| Toomelah New South Wales | |
|---|---|
 Toomelah location sign, 2023 | |
  Toomelah | |
| Coordinates | 28°40′15″S150°28′45″E / 28.67083°S 150.47917°E |
| Population | 205 (2016 census) [1] |
| Postcode(s) | 2409 |
| Elevation | 230 m (755 ft) |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | Moree Plains Shire |
| State electorate(s) | Northern Tablelands |
| Federal division(s) | Parkes |
Toomelah (formerly Toomelah Aboriginal Mission or Toomelah Station) is an Aboriginal Australian community in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia.
Toomelah is located north of Moree on the MacIntyre River and is close to the town of Goondiwindi across the border in Queensland.[ citation needed ]
It lies within the Boggabilla locality in Moree Plains Shire.[ citation needed ]
The Toomelah Aboriginal Station was originally established as the Euraba Aboriginal Reserve in 1897 by the NSW Government's Aboriginal Protection Board. It was initially located on Whalan Creek a few miles south of the town of Boomi, New South Wales. [2] The site was located in a wet-weather swamp and had poor access to potable water during dry periods. In 1925, the residents of the Euraba reserve, as well as Aboriginal people from the reserve at Terry Hie Hie, were moved to a new site halfway between the towns of Boomi and Boggabilla. This reserve was given the name Toomelah, but is now referred to as 'Old Toomelah'. [3] In 1938, the water supply to this reserve failed and the Toomelah reserve was relocated to its present site at the junction of the Dumaresq River and the Macintyre River around 10 km south-east of Boggabilla. [4]
The Euraba Aboriginal Reserve was established in 1897 and consisted of a few huts and some rough shelters alongside Whalan Creek. In 1912, a school was established and the population of approximately 100 people was placed under the control of a government appointed manager. Rations of basic food items were handed out weekly. Aboriginal men on the reserve were utilised by local farmers for shearing, labouring and mustering. [5] The Euraba men were also occasionally allowed to conduct exhibition corroborees and rugby league matches in neighbouring towns. [6]
Three Aboriginal men from Euraba signed up as soldiers in WWI. Charles Bird, George Bennett and Jack Stacy fought in Western Europe and the Middle East. They all survived and returned as heroes with congratulation ceremonies being conducted in English and the Gamilaraay language. [7] [8] [9]
During the 1918-20 influenza pandemic, most of the reserve fell sick. With no access medical facilities, the residents' only carers were the manager and school-teacher, Herbert E. Hockey, and his wife. [10]
In 1925, the Euraba settlement was deemed unsuitable and the residents were moved to a new location halfway between the towns of Boomi and Boggabilla. It was named Toomelah but is now known as Old Toomelah. [11] The local graziers requested that the site be enclosed in a dog-proof fence. [12]
Around 200 to 250 Aboriginal people lived at Old Toomelah. In 1936, a major outbreak of conjunctivitis affected a majority of the children in the reserve. They were treated in tents outside Moree hospital with their parents being forced away to prevent the infection spreading to the white population. [13]
In 1937, it was proposed by the NSW Aborigines Protection Board to move the Toomelah reserve to the banks of the Macintyre River near Boggabilla. The residents of Goondiwindi protested against the proposal, claiming that the Aborigines would pollute their water supply. [14] The Queensland Health department also submitted a formal protest against it. [15] The protests were ignored and around 200 Aboriginal people were moved to the new site in 1938. In response, the Goondiwindi hospital board refused to allow any Aboriginal people into Goondiwindi hospital as general patients. [16]
Several Toomelah residents joined the army in the early 1940s to serve in WWII. [17]
By the 1970s, the overcrowding and lack of basic facilities at Toomelah were starting to become public knowledge. [18] [19] Media attention focused on Toomelah in 1987 when a large brawl between hundreds of whites and Aboriginal people occurred outside the Victoria Hotel in Goondiwindi after a Toomelah resident was refused entry and beaten up. The incident resulted in several investigations revealing that the Toomelah community had no household water supply, no sewerage, poor housing, poor access to medical facilities, high rates of malnutrition and 80% unemployment. Strongly entrenched racism at Goondiwindi High School which prevented young residents from accessing education was also found. [20] [21] [22] [23]
Following a report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on the community in 1987, there was a public outcry over poor sanitation at Toomelah and action was taken to improve water and housing. [24]
In 2004, the "Tomkins incident" made international headlines when farm employees David and Clint Tomkins caught a 16 year old Aboriginal boy from Toomelah breaking into a property located across the river from the settlement. They beat the boy, stripped him naked, tied a noose around his neck, dragged him around and put guns to his head threatening to shoot him. The Tomkins men were charged with assault and received small fines as punishment. This outcome highlighted issues of racism in the judicial system and caused outrage amongst the Aboriginal community. [25]
In 2008 the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales heard evidence of abuse and neglect of children at Toomelah. [26]
A drama film about the settlement entitled Toomelah , directed by Ivan Sen, was released in 2011. [27]
In May 2012 the ABC's 7.30 program ran a special report dealing with child abuse, housing and the collapse of social services in Toomelah.[ citation needed ] In August 2013 a house fire killed a 14-year-old girl while two other children managed to escape. [28]
A specialised unit of the Australian Army was deployed in Toomelah in 2017 to run a six-month works project to restore infrastructure including roads and the community hall. [29]
Flight Sergeant Leonard Waters, the first Aboriginal air-force pilot and the only Aboriginal pilot allowed to serve in World War II, was born at the Euraba Aboriginal Reserve and spent part of his childhood at 'Old Toomelah'. [30]
Madeline McGrady, pioneering Aboriginal film-maker. [31]
Singer/songwriter Roger Knox is from Toomelah. [32]
In 1994, the Toomelah Tigers rugby league team won the Aboriginal NSW Koori Knockout, defeating La Perouse in the grand final. [33]
The first Aboriginal branch of the Country Women's Association was established by a Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) member from the Goondiwindi district, Una Armstrong. [34] [35] The branch of the CWA was established in 1956, at Boggabilla Aboriginal Station, and was known as Toomelah Country Women's Association. [34] This branch in NSW was supported by Queenslanders because their own by-laws prohibited Aboriginal women from joining their organisation in Queensland. [34] Although it was established on the New South Wales side of the border, the Gwydir CWA reported that "the Queensland folk have taken it under their kindly wing and have promised to help in every way". [34] Toomelah CWA remained a stand-alone initiative in New South Wales until 1959, when it was suggested by an Aboriginal Welfare Board inspector that a branch be formed in the Kempsey area at Green Hill. [34]
Moree is a town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River, in the centre of the rich black-soil plains. Newell and Gwydir highways intersect at the town. It can also be reached from Sydney by daily train and air services.
Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At 1,058 kilometres (657 mi) in length, the Newell is the longest highway in NSW, and passes through fifteen local government areas.
Boggabilla is a small town in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia in Moree Plains Shire. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 529, of which 43.5% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.
Goondiwindi is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the 2021 census, the locality of Goondiwindi had a population of 6,230 people.
Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne and the Goondiwindi Region with the town in the Shire of Balonne. It possesses a New South Wales postcode. Mungindi sits on the Carnarvon Highway and straddles the Barwon River which is the border between New South Wales and Queensland. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mungindi had a population of 487 people in New South Wales and 124 people in Queensland, a total of 611 people.
Moree Plains Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire is located adjacent to the Newell and Gwydir Highways and the North West railway line.
Garah is a town in north western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Moree Plains Shire local government area. At the 2016 census, Garah and the surrounding area had a population of 306.
Boomi is a town in north western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Moree Plains Shire local government area, 728 kilometres (452 mi) north west of the state capital, Sydney, on the border on the New South Wales side of the MacIntyre River. Boomi is west of the Queensland town of Goondiwindi and north of Moree in New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Boomi and the surrounding farming area had a population of approximately 200.
The Shire of Balonne is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia, over 500 kilometres (310 mi) from the state capital, Brisbane. It covers an area of 31,104 square kilometres (12,009.3 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1879. It is headquartered in its main town, St George.
The Bigambul people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Tablelands and Border Rivers regions of New South Wales and Queensland.
Cummeragunja Reserve or Cummeragunja Station, alternatively spelt Coomeroogunja, Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja, was a settlement on the New South Wales side of the Murray River, on the Victorian border near Barmah. It was also referred to as Cumeroogunga Mission, although it was not run by missionaries. The people were mostly Yorta Yorta.
The Tomkins incident on 30 November 2004 was an attack by two white farmers on two Aboriginal boys found trespassing on their property near Goondiwindi, a town on the border of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.
Leonard Victor "Len" Waters was the first Aboriginal Australian military aviator, and the only one to serve as a fighter pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Aboriginal people at the time suffered significant discrimination and disadvantages in Australian society, such as restrictions on movement, residence, employment, and access to services and citizenship. Born in northern New South Wales and raised in Queensland, Waters was working as a shearer when he joined the RAAF in 1942. Training initially as a mechanic, he volunteered for flying duties and graduated as a sergeant pilot in 1944. He flew P-40 Kittyhawks in the South West Pacific theatre, where he completed ninety-five missions, mainly close air support. By the end of the war he had risen to the rank of warrant officer. Following his discharge from the RAAF in 1946, he attempted to start a regional airline but was unable to secure financial backing and government approval. He went back to shearing, and died in 1993 aged sixty-nine.
Boolooroo Shire was a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia.
Bungunya is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the 2021 census, the locality of Bungunya had a population of 62 people.
Canning Creek is a rural locality split between the Goondiwindi Region and the Toowoomba Region in Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Canning Creek had a population of 21 people.
Maloga Aboriginal Mission Station also known as Maloga Mission or Mologa Mission was established about 15 miles (24 km) from the township of Moama, on the banks of the Murray River in New South Wales, Australia. It was on the edge of an extensive forest reserve. Maloga Mission was a private venture established by Daniel Matthews, a Christian missionary and school teacher, and his brother William. The mission station operated intermittently in 1874, becoming permanent in 1876. The Mission closed in 1888, after dissatisfied residents moved about 5 miles (8 km) upriver to Cummeragunja Reserve, with all of the buildings being re-built there.
Dawn was an Australian magazine created by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board and aimed at Aboriginal Australians. It ran monthly from January 1952 until December 1968. Two issues were published in 1969, before the disbanding of the Aboriginal Welfare Board led to the publication ceasing.
The Wobbly Boot Hotel is an Australian pub located in the town of Boggabilla near the state border of New South Wales and Queensland. The current concrete building was constructed in 1935 to replace a 12-room wooden hotel on the same site that was destroyed by fire in 1934, leaving the railhead town without visitor accommodation. The new hotel was designed with modern amenities to help take advantage of the business opportunities brought by the recently opened Boggabilla railway line. Originally known as the Boggabilla Hotel, the name was changed to the Wobbly Boot, an Australian slang term used to describe the sensation of being drunk and unable to walk straight, during the tenure of publican Glen Bryan in the early 1980s.
