Binnaway

History

The name Binnaway may derive from the Aboriginal word 'binniaway' meaning 'peppermint tree wollybutt'. The township of Binnaway stands on part of the 'Mowabla' pastoral run of 16 thousand acres, taken up in 1848 by William Lawson. In the early 1850s the leasehold was purchased by David Innes Watt. The district pastoral runs began to be broken up from the 1860s after the passing of the Robertson Land Acts which enabled free selection of Crown land. Selectors began taking up blocks along the Castlereagh River, including Charles Naseby who selected 50 acres in 1869 and an adjoining area of 50 acres in 1874. These areas form part of the modern township, south of Renshaw Street. In February 1876, John McWhirter of Spring Vale, Binnaway, was granted a "Wine, Cider and Perry Licence". In March 1876, a post office was established at Binnaway, "between Mendooran and Coonabarabran". By 1877, the population of the district were agitating for a school. In March 1887, Binnaway was described as a settlement on the Castlereagh River at the "centre of a most fertile country, where grass, feed, and water abound". The population was considered to be "rather scattered", but the township "boasts of a store, post-office, accommodation house, and a most prolific orchard, the property of Mr. M'Whirter". A public school had been erected "in a central position", but "stands isolated at a distance from the township". The writer considered the "chief obstacle to the prosperity of the place" to be "the difficulty of getting there". Within three miles of the township there were two ways to reach Binnaway: "one is through a black sticky bog of considerable depth; the other, down and up dangerous, precipitous tracks". In 1904, David Innes Watt surrendered 100 acres of his property 'Ulindah',…

Most-observed species

• Perforate St John's-wort

  Hypericum perforatum L. · Magnoliopsida
  79
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  66
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  59
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  58
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  56
• White-plumed Honeyeater

  Ptilotula penicillata (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  50
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  42
• Noisy Friarbird

  Philemon corniculatus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  38