The information provided in this post has been compiled from work originally conducted by Barcaldine Historical Society.
1886 Opening of railway line to Barcaldine
1887 Opening of first state school
July 1887 Children from 90 families with school-aged children enrolled in the state school.
End of December 1887 Over 100 families had enrolled children at the school.
Original Pupils
Occupations of townspeople 1887
SNAPSHOT – MAIN OCCUPATIONS
Keeping in mind that the occupations listed are only for those with children enrolled at the school, we can get a good idea of the range at that time in the town.
It is noteworthy that for a town built on the sheep industry, there are very few shearers listed. This is probably because shearers at that time were still quite nomadic, so it is most likely the majority of them were single men.
In 1887, by far the most popular occupation was carrier/carter, with 41 in town.
The children of 12 carrier families left during the year, probably chasing work in the north as the area around Croydon opened up. Carriers often took their families with them when carting. Some may have returned later in the year.
The next most numerous were 9 hotelkeepers, 8 storekeepers, 4 butchers and 6 railway lengthsmen.
One can only wonder at the relatively high number of widows (8) and orphans (5) nominated as occupations!
Other information about families
Departing Families (July – December 1887)
July 4 August 4 September 4 October 5 November 7 December 9
Religious denominations recorded in the 1887 school enrolment register
Roman Catholic 60
Church of England 52
Presbyterian 12
Other 18
ADDRESSES RECORDED (# of families)
STREETS Oak Street -29 Ash Street -10 Elm Street -7 Yew Street -12 Willow Street -3 Beech Street -13
OTHER PLACES Railway Line -25 Railway Station -2 Government Reserve -1 McLaughlin’s Paddock- 6 7 Mile Camp -1 Lagoon Creek -30
