Emmaville

History

Emmaville is located on the lands of the Ngarabal people, and the area remains of great significance to them today. The Ngarabal name for the land where the township is now located is "Marran", meaning "plenty of leeches". Tin was first discovered on Strathbogie Station in 1872 and the settlement was called Vegetable Creek after the Chinese market gardens which developed to service the mining population. Being a private township it was never notified or proclaimed as a town or village. The population of the area in the early 1900s was about 7,000 and included 2,000 Chinese people. It was renamed in 1882 after Emma Greville, the wife of the then state Governor Lord Augustus Loftus. The name Vegetable Creek is preserved in the name of the local 17-bed hospital. A school was established in 1875 and it had 70-80 pupils in its first year. In 1927, the school moved to its present site. Emmaville established the first medical fund in New South Wales, with aim of keeping a doctor in town and to build a hospital. In 1891, lectures were given at the hospital and the St John Ambulance Brigade was formed as a result of this. Tin and arsenic were mined at the Ottery Mine, Tent Hill, not far from Emmaville, from 1882 when a huge tin lode was found by Alexander Ottery. The site has now been rehabilitated by the NSW Department of Mineral Resources and has been open to tourists. , Tripadvisor website includes a statement that "This place is temporarily closed due to remediation works. Works are scheduled to finish in March 2022, weather permitting.", a description of a visit in 2024 which states that "The closed signs are still up although you can still visit.", and an album of 24 photographs showing the mine in 2018 with signboards for visitors.

Most-observed species

• Acacia pubifolia Pedley

  Acacia pubifolia Pedley · Magnoliopsida
  5,263
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  113
• Woollyjoint Pricklypear

  Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck · Magnoliopsida
  109
• Dusky Woodswallow

  Artamus cyanopterus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  100
• desert phebalium

  Phebalium glandulosum Hook. · Magnoliopsida
  99
• Brown Treecreeper

  Climacteris picumnus Temminck, 1824 · Aves
  98
• Gray Shrikethrush

  Colluricincla harmonica (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  94
• White-throated Treecreeper

  Cormobates leucophaea (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  92