Currajong
In the 1830's squatters started to open up
the west of New South Wales around the area now known as the Central
West Slopes and Plains. These squatters made it into the area now
known as Parkes in 1835. By 1848 these squatters had set up four main
stations, these were Coobang, Coradgery, Burrawang and Guningbland.
Some of these names are now used for small villages in the Prkes
shire.
Squatters chose land that was in a good
position. This meant that their land was near a good water supply and
their properties often dominated these water supplies. When they set
up their farms like this the squatters made land around theirs look
bad to other squatters as they would not be able to access water.
Surveyors came to the Currajong area in
1853 and saw the potential of the area, there were several advantages
that are still advantages to residents these days. The surveyors
noticed that the area had a good water supply from the Billabong
Creek and Bartleys Creek. The soil in the area was also excellent for
agriculture. When the surveyors saw how good the land in the area was
they officially defined the area for the village of Currajong. They
named the new village Currajong because of all the Currajong trees in
the area.
Gold was discovered at Currajong in 1862.
By November 1862 there was a gold rush at Currajong. Many new people
came to Currajong because of the gold. Along with all the miners came
shopkeepers, mechanics and other professionals. These people brought
their families with them and the population of Currajong began to
rise.
By 1871 the gold was disappearing and there
were only four houses left in Currajong.
When gold was discovered again a few miles
away later in the 1870's the town of Bushmans was formed.