Place Names of South Australia - B
Baldon - Balhannah
Baldon
Nomenclature
East of Truro, settled by Lachlan McBean (1810-1894) from 6 March 1845 under occupation licence when his holding was described as 'between hills and scrub'. According to Rodney Cockburn it is a corruption of a Scottish place name. 'Baldoon Castle' is in Wigtown, Scotland; it means 'Bealda's home'.
General Notes
Also see Place Names - Dustholes.
Information on Lachlan McBean is in the Advertiser,
8 June 1932, page 10i:
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In 1839 there arrived from Scotland Lachlan McBean, generally known as 'Lockey' McBean. When he arrived he had only a few shillings in his pocket; but he very soon got a job. He held it for some time, but he could see he was not going to get very far, so he gave up the job and went droving. It was not long before he commenced dealing, bringing cattle from Queensland and New South Wales. On one occasion he brought a mob of cattle to Adelaide. For some reason the butchers would not buy them so he at once rented a shop, put a butcher in, slaughtered them and did well.
As time went by he made a lot of money and bought the Baldon Estate, near Truro, which he made a freehold of 24,000 acres. A brother arrived from Scotland and he managed this estate. Lachlan then trekked into NSW and Queensland and bought a station some distance from Denliquin for £12,000. This money, mostly gold, he carried on his back to save exchange. As time went on he acquired a good many stations in the two colonies and considerable property in Melbourne.
On one occasion a property in Queensland was offered for sale in Melbourne, but on the day of the sale it was announced that it had been postponed for a month. He did not relish the idea of going home and then making another trip, so he got an Argus and looked up the 'Persons Wanted' column. A gentleman in one of the suburbs wanted a gardener and Lockey applied and got the job. At the end of three weeks he gave the usual week's notice and at the sale the only opponent bidder was Lockey's late employer! He got the station and went home jubilant.
An obituary of Alexander McBean is in the Register,
4 February 1903, page 5b,
of Mrs Margaret McBean in the Observer,
7 September 1907, page 40e.
Baldon - Balhannah
B
Place Names
Baldry
Nomenclature
A subdivision of section 454, Hundred of Ayers, 19 km west of Burra, by Dr William J. Browne in 1875. He advertised that:
- It is intended to supply a largely increasing want for accommodation for travellers, teamsters and persons in charge of stock...
General Notes
Parliamentary Paper 34/1877 shows the Baldry School conducted by Mary J. Rankine with 26 enrolled pupils;
it opened in 1876 and became "Leighton" in 1880.
Its post office was opened in 1877 by J. Burden and became 'Leighton' in 1888.
Baldon - Balhannah
B
Place Names
Balgowan
Nomenclature
The town 19 km WNW of Maitland was was named by Gov Jervois on 23 November 1878 (see GRG 35/1 - docket no. 2427 of 1878 in State Records Office) and proclaimed on 6 February 1879. Governor Fergusson is reputed to have named it after a village near Inverness, Scotland. Prof. N.B. Tindale has recorded that the Aborigines knew the district as palkowan - 'potato place'; (palko - 'native potato' and wan - 'place' (of existence).
Of further interest are the words of Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran, Scotland in 1964 when, writing of his family background, (see Place Names - Cunningham, Hundred of) he said:
- [Balgowan] has a Scottish sound to it but means nothing to me.
- In keeping with the trend to applying Scottish names to a number of localities, the town and port allocated to the Hundred of Kilkerran was duly named Balgowan after a town in Perthshire in the first survey of 1872.
Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch (1748-1843), was a famous soldier of the British Army and for two years from 1798 laid siege to a French garrison at Valetta, Malta. Further, Gov. Jervois was an expert in fortifications and visited Malta in 1869 to inspect works in progress. Thus, it is suggested that he decided to link existing Scottish nomenclature of the region with that of a fellow soldier who, coincidentally or otherwise, was an associate of Colonel William Light.
General Notes
A proposed jetty is discussed in the Observer,
23 and 30 August 1879, pages 14a and 5g:
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A public meeting was held at the residence of Mrs Clift in August 1879 to consider what steps should be taken to get a jetty and tank erected at Balgowan. Mr. Moody told the meeting that he roughly estimated the land under cultivation in the northern part of Kilkerran to be about 20,000 acres while. Jones opined that the future sale of town allotments and other lands would be benefited by a jetty and
Mr. Tilly said it would be a great hardship if they had to travel 17 or 18 miles to market.
Also see
Register,
23 July 1881, page 6c.
Observer,
26 January 1907, page 15e.
A photograph of the town is in the Observer,
19 August 1905, page 29,
6 April 1907, page 30,
of wheat stacks in the Chronicle,
27 February 1936, page 33,
of the arrival of barley on
18 February 1937, page 32.
Baldon - Balhannah
B
Place Names
Balhannah
Nomenclature
The Register of 21 December 1839 has an advertisement which is headed 'New Township Near Mount Barker' and calls the attention of newly arrived emigrants and the general public to 'the excellence of section 4208, on which it is intended to establish the new town'. Later, it was described as being:
- Watered abundantly by a creek running through [it] and is close to the never-failing supply of the Onkaparinga. Abundance of wood, etc., for building and fencing is on the spot, rendering all erections the mere expense of labour... a comfortable Inn is in progress and a regular carriage to Adelaide established... the pure air and excellent water would revive an invalid...
- I resolved to lay out half my cash in building, reserving the other for carrying on my section, upon which I entered in December, and immediately advertised a part of it for a village calling it after my mother and sister, Hannah.
Thus we are left with alternative meanings - 'beautiful Hannah' or 'Hannah's village'. Let us leave the last words on the subject to Mr C.H. Kruse, of Milang, who said, in 1909:
- I was well acquainted with James Thomson, who explained... that 'bal' was a town in Gaelic, and Hannah his mother's name.
General Notes
A letter from James Thomson complaining about the dispensation of justice at Mount Barker is in the Register,
22 March 1843, page 3c; also see
12 and 15 April 1843, pages 2f and 3c:
During 1843 Mr. James Thomson engaged in 'free for all' with the magistrates of Mount Barker in respect of their conduct in certain cases, including some in which he was personally involved. On 15 April his rejoinder was published:
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It surely ill becomes a Judgement-seat to resort to anonymous libel in defence of its character; and the very circumstances of much of the matters suppressed as too unmannerly and scandalous for a newspaper, does not exhibit an increase in wisdom... The reports I gave are incapable of disproof and I think the reduction of police work as may possibly be found from the officers' diaries, is enough proof, is enough to prove the necessity for the remarks... I have advised with a Magistrate under certain circumstances and refrained proceedings, but I have never refused a summons. I have delayed in prosecuting a robber, but never compounded a felony...
The Editor saw fit to append the following note:
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We have struck out one sentence... Quite as offensive as any in his opponents; and there is another which we cannot suffer to pass without a word of comment, lest it should appear that there was any collusion betwixt us and the antagonistic parties.... Without affirming or denying the truth.... We have no hesitation in stating that Mr. Thomson must have come at his information surreptitiously. The writers' private authentication of their letter has never been out of our possession and although applied by Mr. Thomson we refused to satisfy his curiosity respecting the contents of the suppressed passages.
The mines and district are described in the South Australian,
2 April 1850, page 2c.
A gold find on the banks of the River Onkaparinga is reported in the Register on
10 March 1866, page 2f and
on section 4107 on
18 January 1887, page 5b.
A history of a local gold mine appears on
11 February 1904, page 5b.
A photograph is in the Observer,
25 May 1907, page 31.
Information on mining for bismuth and copper is in the Observer,
9 October 1869, page 13f,
Express,
8 May 1871, page 3e,
Observer,
13 May 1871, page 10a,
Register,
8 May 1871, page 4f-5d; also see
5 August 1899, page 4g.
"The Balhannah Mine" is in the Chronicle,
2 November 1872, page 5g,
Express,
28 October 1872, page 3a,
6 January 1873, page 3b,
Observer,
11 January 1873, page 11b,
Chronicle,
13 February 1904, page 28.
Information on a proposed school is in the Register,
29 January 1858, page 3b,
11 and 13 February 1858, pages 3h and 3f;
its opening is reported on
3 November 1858; also see
30 December 1859, page 2e,
Observer,
17 November 1860, page 7h,
13 December 1862, page 7h,
28 November 1863, page 1e (supp.);
according to Education Department records it opened in 1859 and closed in 1874.
Examinations at Mr Whitfield's school are reported in the Register,
17 December 1858, page 3g; also see
26 November 1863, page 2h and
Advertiser,
19 December 1876, page 6e.
An interesting letter in respect of a controversy over the school is in the Register,
13 December 1876, page 6a,
Chronicle,
23 December 1876, page 10a-b,
Observer,
17 February 1877, page 13g,
Register,
14 July 1877, page 7a; also see
16 August 1877, page 7b.
Biographical details of J.G. Cornelius, teacher, are in the Register,
28 September 1903, page 3e.
The opening of a bridge over the River Onkaparinga is reported in the Register,
1 May 1858, page 3c.
The laying of the foundation stone of St Thomas's Church is reported in the Observer,
14 January 1865, page 2g.
A sports day is reported in the Chronicle,
19 February 1887, page 21d,
31 March 1894, page 6f and
a baseball match in the Register,
15 April 1889, page 7g.
Information on Mr G.F. Osborn's dairy factory is in the Chronicle,
25 August 1894, page 23c; also see
15 September 1894, page 2d.
A pigeon shooting match is reported in the Observer,
8 April 1899, page 22b.
Biographical details of Thomas Pugh is in the Observer,
29 December 1900, page 46b, 14 March 1903, page 26e,
of James Pugh in the Register, 13 July 1906, page 5a.
Information on Thomas Pugh is in the Register,
13 September 1905, page 9d,
14 January 1907, page 5c (obit.).
The town is described in the Advertiser,
16 December 1902, page 7b.
The laying of the foundation stone of a parish hall is reported in the Observer,
25 August 1906, page 15b;
for its opening see
1 December 1906, page 1a (supp.).
"Wealth at Balhannah" is in the Advertiser,
29 March 1910, page 6a; also see
13 April 1910, page 11d.
A history of the Altmann family farm is in the Chronicle,
17 November 1932, page 6.
Biographical details of Mrs Johanna C. Tiedemann are in the Register,
30 August 1913, page 14h,
of A.H. Spoehr on 10 July 1915, page 8g.
of James W. Williams are in the Observer,
7 July 1928, page 34d.
Information on Henry Lawrence's fruit case factory is in the Observer,
2 June 1917, page 4b.
Photographs are in the Chronicle,
28 September 1933, page 35.
Balhannah - Obituaries
An obituary of Mrs A. Spoehr is in the Register,
23 October 1901, page 4h,
of Mrs M.L. Leake on 9 September 1902, page 5c.
An obituary of J.H. Parr is in the Register,
27 and 28 July 1906, pages 4h and 7b,
of F.S. Tiedmann on 23 July 1908, page 5b.
An obituary of J.C. Altmann in the Observer,
4 December 1909, page 38a.
An obituary of Thomas R. Chesterfield is in the Register,
17 January 1911, page 6h,
of Gustave Tiedman on 12 November 1920, page 8c,
of William W. James on 26 January 1929, page 13f.
An obituary of John Williams is in the Observer,
9 December 1916, page 35d.
