Yass

History

The area around Yass is the land of the Ngunawal tribe. They knew the area as yarrh, which means "running water." The final "rr" sound was spelled in English with a double-S, apparently after being misheard as such due to its "sharp and forcible" quality. The Yass area was first seen by Europeans in 1821, during an expedition led by Hamilton Hume. By 1830, settlement had begun where the nascent Sydney to Melbourne road crossed the Yass River. The site for the town was gazetted in 1837. In 1956, Yass became the first town in New South Wales to have a fluoridated water supply. The Hume Highway passed through the town until a bypass opened in July 1994. It has never been explained why Yass was the home to a number of flour mills, especially as the district is well known for the production of fine merino fleece. Linge notes that many flour mills were set up for the personal convenience of settlers rather than commercial operations (Linge 1979:108); it may be that the mills were set up to grind locally produced grain for largely domestic consumption. Bayley in his history of Yass records that, in March 1842, it was reported that the Yass Steam Mill was in operation (1973:24). This mill was located by the Yass River and was owned by the partnership of Hamilton Hume and John Watson. The mill was known as Watson's Mill, and it seems to have operated until it was destroyed in a flood in 1870. At that time, it was owned by Thomas Andrew Barber (Ames et al. 2001:9). Barber was the son of the George Barber (who, with Hume, first explored Yass) and was also Hume's nephew. These connections no doubt lead to the choice of the site of Barber's next mill as the land was originally owned by Hume. Barber constructed a new steam mill and, by May 1870, steam was raised and the mill…

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  2,391
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,768
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  1,570
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  1,490
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  1,457
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  1,152
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  1,095
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,005

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