Exploring stories from wonderful Wallabadah

The tiny township of Wallabadah, a little north of Murrurundi, on the New England Highway, seems to fit the bill. While it's about a three-hour drive from Newcastle, the village seems to demand attention for being fascinating in its own way.

For a start, there's a renowned horse track (from 1852), once described as the oldest country racecourse in NSW and famous for its New Year's Day picnic races, especially after the present track was laid out in 1898. But the popular Wallabadah Cup was abolished in 2022 by Racing NSW for safety concerns and the site now hosts community functions.

Then there's the town's only pub (the sole survivor of four once here) that has a 'unknown' history. The Wallabadah Hotel has more than a passing interest to lovers of France. If French republicans ever decided to, they could justifiably stage Bastille Day here every July 14. But more of that in a moment.

The Wallabadah region was originally called 'Thalababuri' by the Kamilaroi Aboriginal people long before the first European settlers arrived about 1830. Wallabadah Station was then established five years later on 44,000 acres. The site was at the junction of two mail coach runs, and notorious bushranger Thunderbolt even robbed the northern mail coach here in May 1867.

Wallabadah was also once bigger than nearby Quirindi, some 15 kilometres away, but the railway reached Quirindi in 1877, impeding its rival's growth. The decline halted slightly when Wallabadah was chosen as the site for a soldier settlement after WWII.

'Wallabadah', in the native tongue, appropriately means 'stone', for about 20 kilometres down a dirt track is a giant 'unknown' bush rock. Wallabadah Rock, almost hidden amid trees, is enormous, occupying 61 acres and is either 913 metres or 959 metres above sea-level depending on who you talk to. It's the plug of an ancient volcano, estimated to be more than 45 million years old. It's said to be Australia's second largest monolith after Uluru. But, in reality, it's probably ranks third, or fourth in the height stakes, according to researchers. In the 1989 Newcastle earthquake, waves of earth tremors made it sound like a giant bell, or so they say. But this remote site is closed to the public, the rock being very steep, dangerous to climb and on private property with a locked gate. Trespassers will be prosecuted.

Wallabadah township has another more recent claim to fame, and it's possibly unique. A mate, Geoff Wright, alerted me to an unusual memorial at the northern end of town. It's the First Fleet Memorial Garden opened in 2005 and created by Ray Collins, a descendant of both First Fleet and Second Fleet ancestors.

So, why is this memorial 360 kilometres north-west from Sydney's Port Jackson, where our First Fleet arrived in 1788? Well, Liverpool Plains Shire Council say they were the first to recognise stonemason Ray Collins' vision of building a tribute to Australia's first white settlers, both military, ship crews and convicts. It's claimed to be the first memorial in Australia that lists all 1520 names of people who sailed here on the 11 ships of the First Fleet. The names are carved in tablets along garden paths. A Second Fleet Memorial garden was added in 2009.

Author and bushwalker Greg Powell, of Lake Macquarie, later described the site, with its nearby tourist amenities, as a "marvellous spot".

"It's a free camp for caravaners and motor home people. It's very, very popular," Powell said. "The lovely old church there has now been turned into a private home and the Wallabadah Hotel has a lot of history. It was first known as Marshal MacMahon, after a military man, I believe."

Indeed, he was. The historic hotel, now run by a Toronto couple, is reputed to be from 1867, but Maitland Mercury files say it opened in 1872. Maybe there's confusion because another inn, the Halfway House, opened nearby in 1867 and one family links them both. But, whatever the date, the pub is still the important social hub of the town. The sandstone-walled pub was called Marshal MacMahon until 1896, when the name changed to Wallabadah Hotel.

So, who was Marshal MacMahon? MacMahon has a surprisingly important French connection. Would you believe his real name was Patrice de Mac-Mahon and he was a French general and politician? He also had the distinction of being a Marshal of France who also became president of France between 1875 and 1879. He was the second president of the Third French Republic that enacted new constitutional reforms.

MacMahon (1808-1893) was descended from an Irish family who'd fled to France during the reign of the Stuarts. He joined the army in 1827, took part in the Crimean war of the mid-1850s and later became Governor-General of Algeria in 1864. A proud Irishman named Hogan was the early licensee of the Hunter's new pub in Wallabadah. It was he who decided to honour MacMahon's spectacular career by naming his inn after him.

But the surprises keep coming. Hands up who's heard of the Wallabadah Manuscript, a memoir of pioneering days in northern NSW penned by William Telfer Jnr (1841-1903). Finally published only in 1980 after being found in the roof of a house, it's a rare record of ordinary life in the area.

Of particular interest today are seven paragraphs relating to a mystery people said to be once numerous around the Liverpool Plains in the 1850s. Here, they competed with the Kamilaroi natives for land. These strange beings were supposedly speared on sight by Aboriginal people. So, if you are interested in tales of yowies, yahoos, or strange hairy creatures like America's mythical Sasquatch, read on.

Telfer wrote that these hairy, gorilla-like Hunter men, once numerous, were believed to be "the original inhabitants of the country". Larger than man, they remained elusive by travelling at night and camping among rocks or in caves.

These Neanderthals mostly escaped conflict by being fast runners. The natives were frightened of them, regarding them as noisy and, although very strong, they were said to be stupid. Telfer said several stockmen reported seeing the creatures and he himself once also sighted one just after dark while setting up camp in 1883.