Historic village on the South West Slopes of New South Wales.
Today Murringo is so small that a visitor could pass through without stopping. It is a remnant of a bygone era with two handsome churches which are a reminder of the deeply religious nature of rural Australia in the nineteenth century.
Location
Murringo is 354 km south-west of Sydney via Goulburn and Yass and 370 km via Bathurst and Cowra.
^ TOPOrigin of Name
Since the town was laid out by surveyors in 1849 it has been variously known as Meringo, Marringa, Muringo, Murringo, Maringo, Maringa and Marengo. It has been suggested that the origin of the name was a property in the area called Marengo, probably after the famous Napoleonic Battle of Marengo. In 1926 the local post office changed its name and the village became Murringo.
^ TOPThings to See and Do
Christ Church Anglican Church
Although it is now a small church beside the main road back in 1865 Christ Church Anglican Church was in the minds of the local Anglican community. In order to build the church Reverend Soares, the local clergyman, held a tea meeting and raised the staggering sum of £200. That is the equivalent of more than £1 for every town resident. Reverend Soares designed the church. The foundation stone was laid on 28 March 1866 and the church was consecrated on 7 December 1866. Services now only occur on the second Sunday of each month at 8.00am.
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
Not to be outdone the local Catholic community decided to match the Anglican church and so in 1871 a collection was taken up at Michael O'Connor's hotel. Tea for Anglicans? The local pub for the Catholics? Such was the fund raising success that in 1874 the foundation stone for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church was laid. Some years later a convent school was attached to the church.
Other Attractions in the Area
Young
No comprehensive understanding of the goldrush days in New South Wales is complete without a visit to the nearby township of Lambing Flat, now known as Young.
History
Murringo is important because it is a genuinely historic village where very little has changed over the past century.
* the Murringo area was first settled in 1827. It was one of the first settlements beyond the Blue Mountains.
* the Marengo Station, which was established around 1833, had 21 people working for it by 1840. A survey in that year showed that 43 people were living on three properties. In 1849 a government survey planned a town around Marengo Station. The plans included a cemetery, a market place and a public park but this came to nothing when, in 1860, gold was discovered at Young (known at the time as Lambing Flat) and the population moved. In 1861 there were 128 residents in Murringo. By in 1871 there were only 119.
*In the 1860s, bushrangers used small towns like Murringo as suitable places to hideout from the troopers who scoured the area trying to stop them. Equally there were gold prospectors - wild men dreaming of making their fortunes - wandering through the area trying to find the next place where nuggets would be easily found. A newspaper article at the time described Murringo as 'a public thoroughfare and rendezvous for horse stealers and bushrangers, being in the very heart of the lawless district'.
* In 1879 a blacksmith's shop was opened in the town and the local police station was built the following year
^ TOPVisitor Information
The best place for information about Murringo is the Young Visitor Information Centre which is located in Young's old railway station. Tel: (02) 6382 3394. It is open 9.00am-5.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am-4.00pm on weekends.
^ TOPUseful Websites
For more information check out http://www.young.nsw.gov.au/culturalmap/places/murringo/murringo.htm
^ TOP
Great Grandfather Philip Murphy, Married Margaret Sloan and lived in Murringo on Barwang Station in the 1800s . Margaret was Margaret Kelly prior to her marriage.
My husband’s 3 x great grandmother is Margaret Kelly who married Andrew Sloane and then Phillip Murphy after Andrew’s death.
My grandmother Mary Ann, born in Young 1874, was Philip and Margaret’s youngest child. Margaret arrived in Australia in 1841 as a bounty immigrant from Ireland, on the Forth, with her parents, 2 brothers and sister. Philip was the son of a convict, James and a convicts daughter, Catherine
My widowed great grandmother Jane Jones, left 8 children from her first marriage and gave birth to her 9th child, Mary, in murringo in 1886 five years after being widowed. She married Sam Nordstedt in Cowra in 1888, they had two children. I’d love to know what life was like for GGrandma in 1885-6 in murringo.
My great great grandfather, Daniel Hancock was a convict, transported from England on the “Eleanor” with the Swing Rioters”. Once repatriated, he married and eventually moved to Murringo where he built a General Store and the Marengo Inn Hotel. Descendants of Daniel gathered at the store on Monday 14th June 2021 for a book launch. “A Convict in the Family” was compiled by his great great granddaughter, Karen E. Davison to chronicle his life.
Where can i find the survey of the persons living on Marengo Station in 1840?
I’d LOVE to see the list of occupants around 1940 – please can anybody help? I was told it was at Marengo Station.