Denison Town, New South Wales

Denison Town is a ghost town in New South Wales, Australia. It was established in the 1850s and is thought to have been named after the Governor of New South Wales, Sir William Thomas Denison.[2] It was located about 11 kilometres (7 mi) from the present town of Dunedoo. In its heyday, Denison Town consisted of an inn,[3] post office,[4] church and cemetery,[5] and was the occasional venue for sittings of the Local Court.[6] Local industries included the farming of wheat, sheep and cattle,[7] alongside sporadic prospecting for silver ore.[8]

Denison Town
New South Wales
Denison Town
Coordinates32°01′59″S 149°29′38″E
Established1850s
Elevation400 m (1,312 ft)[1]
Location
LGA(s)Warrumbungle Shire[2]
RegionOrana

In 1861 the inn, named the Denison Hotel, was the scene of an attempted robbery by bushrangers who had carried out previous attacks around Mudgee. The innkeeper and patrons fought off the robbers, but the incident led to calls for a permanent police presence in the town.[3]

Denison Town Post Office opened on 1 January 1860 and closed in 1893.[4] Denison Town had a provisional or half-time school from 1876 until 1899,[9] A request for a local school was rejected in 1906.[10] Eventually the opening of silver-lead mines at nearby Leadville, as well as the absence of a railway, resulted in Denison Town becoming a ghost town.[11] One building and the pioneer cemetery remained. Newspaper reports from the 1930s indicated that the cemetery, which contained around 50 graves, was neglected and used for grazing by local livestock.[5] The cemetery still exists.[12]

References
  1. Topographic map 8733 COBBORA
  2. "Dension Town". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  3. "Talbragar-Denison Town". The Sydney Morning Herald. XLIV (7346). New South Wales, Australia. 23 December 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  5. "NEGLECTED DEAD". Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1931. p. 22. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Talbragar River". Australian Town and Country Journal. XIII (403). New South Wales, Australia. 1 January 1876. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Talbragar River". Australian Town and Country Journal. XIV (353). New South Wales, Australia. 7 October 1876. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Revival in Mining". Evening News (7198). New South Wales, Australia. 19 June 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Denison Town". nswgovschoolhistory.cese.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. "OLD DENISON TOWN". Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative. XIV (1425). New South Wales, Australia. 29 November 1906. p. 20. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Mining in New South Wales". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 27 August 1892. p. 502. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  12. "Australian Cemeteries Index - Cemetery 30 - Denison Town Pioneer". austcemindex.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.


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