Morangarell is a locality in Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a village of the same name, now a ghost town. Morangarell lies between Temora and Grenfell, and Barmedman and Young. The locality is bisected by Bland Creek, a tributary of Lachlan River.[2] The locality is rural, with the main economic activities being raising crops and grazing.[2]

Morangarell
New South Wales
Former village site (2013)
Morangarell is located in New South Wales
Morangarell
Morangarell
Map
Coordinates34°08′48.7″S 147°42′05,7″E / 34.146861°S 147.70000°E / -34.146861; 147.70000
Population34 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2666
Elevation232 m (761 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Bland Shire
State electorate(s)Cootamundra
Federal division(s)Riverina
Localities around Morangarell:
West Wyalong Quandialla Bimbi
Barmedman Morangarell Bribbaree
Narraburra Grogan Milvale

The area now known as Morangarell lies on the traditional lands of Wiradjuri people.[3] The name Morangarell is said to mean “water fowl’s nest”.[4]

The village, officially a town, was located within the modern-day locality, near the junction of modern-day Mary Gilmore Way—it bisects the old town site—and what is still known as McGregor Street.[5][6][7][2] Morangarell serviced the needs of the surrounding agricultural properties, 'Moonbucca', 'Morangarell', 'Curraburrama' and 'The Retreat'.

The heyday of the village was from the 1870s to around 1918. It was only in November 1884, that the site of the Town of Morangarell was officially declared.[8] In 1899, its plan was altered by closing streets and lanes and cancelling some land. A new street, East Street, was opened.[9][10]

There has been a post office in the area since 1858.[11] A church building, used by multiple denominations, opened in 1860.[12] The first hotel dated from 1864; it later burned down but was rebuilt.[13] It had a police court, by 1873.[14][15] Morangarell was also at the convergence of roads leading to Young, Temora, Stockinbingal, Forbes, Barmedman, and Grenfell.[16]

The southern section of the Stockinbingal–Parkes railway line, between Forbes and Stockinbingal, authorised in 1911,[17] was completed in 1918. The Lake Cargelligo railway line opened in 1917.[18] The new lines did not pass through Morangarell; consequently, economic activity and services migrated to newly-established villages that lay on a railway, such as Bribbaree and Quandialla.

There was a school there from October 1913 to June 1920.[19] The police station closed in March 1929, and the police presence relocated to Bribbaree.[20] The Morangarell Hotel closed in late 1936,[21] and had been demolished by mid 1937.[13] The post office, which was staffed by the same postmistress for over forty years up to 1930,[22] seems to have been closed by around the end of 1937.[23] In 1972, reservations of land for the village's recreation area, public buildings, and public hall were revoked.[24] In October 1974, the Town of Morangaree officially ceased to exist, and was redesignated as a locality.[25]

The village's cemetery survives.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Morangarell". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 July 2024.  
  2. ^ a b c "Satellite view - Marangarell". Google Maps.
  3. ^ Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (14 May 2024). "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  4. ^ Database of Geographic Names Board of New South Wales.
  5. ^ "Town of Morangarell and adjoining lands [cartographic material] : Parish - Morangarell, County - Bland, Land District - Grenfell, Shire - Bland". Trove. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Morangarell". Australian Cemeteries Index.
  7. ^ "Morangarell · New South Wales 2666, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  8. ^ "SITE FOR THE TOWN AT MORANGARELL. - New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) - 17 Nov 1884". Trove. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  9. ^ "PROPOSED ALTERATION OF DESIGN OF THE TOWN OF MORANGARELL. - New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) - 21 Jan 1899". Trove. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  10. ^ "SITE FOR A TOWN AT MORANGARELL. - New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) - 30 Sep 1899". Trove. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ^ "New Post Offices". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 January 1858. p. 3.
  12. ^ "Lachlan District". Goulburn Herald. 3 March 1860. p. 3.
  13. ^ a b "EARLY BLAND HISTORY". Cootamundra Herald. 21 June 1937. p. 2. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  14. ^ "GOVERNMENT GAZETTE". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 1873. p. 5. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  15. ^ "MORANGARELL". Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter. 9 July 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Morangarell Hotel, Morangarell card 2 side 1". Australian National University Library - Open Research Repository.
  17. ^ Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. "Forbes to Stockinbingal Railway Act, 1911" (PDF). classic.austlii.edu.au/.
  18. ^ Bozier, Rolfe; et al. "Lake Cargelligo Line". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  19. ^ "Morangarell". nswgovschoolhistory.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  20. ^ "CLOSING OF POLICE STATION AT MORANGARELL, AND OPENING OF POLICE STATION AT BRIBBAREE". New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime. 27 March 1929. p. 229.
  21. ^ "HISTORIC HOTEL CLOSED". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  22. ^ "POSTMISTRESS AT 82". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 January 1930. p. 19. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  23. ^ "DISPOSAL BY SALE OF POSTAL LAND AT MORANGARELL, NEW SOUTH WALES. - Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 - 1973) - 16 Dec 1937". Trove. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  24. ^ "REVOCATION OF RESERVES FROM SALE, LEASE, Etc". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 7 January 1972. p. 64.
  25. ^ "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT, 1966". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 11 October 1974. p. 4011.
  26. ^ "Morangarell Cemetery". Australian Cemeteries Index.


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