequently forwarded to the ‘Mathoura’ Redbank.Riverine Herald (Echuca) Thursday 8 May 1879

By 1879 it was reported that the village had about six houses of "straggling order" and was supported principally by the timber trade.  By 1882 a flour mill had been established at Mathoura; there were two hotels, the Mathoura Inn and the Railway Hotel, as well as a school, a Union church and a sawmill.Jervis, James, 'The Western Riverina: A History of Its Development', Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings, Vol. XXXVIII 1952, p. 190.

1883: John Boothman, licensee of the Railway Refreshment Rooms, Mathoura, appeared before the Moama Police Court in March 1883. Constable Baynes deposed that he was on duty at the railway platform, Mathoura, at 10:30 on the night specified, when he saw dancing taking place in the ladies' waiting room and on the platform. The charge was dismissed.Riverine Herald (Echuca), Tuesday 20 March 1883

1884: A bale of wool from Mathoura won third prize at the Amsterdam International Exhibition.The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser Sat 4 Oct 1884

In late 1906{{Cite journal |last=Mattingley |first=Arthur |date=1 October 1907 |title=A visit to heronries |url=https://ia800905.us.archive.org/8/items/emu07aust/emu07aust.pdf |journal=The Emu |volume=7 |issue=1907–08 |pages=65–71 |doi=10.1071/MU907065 |bibcode=1907EmuAO...7...65M |via=Library of the American Museum of Natural History}} and early 1907, Mathoura was the jumping-off point for the ornithologist and photographer A. H. E. Mattingley{{Citation |last=Kloot |first=Tess |title=Arthur Herbert Evelyn Mattingley (1870–1950) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mattingley-arthur-herbert-evelyn-7527 |access-date=2024-04-19 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} on two trips to the St Helena swampland on the Edward River to the northeast of the town.

On the second trip, he found the bodies of 50 white and plumed egrets shot by ‘plume hunters’ to sell to the fashion industry. Mattingley counted 70 nestlings that had died and 200 left to die of starvation.

Mattingley’s published outrage (and the 7 photographs he took){{Cite journal |last=Mattingley |first=A |date=1907 |title=Plundered for their plumes |url=https://ia800905.us.archive.org/8/items/emu07aust/emu07aust.pdf |journal=The Emu |volume=VII |issue=1907–8 |pages=71–73 |doi=10.1071/MU907071 |bibcode=1907EmuAO...7...71M |via=Library of the American Museum of Natural History}} travelled around Australia and the world.

Mattingley’s work contributed to the already long-running campaign to eliminate the clothing industry's use of bird feathers. The wider campaign led to the US 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act 1921 among other prohibitions.

File:Mathoura War Memorial 002.JPG

The first Mathoura man to enlist for the First World War was Samuel Gardiner.

War was declared (by the UK) on 4 August and Gardiner enlisted on 16 September 1914 at the age of 22.{{Cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2335547|title=Samuel Major Gardiner|website=www.awm.gov.au}}

Gardiner was farewelled at a ceremony in the Shire Hall on Friday 13 November 1914. Speakers said they ‘appreciated his loyalty and courage in joining the colours, to protect, with thousands of others, the nation from German domination.’ Gardner replied saying that as a public speaker, he was no good, but at the front, he would do his best for the honour of Australia. (Loud applause.) The Chairman then presented Gardner with a ‘wristlet watch’.Riverine Herald (Echuca), Friday 20 November 1914

File:Mathoura Soldiers Memorial Gardens 001.JPG

Gardiner (service number 534, 14th Infantry Battalion 1st AIF), left Melbourne on HMAT Ulysses A38 on 22 December 1914. He was at Gallipoli from the landing until the last 'hop over' or attack on 21 August 1915 (Hill 60) in which he lost a leg. He returned to Australia on 8 May 1916{{Cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10871862|title=Private Samuel Major Gardiner|website=www.awm.gov.au}} and to the Mathoura district where for a time he was Rabbit Inspector at Deniliquin. (Rabbit Inspectors were responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Pastures Protection Act which included the requirement for the landowner to suppress rabbits.){{Cite web|url=https://www.flockandherd.net.au/archive/transcribed/1937/reader/rabbit-destruction1.html|title=Rabbit destruction|website=www.flockandherd.net.au}}{{Cite web|url=https://researchdata.edu.au/agy-5322-bourke-1990-2014/167687|title=AGY-5322 | Bourke Pastures and Stock Protection Board (1880-1903) / Bourke Pastures Protection Board (1903-1990) / Bourke Rural Lands Protection Board (1990-2014)|website=Research Data Australia}}

In his last years, he was often in hospital due to his war injuries. He died 22 April 1933 at about age 41 in Royal Park.

Mathoura War Memorial: Report of unveiling.Independent (Deniliquin), Friday 27 April 1934 List of veterans{{Cite web|url=https://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/memorials/mathoura-first-and-second-world-wars-memorial|title=Mathoura First and Second World Wars Memorial | NSW War Memorials Register|website=www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au}}

File:"Peace Celebrations. Mathoura". A march staged in Mathoura to commemorate the end of the First World War.jpg

When the armistice was signed, the residents of Mathoura decided to celebrate the event by holding a monster picnic on Wednesday 20 November 1918. The sports were preceded by a procession from the Murray Shire Chambers{{cite web | url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2144819 | title="Peace Celebrations. Mathoura". A march staged in Mathoura to commemorate the end of the First }} led by the Echuca Rangers' Band under the conductorship of Bandmaster F. E. Grimwood and Private Alexander Joss, who only returned home on the previous evening. Following the band were Miss Peters as John Bull, Red Cross nurses, and soldiers. Girls, ranging in age from 14 to five, represented all the Allied nations. Then came decorated cars followed by a Kiltie [Scots] Band (whose band leader 'a noted piper' came from Casterton), then decorated gigs, buggies, and carts.{{cite news |date=22 November 1918 |title=MATHOURA'S DAY OUT. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101672021 |accessdate=25 April 2024 |newspaper=The Independent |location=New South Wales, Australia |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=20}}{{cite news |date=16 November 1918 |title=DISTRICT CELEBRATIONS. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154327822 |accessdate=25 April 2024 |newspaper=Echuca And Moama Advertiser And Farmers' Gazette |location=Victoria, Australia |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}

{{Weather box

|location = Mathoura

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan record high C = 44.7

|Feb record high C = 44.2

|Mar record high C = 40.8

|Apr record high C = 34.9

|May record high C = 27.2

|Jun record high C = 26.6

|Jul record high C = 19.4

|Aug record high C = 23.1

|Sep record high C = 33.3

|Oct record high C = 37.8

|Nov record high C = 41.7

|Dec record high C = 41.9

|year record high C = 44.7

|Jan high C = 31.4

|Feb high C = 30.3

|Mar high C = 27.5

|Apr high C = 22.1

|May high C = 16.9

|Jun high C = 14.1

|Jul high C = 12.9

|Aug high C = 15.0

|Sep high C = 18.1

|Oct high C = 21.7

|Nov high C = 25.6

|Dec high C = 28.6

|year high C = 22.0

|Jan low C = 15.5

|Feb low C = 15.2

|Mar low C = 13.2

|Apr low C = 9.2

|May low C = 6.1

|Jun low C = 4.3

|Jul low C = 3.3

|Aug low C = 4.2

|Sep low C = 5.9

|Oct low C = 8.7

|Nov low C = 10.7

|Dec low C = 13.1

|year low C = 9.1

|Jan record low C = 5.6

|Feb record low C = 5.8

|Mar record low C = 2.8

|Apr record low C = 1.3

|May record low C = -1.1

|Jun record low C = -3.3

|Jul record low C = -3.8

|Aug record low C = -2.6

|Sep record low C = -1.4

|Oct record low C = -0.7

|Nov record low C = 0.8

|Dec record low C = 4.4

|year record low C = -3.8

|Jan precipitation mm = 32.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 23.5

|Mar precipitation mm = 35.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 28.0

|May precipitation mm = 40.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 36.8

|Jul precipitation mm = 42.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 43.4

|Sep precipitation mm = 41.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 41.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 34.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 34.6

|year precipitation mm = 436.3

|Jan precipitation days = 3.8

|Feb precipitation days = 3.6

|Mar precipitation days = 4.3

|Apr precipitation days = 5.3

|May precipitation days = 8.0

|Jun precipitation days = 9.0

|Jul precipitation days = 10.5

|Aug precipitation days = 10.6

|Sep precipitation days = 8.9

|Oct precipitation days = 7.7

|Nov precipitation days = 6.1

|Dec precipitation days = 5.2

|year precipitation days = 83.0

|source 1 = {{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_074069_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for |access-date = 20 January 2014}}

|date=January 2014

}}

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Picola & District Football League.

Golfers play at the course of the Mathoura Golf Club on the Cobb Highway.{{Citation |work=Golf Select |title=Mathoura |url=http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=1024 |access-date=11 May 2009 }}

• Mathoura Football Club

File:Red rock plinth Mathoura, NSW 2024.jpg

Mathoura's early name 'Redbank' referenced the red-coloured rocks visible in the east face of the small cliff or fault scarp formed by the Cadell Fault or Tilt which can be seen near the town.

At some time or times 65,000 to 45,000 years ago earthquakes caused or found a crack in the earth’s crust. This energy escaped by pushing up a 60km wide, 250m thick section of crust, tilting it like a hinged and partly open trapdoor. Deniliquin and Echuca are at the northern and southern ends of the uplift with Mathoura in the middle, sitting on the high side and eastern edge of the Tilt.

The actual edge of the scarp is a few hundred metres east of the Cobb Highway. The Gulpa Creek east of the town winds along the base of the scarp.

The height and character of the scarp are most easily seen from the walking track on the far bank of the Gulpa Creek which follows the scarp and the creek. The path can be reached on foot by Cranes footbridge north of Clifton Street, a footbridge at the reserve on Gulpa Street North and the Pollys (Poleys) road Bridge to the south on the Jones Street/Picnic Point Road.

File:The Cadell uplift scarp at Mathoura.jpg

The heat of the forces that lifted the crust, fused sand into striking, red-coloured rocks that gave the area its name. The intense redness of these rocks can be seen on the south side of Mitchell Street near its intersection with the Cobb Highway where a red rock has been used to support a plaque recording the NSW Governor’s presence at the ceremonial opening of the town’s sewerage pumping works.

In Chris Hammer’s novel The Tilt,{{Cite web|url=https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Chris-Hammer-Tilt-9781761470295|title=Allen & Unwin - Australia|website=www.allenandunwin.com}} Mathoura appears as ‘Tulong’. (Hatheson is the real-life Deniliquin, Boonlea is Moama, and Anglers Reach represents Picnic Point.)

Thousands of years ago the Murray River ran through the area of Mathoura. But the Tilt formed a massive dam that blocked this route. The water backed up into large lakes before finding its way west around the blockage. Some water pushed around the north end of the Tilt on a course we call the Edward River. The channel around the southern end of the Tilt is today’s Murray.

The original and now empty Murray River watercourse (today called Green Gully) remains imprinted on the landscape.

File:Stirling Park Road, Mathoura.jpg

File:Solly Road, Mathoura.png

The old Murray River channel can be seen clearly in aerial photographs. On the ground, just west of Mathoura, Stirling Park Road and Solly Road run across Green Gully.

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{{commons category-inline|Mathoura}}

• [http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Mathoura&line=VIC:deniliquin:0 Mathoura Rail Siding ]

{{Localities in Murray River Council}}

{{Riverina}}

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Category:Towns in the Riverina

Category:Towns in New South Wales

Category:1860 establishments in Australia

Category:Murray River Council