THE Nyah West and District Heritage Weekend will feature historical tours from Julie Sutton, a life-long resident with an interest in preserving the region’s past.
Mrs Sutton has compiled photos of the towns from other residents along with oral histories and put them on display at the Nyah District Memorial Hall.
“I wanted to capture and collate the verbal histories that are floating around the town, because as we get older, there’s a few of us left with that history,” she said.
“I just love Nyah and Nyah West and I think it’s very sad to watch all the small towns disappear.”
Mrs Sutton said her family has lived in the area since her great-great grandparents fled Ned Kelly’s gang after her great-great grandfather made his iconic helmet.
“It was very hush hush and they feared what would happen to them if they stayed, so they came here and my family has lived here since” Mrs Sutton said.
“This hall was where my parents taught debutants every year, where we hold weddings and funerals and was the home of many of the town’s gatherings.
“The old picture theatre was built onto the original hall that was moved up here from the riverfront, and we would see a film on Saturday and go to dinner at one of the three cafes after.”
Many of the original Nyah buildings were mobile and were moved up from the riverfront when the highway came into town.
“I can give a tour at the bottom of the town on the river and show where all the old buildings were,” she said.
“The pumping station turned 100 in 2010, and was the only way to get water at the time it was built.
“It replaced the old windmill pump that serviced a couple of blocks of houses through one pipe.
“The school was in a private home, and then as the town grew it moved to the hall, and when the railway builders came with their families the Nyah West School was built to accommodate their families.”
Nyah West was founded in 1915, adding onto the original Nyah formed in the 1890s, with the development of the railway.
“They couldn’t have the train go to Nyah because of the canals, it would be too much of a bother to build little bridges over each one, so Nyah West formed around where train station was built,” Mrs Sutton said.
“The Grand Hotel in Nyah West is still in its original place because it’s brick, and that’s when more permanent buildings started to come about instead of the timber ones that could be shifted as the region developed.”
Mrs Sutton has much more knowledge of Nyah and Nyah West which she will share over ANZAC weekend on bus tours around the region.
The book she draws much of her knowledge from, On this Bend of the River by Grace Willoughby, will be available for sale that weekend as well.
More information on Nyah West and District Heritage Weekend starting on Friday, April 25, is available on Facebook.
