part 7 arlington - exetelhome.exetel.com.au/bigbarry/part 7 bignall notes - arlington.pdf ·...

Part 7 Arlington

Clydesville

Arlington & Tyrone

BrubriGlen Airlie

Shenfield

Lonou

Keelendi

Onus Ck (Uri)

Sandy Ck

Extracted from parts of Aust 1:250000 map sheets SH5609 & SH5613, this map includes the area around Manilla and Somerton containing the sites of Henry Bignall's first and second properties, and also the sites of his son's and daughters' residences.

Some of these were subdivided for Henry's children & grandchildren's inheritances (Arlington-Tyrone, Keelendi-Stratharlie, Brubri), Lonou was carried on intact, and more properties in this map area were acquired by other grandchildren, including soldier settlement blocks, mainly in the Peel River catchment (Veness, Norris, Lock, Cooper, Bignall).

The graticule is spaced at 10 km.

Bignall Notes – Arlington 7.1

The extent of Charles Baldwin's Durham Court Run before resumption by the Crown and subdivision. (Map held by Lands Dept)The coloured areas show land converted to freehold, principally by Charles and Athel Baldwin

Arlington, Shenfield, Forest Glen and Brubri are all in the eastern released area. Brubri in the centre was converted to freehold by the selection and purchase process, and acquired by Athel Baldwin.

The 1874 Lands Dept survey of Pt 12, with several later annotations, including the railway and new road reservations and James Bignall's subdivision. Note the old track from Attunga to Manilla, the area under cultivation along Greenhatches Ck, and the open forest over most of the land.


A detailed map immediately south of Manilla showing Henry Bignall's Arlington, which stretched over the low rise east of Greenhatch's Creek. The old Barraba railway and Manilla-Tamworth road pass through the property. The house marked here as Arlington was formerly known as Tyrone. The original homestead was adjacent to the present Tamworth road next to the internal road. Brubri (the home of Henry's daughter Amelia Baldwin) is to the west (house in bottom left corner). Forest Glen, south of Arlington, is a subdivision of Brubri. The graticule is 1 km square. (NSW series Baldwin 9036-3-N)

Arlington under Henry Bignall shortly before his purchase in 1889. . The ad ran for a few weeks. Cultivation was probably in the area so described in the 1874 survey. The vineyard was north of the house and survived with fruit trees interplanted until Ray Bignall sold the property. Maitland Mercury 24th November 1888


Arlington in Henry Bignall's time spanned from Greenhatch's Creek (left) to the hill country at the right (eastern) edge of the image.The former railway is clearly visible parallel to the creek, and today's main road is to its east. The hills east of this area were acquired by William and James Bignall from the Veness estate (Northbrook). The diagonal fence line bisecting the view is the line of the old stock route to Cuerindi station.

An account of the eastward extension of Arlington ca 1907 by the Bignall Bros. (Manilla Express 11th July 1939)


Parish Portion

12 220 ac at Greenhatch's Ck contains both houses: Arlington and Tyrone

13 40 ac at Greenhatch's Ck woolshed

29 60 ac at Greenhatch's Ck

162 60 ac near Manilla town

221 172 ac south-east Converted from conditional lease

222 744 ac (divided into 3 portions) Converted from conditional lease 2nd water source

Total 1306 acres

Parish of Manilla: Portions forming Arlington occupied by Henry Bignall at about 1883 and extended after 1884Additional land on the western side of the creek at the north-west was occupied by Henry for a period under annual lease.

DATE SUMMARY OF EARLY DEALINGS IN ARLINGTON (Homestead portion)

Ca 1869-70 Selected by Richard Coulton from the Durham Court Run

1870 Referred to surveyor Dowe for survey

1874 Mortgage transfer from Coulton to Commercial Banking Co

1883 Occupied by Henry Bignall

1888 Mortgage transfer from Coulton to Charles Regan, John Patterson and Charles Coghlan of Tamworth

1889 Transfer to Henry Bignall

1889 Mortgage transfer by Bignall to Bank of Australasia

1891 Mortgage transfer by Bignall to Charles Regan, John Patterson and Charles Coghlan of Tamworth

1896 Mortgage transfer by Bignall to Jane and Ellen Regan of Tamworth

1906 Mortgages removed – transfer to Henry Bignall

1916 Mortgage transfer to Commercial Banking Co

1919 Henry Bignall died. Mortgaged property transferred to the executors.

PORTION SUMMARY OF DEALINGS 1889 TO 1951

12Arlington

H Bignall held under CP 1869/4305 in 1889

Transferred to W & J Bignall by the executors in 1921Various dealings as securityTransferred to W Bignall in 1942 (Portion 275 subdivided and transferred to J Bignall)Sold in 1951 by R H Bignall to W Lockrey

13Woolshed

H Bignall held under CP 1870/304 in 1889

Transferred to W & J Bignall by the executors in 1921Various dealings as securityTransferred to J Bignall in 1949Sold in 1954 by J Bignall to W Lockrey

29 H Bignall held under CP 1872/7338 in 1889

Transferred to W & J Bignall by the executors in 1921Various dealings as securitySold in 1951 by R H Bignall to W Lockrey


Crown Grant to H Bignall in 1906 Vol 1746 Fol 58Various dealings as securitySold in 1951 by J A Bignall to W Lockrey


Transfer of CP to W & J Bignall by the executors in 1921Crown Grant to MacKenzie and Kennedy as security in 1939Various dealings as securityTransferred to R H Bignall in 1943Sold in 1951 by R H Bignall to W Lockrey


Transfer in 1921 to W & J Bignall by the executorsSubdivision into additional portions 274 & 276


Crown Grant of 222 to MacKenzie and Kennedy as securityTransfer to W & J Bignall in 1942Various dealings as securityTransferred to R H Bignall in 1943Sold in 1951 by R H Bignall

274 Subdivision (see 222)

W & J Bignall held under CP 38/07 and later by J BignallCrown Grant in 1950 to MacKenzie and Kennedy Vol 6116 Fol 156 and transferred to J BignallTransferred to Lindsay and Harry Bignall in 1965, and sold to R & G Kirk

275Tyrone

Subdivision (see 12)

Part Portion 12 (W & J Bignall held under CP) and transferred to J Bignall in 1942Sold in 1954 by J Bignall to W Lockrey

276 Subdivision (see 222)

W & J Bignall held under CP 38/07 and later by J BignallCrown Grant in 1950 to MacKenzie and Kennedy Vol 6143 Fol 54 and transferred to J BignallSold in 1954 by J Bignall to W Lockrey

The executors of the will of Henry Bignall were Athel Baldwin (son-in-law) of Manilla, & William Martin Trenerry of Moree (from 1919)The executors of the will of James Bignall were his sons Lindsay and Harry Bignall. William Bignall’s land interests passed to his elder son Ray Henry Bignall.

Trenerry, a friend, had been manager of the Manilla branch of the Commercial Banking Co of Sydney from 1898 to 1919. He had been elected to the Manilla Hospital committee in 1902.

(by Edward VII, “ this twelfth day of December in the sixth year of our reign, and in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and six H H Rawson Governor”) Portion of the Crown Grant for Portion 162, the only grant issued in Henry Bignall's lifetime.


Arlington was formed initially by Richard Coulton as a selection of ca 900 acres in several portions near the future site of Manilla in 1869-70, immediately after the release of the Durham Court run. Coulton had a large family who stayed on in the district, apparently on his other property. This, like Shenfield, was one of the first Manilla selections, and Coulton was one of the first, if not the first, grain growers in the district, clearing and sowing the black soil paddock parallel to Greenhatch's Ck.

The Lands Dept survey of the land in 1874 indicates the old track from Tamworth to the Namoi crossing passing through, parallel to Greenhatch's Ck, with only the black soil part between the creek and the track under cultivation. The remainder of the land was open box forest. ₤400 in improvements were noted. The line of the surveyed, but unbuilt, main road reservation was shown. The present driveway was originally the route from the old track, and the homestead has a “designed” front elevation facing the drive, with the principal room on that side. It is probable that the bulk of the improved sum was represented by the homestead.

Henry Bignall took up occupation in about 1883, although he did not purchase until 1889. He initially ran a substantial chaff business on the cultivated portion, with the remainder fenced for sheep. During succeeding years the conditional purchases of further eastern portions were transferred to his name, to total about 1300 acres The Crown Grants for most portions were not formally issued in his lifetime. Before 1900 Henry Bignall also held annual leases from the Crown on the western side of Greenhatch's Ck.

After Henry Bignall's death Arlington passed to his youngest sons as joint tenants, and was later divided into Arlington (William Bignall) and Tyrone (James Bignall) each centred on the existing house of that name. Both were eventually to be transferred, by James in his late years and by William's heirs in the 1950s, the succeeding owners being the Lockrey and then the Sandford families.

By 2005, apart from the far eastern portion, Arlington and Tyrone are again recombined as one property, called Arlington, with the Tyrone dwelling used as the principal residence. The old Arlington homestead, with old olive trees around it, partly demolished and much altered, is a second residence on the site and is let to tenants. Some of Tyrone near the town has been transferred. The property has recently run a piggery, with cattle and feed production The present owner-residents are Mr and Mrs Aylwin.

Outside the kitchen wing of Arlington, during the late 1920s (from a snapshot by Violet Martin, Henry's grand-daughter) The girl is thought to be Muriel Martin. The man is thought to be Tom Costelloe of Manilla.

Construction of the buildings was wholly of timber, with the walls mounted over a low platform base. Local cypress was extensively used, both for cost, and for termite resistance. The walls of the main wing were fabricated from sawn vertical boards forming a single skin with horizontal rails at top, bottom, and centrally. The top plates tied the structure, and the cross walls braced it. Gables were horizontally clad in dressed boards. Barges were decoratively sawn.The roof was of round pole rafters spaced about a foot apart, with a raking board ceiling fixed under the rafters. Brass lamps in the rooms were chain suspended from the ridge.Turkey rugs were on the floors.

The Kitchen wing differed from the main wing, with single skin sawn boards set horizontally between grooved upright principal posts. There was no ceiling under the rafters. The gable was vertically boarded, with rounded ended dressed boards. The south wall was formed by a large brick hearth and bread oven. Joinery windows and doors, as in the main wing, were set directly between the framing posts.

A third wing contained a bathroom, extensive pantry and carriage room for a sulkies, and later, a car. It was post framed, with sawn vertical board walling.

The walls were externally oil finished with a Tuscan red pigment. Internal walls and the joinery were painted, and the ceilings dark stained. All roofing was of English corrugated galvanised sheets, which steadily replaced river-oak shingles from the 1870s. Similar construction persisted further north in Queensland up to 1920 before being succeeded by stud framing.

Arlington viewed from a similar angle, from further west in 2006. The original building is obscured by additions, old sheds, and yards.


Several people still remember Arlington as it was prior to the 1950s, and with the help of old photographs it has been possible to reconstruct Arlington homestead as it was in Henry and Will Bignall's lifetimes . Only the main wing remains, in a deteriorated state, with unsympathetic additions and claddings. The rear wings have been demolished.


The eastern elevation 2007.

There is speculation as to whether this part of the house, under a north-south aligned roof, containing four rooms, is of different date from the east-west roofed section at the extreme left. There was a custom of moving and re-using slab-constructed buildings. Old Keelendi had moved sections. The corbelled chimneys are typical of the 1870s. The eastern veranda in this picture may be newer than the veranda formerly on the western side, enclosed by 1900. Note the early ogee gutter. The concrete paving is a replacement for the boarded original floor.

The roof sheeting is of little known coated wrought iron, PP&T “Rabbit” brand, imported from the UK.

The building presented a 'designed' face to the south and east. Little design consideration was given to the northern elevation.

Keeping Warm

It is cold in Manilla in winter, and Arlington was completely uninsulated. There were originally three fireplaces as well as the hearth and oven, but as these required a draught, they were not efficient warming devices. The boys of the family always slept on the open verandah, in all weather.

However, breakfast was cooked, and then the hearth, or later on, the cast-iron range, and the oven, would be put to preparing the rest of the day's meals. Bread was ready, and a hot dinner served at lunchtime, leaving the ovens free to be stacked with bricks. At nightfall the hot bricks would be wrapped in old blankets and placed in the beds. Early to bed and early to rise was the norm.


The reconstructed North (above) and East (below) elevations of the house.

The relatively intact north end of the front elevation of the house as it was in the 1990s. This was the Dining Room. The southern and western parts are now obscured by later alterations, and much of the exterior and interior has been reclad in modern materials. The leaning chimney was demolished after the photograph was taken.


A restored sulky. These light carriages were kept at Arlington , together with farm working vehicles, in the years before motor cars. The paddock to the immediate north of the original house was the horses' night paddock, conveniently near. Mrs W (Emma) Bignall bought a new American car in 1926 to replace hers.

This map shows the final division of their father Henry's property by James Alma Bignall and William Henry Bignall, prior to the sales to Lockrey and Kirk in the 1950s. The land east of this area had been divested earlier. The east-west extent is about 5 kilometres.

James' son, Lindsay Bignall later farmed the land at the right of this map south of his father's portion.

Hay being stacked at the northern part of the property in the 1930s. The Baldwin Range is in the north-western background.

The figure is James Bignall.


The last will of Henry Bignall, executed on 18th June 1910 before his solicitor, J D Kennedy. Now blind and ill, he did not write his signature. The declarations in the margins by the executors, Trenerry and Baldwin, were made to obtain probate.


William Bignall had an interest in the scientific work taking place in agriculture, and for many years ran test plots at Arlington.This report is from the Sydney Morning Herald, 1st January 1916

Sydney Morning Herald, 8th December 1926


A ca 1950 photograph of the Greenhatches Ck bend at the north of the property near the Tyrone shed, well and tank. This was the site of Henry Bignall's small killing works. The waste presumably was drained to the creek. The now cleared banks became significantly eroded after the 1930s, like many Namoi tributaries around Manilla, and the lost soil threatened to fill the proposed dam at Keepit, requiring large scale conservation measures. Willows were to eventually become a serious problem around the Namoi.

An Arlington paddock viewed from the Tamworth Road.


Arlington in 2007, taken from the north (Manilla) side.

The Namoi River road bridge, whose traffic converted Manilla from a tiny hamlet to a town. It was followed by the building of the Barraba railway. During construction Arlington operated a small slaughter works, near Greenhatch's Ck.


Panoramic view from the north of Manilla in 1886, the tiny village clustering around the new high-level Namoi crossing and the pubs on each side The bridge traffic brought about the rapid development of the modern town. (Manilla Hist Soc)

Pre 1914 photograph of Manilla St looking north (Manilla Hist Soc). The Manilla Municipal Council removed the trees in 1936 as part of a singularly unimaginative “beautification scheme”. The street pavement was sealed at the same time.

Looking south down Manilla St from the bridge before 1914 (Manilla Hist Soc)


Manilla Street, officially ca 1898, with Royce Cottage & Commercial Bank at left, then, Methodist Church, School of Arts, Post Office,McKenzies 2nd store and the Royal Hotel. Growth was stimulated by increasing traffic over the bridge. It is thought that this was actually photographed in 1893. (State Library)

The photographer was Joseph Check, based in Leichhardt, an itinerant photographer and artist, who specialised in flashlight photographs. He also ran lime-light slide shows to attract business. Check made an image of Florence Bignall and her friends in 1893.


The Namoi River crossing and the small village prior to the building of the bridge.

A view of the road bridge in 1917.


The now disused railway viaduct gaining height to bridge the flood-prone Namoi at Manilla. Arlington was nearby and appears to have provided meat for the construction workmen. A killing floor and shed was formerly near where Tyrone was later built. This predated the Manilla slaughteryard. The Baldwin Range is in the background. Below are wheat carriers waiting to load at the railway ca 1899.


A Z19 class locomotive doing line work on the Manilla branch in 1911. The exact location is not known.

The train from Barraba arriving at Upper Manilla, probably 1920s.

Turning the C30 class locomotive for the return trip at Barraba, before the end of steam in the 1960s.


The abandoned railway bridge over the Namoi at Manilla

One of the last trains in 1976 running to Tamworth beside Greenhatches Ck.


Manilla St today, looking north. Small trees have replaced the earlier planting in the central bed.

Crossing the narrow bridge.


The wheat harvest in 1900 at an unidentified Manilla property. Every family member had a part to play (Manilla Museum collection).

George Veness's shop in Namoi St, Manilla, built in 1864 and demolished in 1906. The timber construction is as at Arlington.

Mr Brown's cottage near Manilla. Although much smaller than Arlington, it shows the same general building design.


The 1879 Lands Department survey of the town of Manilla. Most lots were then vacant. The Veness family was established, mainly near the Namoi River. The police depot was at Court & Namoi Sts. The old Tamworth track joined Namoi St. near Greenhatches Ck.

Daniel Regan's second brick-built shop (Importer, Draper, .Grocer, Ironmonger) in Peel St, Tamworth as it was in the 1890s. Regan himself died in 1887. This business was the foundation of a large enterprise by his sons today known as Fielders.

Arlington was mortgaged at various times to son Charles Regan and to Daniel Regan's widow Jane, by Richard Coulton and by Henry Bignall who was in occupancy from 1883.


part 7 arlington - exetelhome.exetel.com.au/bigbarry/part 7 bignall notes - arlington.pdf ·...

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