The early days of Coleambally were anything but luxurious. Many families in the area spent the early days living in tin sheds.
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With the youngest town in NSW about to celebrate its 50th birthday, June Connor and Gwen Wallace paint a picture of a hard-working, grassroots community.
Mrs Wallace and her husband Bob moved to the area from Leeton in 1962. She says the early years were hard work.
After the Coleambally Irrigation Area scheme kicked off in the 1950s, farmland was made available through a ballot system.
“We were allocated farm four in the ballots. It was excellent. My husband had always wanted his own farm.”
“We had to gradually build everything up. We moved into a shed with rooms in it. When we could afford it, we’d build a house.”
She describes the early days of the community as very “hands on”.
“I had to drive tractors, hunt stock and do all manner of things. We wanted to help … We bought second-hand machinery to start off with.”
With her son and grandson now running the farm, what was seen by some as an experimental move has become a family legacy.
Mrs Connor’s family moved to the area in 1969, the year after the town was officially opened. They’ve been there ever since.
“We drew our block in November 1968. It was a horticulture block down by the town.”
Mrs Connor said her family lived in Griffith for the first nine months. She would bring supplies out to her husband, who was living on the farm in a caravan, once or twice a week.
“The family officially moved out to the farm on September 5 1969 …. I haven’t gotten any farming qualifications, but I’ve brought up a whole lot of grapes.”
The community was new and business at the time was thriving. The following year saw the open of the Coleambally Post Office.
“The community was getting quite well going when we moved out. By the time we moved, the shops had opened. Kelly’s had the shop and there was a hardware store in town,” she said.
The sense of community has kept both women in town for half-a-century.
“The people here are good. We built here. We’ve made some great friends here.”
Coleambally will be celebrating it’s 50th birthday with events throughout town from June 8 – 11. For more information visit www.facebook.com/coleamballys50th/