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Welcome to Yanco Glen. It is recorded that this was the Country of the Wilyakali.
We pay our respects to the elders past, present and emerging.
On August 10th 1844 Captain Charles Sturt led the Central Australian Expedition from Adelaide, reaching the Darling River township of Laidley’s Ponds (Menindee) on October 19th.
Unable to find water north of the river, Aboriginal guide Topar, led them to a waterhole on Yancowinna Creek, north-east of what is now Broken Hill.
From there, Sturt spent they spent five more days searching for passageways across the rugged hills.to the west.
Finally, where Campbell Creek emerges from the Barrier Ranges onto the western plains they found enough water for a short-term camp.
“As we descended from the ranges I observed that all the water I had seen glittering on the plains had disappeared; I found too that the larger waterhole in the glen had rather fallen than increased during the rains.” Charles Sturt.”
Sturt’s expedition’s consisted of:
The Yanco Glen Hotel once stood on this site. Originally a galvanised iron and wooden building located near the tin mining township of Euriowie, it was moved to the bank of the Yancowinna Creek in 1900.
It was reportedly burned down, rebuilt and remained open until destroyed by another fire in 1983.
The hotel was just one of several along the road to the north where horses pulling coaches were exchanged for fresh horses.
Pastoralism and the discovery of minerals
Following Sturt’s exploration, investors began looking for grazing land. By 1851 the Albert Land District extended from the Darling River to the Queensland border.
Mount Gipps Station was one of the four original properties in the Barrier Ranges. In1883 boundary rider Charles Rasp was patrolling fences when he came across an ore body that proved to be the largest silver, lead and zinc deposit in the world. This was the beginning of the mining city of Broken Hill.
In 1871 Sir Sidney Kidman began his working life on Mount Gipps. In 1917 he purchased nearby Corona Station by which time he already owned a string of properties, taking in around 3% of the land mass of Australia.
By the late 1880s mining was already well in Broken Hill underway when prospectors found a limestone deposit near Tarrawingee. A quarry was opened up, producing 1800 tons each week for the smelting process. More than 150 men were employed and a small township was established.
In September 1890 a 60 kilometres narrow gauge railway line was built to carry the limestone back to Broken Hill. The trains also provided transportation for people travelling to the north by connecting with coaches from Euriowie.
The construction of a smelter in Port Pirie brought about an end to the need for the Tarrawingee line and it closed in 1932.
The rugged Barrier Ranges comprise ranges and ridges made up of very old metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. They are rich in mineral resources with more than 2,000 known deposits, including the silver, lead and zinc of Broken Hill, silver at Thackaringa and tin at Euriowie.
