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MILPARINKA
LOCAL HISTORY IN BRIEF
Milparinka is a tiny community located in the Unincorporated Area of far north western New South Wales, about 40 kilometres south of Tibooburra. It is the oldest proclaimed township in the Corner Country, and is situated on the banks of the Evelyn Creek, named by Charles Sturt during his 1845 Inland Expedition.
During the expedition Sturt and his men were forced to
spend six months trapped by drought on the banks of nearby Preservation Creek.
Depot
Glen, as the campsite was named, remains an iconic attraction today. So too is
the still-intact
cairn built on top of Mt Poole. Originally suggested as a navigation point, the
cairn was built to James Poole's plan as a means of providing tasks to occupy
the time of the men in the expedition.
In the 1870s, pastoralism spread across the west of the colony, and gold was discovered not far from Sturt’s Depot Glen. As the newly announced mineral boom brought more and more people to the area (named the Albert Goldfields) the pressure on scarce water resources grew, and a township was established on the Evelyn Creek’s waterhole.
At the time of its 1880 proclamation Milparinka boasted all the trappings of a modern day community: hotels, shops, a blacksmith shop, a bank and a post office. Gradually it also acquired the symbols of colonial administration; a police station and cells, a courthouse and a school.
Resources’
booms are notoriously followed by a bust, and by the early twentieth century
Milparinka and the other townships of the Albert Goldfields were no longer
viable communities. As the majority of the three thousand goldfields’ residents
left the area Milparinka became a virtual ghost town. Tibooburra, once known as
The Granites, survived to become the Corner Country’s administration centre.
For close to eighty years Milparinka remained in limbo. With the owners gone the many local sandstone buildings became ruins, mostly assimilating with the dry dusty earth from which they had been carved. One hotel, the Albert, remained open, and has been continuously trading since 1880.
Down the rise from the Albert, on the crest of a ridge
above the creek stood the Courthouse, a magnificent example of colonial
architecture, sturdy, but also succumbing to the elements and vandalism.
Whilst it was the initiative of local people in the 1980s that halted the destruction of the building, it was a new organisation formed in 2000 that actually brought it back to life. Around the courthouse has sprung an entire precinct, the former police station, the gaol cells and the former kitchen. Together with parks and gardens in the area the Heritage Precinct provides a wealth of information about the region, its history and natural resources.
For its work the Association has been awarded considerable merit: a Business Enterprise Award in 2004 and finalist in the Community of the Year Award in 2004 and 2005. In 2005 the Association also received a Volunteer Heritage Award.
For its efforts in heritage tourism Milparinka has received a NSW Tourism encouragement award.