Tipperary Gully Township
After gold was discovered at Lambing Flat, the gold miners searched along all the creeks and their tributaries in the area, and after finding gold up Chance Gulley, it did not take long for them to go over the hill and find their way to Tipperary Gully, McHenry’s Creek and Tipperary Creek.
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Gold was discovered at Tipperary Gully in early 1861.One of the earliest hotels was Luke Reilly’s Hotel in May 1861.
The Bathurst Hotel, owned by McFadden, is trading in early June, 1861 and so is James Torpy at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Torpy advertises in the “Miner and General Advertiser” that his is “ a First class Hotel, the cuisine department will be superintended by the best cook available and he has a large room available for Theatricals. He offers first-class board at 22s. 6d. Per week”.
James Torpy did not stay at Tipperary Gully long, he moved his Cosmopolitan Hotel to Lambing Flat and set it up in Main Street opposite where Cloete and Main Streets meet.
Torpy was one of the leaders of the Miner’s Protection League and supported the European Miners in their efforts to remove the Chinese from the Lambing Flat Gold fields.
In July 1861 Torpy was appointed by the miners to lead a delegation to present a petition to the Governor, Sir John Young, for the removal of the Chinese. While in Sydney in August 1861 he was arrested and charged with riot and unlawful assembly, but as no prosecution witnesses could be found the charges were dismissed.
In 1862 Torpy sold his hotel to James Smith for £400, the hotel building later became the home of N.P. Neilsen, Undertaker. J.J. Patterson later purchased the site, and the undertaking business is still being conducted there trading as Patterson Brothers.
Joseph Windred, of the Sportsman's Arms Hotel, has an interesting story to tell. Windred, who had a maimed foot as a child, became a strong swimmer, champion boxer, excellent oarsman and a good rider.
He was from a family of hotel-keepers but was convicted of a crime he did not commit so decided to go to California to the gold fields but again through mistaken identity he was again convicted of a crime he did not commit.
In a landmark American Legal Case he was eventually cleared but in the meantime was almost lynched by vigilantes, saved only by the efforts of a strong Mayor who organised a force of 250 volunteers to protect the jail.
He later escaped with the help of his wife dressed as a man who smuggled tools into him to allow his breakout. He remained in hiding until he was cleared.
After returning to Australia, Windred came to Lambing Flat and conducted hotels at Chance Gully and Tipperary Gully and then moved onto Forbes and later to Orange, where he conducted the Royal Hotel in Byng Street.
He became a cattle buyer and auctioneer as well as a hotel-keeper and had a strong interest in horse racing. He was Mayor of Orange on two occasions and was deeply involved in establishing Cook Park.