Nackara, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Nackara is a farming town in South Australia
, 30 minutes drive east of Peterborough
on the Barrier Highway
. It was originally proclaimed 'Tregu' but later changed to Nackara to match the 'Hundred of Nackara' to which it belonged.
The Nackara 'township' was formed as a railway siding on the Peterborough
(South Australia
) to Broken Hill
(New South Wales
) train line which was completed in approximately 1888, mainly to transport the ore from the Broken Hill mines to the South Australian port(s).
The town was planned to have several streets with suburban style yards, however this never eventuated. The Nackara township never reached more than a few railway cottages, a town store/post office (part of a house), a community hall ('The Nackara Institute'), a Catholic church, a Presbyterian Church, a school, the railway platform, cattle yards and cemetery. The planned roads didn't ever eventuate, with only dirt tracks through the very dry paddocks.
The community consisted of families from the surrounding grazing land, and the railway workers. While the township never grew as planned, the community did have many social events such as picnics, town dances and concerts, annual horse races, and car races. The town also competed against the other local towns in at least rugby
and cricket
.
The local population were mainly immigrants (many Catholic
s from Ireland
and several Polish
families), and were mainly worked as sheep and cattle graziers, railway workers, wood carters, shearers and labourers. There was a vibrant local Catholic community who had annual Catholic Picnics to raise money to erect a Catholic church. The church (St. Patrick's) was a small church built of stone on the top of the hill overlooking the Nackara township.
Nackara School and the Nackara Institute (community hall) are all that remain standing within the Nackara township. The school is now a private residence. The (corrugated iron) Presbyterian church has gone, the Catholic Church was demolished (around the 1960s), the main store (home and postoffice) is now stone rubble with a chimney.
The area doesn't get enough rain to support many graziers, so Nackara didn't ever grow beyond around 20 families and the township didn't develop. After the railway was moved several kilometres to the south around the 1960s, the town practically died. There are only several graziers left in the area now. The community hall hasn't been used in several years.
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, 30 minutes drive east of Peterborough
Peterborough, South Australia
Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the 2006 census, Peterborough had a population of 1,689....
on the Barrier Highway
Barrier Highway
The Barrier Highway is a highway in New South Wales and South Australia signposted as in South Australia and in New South Wales, Australia.The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan where it joins the Mitchell Highway. It heads west past Hermidale and Boppy Mountain to Cobar, a mining town. It then...
. It was originally proclaimed 'Tregu' but later changed to Nackara to match the 'Hundred of Nackara' to which it belonged.
The Nackara 'township' was formed as a railway siding on the Peterborough
Peterborough, South Australia
Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the 2006 census, Peterborough had a population of 1,689....
(South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
) to Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales
-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...
(New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) train line which was completed in approximately 1888, mainly to transport the ore from the Broken Hill mines to the South Australian port(s).
The town was planned to have several streets with suburban style yards, however this never eventuated. The Nackara township never reached more than a few railway cottages, a town store/post office (part of a house), a community hall ('The Nackara Institute'), a Catholic church, a Presbyterian Church, a school, the railway platform, cattle yards and cemetery. The planned roads didn't ever eventuate, with only dirt tracks through the very dry paddocks.
The community consisted of families from the surrounding grazing land, and the railway workers. While the township never grew as planned, the community did have many social events such as picnics, town dances and concerts, annual horse races, and car races. The town also competed against the other local towns in at least rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
The local population were mainly immigrants (many Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
s from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and several Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
families), and were mainly worked as sheep and cattle graziers, railway workers, wood carters, shearers and labourers. There was a vibrant local Catholic community who had annual Catholic Picnics to raise money to erect a Catholic church. The church (St. Patrick's) was a small church built of stone on the top of the hill overlooking the Nackara township.
Nackara School and the Nackara Institute (community hall) are all that remain standing within the Nackara township. The school is now a private residence. The (corrugated iron) Presbyterian church has gone, the Catholic Church was demolished (around the 1960s), the main store (home and postoffice) is now stone rubble with a chimney.
The area doesn't get enough rain to support many graziers, so Nackara didn't ever grow beyond around 20 families and the township didn't develop. After the railway was moved several kilometres to the south around the 1960s, the town practically died. There are only several graziers left in the area now. The community hall hasn't been used in several years.