History Notes - Barraba and Bingara parishes
History Notes
As we are now in February it is time to welcome back the markets. Our first market of the year will be held on Saturday week, 11th February. There will be an advertisement in this publication but I remind everyone that we have a new market co-ordinator, who has drawn up an advertising sheet which you may also see around town during the next week. All the usual stalls will be present with, we hope, a couple of different ones. Come along and have a BBQ, a coffee, buy a book or a piece of pottery and enjoy a chat with your fellow residents.
This week we have had a request for information about The Corner Store with reference to one of its owners. We have a few lists of owners and some ideas of the times they were there – the list will be at the markets if anyone can help put it into order.
I can remember Walter Flynn and then Jim Conway in the second half of the 1960’s but were there a couple of other owners in between? Perhaps someone can remember.
To finish off this week I have a Barraba & Manilla News, March, 1898 extract in front of me. This was the time when the local Church of England (Anglican) churches faced boundary changes. Parson Brown who was in charge of the Barraba/Bingara parish stated that the Bingara section of the parish were unanimous that it could not carry on without Barraba. He was so desperate about the cutting up of his parish that he sent a telegram to C.G.Williams protesting the move.
Sadly, for both Barraba and Bingara, the Archdeacon of Tamworth, Rev. Julian Lewis decided that Barraba should join Manilla, and Bingara should be paid a grant of 25 pounds per annum to assist in the maintenance of the work of the church there.
The following couple of years proved to be very hard for both local parishes. The Rev Brown sadly died 3 months later (some said from a broken heart) and both parishes struggled to survive. Eventually Barraba managed to separate from Manilla and went ahead from there with a new church. Unfortunately, it was some years before Bingara recovered with support from its residents.