Stanley Meeting
STANLEY, SEPTEMBER 11. Present:—The Chairman, Messrs. Meany, Dowd, and Bowman. Clerk to write to Clare Council and the Crown Lands Office; respecting exchanges of roads to the north-west of Section 369 for a road through Section 369; to Mr. Richardson, respecting surveying some roads to the east of Bowman’s block near Dr. Webb’s and near the Flagstaff to Dr. Webb’s, to know if he will allow a deviation through Section 506; and to the Clare Council, in reply to their application for £36 5s., half the amount expended on the boundary road near Trilling’s Hill, stating that no notice has been received by the Stanley Council of the completion of the work, and that they do not consider it finished according to specifications, but are willing to meet the Clare Council on the ground to examine it. Tender accepted—Martin Mallone, £6 10s., making ford on the boundary between Sections [311] and 586. Application for repairs to ford between Sections 175 and 178, and to metal hill between Sections 178 and 307. Council to inspect. Also, for a ford near Larkey’s. Council to inspect. Also, for a crossing over the Wakefield’s between Sections 365 and 12. Messrs. Priest and Bowman to inspect. Rate of eightpence in the pound upon the assessment carried. Payments, £1 19s.
Clare Road
CLARE, SEPTEMBER 6. Present-Messrs. Hunter (in the chair), Hitchcox, Bray, and Bradke. Road by Section 270 to be attended to. Clerk reported that no appeal had been made against the assessment. A rate of 1s. in the pound declared. Clerk to call on the Stanley District Council respecting Contract No. 38, and meet Messrs. Hitchcox and Bradke at Trilling’s Hill on Wednesday. Receipts, £46 15s. 6d.; payments, £152 7s.
Clare road
CLARE, SEPTEMBER 6. Present-Messrs. Hunter (in the chair), Hitchcox, Bray, and Bradke. Road by Section 270 to be attended to. Clerk reported that no appeal had been made against the assessment. A rate of 1s. in the pound declared. Clerk to call on the Stanley District Council respecting Contract No. 38, and meet Messrs. Hitchcox and Bradke at Trilling’s Hill on Wednesday. Receipts, £46 15s. 6d.; payments, £152 7s.
District Council Clare
DISTRICT COUNCILS. CLARE. Present-Messrs. Hunter (in the chair), Hitchcox, Bray, and Bradtke. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. Road by section 270 to be attended to. Clerk reported writing to Mr. Cotton. Assessment due gazetted; no appeals; same confirmed. Resolved that a rate be made of one shilling in the pound on the assessment for this year. Clerk to call on Stanley District Council respecting contract 38; also meet Messrs. Bradtke and Hitchcox at Trilling’s Hill on Wednesday next, at 10 o’clock in the forenoon. Payments, £152.
Farm Sale
ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2. AT TWELVE O’CLOCK. PRELIMINARY NOTICE. GREAT SALE OF VALUABLE FARMS, DRAUGHT STOCK, AND DAIRY-BRED CATTLE. AT WOCKEE CREEK. ARTHUR KING & Co. are instructed to sell, as above, by Mr. Dan Brady, of Kilmore— SECTION 336, HUNDRED of CLARE, containing 630 Acres of magnificent Farming Land within two miles of Mintaro. Sections 284 and 285, Hundred of Stanley, containing 156 Acres of superior Arable Soil adjoining the Mintaro Railway Station. ALSO 50 head Dairy-bred Cattle 20 head heavy Draught Stock. Detailed particulars in future advertisements.
Birth announcement
TRALAGGAN—LATHLEAN.— On the 28th July, by the Rev. Charles H. Goldsmith, at the Wesleyan Church, Mintaro, Edward, youngest son of Mr. Frederick Tralaggan, of Mintaro, farmer, to Mary Jane, third daughter of Mr. John Lathlean, of the Moonta Mines.
Hill River Accident
HILL RIVER, June 30. An accident, which might have been attended with fatal consequences, happened here on Saturday last, on the road between Sevenhills and Mintaro. It appears that a farmer named Malachi, a resident of this place, was in Sevenhills, having some repairs done to the wheels and axles of a horse-dray, which he had in a spring-cart, and on returning home he met with a person, whose name I nave not been able to ascertain, and was giving him a lift ; but on coming to a part of the road known as Trilling’s Gap, which is undergoing repairs, Mr. Malachi was obliged to go on a very sideling place, which caused the vehicle to overturn. Mr. Malachi, seeing his danger, jumped out, and escaped with a slight bruise ; but the other poor fellow remained in the cart, and was thrown right under it, along with the parts of the heavy dray, from whence he was taken up in a state of insensibility, and suffering from severe cuts on various parts of his head and body. He was conveyed to Mr. Malachi’s house, from whence he was taken to Clare for medical attendance. —Tilling operations are completed, and the young plants now above ground are looking exceedingly healthy.
Deputation Mintaro Railway Station
DEPUTATION.—THE MINTARO RAILWAY STATION. On Wednesday morning, June 23, a deputation, consisting of the Hon. G. S. Kingston, M.P., Messrs. H. E. Bright, M.P., Thomson Priest, H. Jolly, and Wm. Bowman, waited on the Commissioner of Public works at his office with reference to the site of the Mintaro Station on the Northern Extension line of railway. Mr. Kingston having introduced the deputation, and stated its object, read the following memorial, a copy of which had been forwarded to the Commissioner:— ‘To the Commissioner of Public Works. ‘We the undersigned inhabitants of Mintaro. and of the District of Stanley, &c., having become aware that a memorial has been forwarded to you to the effect that the proposed site for the Railway Station near Mintaro is not the most convenient for the settlers in the neighbourhood or of the residents of Clare, beg respectfully to call your attention to the following facts:— ‘That the site already fixed on for the Railway Station near Mintaro is the most convenient for a large majority of the settlers in the neighbourhood and if the residents of Hill River and Clare, with out even including the population of the rising township of Mintaro; that should the Clare settlers be inclined (which is not at all likely) to send their traffic in the direction as named in the memorial which has already been presented to you, signed by them and others, the road from Clare to the site already fixed on near Mintaro is very far superior to any road they could take to a station from two to three miles north of this site, and not at any rate more than one mile farther, if that, and the Clare settlers would have the additional advantage of being able to convey more bulk on this road at one and the same time; that the majority of the Hill River traffic will be nearer to this already fixed on site, and have a far better road; that the road across Farrell’s Flat to a station two to three miles north of the already fixed on site is well known to be very bad, and in winter time impassable: and should a station at any time be placed at that distance from the already fixed on site a road of not less than two miles would have to be made across the Flat to the station; that the Farrell’s Flat settlers alone would be benefited by any such change as contemplated by them, and that in a very slight degree, except as to the value of their property, by forming a township, which we believe to be their chief aim; that the inhabitants and trade of the township of Mintaro would be seriously injured by such change, as the road from the township to the already fixed on site is a good one, and available to Clare, &c., as already mentioned, whereas the road from Mintaro to a station from two to three miles north is very bad even in dry weather, and almost impassable in wet, and farther in distance than the site already fixed on; that a large trade at present existing in the Mintaro Slate Quarry, and which will be considerably increased by railway transit, as also the other trades of the township, would be most seriously affected by the change of the station, and your memorialists can (looking at it in an impartial manner), for the reasons above adduced, only see that a portion of the Farrell’s Flat farmers alone would benefit from this contemplated change. Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully request that you will allow the site already fixed on for the Mintaro Station to remain unaltered.’ This memorial was signed by over 240 persons, resident at Mintaro, Hill River, Sevenhills, Penwortham, Leasingham, Watervale, Clare, Upper Wakefield, Farrell’s Flat, and the neighborhood. Plans having been exhibited showing the rival sites, it was explained that the chief grievance of the memorialists was that they should be required to go two and a half miles beyond the Mintaro township to reach the station as proposed, when the trucks had to come all that distance back again on the way to Adelaide. The station nearest to this south was Menoola, distant some eight miles. Mr. Bright, in supporting the prayer of the petition, urged that it was the duty of the Government, in laying out the stations, to make them as easy of access to the bulk of the population as possible. It was not to be supposed that settlers would go altogether out of their way beyond the township in order to reach the station, and he feared unless the Government yielded the point the railway would not be used. At the same time the memorialists would willingly accede to the erection of a station further north if it was thought necessary to suit the convenience of Clare and other neighbourhoods. Mr. Kingston put it that the demands of the neighbourhood ought to be considered apart altogether from the convenience of other localities, which ought to be made quite a separate question. Mr. Thomson Priest handed to the Commissioner a list of 130 names, which he said were bona fide settlers and lessees of land residing south of the proposed site, and no situation could possibly benefit them better than that already fixed on. Mr. Jolly called attention to the fact that if the station was removed further north the whole of those memorialists, or nearly so, would have to cart their produce north in order to send it south; whereas its retention would cause no inconvenience to those in the north, as they were near the line, and in winter the Mintaro people would be cut off from it if taken to Farrell’s Flat in consequence of the impassable state of the roads. If the station was removed it would suit them better to have a good road to Auburn, and to cart their produce to Tarlee. One of the opposite party had said
Railway site meeting
On Wednesday morning, June 23, a deputation consisting of the Hon. G. S. Kingston, Messrs. H. E. Bright, M.P., Jolly, Bowman, and Priest, waited on the Commissioner of Public Works (Hon. John Colton) for the purpose of presenting a memorial, praying that the site fixed on for the Mintaro Railway Station should not be altered, as had previously been prayed for by memorialists from Clare, &c. The Hon. G. S. Kingston, having introduced the deputation, read the memorial, remarking that if the proposed site was altered it would be a great inconvenience to many persons living in and around Mintaro. The memorial was as follows :— The Commissioner of Public Works—We the undersigned, inhabitants of Mintaro and the district of Stanley, &c., having become aware that a memorial has been forwarded to you to the effect that the proposed site for the railway station near Mintaro is not the most convenient for the settlers in the neighborhood or of the residents of Clare, beg respectfully to call your attention to the following facts :—That the site already fixed on for the railway station near Mintaro is the most convenient for a large majority of the settlers in the neighborhood, and of the residents of Hill River and Clare, without even including the population of the rising township of Mintaro ; that, should the Clare settlers be inclined (which is not at all likely) to send their traffic in the direction as named in the memorial which has already been presented to you, signed by them and others, the road from Clare to the site already fixed on near Mintaro is very far superior to any road they could take to a station from two to three miles north of this site, and not at any rate more than one mile farther, if that, and the Clare settlers would have the additional advantage of being able to convey more bulk on this road at one and the same time ; that the majority of the Hill River traffic will be nearer to this already fixed-on site, and have a far better road ; that the road across Farrell’s Flat to a station from two to three miles north of the already fixed-on site is well known to be very bad, and in winter time impassable, and should a station at any time be placed at that distance from the already fixed-on site, a road of not less than two miles would have to be made across the Flat to the station ; that the Farrell’s Flat settlers alone would be benefited by any such change as contemplated by them and that in a very slight degree, except as to the value of their property, by forming a township, which we believe to be their chief aim ; that the inhabitants and trade of the township of Mintaro would be seriously injured by such change, as the road from the township to the already fixed-on site is a good one, and available to Clare, &c., as already mentioned, whereas the road from Mintaro to a station two or three miles north is very bad even in dry weather, and almost impassable in wet, and farther in distance than the site already fixed on; that a large trade at present existing in the Mintaro Slate Quarry, and which will be considerably increased by railway transit, as also the other trades of this township, would be most seriously affected by the change of the station. And your memorialists can (looking at it in an impartial manner) for the reasons above adduced, only see that a portion of the Farrell’s Flat farmers alone would benefit from this contemplated change. Your memorialists therefore respectfully request that Mintaro Station to remain unaltered. And your memorialists will ever pray, &c.” [Signed by about 243 persons.] Mr. Bright and the other members of the deputation followed, pointing out that if the site for the station was removed as asked for, it would compel many farmers to cart their wheat some distance north to get it south; and also that the site fixed on was the most convenient for the majority of the settlers at Mintaro and Hill River; that the road across Farrell’s Flat was impassable in winter, and that if the station were removed as asked for, an additional two miles of road would be required, the cost of making which would be very great; that the road to the station, as proposed, was a very good one, and available for the inhabitants of Clare, whereas the road from Mintaro to the station, as proposed by the other memorialists, would not only be impassable in winter, but would be farther in distance than the site already fixed; and under these circumstances, and seeing that great inconvenience would arise if the proposed change were effected, the speakers urged that the site should remain as already fixed on. Mr. Priest handed in a list of 130 farmers who would have to use this station. Mr. Bowman, on behalf of the Trustees of the land, the site of the proposed station, said should there be a demand for additional buildings they would be willing to erect and let them to the Government at a reasonable rate. The Commissioner of Public Works said the site had been fixed previous to his taking office but no doubt the Government fixed it so as to give the settlers all the benefit they could, and he should not alter it, excepting he saw that it was necessary, and would benefit the greater number of settlers residing either north or south. The line was constructed for the benefit of those resident in the north, and the Government were anxious to give every facility for the cartage of grain, &c. After hearing the statements which had been made, he could say that the site would not be removed unless he could see that the alteration would be better for the settlers, and he thought that as
Mintaro news
MINTARO, June 14. We have had splendid weather, and everything is looking well. Farmers are busy getting in their crops.—Mr. Lascelles gave one of his entertainments here on Saturday last, but owing to several causes there was a very small attendance. It is a pity when anything of this kind is coming off there is not a longer notice given, that people may make their arrangements so that they may have a chance of seeing it.—Your Clare correspondent of June 9, in speaking of the removal of the Mintaro Station farther north, says by so doing “it will be brought five miles nearer to them, and will travel over an infinitely better road.” I cannot understand how be makes it out. Even supposing it were removed, as he says, all the traffic would have to come by the Mintaro-road as far as the Gap, about a mile from Mintaro, as there is no other road from Clare to Farrell’s Flat available for traffic. Then it would cross a black and rotten Bay of Biscay country, which after a little while would be impassable. At the present time there is about £300 being expended on the road from Mintaro to Trilling’s Hill; all the hills are being cut, and culverts are being built. The Stanley Council have also purchased a road direct from Mintaro to the crossing over the Wakefield, where they have made a good ford; and from that to the Railway Station there is a good hard natural road. We Mintaro folks trust in the well-known good sense of the Commissioner of Public Works, believing it never could have been his intention in fixing the sites for the stations to entirely ignore the established townships, where thousands of pounds have been spent in improving property, just to oblige a few to whom it can make but little difference.—I am happy to say that Mr. Priest’s son, whose leg was taken off a short time ago, will soon be able to get about. This speaks well for the operators, Drs. Vogt and Bain.