World culture on a big rivera Snapshot of the clarence valley’s diverse History

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credits

Thank you to Grafton, Maclean and Yamba museums for use of your photographs.

A special thank you to the Clarence Historical Society President Frank Mack for his assistance.

The creators of this publication acknowledge the Gumbainggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung traditional owners.

Funded by the Clarence Valley CouncilAn initiative of the Social and Cultural Services sector

Concept, research, editorial, photographyDebrah Novak Media PR Training & Cre8tivewww.debrahnovak.com.au M: 0402 404 606

Cultural notice: There are photos of deceased Aboriginal people in this publication.A number of photographs have been supplied from family albums. Information in this publication is general in nature. Indigenous artwork by Danielle Gorogo and Kahlua Charlton.Image: Aboriginal: Aunty Elizabeth Smith

Layout and design Lou Gumb Design Printed byPublished c2014

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contents

7 ForewordThe multicultural legacy of the early Clarence Valley pioneers can still be seen.

8 First AustralianThere are about 500 Aboriginal people living in the Clarence Valley.

14 Great Britain Life in the pioneer period was tough for many; even tougher for the women.

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20 ChinaWhat attracted them to Australia was the weather

and the lack of traffic.

26 GermanyGerman predecessors to the Clarence Valley were

resourceful, innovative and resilient.

32 GreeceBy 1909 the family had businesses operating in

Grafton and Ulmarra.

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40 IndiaAround 1890 the Phillips family relocated to Yamba and in 1899 they opened the first shop at Angourie.

46 Ireland Shark Creek was the enclave where the Irish people settled near Maclean.

52 ScotlandThe Scots started arriving in the Clarence Valley for a new life from the 1840s.

58 Other countriesThe Clarence Valley was the next wild frontier.

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Artwork by Bundjalung artist, Danielle Gorogo

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Foreword by Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson

The Clarence Valley local government area in Northern NSW Australia covers 22,000 square kilometres and lies in three Aboriginal nations, Yaegl, Gumbainggirr and Bundjalung.

The river that meanders through the region and enters the Pacific Ocean at Yamba is the Clarence River, but before it reaches the coast 240 rivers and creeks have already flowed into this mighty watercourse.

The Clarence headwaters are near Rivertree, east of Stanthorpe, on the watershed that marks the border between New South Wales and Queensland in the north and the Dorrigo Plateau and Coffs Harbour in the south.

The population of this region is around 50,000 people, with Grafton the major retail and government centre.

Grafton and the Clarence Valley were frontier country in the 1830s and it was the first region to be settled by non-Aboriginal people on the North Coast. This region attracted cedar getters and pastoralists from the Sydney and Kempsey regions.

The Clarence floodplain’s first taste of a multicultural society came when an escaped Irish convict from Moreton Island, Richard Craig, walked through the Clarence Valley up into the Nymboida region where he lived for a year before heading to Sydney.

In Sydney he met the owner of a boat called the Susan, which sailed to the Clarence River in 1838 with 12 pairs of sawyers.

Among the sawyers were Scots, English, Irish and a West Indian man while the pastoralists who were trekking north across the mountain ranges were mostly English nobility.

As the Clarence Valley developed, so did its population and the need for a labour force.

Around the late 1850s a gold rush was on around Ballarat and various other places in Victoria and NSW, and this made it difficult for pastoralists, including those in the Clarence Valley, to keep their workers, with most leaving to follow their dream of striking it rich.

When the cedar trees were mostly gone, the cedar getters moved further north, taking a portion of the workforce with them.

At this point, pastoralists decided to engage and sponsor workers from Germany including shepherds, builders, mechanics and stonemasons.

When a gold rush began on the upper reaches of the Clarence River, it brought Chinese people to the region.

At the end of the 19th century the British Raj soldiers were given opportunities to relocate abroad, which resulted in a wave of immigration of Indian people arriving to the Clarence.

The multicultural legacy of the early Clarence Valley pioneers can still be seen.

Examples include the Federation-style architecture designed and built by German architects and builders.

Grafton’s famous picture theatre, The Saraton, and the timber industry were substantially developed by the Notaras family who migrated from Greece in the early 1900s.

The fishing and sugarcane sectors attracted migrant workers while the building of infrastructure throughout the valley needed a specialised workforce.

I hope you enjoy this fascinating snapshot of the cultural background of the Clarence Valley.

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First Australians Clarence Valley Aboriginal culture takes pride of place throughout the three traditional lands of the

Yaegl, Gumbainggirr and Bundjalung people

The Clarence Valley local government area lies in three traditional lands of Aboriginal peoples: the Yaegl, Gumbainggirr and Bundjalung people.

The land and watercourses supported the traditional owners for many thousands of years as they lived a nomadic and healthy lifestyle.

The first European to appear before the Aboriginal people in this region was at Yamba (then called Shoal Bay) when Lieutenant Matthew Flinders stopped and took sightings and water at Pilot Hill in 1799.

On board the Norfolk, Lt Flinders had Bongaree, an Aboriginal man from near Sydney.

Flinders noted in his logbooks that Bongaree was impressed with the strength and health of the Aboriginal people camped in their curved dwellings on the headland near Yamba.

The next sighting of a European person was to be about 30 years later when escaped convict Richard Craig travelled down from Moreton Island in Queensland across many rivers, including the Big River, and on to Nymboida.

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First Australians

It was here Craig set up camp with the local Aboriginal people and learned their culture and ways.

Seven years later Craig travelled further south and informed the authorities of straying cattle and the whereabouts of a big river. He received a pardon.

From this point the tide starts turning for the region with the exploration of a new frontier; the cedar getters were on their way.

Ships began arriving on the Clarence River from 1838 and the dispossession of the Clarence Valley’s traditional owners began.

Many atrocities were committed on the traditional owners. It is only now the non-Aboriginal community is coming to understand the plight of the traditional owners - through NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week commemorations, and education.

There are many documented reports of the Aboriginal people helping and working with early European settlers.

Newspaper reports of the day also describe battles between the tribes from Lismore, Casino, Evans Head, Grafton, Lismore, Ulmarra and Iluka.

Aboriginal culture is now strong and is building throughout the three nations, with many programs now offered through the schools and externally to share and learn the traditional knowledge.

Recently an initiative of the local Aboriginal community, the Three Mobs One River Educational Resource Kit, won a national award.

Many Aboriginal people from the Clarence Valley have achieved in many areas including academically, in industry, the arts and sport.

Today there are about 500 Aboriginal people living in the Clarence Valley.

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Great Britain

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Great BritainWhile the stock horses and remounts are long gone, the Welsh Mountain Ponies have continued to be an endearing fixture for Rosemary Waugh who feeds and talks with them daily and knows each

member of her stud by name.

Taloumbi Station, owned by the Waugh family near Brooms Head, is one of a few properties still owned by its pioneering family.

The farm was bought from two original cedar getters, Thomas Small and Thomas Ryan in 1888.

Further up the Clarence River, pastoral companies whose origins were around the same time include Yulgilbar, Ramornie and Gordon Brook stations that still operate as viable farming operations, albeit on a smaller acreage.

British family traditions established over the past century continue today with Rosemary Waugh. They are a testament to a bygone era where colonial elegance, culture, style and fortitude were high on the list of values.

The Waugh brothers introduced Devon cattle, thoroughbred horses, stock horses and sheep to the Clarence district. In later years they introduced Angus cattle and the family continues to run them.

Other British migrants who relocated to the valley also brought their love of horses and horse racing.

Match racing on farms and beaches was a regular occurrence that ensured the quality of the horse breeding in the area remained strong.

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As the 19th century rolled into the 20th, global events provided business opportunities for those on the land in the Clarence Valley. The valley was one of three major regions in Australia that succeeded in breeding horses for the wars.

The Waugh family, like many other pioneering families, seized this opportunity to breed horses as remounts to be sold for the Boer War and the First World War.

The British also established themselves in the political arena with many representing the region in parliament with one, Sir Earle Page, becoming Prime Minister.

Life in that pioneer period was tough for many; even tougher for the women.

Rosemary’s mother Dorothea, a city girl, met her handsome farming husband while holidaying at Yamba’s Main Beach. Dorothea’s love of the Aussie bush and its animals at Taloumbi Station was enough for her to lobby the State Government in the early 1940s to have some areas of their farm declared a wildlife sanctuary.

Her dream was realised and a proclamation was made declaring the region between Angourie and Woolgoolga a bird and animal sanctuary where shooting was prohibited. Today this is Yuraygir National

Park, the largest coastal park and undeveloped strip of coastline in NSW.Today the Waughs’ love of nature still permeates the family seat where groves of trees planted decades ago provide inspiration for aspiring artists and opportunities to sow seeds for future generations.

Rosemary, through her art practice, clearly remembers her days as a child on horseback mustering and droving with her father along the coastal plains of the Clarence delta and it is this spirit of adventure that continues to inspire her.

Rosemary, through her art practice, remembers clearly her days as a child on horseback mustering and droving with her father along the coastal plains of the Clarence delta and it is this spirit of adventure that continues to inspire her.

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ChinaAs the number of Chinese grew, many started travelling around the country as indentured workers as a

labour shortage in regional Australia resulted in its European workforce heading to the gold and tin mines

Standing proudly in his new restaurant at the top of Yamba hill, Tom Chiu (Shui Chuen Chiu) has every reason to be happy. He has worked hard and long hours to fulfil his dream of owning his business outright.

Tom followed his father, who came to Sydney on a holiday from Hong Kong as a cook in 1973, then came back and settled.

What attracted them to Australia was the weather and the lack of traffic.

Tom spent three years in Sydney’s Chinatown and, like many of his Chinese predecessors, decided to go and work in the country region of NSW.

However, it wasn’t always this easy for someone with Chinese heritage to move around Australia.

Many Chinese were lured to Australia because of the gold rush during the mid 19th century after Californian goldfields fell out of favour.

The aim of these new migrants who headed to Melbourne and Sydney was to work hard and help their families back in China so they could one day return and retire.

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China

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As the Chinese numbers grew, many started travelling around the country as indentured workers as a labour shortage in regional Australia resulted in its European workforce heading to the gold and tin mines.

Like Tom, but 100 years earlier, a boy born to Chinese parents in Sydney relocated the family to Grafton in 1871.

Known as Tse Tsan Tai, his parents opened an emporium in Prince Street to cater to the passing trade of those heading to the goldfields.

Tse Tsan Tai attended Grafton Grammar School and was baptised an Anglican at Christ Church Cathedral.

At the age of 15 Tse and his parents left the Clarence Valley for Drake and Tingha before going back to China.

Within the decade Tse would be involved in political uprisings and later became the founding editor of the South China Morning Post, which is still read in China more than 100 years later.

Tse also built China’s first airship and was the country’s first newspaper cartoonist. Ever progressive, he ran for politics on the platform of banning opium smoking and foot binding.

In Tse’s memoir he accounts for his days in Grafton as being formative and where he gained his appreciation of many of life’s values.

Unlike Tse, Tom remained in the Clarence Valley where he is regularly awarded prizes for his business excellence.

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Germany

Fiona Leviny is a remarkable and capable woman who, like her German predecessors in the Clarence Valley, is resourceful, innovative and resilient.

When Fiona’s grandparents migrated to Australia from Germany in the 1930s they settled in Victoria.

They brought with them expert knowledge of horses and cooking, two family traditions entrenched in Fiona’s household today.

Like many other nationalities migrating to Australia, her grandparents had to also learn the English language.

The family traditions Fiona holds close to her heart mirror the values the German community brought to the Clarence Valley in the 1850s when economic and climatic hardships resulted in a mass immigration from Germany.

The Germans were sought after as a labour force and some, through direct negotiations, were indentured to work at Yulgilbar Castle at Baryulgil.

The German migrants who settled in Grafton and the Lower Clarence had particular skill sets needed across the valley and contribute to the building of a region in a big way. These included vine dressing (caring for grapevines), shepherding, watchmaking, piano tuning and architectural designing.

A lot of the Federation architecture standing today was designed or built by German engineers, stonemasons or labourers.These time-honoured architectural trades continued on into other areas of industry in the valley. These included probably the most other distinctive feature of Grafton other than its buildings - its trees.

Grafton’s signature Jacaranda trees were first planted by a German nurseryman, Henry Volkers, in 1879. Jacarandas in the area have stood the test of time, weather and humans with repeated plantings for more than 130 years.

One of the other notable areas of interest was the arts, in particular photography. John William Lindt, Carl Ehlers and Otto

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GermanyThe German migrants who settled in Grafton and the Lower Clarence had particular skill sets

needed across the valley and contribute to the building of a region in a big way.

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Fuchs all established themselves as eminent photographers of their era.

Lindt, who ran away from home in Frankfurt at the age of 17, was documenting the Clarence Valley’s Aboriginies in his studio and beyond from the 1860s.

Ehlers, his predecessor, also documented the Aboriginal and wider community; however his approach was more towards photojournalism.

Otto Fuchs, while not a professional photographer, made the first recorded horse race photo finish in the area.

It took more than 60 years for the idea of a photo finish to take hold despite it being a well established practice overseas. But when it did, the practice of photographic evidence of which horse crossed the line first was first trialled at Grafton Race Course in the 1950s.

The original name on the title deeds of Fiona Leviny’s property is Kratz, a family that still has strong connections with the valley.

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GreeceAs entrepreneurial Greeks bringing a strong work ethic with them from their home

country, they seized the opportunity to establish themselves.

There are not too many people who can trace their family lineage to the heady courts of Alexander the Great at Constantinople, but one Grafton family can.

The Notaras family migrated to the Clarence Valley in 1903 and has been contributing in a meaningful way to the cultural identity of the valley for 110 years.

Spiro Notaras’s family left Kythra and travelled via Turkey, working on farms along the way before landing in Sydney.

Some family members headed south to Canberra while others headed north to Grafton.

The idea was for the northbound brothers to stay in Grafton, as the region was being mooted as the next biggest port and city to be built between Sydney and Brisbane.

As entrepreneurial Greeks bringing a strong work ethic with them from their home country they seized the opportunity to establish themselves.

By 1909 the family had businesses operating in Grafton and Ulmarra.

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Greece

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Like the Scottish immigrants to the area, the Greek cafe owners would learn English at night after being on their feet all day.

Spiro’s grandfather was a keen angler and loved the river so it was no surprise to see the family open an oyster shop in Grafton’s main street.

Most of the Notaras children were educated at Newington College in Sydney before taking their place in the family businesses in the valley.

Bringing some of their old Greek Orthodox ways with them, some of the Notaras men became eligible to be married off in their arranged marriages.

As Spiro said; “it may have worked like that for my father and grandfather, it wasn’t going to work like that for me”.

The Notaras family during the 1920s had a strong belief in Grafton City and while waiting for the decision where the new bridge was to be built, borrowed the equivalent in today’s money of $10 million to build the Saraton Entertainment Centre, which featured a theatre, cinema, cafe and boxing.

At the time it was the largest building in Grafton and in 1939 the family spent a further $20,000 to have the cinema converted to talking movies.

In the early 1950s McKimm Real Estate offered the Notaras boys a sawmilling property in Lawrence and they bought one in South Grafton a decade later.

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They took on another cinema in Yamba and, after a decade, the family decided to split its interests and concentrate on its timber enterprises.

The Notaras business name is synonymous with a high standard of training for its employees who become more like family members than staff. One staff member has been there for 46 years.

The Notaras business has been at the cutting edge of technology and value adding to keep business relevant as it moves into the modern era.

Spiro Notaras believes his business success is directly related to forward planning, honesty and hard work; “My dad instilled that in me. Our family have been upright citizens and prepared to help anybody when asked.”

At one stage there were five Greek cafes in Grafton and they agreed between themselves that only one would open on a Sunday; “that should tell you how we as a community like to share”.

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India

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IndiaMembers of the Phillips family were sought-after workers, bringing with them the knowledge of

boiling down sugar when the sugarcane industry was establishing in the Clarence.

One thing stands out for this larger-than-life personality; this man has energy to burn.

And at 87, Yamba’s Trevor Phillips has an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) and is a Clarence Valley living treasure who is still giving back to community.

It took a while for Trevor’s family to get to Yamba but once they did they were hooked and never left.

Trevor’s forebears arrived in the Clarence Valley in the 1860s and worked for Ramornie Station meatworks as cooks, aged just 14.

Members of the Phillips family were sought-after workers, bringing with them the knowledge of boiling down sugar when the sugarcane industry was establishing in the Clarence.

Around 1890 the family relocated to Yamba and, in 1899 opened the first shop at Angourie.

It didn’t take long for the family business acumen to kick in as they also took advantage of the quarry works at Ilarwill and Angourie.

Trevor’s father Fred Phillips became active in politics and other community affairs and was on most boards around the Lower Clarence.

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He was extremely active and became an integral part of the community, only really to be matched by his son.

They selected a home on Yamba Road in the 1920s and opened a shop on Yamba Hill where once a year they would entertain the Indian community from far and wide on New Year’s Day.

Around the 1940s the Phillips took up oyster leases and started sending tons to Melbourne and Darwin.

Between Fred and his father they have contributed 80 years of service to local government.

It is said the South Grafton water supply on Rushforth Road can be attributed to Fred Phillips’s foresight.

The Clarence Valley has had a long association with India dating back to 1848 when Charles Edward Chauvel, owner of Tabulam Station on the Clarence River starting shipping warhorses to India.

Pastoralist Edward Ogilvie was owner of Yulgilbar Station. His granddaughter Jessie Street was born in India. Jessie rose to fame when she established Australia’s first sexual health clinic in Sydney in 1920, became a women’s rights advocate and was a key activist for the 1967 referendum to give the federal government the power to pass laws governing Aboriginal people in states as well as in territories and have Aborigines recognised in the Census. She also sat on the foundation committee as an Australian representative on the United Nations.

On the cane gangs around the Clarence Valley Indians were the preferred cooks on camp.

Trevor was on the foundation committee for Yamba’s fire brigade and worked tirelessly for the Yamba Surf Club and numerous other committees.

When Trevor Phillips was growing up he was told by his father and grandfather; “this country has been good to us, make sure you give something back”.

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Ireland

IrelandThis special community, with its strong cultural links, ploughed the fields, sowed the corn,

grew the grapes and churned the butter and was out selling its wares well before the turn of the century in Maclean.

It would be fair to say the luck of the Irish travelled with the Moloneys as they set sail on an immigration scheme to Australia and eventually pitched a tent at Shark Creek in 1864.

It may have seemed a bit crowded and daunting for James Moloney’s grandmother Annie who was the youngest of 32 children from two marriages.

When Annie Chamberlain and her husband Danny Moloney were to be married in 1869 they rowed to Grafton’s Catholic Church on the incoming tide, were married and returned on the outgoing tide.

Shark Creek was so named because the creek looked like a shark fin. This was the enclave where the Irish people settled near Maclean.

This special community with its strong cultural links ploughed the soil, sowed the corn, grew the grapes and churned the butter and was out selling its wares well before the end of the 19th century in Maclean.

Between the dairying and life on the farm, the Moloneys still found time for horse racing and teaching rowing at the local school.

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James has a cup won by his father from a race day held on Brooms Head Beach. The cup was won in 1934 by Cooee, whose progeny went on to sire a Melbourne Cup winner.

As with a lot of other farmers, breeding strong horses was a priority for farm work and transport even though the river was still one of the major means of transport.

Other family members specialised in building and stonemasonry and were responsible for the development of St Mary’s Catholic Church and Maclean Hospital in Maclean.

The Irish were known in the Lower Clarence for their hospitality, a fact that has not slipped past James Moloney who still does his fair share of entertaining in the house his family built.

Cultural traditions and implements brought from Ireland 150 years ago may be a little worn but are proudly on display around the house.

Within the Moloney family there was a lot of tolerance from the beginning. In particular, troubles from the old country were left well and truly behind, a comment often overheard at the kitchen table.

Growing up around his grandfather who lived on Tara Hill at the back of Shark Creek, James Moloney was fortunate to hear the

many tales of adventure his grandfather had across the fields of Ireland.

The Moloney family stories are not only documented and sitting in boxes in the home office, they are in a special place in James’s memory because every time he walks or drives around the family farm he recalls its living history.

When he comes across some water in a paddock he often recalls the story of the family member who was the water diviner.

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ScotlandMany of the Scottish free selectors arrived in Maclean after being on the gold fields of Ballarat.

You don’t have to look far to see traces of Scottish heritage in the Clarence Valley; it is everywhere.

Street names, villages, power poles, banners, business names and events all shout from the rooftops; I am Scottish or at least have some Scottish heritage.

The Scots started arriving in the Clarence Valley for a new life from the 1840s.

This migration period came on the back of one of Scotland’s worst winters and adverse economic and social conditions, and it was these events that triggered the relocation of the forebears of Robert McPherson, one of Maclean’s favourite sons.

He is better known as Bob and his great grandfather came to the Clarence Valley in the 1860s and lived south of Grafton at Levenstrath.

They came overland from Sydney along Craigs Line with cattle and horses and settled on the Orara River, speaking only their Gaelic language.

After working in the paddocks during the day, the family taught themselves how to speak English reading by candlelight at night.

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Scotland

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At this time you could buy a block of land in the valley for about 24 cents a hectare.

The family later moved to Ilarwill, where Bob’s father Clarence McPherson became the tug master on the steamboats and later the diesel boats.

By this stage Scottish people were arriving in the Lower Clarence in larger numbers.

From the 1860s Maclean, now promoted as “the Scottish Town in Australia”, was starting to grow.

In 1861 The Free Selection Act provided an opportunity for people with little capital to take up land.

Many of the free selectors came to Maclean after being on the goldfields.

One of the attractions of the valley was the river, and during the planning of Maclean township, a view of the river was given high importance.

Maclean’s foreshore was soon to become a place where its citizens could socialise and enjoy the view of passing riverboats and schooners that were plying the Clarence River between Yamba and Grafton.

Well before the end of the 19th century you could hear bagpipes on the wind as Maclean had its own pipe band and held an annual highland gathering.

Bob McPherson was born in Maclean, he remembers those riverboats and believes his Scottish heritage and the legacy of his forebears and many others should be remembered and remain an integral part of the identity of Maclean.

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Other Countries

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Other CountriesOthers in search of fulfilling their dreams and starting a new life, for whatever reason, found their way to the ‘Big River’ either overland or by sea and river.

There is no doubt the Clarence Valley has become a melting pot of world cultures since Richard Craig, the first white man travelled across the region.

The Clarence Valley was the next wild frontier to open up after Kempsey.

Others in search of fulfilling their dreams and starting a new life, for whatever reason, found their way to the ‘Big River’ either overland or by sea and river.

These trips were often fraught with danger and took months on horseback to reach their destinations, especially if cattle or sheep were part of the cargo.

Some of these world travellers stayed only for a short while. Others remained.

One who had only a short visit to the region was Count Gabriel de Milhau, a French nobleman. He was exiled from France for his part in the 1848 revolution and brought his family to Grafton. He was appointed as colonial postmaster at Frenchmans Gully, west of Grafton in 1868.

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He left Grafton for the gold diggings of Tamworth and ended up at Hunters Hill, a French enclave in Sydney.

The Italian community is also widely represented in the Clarence Valley. Many Italian workers along with Sikhs, were employed on cane cutting gangs, the port works at Yamba and quarry works at Ilarwill and Angourie.

Lebanese people came to Grafton with one of their community becoming mayor, while others established major business interests in South Grafton.

South Sea Islanders, Fijians and Portuguese also played a significant role in shaping the identity of the Clarence Valley.

Alf Ravenscroft, of Portugese heritage, played a significant role alongside Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel as his standard bearer in the Battle of Beersheba during the First World War.

The Port of Lawrence was home to many South Sea Islanders. Some of these people were kidnapped (blackbirded) or otherwise induced into long-term indentured service to work in the sugarcane fields in the area.

And a Maori cricketer had a date with destiny when he jumped ship in Lawrence and married a local Aboriginal girl.

The Filipino community, who now number 200 in the Clarence Valley, bring with them their colourful celebrations, sense of humour and great recipes.

<Aboriginal winner of the Blake Religous Art Prize Frances Belle Parker

<Early beginnings

<Aboriginal: Bundjalung woman, Danielle Gorogo

<Aboriginal: Deadly Doobz Netball Team

<Aboriginal: 1908 students at Ulgundahi Island School, Maclean

< Aboriginal: Dr Ronald Heron, awarded his Doctor of Letters for his work with Aboriginal bush foods and medicine

< Aborginal: Traditional foods are still highly sought after and taught to the younger generation.

<China: Tse Tsan Tai baptised a Grafton Cathedral

<China: Tse Tsan Tai’s father owned an emporium in Grafton

<China: Chinese Dragon Boat racing is a popular sport on the Clarence River

<British: farmers on the Upper Clarence

<Yamba: Chinese restaurant owner Tom Chiu

< Germany: Otto Fuchs was the race finisher as well as a photographer at the Clarence River Jockey Club in the 1870s

<Aboriginal: Gumbainggirr woman, Aunty Irene Daley

<Aboriginal: Woman from Ulmarra photo taken by the John William Lindt 1880s

<Aboriginal: Yaegl woman Rosie Vesper

< Many of the men from the Aboriginal community like, Darrin Heron, have taken up boxing with many going onto win titles.

<Aboriginal: Coastal shale is used to make tools.

<British: Rosemary Waugh Allcock Taloumbi Station

<China: Tse Tsan Tai was also China’s first cartoonist

<China: Chinese pear trees planted at Nymboida 1880’s

<Germany: Fiona Leviny home on the farm picking produce

<Greece: 1970 aerial view of the Notaras Timber Mill.

<India: Trevor Phillips foundation member Yamba fire brigade

<Irish: Moloney grape vines weather with age

<Aboriginal: Yaegl woman the Reverend Lenore Parker, a Deacon of the Anglican Church

<Aboriginal: Aunty Elizabeth Smith at the Maclean Cenotaph

<Aboriginal: Learning Aboriginal culture in Yamba

<British: Elizabeth & John Small

<British: Original cottage Wave Hill Station

<British: Dr Dobie was the first to import horses to the Clarence

<Germany: Grafton photographer John William Lindt

<Germany: New arrivals to Australia from Germany

<Germany: Fiona Leviny’s grandmother immigrating to Australia 1966

<Maclean: Scottish Chiefs Tartan Poles

<Aboriginal:Aunty Lillian Williams (nee Laurie) is the Elder of the Yaegl community

<Aboriginal Aunty Muriel Randall 2014 Clarence Valley Woman of the Year

<Aboriginal: Ulgundahi Camp 1920s

<Aboriginal: Culture is being taught to the younger generation

<British: Jack Marsh cricketer and fastest man in Australia

<British: Farmers on the upper Clarence

<China: Tom Chiu of Yamba

<Germany: A pianola from the Lutheren

<Germany: Grafton’s seed merchant A Volkers planted the cities Jacaranda trees in 1879

<Germany: A German made doll

<Germany: German architect Schaeffer designed a number of houses in Grafton

<Germany: Schnitzel is a family favorite

<Germany: Slow cooked red cabbage is a family favourite

<Germany: Home cooking family favourites is an important aspect of Fiona Leviny’s life.

<Aboriginal: Yaegl artist Kahlua Charlton

<Greece: Grafton’s Spiro Notaros at work

< Greece: Grafton 1912 L to R Emmanuel Dimitri Notaras, Anthony Lambrinos Notaras, John Lambrinos Notaras

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<Greece: Spiro Notaras with the then NSW Permier Neville Wran

<Greece: The Notaras family built the Saraton Theatre in 1913

<Greece: The Notaras family working at its sawmill in Lawrence

<India: Trevor Phillips Oysters

<Ireland: James Moloney in his office surrounded by his Irish family history

< Ireland: The Shark Creek Moloneys celebrate Daniel and Anne Moloney’s Golden Wedding Anniversay 1919

<Scotland: A painted tile at the base of the Scottish Cairn in Maclean

< Scotland: Maclean photographer Osric Notley is credited with taking Australia’s first surfing photo of Tommy Walker at Yamba in 1911

<Scotland: An artwork done as a reminder for home

<India: Yamba’s Trevor Phillips, OAM

< India: The Phillips family arrive in Yamba

<India: All the Phillips men have given a lifetime of service to local goverenment

<Ireland: Grape jam made from grape vines planted by the Moloney family 60 years ago

<Ireland: Clay smoking pipe used by Annie Moloney 1880s

<Ireland: The only surviving Moloney book from the Clarence River 1890 flood

<Scotland: The main street of Maclean 1910 saw many business owned by the Scottish community

< Scotland: Some of Maclean’s pioneers line up for a portrait shot on Pioneers Day at Maclean Showground 1914

<Scotland: Surveyor General Alexander Maclean who the town is named after

<Greece: Owners of the Langle’s Cafe The Castrissios

India: Trevor Phillips foundation member Yamba fire brigade

< Greece: Some of the Notaras employees

<India: A page out of the 1899 Angourie ledger

<India: Indian candlestick mould

<India: Indian clubs

<Ireland: James Moloney’s grandmother’s commercial butter churn

<Ireland: The Brooms Head Cup won by the Moloney’s horse in 1934

<An Irish Blackthorn with deer antler handle brought from Ireland

<A familiar Scottish name in the community

<Scotland: Graduating nurses from Grafton Hospital

<Scotland: The Sydney Reserve Corps of Scottish Rifles E Company Maclean

< Greece: A gift with a blessing from the Greek Orthodox Church in Sydney to the Notaras Timber Mill

<Greece: Notaras Greek Marble Bar Cafe Grafton

<Greece: The old Peters icecream factory

< India: Lady Jessie Street was born in India in 1899 and was the grandaughter of Edward Olgilvie who built Yulgilbar Castle

<India: Indian float for Jacaranda Festival 1950’s

<Sikh cane cutters

<Ireland: James Moloney beneath the family grape vines planted more than 60 years ago

< Scotland: Maclean’s Robert McPherson is passionate about retaining the towns heritage

<Scotland: A Gaelic Bible

<Scottland: A thankyou letter to the headmaster of Maclean Public School, Mr Nicholls.

<Scotland: The McFarlane Bridge Maclean

<Scotland: Maclean still celebrates its Scottish heritage with an annual highland gathering

<Scotland: In 1917 Mr McArthur in his dive suit laying pipes under the Clarence River

<Scotland: The Scottish Cairn in Maclean

<Scotland: A Scottish Rifleman in Maclean

<Italian: Cane cutter gangs on the Clarence 1915

<France: Gabriel de Milhau 1830s

<France: The royal seal of Count de Gabriel Milhau

<France: The Countess De Milhau and daughter Emily

< Filipino Day 2014

<British: John Cooper

<Horse trainer Albert Tuccori

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One in four Australians are now born overseas.

Migrants were required for nation-building work on major projects throughout Australia such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme and some of those chose to head north to a new frontier on the North Coast of New South Wales.

Many of these migrants, or new Australians as they were once called, left war-torn regions and countries afflicted by famine.

Australia’s planned migration has brought more than six million people from 150 countries to our shores, with some deciding to settle on the rich pastures and coastal plains of the Clarence Valley.

There is a tapestry that weaves Clarence Valley migrants together.

Most have an unbridled gratefulness for this new life and for the opportunity to be able to give back to the community that took them in.

Through their culture, food, cafes, businesses, entertainment, innovation, agriculture, work ethic, values and diversity, migrants have contributed to make the Clarence Valley what it is today, a vibrant and enriched community.

Debrah Novak.

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