Wee Jasper

History

The Ngunnawal people once lived over the site of Wee Jasper and the surrounding Goodradigbee River valley. Diseases decimated aboriginal populations ahead of colonial settlement. The New South Wales colonial government ineffectually prohibited settlement in the area and others outside the Nineteen Counties but livestock herders reached the valley early. The Hume and Hovell expedition passed through the area in October 1824. In 1831, the land of "Cooradigbee", south of Wee Jasper, was granted to William Hampden Dutton. It was one of the last free land grants in the colony of New South Wales and was made only because it had been promised by Governor Darling, in October 1830. In December 1848, the County of Buccleuch and neighbouring County of Cowley were proclaimed. In 1866, a site for a Goodradigbee village was proclaimed but never eventuated and was cancelled in 1900. A cluster of settlement, which would become Wee Jasper, developed further up the river, nearer the eventual bridge site. "Coodra Vale", a property of 40,000 acres (16,188 ha) close to Wee Jasper, was the home of pastoralist Stewart Ryrie Jr from 1871 until his death in 1882. From 1908 to 1912, "Coodra Vale" was the home of renowned Australian poet, A.B. "Banjo" Paterson, and his poem, A Mountain Station, was informed by the time he spent there as an agriculturalist. In the 1890s, gold was mined in 'The Wee Jasper' goldfield, south of Wee Jasper, along the Goodradigbee creek of which Wee Jasper Creek is a tributary. The Goodradigbee Goldfield, which included the area, was proclaimed in 1882 but revoked in 1897 and the area was never a significant goldfield. In 1896, the bridge across the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper was opened, providing better connection to Yass and Tumut. By 1887, Wee Jasper had…

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  925
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  823
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  633
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  614
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  585
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  560
• Yellow-faced Honeyeater

  Caligavis chrysops (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  555
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  519

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2026-03-11
  17 km ENE of Boorowa, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2013-08-28
  2 km SW of Young, Australia
• M 2.5 — 2013-08-24
  3 km ENE of Young, Australia
• M 3.8 — 2012-06-22
  23 km N of Boorowa, Australia
• M 3.7 — 2012-04-19
  36 km ENE of Tumut, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2007-04-29
  35 km W of Yass, Australia