Bigga, New South Wales

Last updated

Bigga
New South Wales
Bigga NSW, memorial hall.jpg
Bigga War Memorial Hall
Australia New South Wales location map blank.svg
Red pog.svg
Bigga
Coordinates 34°05′S149°09′E / 34.083°S 149.150°E / -34.083; 149.150 Coordinates: 34°05′S149°09′E / 34.083°S 149.150°E / -34.083; 149.150
Population245 (2016 census) [1]
Established1892
Postcode(s) 2583
Time zone AEST (UTC+10)
 • Summer (DST) AEDT (UTC+11)
Location
LGA(s) Upper Lachlan Shire
Region Southern Tablelands
County Georgiana
Parish Bigga
State electorate(s) Goulburn
Federal Division(s) Hume
Localities around Bigga:
Wyangala Roseberg Copperhannia
Reids Flat Bigga Tuena
Taylors Flat Narrawa Crooked Corner

Bigga is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is in the Parish of Bigga, County of Georgiana. At the 2016 census, Bigga and the surrounding area had a population of 245. [1] The name Bigga is thought to originate as a shortened version of the Biggs Grant. [2] Bigga is on the western side of the Abercrombie Mountains. It is 91 km northwest of Goulburn and 52 km southeast of Cowra. Nearby towns are: Abercrombie River, Binda, Greenmantle, Grabine, Reids Flat, and Tuena. Nearby places are: Blanket Flat and Crooked Corner. These places were once towns.

Bigga is noted for producing some of the world's finest superfine wool.

The earliest explorer into the Bigga area was James Meehan who passed through in April 1820, travelling from Mount McDonald to Bathurst, via what was then called the Fish River, but today is known as the Lachlan River. The first official land sale in the region was of 1,000 acres (400 ha) at Sandy Creek to Samuel A. Blackman in 1835. Sandy Creek was one of the first fine wool farms in the district. During the 1850s there was a land boom and numerous families added to the three original families of the area: the McGuinesses, Blackmans and the Hearnes.

On Christmas day 1861 bushranger John Peisley shot local innkeeper William Benyon who would die from his wounds seven days later. Peisley was arrested four weeks later and hanged at Bathurst in April 1862. Peisley was a founding member of Frank Gardiner's gang.

After this the area again did not attract new settlers until the 1880s. Bigga village was proclaimed in 1892. In May 1896 a Bigga and Blanket Flat progress association was formed.

Related Research Articles

Orange, New South Wales City in New South Wales, Australia

Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 254 km (158 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney [206 km (128 mi) on a great circle], at an altitude of 862 metres (2,828 ft). Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 as of June 2018 making the city a significant regional centre. A significant nearby landmark is Mount Canobolas with a peak elevation of 1,395 m (4,577 ft) AHD  and commanding views of the district. Orange is situated within the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri Nation.

Macquarie River River in New South Wales, Australia

Macquarie River a watercourse that is part of the Macquarie–Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.

Lachlan River

The Lachlan River is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia.

Carcoar, New South Wales Town in New South Wales, Australia

Carcoar is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Blayney Shire. In 2016, the town had a population of 200 people. It is situated just off the Mid-Western Highway 258 km west of Sydney and 52 km south-west of Bathurst and is 720 m above sea level. It is located in a small green valley, with the township and buildings on both banks of the Belubula River. It is the third oldest settlement west of the Blue Mountains. Carcoar is a Gundungurra word meaning either frog or kookaburra. Nearby towns are Blayney, Millthorpe, Mandurama, Neville, Lyndhurst and Barry

George Evans (explorer)

George William Evans was a surveyor and early explorer in the Colony of New South Wales. Evans was born in Warwick, England, migrating to Australia in October 1802.

Abercrombie River

Abercrombie River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central west of New South Wales, Australia.

Trunkey Creek, New South Wales

Trunkey Creek is a village located in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia in Bathurst Regional Council. It is about 55 kilometres (34 mi) south of the city of Bathurst and about 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of the city of Goulburn on the Bathurst Goulburn Road. At the 2016 census, Trunkey Creek had a population of 120 people, almost unchanged from the figure of 122 people ten years earlier in the 2006 census.

Portland, New South Wales Town in New South Wales, Australia

Portland is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Portland had a population of 2,424 people. The town was named after Australia's first cement works.

Georgiana County Cadastral in New South Wales, Australia

Georgiana County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It lies in the area about halfway between Bathurst and Goulburn. The Lachlan River is the western boundary, with the Crookwell River the southern boundary. It includes Bigga, and the area surrounding the Abercrombie River. It was part of the Electoral district of King and Georgiana from 1856 to 1859.

Bathurst County Cadastral in New South Wales, Australia

Bathurst County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It includes the area to the south-west of Bathurst to Cowra and Orange. The Lachlan River is the boundary to the south-west, the Belubula River forms part of the northern boundary, with the Fish River on the northeastern boundary. Blayney is located roughly in the middle.

The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands and includes the Blue Mountains. The region shares borders with the Hunter, Central West Slopes and Plains, Southern Tablelands, North Western Slopes and Plains, the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Illawarra.

Reids Flat Town in New South Wales, Australia

Reids Flat is a small historic village in regional New South Wales located within Hilltops Council.

Tuena Town in New South Wales, Australia

Tuena is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located on Tuena Creek, tributary of the Abercrombie River, 269 km (167 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2016 census, Tuena and the surrounding area had a population of 59.

Majors Creek, New South Wales Town in New South Wales, Australia

Majors Creek is a small village in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The nearest major town is Braidwood, 16 km (9.9 mi) to the north. At the 2016 census, the population of Majors Creek was 249. A former gold mining town, the settlement is today associated with the operational Dargues Reef gold mine.

The Gardiner–Hall Gang was an informal group of bushrangers who roamed the central west of New South Wales, Australia in the 1860s. Named after leaders Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall, the gang was responsible for the largest gold robbery in Australia’s history at Eugowra Rocks. The gang had its origins in 1861; its demise came with the execution of John Dunn in 1866.

Wyangala Town in New South Wales, Australia

Wyangala is a small village in the Lachlan Valley, near the junction of the Abercrombie and Lachlan Rivers, just below the Wyangala Dam wall. It is in the South West Slopes of New South Wales, Australia, and about 320 km (200 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney.

Peelwood Creek

The Peelwood Creek, a watercourse that is part of the Lachlan sub-catchment of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia.

Sandy Creek (Mirrool)

The Sandy Creek, a partly–perennial stream that is part of the Lachlan sub-catchment of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The course of the Sandy Creek becomes indefinite at its mouth.

European land exploration of Australia

European land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout the colonial period, 1788–1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such as Burke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well as Hamilton Hume and Charles Sturt.


John Peisley, known informally as Jack Peisley, was an Australian bushranger who is believed to be the first bushranger born in Australia. He was a skilled bushman and horse-rider. While serving time at Cockatoo Island in the late 1850s for horse-stealing, Peisley became acquainted with Frank Gardiner. Peisley was granted a ticket-of-leave in December 1860 and soon afterwards commenced armed robberies in the Goulburn, Abercrombie, Cowra and Lambing Flat districts. He was highly mobile, riding well-bred horses and operating in districts familiar to him. Peisley’s criminal accomplices were often unnamed in newspaper reports, though Gardiner was a known associate. In December 1861 Peisley was involved in a drunken altercation, culminating in the shooting of William Benyon, who died from his wound. After his capture in January 1862 he was tried for Benyon’s murder and hanged at Bathurst in April 1862. Peisley achieved considerable notoriety within a short period and his activities and methods foreshadowed the spate of bushranging in the following years.

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Bigga (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. "Bigga". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales . Retrieved 13 June 2009. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg