Below is a copy of information provided to the QPRC to include in a Blog on the Heritage Trail website promoting the Araluen Valley History Trail launch on 13 April 2024.
What is your link with Araluen Valley?
The Araluen History group came together in 2022 to work on making the history of the valley more accessible to people who have connections to the Valley, and to conserve and protect it. Some of us were born in the valley, and some have connections going well back to the gold rush times. Others are more recent arrivals with a passion for our history.
What is your role on this project?
Some of us, Ron and Theresa mainly, have taken on the design and set up of our AraluenValley-History.com.au website, which is the location for all the detailed information we’ve collected about the area, from early first nations history to the present day. Others have been the researchers Judy, Angela and Judy have spent hours online or in the state and national collections; the long-term writers, like Jackie and Jill, have developed many of the pieces online, and others, including Jackie, Laurann, Tracey, Peter and Sarah worked on making up the signage to guide people around the village. We are adding to the collection of interviews held at the NLA, with Margaret, Donna and Theresa spending time around the table with local folk, and the technical help of Chris and John.
Why are you involved/what does this project mean to you?
We are all passionate about conserving and making our history known. We have had such a lot of enjoyment from all of us working on the things that interest us most and working together to bring it all to fruition.
Do you envision the project + Trail will contribute to local tourism?
Our local community is telling us that with the new signs, it suddenly looks as though “Araluen matters”, and that’s what we feel. We are providing a destination for visitors and the thousands of people who have connections to the area and come looking for family history. With the combination of the website and the history trail, people are invited and welcomed to find out more, and to share their stories as well—and of course, there is always a bit of gold panning to be done (a license is required if you are fossicking in a state forest) or a market to visit.
Was there anything you found out that surprised you?
There are many surprises in history for me. The most surprising was finding out that the valley had its own “railway line”.
Are there any areas that you are particularly passionate about?
Being able to let people know where their family ancestors are buried has been something that moves me deeply, and it’s all down to the work of our two main cemetery researchers and writers—Clare and Sue, and our website designer Ron—all with long connections to the area—and our designer Sarah. It is a really wonderful resource.
Are there any future plans or expansions in store?
We are really hoping that people will want to share their family histories of Araluen with us to build a really comprehensive picture of our last 200 years history, and hopefully, more of our history from the Yuin nation people who lived here first.
How can local residents and visitors get involved or support?
Come and be part of discovering more about the valley or your family history first-hand. Join us for the launch of the Araluen History Trail on Saturday, 13th April; send us an email via araluenvalleyhistory+enquiry@gmail.com; or check out our website at www.araluenvalley-history.com.au.
The Araluen History Trail
The history trail in Araluen starts at the Araluen Federal Hall with the map of the valley and its story of the halls in the valley. From the Hall going north, take in the village of Newtown—the home of the old cheese-factory; and then go to the current campground with signs about the gold history and the settlement of Burketown.
Cross the creek and head right towards the Anglican cemetery which has information about the more than 200 people who have been buried there, and perhaps a view of the spectacular Bells Creek Falls. This crosses private property and is sometimes not accessible by car, so please keep dogs on leads, and be thoughtful of stock—cows and calves are often out.
Heading back again, turn right to Burketown, previously our second busy village, and the Catholic cemetery with its views over the valley and the hills to the east and records of over 170 graves.
Cross back over the creek, and join the main road through Newtown again, with the Union church, and head past the Hall to Neringla Road, pointing the way to the two settlements of Crown Flat—a big gold rush area, and Mudmelong, further down the Deua River and once home to a large Chinese mining community in the 1860s and 70s.
Mosey back, passing the original Court-House, taking in the information at the pub—originally Alley’s Perseverance Store; the War Memorial, made from Moruya granite like the Harbour Bridge, and noting those born here who lost their lives; to the village of Redbank. This was a centre for the valley in the gold days, with thriving businesses, schools, churches and Halls.
Pass the Recreation ground, telling the story of the passion for horses and fisticuffs and the big sports days of the 1970s and 80s, and return to the Hall.
The Hall garden contains old agricultural machinery, and tells the stories of the agriculture of the area, and of the churches and schools. It includes the first building from the site, which has a big boiling copper- used more for cooking than for laundry—re-made to show the time line of the history of the area.
All the signs in the valley are linked by QR code to information on the website: AraluenValley-History.com.au
On our launch day, April 13th, we’ll take visitors around all the sites by bus with a guide. The tour will take about an hour.
When you come for a visit another time, consult the Araluen Tourist Trail Map, which will be given to visitors in a ‘memento pack’ at the launch.