History with Brian James: Merribindinyah station

Much of its history is well documented but endeavours to pinpoint the exact time of its beginning have been frustrated by the absence of conclusive records.

The following has been compiled from available documents with a hint of conjecture.

The original settler, licensee and owner was an Englishman named Stephen White who arrived in the Lachlan Squatting District with his two sons, Edward aged nine years and Stephen (Jnr) aged seven and a half years, around 1834.

As proposed in the Centennial History of New South Wales - 1888 Stephen leased a farm on James Robert's Carrawong (Currawong) station north of Harden but eventually moved to a run which he named Marraybundinyh.

Now known as Merribindinyah both names would have similar pronunciations with a west-country accent.

A search of the Run Boundary Files kept at the NSW State Archives placed him on a station (or in his case a location ) named Bushrangers Creek in 1839/40.

Commissioner H Hamilton recorded the following - half yearly return of population and Livestock Lachlan Squatting District.

Bushrangers creek

This raises the following questions.

Was this the Bushrangers Creek south of Harden? Was this the original name of Merrybundinah Creek, which runs beside the old homestead?

This hypothesis cannot be discounted and if proves correct would signal the beginning of Merribindinyah.

Or perhaps it was elsewhere?

Stephen White's presence in the Lachlan District had been recorded on several occasions during the 1940s.

However any information gleaned from all the records was inconclusive with respect to the origin of Merribindinyah.

Whether each siting was at the same location or whether he relocated from time to time is unknown and unfortunately the Commissioner's notes from the crucial years 1841 to 1843 have not survived.

Maybe a defining factor.

License to departure Crown Lands beyond the limits of location.

N0 578

Surely this must refer to Merribindinyah station.

Governor Burke introduced the £10.00 fee in 1836 and that would have been a considerable amount at the time making it highly unlikely that the license would have been allowed to lapse.

It was possible and more likely probable, that Stephen squatted there prior of the granting of license and in the absence of information to the contrary reasonable conclusion would be that Stephen White (snr) settled at Merribindinyah some time in the period 1839 - 1842.

Certainly, it was well established before 1857 when it passed to the eldest son Edward and from Edward to his younger brother Stephen (jnr) in 1866.

It was an immense property in its hey-day as recorded in the attached sketch published by National Mutual on 19 July 1996.

From its inception Merrabundinyh was a farming and cattle grazing property and remained so for a number of years until sheep were introduced an event which bought fame and fortune to its owners.

In the second half of the 1800's and under the management of Stephen (jnr) Merribindinyah won several award0s for its sheep.

Reference is made to this in the attached extract from the Centennial History of NSW - 1888.

Forsaking the humble dwellings of earlier days the family built a brick homestead strategically paced beside the creek which at the time would have provided permanent water.

It was typical of the architecture of its era and stood the test of time standing there magnificently at the head of a tree lined approach.

The 'new homestead' which was built by Stephen (jnr) circa 1887 or earlier stands majestically on the hill above the old one. Some additions and alterations have been made to the original designs and architects are of the opinion that these would have been completed by the early 1900s.

The passing of Stephen jnr in 1911 signalled the beginning of the end of the White family dynasty at Merribindinyah.

Stephen provided for his surviving daughters and the children of his deceased daughter Mary Ann mainly with commercial and residential real estate that he owned in rural NSW whilst the station was bequeathed to his four surviving sons "in as equal as possible" shares with the proviso that the eldest son, Stephen Edward, inherit the homestead and surrounding 320 acres as part of his share. By 1922, the White family had severed all connections with the property. The information for this article was sourced from a booklet produced and compiled by Ross Mison.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: