Place Names of South Australia - B
Bordertown
Nomenclature
With the opening of the gold route from the Victorian diggings to Adelaide in 1852 and the establishment of a police camp at Scott's woolshed, with a permanent officer in charge, at a resting place on the banks of Tatiara Creek, the time was ripe for a settlement and, accordingly, the town of Border Town was surveyed in July 1852.
General Notes
A disgruntled citizen of the town wrote on the subject of the tax imposed on shepherds' dogs:
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... A shepherd [had] to walk to Narracoorte [sic], a distance of 70 miles to register his dog, wait there five days until the return of the mail, to get his ticket from the Registrar, then walk home again and pay a man to look after his sheep during his absence. He offered the fee to the trooper of the district, but that officer refused to take it...
(See Register, 21 June 1865, page 3b and Place Names - Hookina.)
"The Border Town Petition" is in the Observer,
9 September 1871, page 15d.
A letter from a resident on the subject of "The Claims of Bordertown" is in the Register,
2 February 1871, page 6a.
Its school opened in 1872. A "Hoisting the Flag" ceremony is reported in the Chronicle,
25 May 1901, page 19d.
A horse race meeting is reported in the Observer,
6 April 1872, page 3g.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Horse Racing.
"The Wants of Border Town and Dummyism" is in the Observer,
3 August 1872, page 4g.
Also see South Australia - Miscellany - Land Development.
A meeting to consider erecting a church is reported in the Register,
25 July 1873, page 5d.
A photograph of the laying of the foundation stone of a rectory is in the Observer,
16 February 1907, page 29.
A history of the Congregational Church is in the Register,
31 October 1923, page 9h;
its jubilee celebrations are reported in the Advertiser,
22 May 1924, page 17b,
Observer,
14 June 1924, page 58e.
A photograph is in the Chronicle,
14 June 1924, page 36.
A proposed district council is discussed in the Observer,
26 September 1874, page 5g.
Also see South Australia - Miscellany - Local Government
A ploughing match is reported in the Chronicle,
21 August 1875, page 4c (supp.).
A cricket match against Mundulla is reported in the Observer,
25 March 1876, page 7d.
A proposed telegraph line from Naracoorte is discussed in the Chronicle,
5 August 1876, page 10f.
Information on telegraphic communication is in the Observer,
22 November 1879, page 12a.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Telegraphic.
A Show is reported in the Chronicle,
18 August 1877, page 14e,
Observer,
16 September 1882, page 11e,
20 September 1884, page 12e.
A report on the laying of a cornerstone of the Institute is in the Register,
12 April 1878, page 5d;
the opening of a new Institute is reported on
30 November 1909, page 5d;
a photograph is in the Chronicle,
5 June 1909, page 29,
4 December 1909, page 29; also see
Observer,
26 June 1909, page 32.
Information on the forest reserve is in the Observer,
15 February 1879, page 10c.
The town is described in the Register,
16 September 1879, page 5a,
2 August 1880, page 6a
Observer, 13 January 1880, page 10:
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We arrived here about dusk, not one of the passengers at all sorry to have gone over the rough road in such a rough vehicle, drawn by such rough horses, driven by such a rough driver; but with all the roughness the last act was the roughest when each person was asked for 7s.6d. for his ride with all the disagreeables and dangers thrown in.... The very old inn, called the Woolshed Inn, which used to be a grand hotel in the digging days, has at last fallen into desuetude, having earned a well-deserved rest, and has given place to a new and commodious stone hotel kept by Mr. J. Moon, who rises every morning sometime after the sun is up. His hotel is threatened with an eclipse by the owner of another close by, who intends to enlarge his borders considerably...
Like numerous other townships Border Town is said to have been retarded in its progress by rich men holding the land. To obviate this difficulty two suburban townships have been laid out...,
On 27 January 1882, page 8e it is reported that:
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A large portion of the Government township is in the hands of foreign capitalists who will not sell save at an exorbitant price,
On 10 January 1883 at page 6a a reporter was appalled at the sanitary conditions:
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Through the township there is a kind of watercourse, with here and there a hole. Into [it] all the garbage of the place finds its way, either by natural gravitation or by cartage. At the back of the Institute... is a deep hole containing sewage... A week or two before my visit a man - fond of ale - was missed, but was found, fully ripe, in this filthy pool...
Also see Register,
16 and 18 February 1886, pages 6b and 6h,
30 March 1903, page 6f,
15 November 1927, page 7,
Chronicle,
14 January 1905, page 38a and
Parliamentary Paper 66/1886.
A coal find on section 181 owned by Hugh Scott is reported in the Register
,
17 August 1881, page 5e.
The district is described in the Advertiser,
25 January 1883, page 6a,
Observer,
31 January 1885, page 36d,
9 July 1892, page 9b.
A "supposed" case of smallpox diagnosed by Dr Penny is reported in the Register,
17 July 1884, page 5a; also see
2, 4, 11, 12 14 and 15 August 1884, pages 5g, 6a, 4g-6c, 5h, 7e and 5h.
Also see South Australia - Health - General Health Matters - Smallpox and Vaccination.
"Brigadier-General Owen at Border Town" is in the Observer,
9 January 1886, page 31e.
"The Arsenic Poisoning Cases" is in the Register,
24 March 1886, page 6b,
Chronicle,
27 March 1886, page 22e.
A rifle match is reported in the Advertiser,
22 June 1886, page 7e.
Biographical details of Mr & Mrs James Plumb are in the Register,
23 June 1887, page 5b,
an obituary of E.C. Moore on 26 April 1890, page 5a.
Local flooding is reported in the Register,
19 April 1889, page 6a,
Observer,
20 April 1889, page 31d.
Register,
4 August 1906, page 4g.
The first ceremony in South Australia of "unfurling the flag" was conducted at the Border Town School and is reported in the Observer, 1 September 1900, page 16a:
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In the Border Town Public School on 22 August 1900 the ceremony known as the unfurling of the flag was introduced into this colony. Two hundred residents of the district attended and appropriate speeches were delivered. The donor of the flag-stand, Dr E.G. Leger Erson, formerly Chairman of the Melbourne School Board and member of the Councils of Board of Advice in Victoria, gave and address on flags, their significance and the import of the incident which had brought them together...
"Ladies at Cricket" is in the Register, 28 February 1902, page 3g:
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Yesterday a cricket match was played between two teams of ladies... Some brilliant hitting was done notably by Miss Wiese of Mundalla who compiled 73 in capital style... A concert was given in the evening when an overture was gracefully rendered by Miss Green...
The laying of the foundation stone of a new district hall is reported in the Register,
5 August 1904, page 6c,
Observer,
13 August 1904, page 4a (supp.);
of a new Institute on
5 June 1909, page 53c;
its opening is reported in the Observer,
4 December 1909, page 23d.
The reminiscences of Mr F. Cleggett are in the Observer,
24 November 1923, page 53a.
Photographs of the opening of the council chamber are in the Observer,
7 January 1905, page 26,
of flooding in the Chronicle,
21 August 1909, page 31,
of wheat carting on
19 February 1910, page 32,
Observer,
27 April 1912, page 32,
of stall-holders at an Institute fete in the Chronicle,
12 October 1912, page 31,
of a military camp on
9 May 1914, page 32,
of the main street on
24 December 1927, page 42,
of a hockey team on
22 October 1936, page 37.
The formation of the Tatiara Golf Club is reported in the Observer,
23 April 1910, page 18a,
21 May 1910, page 18a.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Hillier is reported in the Observer,
6 July 1907, page 45b.
A photograph of a new post office is in the Observer,
2 December 1911, page 32,
of a brass band on
20 February 1915, page 28.
A proposed hospital is discussed in the Chronicle,
11 February 1922, page 38c.
Photographs of the laying of the foundation stone of the memorial hospital are in the Observer,
7 July 1923, page 27;
its opening is reported in the Register,
21 July 1924, page 9c.
A photograph of the staff and board is in the Chronicle,
20 September 1934, page 33.
The opening of a bowling green is reported in the Observer,
9 December 1922, page 18d.
The reminiscences of Friend Cleggett are in the Register,
16 November 1923, page 11b.
"The Bordertown Tragedy" is in the Register,
23, 24 and 25 April 1925, pages 9a, 9a and 8g-9a.
The installation of electric light in the town is reported in the Register,
16 May 1925, page 4h.
"Champion Crop - Bordertown Triumph" is in the Register,
17 March 1928, page 13a; also see
Chronicle,
7 April 1928, page 7.
A photograph of a bushworker's camp is in the Chronicle,
3 April 1930, page 37.
Bordertown - Obituaries
An obituary of F.W. Wiese is in the Register,
4 August 1892, page 5b,
of James Plumb in the Observer, 21 January 1893, page 31b,
of Rev David Milne on 8 October 1910, page 44d,
of Charles England on 24 July 1920, page 13a,
of W.A. Hewett on 23 September 1922, page 35a,
of E.S. Bishop on 12 April 1924, page 44b,
of A. Wilson on 20 November 1926, page 9a,
of Mrs Ellen Carson on 29 January 1927, page 41d,
of Frederick Jellett on 14 July 1928, page 49a,
of T. Truman on 20 October 1928, page 49d,
of Mrs Sarah A. Ayliffe on 1 December 1928, page 49b.
An obituary of Mrs Mary A. Hinge is in the Register,
4 December 1908, page 9h,
of Charles B. Allen on 15 May 1914, page 10c,
of Mrs Emma F. Bishop on 11 September 1924, page 12g.
An obituary of Rev David Milne is in the Register, 5 October 1910, page 8c,
of Richard Scown on 27 April 1916, page 4h,
of W. Trimmer on 27 May 1919, page 4g,
of W.A. Hewett on 16 and 18 September 1922, pages 8i and 6g,
of Mrs Hephzibah Mott on 9 January 1923, page 6f,
of Edwin S. Bishop on 8 April 1924, page 8g,
of George Fidler on 13 November 1925, page 8f,
of Alfred H. Fewster on 3 December 1925, page 8g.
An obituary of William Gilles is in the Register,
11 January 1926, page 6h,
of Mrs E.K. Fewster on 10 March 1926, page 8g,
of Mrs T. Farrow on 7 April 1926, page 8g,
of A. Wilson on 15 November 1926, page 13f,
of Mrs Ellen Carson on 25 January 1927, page 12e,
of Sister Emily Godlee on 8 March 1927, page 15g,
of A.H. & J.C. Staude on 19 April 1927, page 8h.
An obituary of Mrs T. Truman is in the Register,
17 October 1928, page 11f,
of Mrs J.Y. Bell on 6 December 1928, page 12f.
