WARIALDA

Warialda is a rural town located around 80km from Moree and 600km from Sydney.

HISTORY OF WARIALDA

Allan Cunningham passed through Warialda in 1827 which was thought to be the areas first contact with Europeans.  This was on his trek from the Hunter Valley to the Darling Downs.  However a hut in the Warialda area was reported by Cunningham which may have been erected by an escaped convict which would mean that Europeans had arrived earlier.  Warialda began through skulduggery which then led to it becoming an area of regional dominance for many years.  Edward Mayne, a newly appointed Crown Lands Commissioner, was authorised to create a police post on the north-western wild frontier of pastoral expansion.  He made the strange choice to setup near a big water hole of Reedy Creek.  This land was already taken as a sheep run called 'Warialda' which was named after the Aboriginal name for the waterhole - said to mean 'place of honey'.  This run was owned by William Mayne who was possibly Edwards's brother, but more likely his cousin.

Cattle was purchased by Edward Mayne to place on the run.  However he neglected to pay the standard licence fee or other government charges.  This was just as a rural depression began which made the stock almost worthless.  Therefore he claimed extremely high expenses for his police force and apparently pocketed much of the funds.  Despite this, he still had a court judgement rule against him for non-payment of debt.  Governor Gipps dismisssed him in 1843 and listed many other misdemeanours.  However Mayne later denied them all.  Later that year, the government was left with a sheep station after Robert Mayne's death.  Warialda was made the permanent headquarters for regional administration in 1846.  A court house, post office and other official buildings came first.  Then the beginnings of a village were formed in around 1850.  The prosperity of Warialda is heavily reliant on the diverse agriculture of the district.