The mystery about Greenethorpe is why it should be so far from the great house built by the Greenes, ‘Iandra Castle’ and its associated broad acres.
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The village bears the name of Mr GH Greene, but it is six kilometres to the north.
Greene bought 34,000 acres of Brundah station in 1878.
As he cleared those long downward slopes towards the Weddin Ranges, arable tracts were sewn to wheat. Cartage of wheat and wool to the rail at Harden took more than two days.
When rail reached Young in 1885, it was still a good day’s travel from Brundah. Rail came to Monteagle by 1889, but for Greene’s harvest, it was up hill most of the way. Greene wanted a closer bulk-head; he stood for parliament and was influential in getting the Grenfell branch-line built from Koorawatha in 1901.
A station was established, named Greenethorpe, and the village grew around it. It stands in a wet area, favoured with several streams where water gathers after good rains. The road runs diagonally through the settlement, bisecting a ‘village green’ at its centre. Several shops remain, though only two are trading today: one is a Post Office and general store, the other a small gallery.
The well-known pub is The Shamrock Inn, good for a pie and a jar after a weekend drive. The village is quite extensive, with small timber or iron houses. More about these houses in next week’s Heritage Matters.
Greenethorpeans were (or are) a religious lot. The most solid buildings by far are the three churches. The red brick Methodist Church (now Uniting) is impressive, still used twice a month; it has an older Sunday School hall next door.
St James’ Anglican has a monthly service and a minister living in town; the Rectory is in the former bank residence.
The little Catholic Church has been sold. It stands just down a side road from the Public School, separated from the town by the railway line. Surely not “the wrong side of the tracks!”
The other chief centre of activity is the two-teacher school; such small village schools are often a community focus, and here the grounds and buildings are well maintained; offering an opportunity for local children to learn in their own history.
The most notable sight in Greenethorpe is the huge storage silos for grain. Tall concrete cylinders and vast blue polythene erections. Trains run no longer, so B-Doubles do the job.