Walla Walla

History

The Walla Walla area was home to the Wiradjuri Aboriginal people who inhabited this area for many thousands of years prior to European settlement. During the 1860s the bushranger Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan frequented the area holding up the Round Hill Station at nearby Morven. He also established a lookout at a granite outcrop 6 km north of Walla Walla adjacent to the Walla Walla Station and Billabong Creek. Walla Walla was established in 1869 when 56 settlers of German extraction moved from their home in the Barossa Valley of South Australia in the search for farming land. In all, 56 people made the trek in 14 covered wagons and 2 spring carts, leaving their hometown of Ebenezer in October 1868. This group was led by Father Klemke and it comprised the families of Michael Wenke, Andreas Mickan and Andreas Lieschke; as well as two Klemke families, the Fischer, Terlich and Hennersdorf families and two single men in Ferdinand Schmidt and Wilhelm Luhrs. Ethnically, most of these families belonged to a minority group known as Wends or Sorbs and some had only recently emigrated from the North Eastern German States. This was neither the first nor the last trek by German South Australians to the Riverina with other settlements established nearby at Jindera, Bethel, Gerogery, Wallendool (Alma Park), Dudal-Cooma (Pleasant Hills), Mangoplah, Edgehill and Henty. The Walla Walla Hotel was opened in the early 20th century by Mr Fredrick Voss, the original publican. At the turn of the twentieth century, Walla Walla was charactered by its close-knit community which contributed to its preservation of the German language and the old ways. Although the First World War fostered a sense of nationalism (albeit strongly allied to the British Empire) this period was a challenging time for…

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  439
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  358
• Eastern Rosella

  Platycercus eximius (Shaw, 1792) · Aves
  327
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  281
• White-plumed Honeyeater

  Ptilotula penicillata (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  278
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  274
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  262
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  241

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2007-06-10
  12 km SE of Myrtleford, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2005-01-20
  16 km WNW of Wangaratta, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2003-01-25
  2 km NNE of Jindera, Australia