Dawson. Charming ghost town in South Australia. Beautiful gate and now a clear view to the Catholic Church built in 1885. Most of the other town buildings are gone : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Dawson. Charming ghost town in South Australia. Beautiful gate and now a clear view to the Catholic Church built in 1885. Most of the other town buildings are gone / denisbin
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-改変禁止 2.1 |
|---|---|
| 説明 | Dawson. Although Peterborough was beyond Goyder’s Line of 1864 indicating the limit of viable farming lands the government, grasping for land sales revenue and wanting to acquiesce to the demand for wheat farming land, allowed the Hundred of Coglin about 40 kilometres north of Peterborough to be proclaimed in 1878. Farmers and speculators moved in straight away with land sales doing very well. The town of Dawson was gazetted a few years later in June of 1881. The government town was planned on a grid pattern with 360 town blocks offered for sale. But had they waited a few months longer as the big drought of 1881 settled in the government might have been more cautions and less optimistic. But the potential farmers and business people for the town were not pessimistic. They established a thriving little town. Droughts come and go in Australia and they assumed this drought of 1881 would also pass. But this was not to be as the average rainfall of the Hundred of Coglin was too low to be a reliable area for grain growing. The so called drought persisted as the rainfall returned to its usual low average after the good years of the late 1870s ended. It was those few good seasons that had encouraged people to argue that “rain followed the plough”. This was just wishful thinking. In 1888, after ten years trying to grow wheat, some farmers around Dawson were reaping for three days to produce one bag of wheat! Then in January 1889 a thunderstorm produced floods and lakes sweeping away fences, cattle and trees. Nine inches of rain (225 mms) fell in one day. Further deluges occurred in February and in March. Hope was restored but great droughts returned in the early 1890s. Today the town is a ghost town with a handful of residents and the land is used for pastoralism, not grain growing. But it is picturesque and the dry weather has preserved its old buildings well. Dawson soon had numerous buildings, although few now remain, and a population of over 100 residents within a few years. Among the first buildings, as in all SA towns in the 19th century, were the Dawson Hotel in 1883, a Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1882, an Anglican Church in 1883 and a Catholic Church in 1885. The government public school was built and opened in 1885 and this followed the opening of the Catholic school in 1884. By 1898 the state school had 55 pupils and early in the 20th century the average enrolment had risen to around 75 children but it declined from 1902 onwards until the final closure of the school in 1962. Along with a Post Office, a general store and a blacksmith the town was nicely established by 1887. By the 1890s it had two general stores, a butcher and a saddler and many residences. Few of these buildings now remain. Although the hotel served as a social centre for events and public meetings the town and community soon wanted an Institute or hall. This was completed in 1890. Nearby the first horse race meetings were held and the cricket ground was established. Crops were sown and yields were obtained but yields varied greatly and never reached the yields expected by the farmers and in some years nothing was reaped at all. The discovery of gold at the Mount Grainger fields in 1894 boosted optimism but not for long as nearer towns like Penn (Oodla Wirra) could provide services for the goldfield needs. By the time Australian Federation occurred in 1901 the town began to die but it clung to life until the 1970s. The town is surrounded by excellent pastoral country and farms were amalgamated into larger pastoral properties causing a drop in the total district population. Then once motor transport became common widespread in the 1950s the town died more quickly as larger service centres like Peterborough became much closer time wise. Dawson today has few buildings. The old state school built in 1885 is now a comfortable looking residence with solar panels on its roof. The original Primitive Methodist Church of 1882 was a tin and timber building and it has gone. It was replaced with a new stone Methodist Church in 1890 that opened without plastering or a ceiling. They were added later. A solid stone water closet was built by the Methodists in 1893. It is still standing! The Methodist manse has been demolished and is gone. The outstanding Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel is still standing on the hill but the buildings around it are all gone. The church was restored inside and out in 1925. The Catholic School founded in 1884 is believed to have only operated for a couple of years. The large and impressive Dawson Hotel from 1883 with a substantial cellar is standing in a ruined state. Although Dawson established an Institute in 1890 it was replaced with a new galvanised iron and timber structure in 1926. That is still in good condition and is still sometimes used. The sports ground is unused and dilapidated with no functioning toilets or facilities. But how does a town become a ghost town? The example of Dawson shows the resilience and determination again the odds to maintain a township. From 1902 the school enrolment began to decline. The butcher shop closed in 1903 as did the blacksmith. By 1907 families were leaving the district and the hoped for returns from wheat farming had not eventuated. But in 1908 it is amazing to think that this town and district was blanketed in snow! Nevertheless the town continued to decline. In 1915 the local branch of the Agricultural Bureau ceased. In 1954 the government began to resume town blocks if they had never been purchased or if the owners were not traceable. In 1960 the town was officially abolished as a town. The Dawson Hotel closed in 1961 and the state school closed in 1962 followed by the general store in 1963.The tennis club abolished itself in 1963 with the football club following suit in 1965. The Methodist Church held its last service in 1964 and the last Catholic Mass was held in 1969 although the last Catholic priest to live in the town had departed as early as 1942. What a sad period this must have been for the farmers still living in the district. The only town activity which continued was the Dawson Hall Committee. In an attempt to keep something of Dawson for future generations they raised money and purchased the Methodist and Catholic churches and the ruins of the Dawson Hotel in 1981 to preserve them. Today it is doubtful that even the Dawson Hall Committee exists. |
| 撮影日 | 2017-01-03 15:02:55 |
| 撮影者 | denisbin |
| タグ | |
| 撮影地 | |
| カメラ | DSC-HX90V , SONY |
| 露出 | 0.001 sec (1/800) |
| 開放F値 | f/5.6 |