The first large sawmill on the Richmond River was built at Wyrallah in 1865 by the Breckenridge Brothers of Newcastle, who selected 320 acres on the riverbank near Lismore. Expensive machinery was imported, cottages were built for the permanent mill-workers and many local men were employed. A tramline was erected to a pine ridge nearby and when John Keep joined the firm in 1867 his sailing vessels, the Edith Keep, the Alpha and the Grace Dent, carried the timber to Sydney, although much of it was used in building the new settlements on the Richmond. A private school was started by Mrs Breckenridge in 1866 and a Provisional School was opened in 1867.
A Post Office followed in 1869 and Wyrallah developed quickly. When the surrounding timber had all been cut out an effort was made to attract new settlers. Land was surveyed and an auction sale was held in 1884, but when the mill closed down Wyrallah became a farming centre and many of the former residents moved away.
The name is aboriginal and generally understood as meaning “hungry”.
Courtesy of Trove Richmond River Herald 27 April 1894
Sawmill Removed to Richmond River.— The sawmill which has for many years stood on the North
Arm has at last been subjected to complete demolition, and all that now remains to mark the location of the once busy hamlet is an old hut and a heap of sawdust. The boiler and some portions of the machinery are being taken to Bungawalbin Creek, Richmond River, where it will be employed for pumping and elevating purposes in connection with the coal mine which is being worked there. Good coal has been known to exist there for many years, and can even be seen projecting out of the creek bank in many places. – Clarence Advocate.
