Courtesy of TROVE Northern Star, Saturday 10 May 1947
SAGAS OF THE EARLY DAYS by WINDSOR LANG.
This is the final instalment of Mr. Windsor Lang’s series “Sagas of the Early Days.” Mr. Lang has dealt with the growth of settlement and industry from the arrival of the first white man. He leaves his story at a definite stage. It is …
The Advent of the Mail Coach
BY September 24, 1861, regular weekly mail services had been established between Lawrence and Casino, and between Grafton and Casino. When the “Rainbow” commenced trading with the Richmond in 1863, evidently she carried Sydney mail for the Richmond. The “C. and R. Examiner,” dated July 14, 1863, states: “Since the introduction of a steamer, our postal communication has been completely upset by the mail for Ballina being put in the Casino bag, thus causing a delay from 1st June to 18th June.”
Apparently this was contributed by a Richmond River correspondent. During the “60’s” or early “70’s,” a mail service between Iluka and Ballina, via Woodburn, was established. As far as I can gather Mr. Thomas Borton had the first contract for carrying mail over this route.
Mr. William Yabsley’s diary notes covering the period spent in salvaging the “Examiner” which had gone ashore slightly north of Clarence Heads in 1872 states, “June 5: – Mr. Borton, the mailman from the Richmond, stayed the night.”
Mr. John Lang, my father, had the mail-carrying contract for the same route during 1873, and ’75.
In 1875 Mr. R. S. Keats had the contract for carrying the mail from Yamba to Lismore, via Woodburn. In his case the mail was carried to Lismore per horse. Evidently the mail carrying between Woodburn and Ballina, at that time, was under a separate contract. In the cases of the previous contracts it was included in the IIuka-Ballina run. The mails were carried from Iluka by packhorse. Mr. Keats says that in conjunction with the carriage of mails, he also provided hacks for passengers from Yamba to the Richmond.
I could not say whether this had been done by the previous contractors, but that this route was commonly used for other horse traffic I do know. When my mother, accompanied by her niece, made her first trip to the Richmond in the “70’s”, via the Clarence, they used this route.
With my father the riding party consisted of three. My mother had brought her own horse from the South. The two women donned riding-habits, and two extra horses were procured. The party encountered pouring rain practically for the whole journey to the Richmond. The horses had to be swum across the Evans River. My cousin says that she always keeps in her memory the sight of their billowing riding-habits as the party made their crossing.
The route between Iluka and Woodburn ran, for the greater part of the way, close to the beach front – the Evans River had to be crossed enroute. The passage of this route took about 8 hours. The portion of the mail route between Woodburn and Ballina was covered by the use of a rowing-boat, twice a week.
I am not in a position to supply a list of all the oarsmen that were employed on this latter portion of the route, but I do remember the names of John Lang, Alex Lang, Thomas Lewis and Archie Campbell. Mr. Keats said that he pioneered the clearing of the road, and its opening up for coach traffic, along a new route from Chatsworth to Woodburn in 1877. Mr. Keats started the running of a line of coaches along this new route in the same year. This is still the shortest and best route between the two towns. Somewhere about that time other routes were being opened up in the district, and old roads were being re-conditioned. Coach traffic became more general.
In the course of the following 20 years other coach-lines, serving the route between Chatsworth and Woodburn were established. These names were familiar in that coaching world: William Gollan, James Betterridge John Lang, Gus. Nealt, Daniels, Spencer and O’Keefe. C. J. Leeson had a line of coaches running between Swan Bay and North Arm, Clarence River. Thomas Brandon had a line of coaches from Coraki. A line of coaches operated between Lismore and the Clarence, via Casino. Thomas Borton, J. C. Vesper, Donald Wells, A. J. Brown, and Timberlake operated coaches between Lismore and Ballina. The coach trip between Lismore and Ballina took about three hours.
The coaches left and entered the town of Lismore by way of the “Postman’s Ridge” – the Hospital Hill of today. I might explain that in the early days the Postman from Ballina emerged from the scrub just about where the Base Hospital now stands. As he emerged from the scrub he blew a bugle to let people know of his approach. Hence the name – Postman’s Ridge.
About the close of the last century the “New Cutting” route, via the Cathedral was thrown open for traffic, and quickly developed into the regular highway – Hospital Hill becoming an alternative route.
In connection with the Lismore – Ballina route I should like to mention that an issue of the “Northern Star” in January, 1878, proudly announced that J. C. Vesper, coach proprietor, drove a two-horse coach from Lismore to Ballina, and found that the road was practical for coach traffic. Of course a coach-ride was not the thing of comfort that one experiences in a motor bus today.
Livery stables were commonly conducted in conjunction with coach line. Incidentally, Cr. J. G. Snow, in writing to me recently, mentioned that his father, at one time dealt widely in sale of coaches. He imported many from America.