Kiandra Coordinates: 35°53′S 148°30′E / 35.883°S 148.5°E is an abandoned gold mining town and the birthplace of Australian skiing. The town is situated in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy River Shire inside the Kosciuszko National Park. Its name is a corruption of Aboriginal 'Gianderra' for 'sharp stones for knives'. It was earlier called Gibson's Plains, named after Dr. Gibson, a settler in the district in 1839.[1] For a Century (until the establishment of Cabramurra), Kiandra was Australia's highest town.
Kiandra lies approximately 90 kilometres north-west of Cooma on the Snowy Mountains Highway between Adaminaby and Talbingo. It sits at 1400m above sea level and is situated on a high, treeless ridge, on the banks of the Eucumbene River, which is snow-covered during winter and is subject to high winds.
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History
Goldrush
In November, 1859, gold was discovered by mountain cattlemen, the Pollock brothers, and by March 1860, some 10,000 miners and storekeepers had raced to the scene. Initial returns were very good. A 9 kg nugget was discovered in river deposits under what became known as New Chum Hill. Kiandra post office opened on 1 June 1860[2] and 15 hotels and 30 stores set up shop.[3] But by 1861, the Sydney Morning Herald was reporting a "mass exodus" and the easy pickings were exhausted.[4]
Significant numbers of Chinese people worked the Kiandra goldfields. Chinese miners built Three Mile Dam in 1882 to assist with sluicing operations at "New Chum Hill". The scenic lake still exists and now supplies Selwyn Snowfields with its snow-making water requirements. Wikipedia's Chinese site lists Kiandra as 奇安德拉(Qi An De La).
The last mining operations finally ceased around 1905. Official total production recorded was 48 676 kg.[4]
A 'battery stamper' and other mining relics recovered locally is situated on the road to Cabramurra below New Chums Hill, close to the NPWS entry booth (which is only attended during the snow season). This stamper was used to crush rock and quartz in order to free the embedded gold.
The Wig and Pen Brewery in Canberra commemorates this chapter in Australia's High Country history with a pale golden pilsner beer in the Czech style, named "Kiandra Gold"[1].
Skiing
Kiandra is often isolated by deep snow which made it inaccessible during winter. In 1861, Norwegian miners introduced recreational skiing to the snowbound mining settlement by converting fence posts into skis. Ski races were held annually on Township Hill at Kiandra and Australia's first ski club founded - the Kiandra snow shoe club.[5] The Club has been described as the "Oldest Sporting Ski Club in the World".[4] At one time, the poet Banjo Paterson was a vice president. The Club held perhaps the first international ski race carnival in 1908.[6] In 1927, William Hughes, a member of the Club, together with four members of the Ski Club of Australia made the first historic ski traverse from Kiandra to the Hotel Kosciusko. Their eventful journey is retold in Klaus Hueneke's book "Kiandra to Kosciusko" and was commemorated by 150 ski tourers in 1977 in an event organised by the Kosciusko Huts Association.[7] The Club is now based in Perisher and is called the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club.
Kiandra courthouse was closed in 1937 and soon after became the Kiandra Chalet. The owner of the Chalet ran a ski rope tow. The Chalet closed in 1973 and the building has become a Roads Depot building.[8]
Australia's first T-Bar was installed on Township Hill in 1957, but in 1978 , Kiandra's ski lift operations re-located permanently to nearby Selwyn Snowfields.[9] The T-Bar remained in operation at Mt Selwyn until the 2009 ski season when it was replaced by the Township Triple Chair (retaining the name "Township" in reference to the Kiandra Township hill run).
The area today
The last resident left Kiandra in 1974, after which the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) took over the town and demolished most of its buildings. This decision by the NPWS not to preserve much of the human heritage of the township remains a source of resentment in some quarters in the district to this day[2]. Only four buildings from the former township remain intact, together with a collection of ruins and the historic cemetery. The area retains various other relics of Australian pioneer history, including mining equipment, old gravesites and abandoned diggings.
The remaining buildings at Kiandra are of the highest heritage value and an historical walking trail provides information on the former layout and points of interests of the old town. While two cottages remain in private hands, a third cottage has been restored and can be viewed by the public. The most substantial remaining building is the former courthouse, yet despite its outstanding heritage value, public access is denied and the building (though used by local authorities) is in something of a state of outward disrepair - any potential for appropriate cultural heritage use as yet being unrealised.
Kiandra in print, photography and archaeology
"Historic Kiandra", a history of Kiandra was published by the Kiandra Historical Society to mark the Centenary of the Kiandra Goldrush in 1959, and remains in print. Australian High Country enthusiast Klause Hueneke has written two informative and well illustrated books on the Kiandra region: "Huts of the High Country", 1982 and "Kiandra to Kosciusko", 1987. The Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club recently published a history: "Kiandra : gold fields to ski fields", by Norman W. Clarke[10]
The poet Barcroft Boake wrote a poem about skiing at Kiandra, entitled "The Demon Snow Shoes: A Legend of Kiandra"[3].
The Township has been subject to various archaeological studies, including a project by the Australian National University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology under the direction of Drs Mike Smith, Ken Heffernan and Annie Clark in the mid-1990s[4]. The Kiandra Historical Society remains a useful resource of record for the history of the town.
A number of interesting photographic studies were taken of life at Kiandra, including a series by Charles Kerry, and a scene of Chinese miners near the Township [citation needed].
Climate
Climate statistics were compiled at the Kiandra Chalet site, elevation 1395m, from the year 1866 until 1974. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the lowest temperature recorded was -17.8 degrees celsius, in July 1965 and again in August 1966. In January 1968, the highest temperature of 32.9 degrees was recorded.
For the period 1897-1974, the mean temperature range in January was from maximum 20.7 degrees to minimum 6.1 degrees celsius. In July the figures were: mean maximum 3.9, mean minimum -4.7 degrees[11].
See also
References
- ^ Kiandra Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
- ^ Brown, Alan G. and Campbell, Hugh M. (1963) New South Wales Numeral Cancellations Victoria: The Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria, Australia, and London: Robson Lowe Ltd.
- ^ http://www.snowymountains.com.au/Kiandra.html
- ^ a b c http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/kiandra--culture-and-history-20081121-6df7.html
- ^ http://www.kiandrahistory.net
- ^ http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/84893/first-identifiable-ski-club
- ^ http://nordicskiclub.org.au/kag_arch/kiandra_to_kosciusko.shtml
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Kiandra/2005/02/17/1108500196974.html
- ^ http://www.selwynsnow.com.au/templates/sel/page/page_html_standard.php?secID=69
- ^ Sydney : Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club (1870) Ltd, 2006, ISBN 0646463373
- ^ http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_071010_All.shtml Kiandra Chalet Climate Statistics.
External links
- Kiandra
- The Chinese of Kiandra
- Ski in Kiandra 1860 - old pictures
- Google Map of Kiandra
- Kiandra Historical Society
- History of Selwyn Snowfields
- Sydney Morning Herald Travel Article
- Kiandra Places to See, Sydney Morning Herald
- Monaro Pioneers
- Barcroft Boake poems of Kiandra and surrounds
- Bureau of Meteorolgy, Kiandra Chalet Station
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