History Notes - when the army scoped out Barraba for a camp
History Notes
Another history visitor this weekend - a grandson of J.B.Ryan (a past solicitor) in Barraba. He was very interested in our town and its changes. After leaving the museum I noticed him talking to one of our older residents and I know he was hoping to visit the hospital to check out the photos in the hall. I hope he managed to talk to several residents before travelling on to Bingara where his great grandfather lived and worked as a solicitor.
Last week I shared the history of Flynn and Smith in 1984. This week I wonder whether anyone remembers when the army came to town and wanted to take over a large area of land around Barraba, Bundarra, Kingstown and almost south to Tamworth.
The Barraba Council called a public meeting on 1st May, 1984, to find out exactly what the consultants, hired by the Army intended to do - local council president, Rupert Richardson, advised them there would be no quick decision about this army camp!
It seems that someone, possibly in the army, thought they had found an area of land with a small population settled on poor country- in fact they were preparing to destroy the area's grazing country with their war games and the surrounding country would not benefit from any extra population in the towns and villages. These ideas did not suit the population at all and meetings and doorknocks were organized - 90% of people approached in the doorknock voiced their concern about the economics of having the army in the area - in fact Bundarra and possibly Barraba would have disappeared and sheep and cattle would have had to leave the actual area.
One of our past residents had lots to say in his letter to the editor of the Barraba Gazette beginning with "Wake Up, Become Aware"!! He noted that any doctors in the area would be taken up by the army, our land would very likely be confiscated by the Labor Government and given to the army, and Barraba and other towns such as Bundarra would disappear. In fact, the whole area, as we know it, would have disappeared.
I wonder how many of our readers remember this rather upsetting time and how it affected them -for example I remember doing a tour with a history person from the University showing her some of the homesteads and pieces of history existing in the area. In fact, everyone did all they could to move the army on - and it worked "our 1984 crisis" passed.