Sydney Morning Herald
24/ 2/1909
... part of the KellyGang story
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JERILDERIE
A dry treeless plain to the left and on the right Jerilderie, with one vines-withed tree surrounded villa in the foreground. Here the Billabong was a welcome camping place for the overlanders on the great highway from Goulburn to the Murray. Then Powell, the hawker, took up a selection on the creek, built a store and hotel, thus establishing the nucleus of Jerilderie. The first settlers were the Kennedy brothers, who established themselves at Jerilderie, Wunnamulla, and Berrigan stations. Other squatters came along-Sir Samuel Wilson , Hon. Rupert Carington, Paterson , and many more. The "Cockatoos" came selecting, and in '76 there were about 40 settlers on Yanko, but these were eventually bought out, and the land reverted to the station people. The population of Jerilderie had by then risen in about 350. Since the Act of '95 more settlers have taken up land in the neighbourhood, and now Jerilderie's population is over 800, and still increasing.
In 1890 the town became a municipality, and the excellent water supply from the Billabong was requisitioned to supply the town. Now the town boasts in addition to a pumping plant the largest windmill in Australia . On account of the very dry weather, Jerilderie has had to supply Berrigan and Finley with water. The last named are referred to in the northern town as "our suburbs." Berrigan retorts in kind, calling Jerilderie "Kellytown."
This is in commemoration of the sensational hold-up of the town for some days by the Kelly gang in 1879. This notorious set of outlaws "worked"-the border country assiduously. They stole horses on the Victorian side, and brought them to Jerilderie for sale. They mustered the Riverina horses, and took them across the Murray , disposing of them there. Then came the shooting of the police, and the sticking up of Euroa, and the gang had to take to the bush. Ned and Dan Kelly, Steve Hart, and Byrne began operations against Jerilderie by arresting and incarcerating the police in the local lockup. This was on a Saturday night. Things passed quietly on Sunday, and on Monday the hotel and all the residents were bailed up. Then the bank was captured, and £2000 rewarded the freebooters. Mr Elliott, the editor of the local "Herald," was compelled to hold upon the bag into which was bundled the precious booty.
In 1872 a number of settlers came over from Victoria , and in the early '89's Berrigan was established. Messrs. Wise Brothers in 1884 built a flour mill at Jerilderie, and were laughed at for their pains. In their case the mill proceeded the wheat-raisers. But a great impetus was given to agriculture, and the millers laughed last and laughed best. But wool is still the staple industry, and stations like Coreo, Yanko, North Yathong , and Momalong still run their tens of thousands of merinos.
Little actual wheat-growing is engaged in close lo the town, but several settlers are going in for mixed farming. A little sorghum and lucerne is grown by irrigation, a few thousand sheep, and a few hundred acres of wheat and a little dairying provide a splendid return for the labour invested. A butter factory at Jerilderie draws supplies from Tocumwal, Berrigan, and Finley, as well as the surrounding country. It is quite a heroic task to attempt butter-making so far west, but with about 40 suppliers and, a good season the factory, which was only opened in October, should prosper. Local government gave a good impetus to the district. The Wunnamurra Shire has spent about £5000, and the district shows a marked improvement. Jerilderie is mainly one long street, same name as the town, and a loop. This loop was caused by the mailman swinging off the main Jerilderie road to call at Powell's, and then bearing up on the road again. Two banks, the mill, a fine new hotel, and some presentable stores comprise the chief architectural efforts of the town. Jerilderie is often referred to as the quietest town in Riverina, but it is solvent and solid, and on the up-grade.
BERRIGAN
The south-western rails take an eastern swing, still traversing open plain country till it passes Mairjimmy (suggesting a Scotch Oliver Twist) and Crown Swamp-road, where no swamp is visible. Sandhills and pine trees for some miles usher in Berrigan, the town of grain sheds and wheat stacks. But it is not the Berrigan of a few years ago. The decline of the township is best gauged by a comparison of the wheat yields (for Berrigan lives by wheat alone) for 1903 and 1908. Perhaps it is unfair to take the record year for the purpose of making a comparison, but that marked the town's high-water mark. Then the district produced 230,000 bags of grain, all on a four bushel basis. This season the total production is about 70,000 three-bushel bags of wheat. There is a difference of over 700,000 bushels. The drop has acted like a shrivelling blast on the town. Stores are empty. Merchants and agents have departed; even some farmers joined in the exodus.
The reason for the slump is found in two evils - bad seasons and bad farming.
In the early part of the season the ground was dry and unfit to plough. It cost too much for horse-feed, and struggling farmers, with a bad season threatening, could not afford to fallow. A very much smaller area was consequently put under crop. Then followed a very dry season. Settlers who had merely scratched in their seed reaped three or four bushels, and, in many cases just cut for, hay. The wise farmer who fallowed and conserved what little moisture fell reaped fair harvests of 14 and 16 bushels. The district is admirably adapted to wheat-raising. A good, retentive subsoil is generally found to hold the moisture, and following pays handsomely. To the eastward, on the Clear Hills side, a slightly improved rainfall resulted, in yields of 15, 18, and 25 bushels of Federation wheat. The average for the whole district was about eight bushels.
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