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First Fleet Memorial (Diane Watson)
First Fleet Memorial (Diane Watson)

Photographs supplied by Diane Watson / Russell Byers

The statue of a Wallaby commemorates settlement in Wallabadah.

Wallabadah became a soldier settlement location after World War Two and residents in the town, known locally as "Wallaby", erected a sculpture of a wallaby sitting on a rock as a bicentennial project in 1988.

The first European settlers began squatting in the district around 1830 and the Wallabadah Station (44 000 acres) was taken up about 1835. A village emerged which was of some importance in the 1850s, being located at the road junction of the mail coaches which came from the north and north-west. The town was also of some importance as a service centre for the surrounding area. However, it was surpassed by Quirindi when the railway arrived at the latter in 1877. Wallabadah became a soldier settlement location after World War II.

 

Location

Address:New England Highway, Wallabadah, 2343
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -31.538056
Long: 150.830556
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Settlement

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Saturday 2nd January, 1988
Front Inscription

This statue has been erected in Australia`s Bicentennial Year by the Wallabadah community

To commemorate the families whose courage and hard work opened up this District from earliest recorded settlement in 1835 to present day.

2nd January, 1988.

Unveiled by W. F. (Fred) Usfeller in his hundredth year.

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au