Pambula Recreation Reserve (former) | Encyclopedia Of South East History

Panboola, formerly Pambula Recreation Reserve:

Also known at times as the Pambula Recreation Reserve, Marsh Recreation Reserve, Pambula Racecourse, and the Pambula Show Ground, the area now encompassed by Panboola has a lengthy and important association with the region and its peoples.

For thousands of years, the local Aboriginal peoples, the Thaua, recognised and utilised the rich resource of seafood, plants and animals available on the Pambula River floodplains. It also provided a wealth of raw materials needed to make fish nets, fish traps and baskets; and was a spiritual link with their culture and heritage.

In the 1830s, the first European settlers put down roots nearby and from that grew the township, first on the flood plains and then later, on higher ground where Pambula is now situated.

As with so many communities throughout Australia, sports and recreation played a pivotal role in the district. Within a few decades of European settlement, events were being organised, albeit on an ad hoc basis, as much for their entertainment value as a competition of sporting prowess. And with no formal facilities, events were held wherever a good, flat clear piece of land could be secured for the occasion.

Australia is renowned the world over as a sporting country, so it is unsurprising that it is something that has played an integral role in our culture and society since well before European settlement occurred on the continent. The sporting traditions maintained over tens of thousands of years by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were closely linked with and inseparable from their rituals, cultural practices and day-to-day life. They appreciated that the Australian environment demanded they maintain physical fitness to survive. Thus, children were encouraged to climb, jump and run, wrestle, throw spears, swim and play a type of football using possum-skin balls. These all provided the means of teaching and learning the skills

A Pambula Cricket Club team, C. 1930s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

and abilities necessary to search and gather food, hunt, fight, fish, canoe, make and use tools and take care of the environment upon which they relied.

And it took little time after the arrival of European settlers before they were also excelling at introduced sports – in fact the first Australian cricket team to tour internationally was an all-Aboriginal group that travelled to England, the traditional home of the sport, in 1868. There they played 47 games and achieved an enviable result of 14 wins, 19 draws and 14 losses. One of these players, Tom Williams (“Twopenny”), later played on local teams including Bega and Candelo.

After the 1788 landing of the First Fleet, early settlers began playing the sports brought from their homeland and subsequent arrivals added their games into the mix. Australia’s first athletic tournament was held in 1810, and by the early 1800s cricket, horse racing, sailing, foot racing and rowing were all popular in the then colony of NSW. Indeed, some of Australia’s earliest formal organised clubs were sporting based. During this period, there developed an appreciation of the importance of purpose developed facilities and an increasing number of reserves were dedicated for recreational purposes.

As settlement in Pambula began to mature and business and industry took on a more stable outlook, the community began to pay attention to the provision of leisure facilities to serve the growing population. The town’s first permanent recreation reserve was secured on 15 August 1879 when the Governor of New South Wales dedicated fifty acres on the Pambula flats. Residents Arthur Clarke, John Henry Martin and Charles Arthur Baddeley were named as trustees of the site which then

consisted of Sections 20, 21, 28 and 29, Allotments 2 and 3 of Section 19 and allotment 2 and 3 of Section 22. The grant specifically noted “…a racecourse, upon which horse-races may be run, under the direction of any club or association now existing, or which may hereafter be founded for the purpose of horse-racing…”, “…a training ground for the purpose of training horses, intended to race….” and “…a cricket ground, or place at and upon which the game of cricket may be played…”, as well as “…any other public amusement or purpose which His Excellency the Governor…may from time to time declare to be a public amusement or purpose for which the said lands or any part thereof may be used…” Further land was added in 1893, with Messrs. J. H. Martin, C. A. Baddeley and E. J. Cornell appointed trustees; and after an application by the Pambula Progress Association, another

Cattle judging, Pambula Show, 1921.

“…small reserve…” near the jockey club’s property was dedicated as an addition in 1900.

By 1885, “…an expensive pavilion…” had been erected, a writer commenting that “…Pambula folks are partial to good wholesome sport and recreation, and it is therefore not surprising that they keep their pretty trysting ground in good order and provided with the necessary building…” Four years later, it was noted that the ground included “…some 50 acres all level as a bowling green, and within easy walking distance of the town on one side, and the river and boats and boathouses on the other. Ten acres of this ground are fenced off for cricket and all athletic sports, and upon which is erected a strong, serviceable pavilion built by the Government through the agency of the Pambula Progress Committee.”

In an effort to regulate the waters of the nearby river, an embankment was raised in 1891 to try to curb floods and high tides encroaching on the site. Nonetheless though, located as it was on a marshy flood plain, little could prevent the almost annual inundations that frustrated these endeavours. Although the embankment collapsed shortly after erection, repairs were completed in time for the annual 1891 race meeting, a reporter commenting optimistically that “…by next year, with the expenditure of a few pounds the course can be made equal to anything in the colony.” Tenders were called in 1892 for “…about 17 chains of embankment…” and in November the following year, after meeting with the trustees, jockey club member Mr. Hamilton was empowered to spend £100 granted to permanently repair a dam on the site, making it capable of resisting future flood waters. At the same time, the Pambula Progress Association resolved to apply for further funding, pointing out “…the necessity…at the present time in order to protect the reserve from being damaged by the tide.” Local resident Mr. W. Cole later

recalled that “Because of tidal influences an extensive retaining wall had to be built and Vic Hart’s father worked on this with his horse and dray for many months.”

In 1893 £30 sterling was made available by the Secretary of Lands “…for improvements to the Marsh Recreation Reserve, Pambula…” and in 1897, a further £40 was set aside by the Lands Department. The same year the Progress Association requested the Works Department’s road super draw up a plan, with cost estimates for draining the ground. In 1902, a £15 grant from the annual State Vote for the improvement of public parks was received by the trustees, with an additional £7 received from the same source in 1915.

Floods on Pambula Flat from Phyl Best.jp

Flooding on the Pambula Recreation Reserve, C. early 1900s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

Cricket was among the activities specifically noted in the reserve grant and this appears to have been one of the first organised groups to begin making use of the ground. Established during the 1860s, the club was playing matches on the new ground by the early 1880s and by 1893 it was being referred to as “…the old wicket…” By 1915, club members had erected a new pavilion on the reserve.

The Pambula Athletic Club, founded around 1885, also held their competition meets on the reserve. Their second annual event in March 1886 was reported as “…a decided success. The weather was all that could be desired, the attendance fair, and the ground in good order…” while at the 1888 competition “…Sir Joseph Bank’s rules [were] adhered to as far as practicable…” By 1897, the group had folded but in May that year a meeting was held at the Commercial Hotel during which it was “…unanimously decided that a club be formed…” A report acknowledged that a “…strong working committee was appointed and a liberal programme of sports… was drafted to be run off on the Pambula Recreation Ground on the 29th May.” Afterwards described as “…a success in every respect…” about 250 people attended, competing on tracks prepared on the racecourse near the grandstand and by 1900, it had become an annual event.

A 1903 meeting voted to disband the organisation, forming in its stead a new body to be called the Pambula Sporting Club with the object being“…to give more variety to the programme with the hope of arousing more public interest in the proceedings...”

Of all the groups associated with the site over the years, perhaps the organisation most readily linked with the old recreation reserve is the Jockey Club. Horse racing had made an early appearance in the district, with events being run off on what was known as The Grassy Flat Race Course by 1855. In March that year, it was noted that “A rather large concourse of people, including many strangers, was [sic] here on the Flat to witness the

Pambula District Jockey Club race meeting, C. 1960s.

Image © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

fun of St. Patrick’s holiday, which consisted chiefly of horse racing.” By 1860 it was an annual affair, but although popular, the site was not considered particularly satisfactory.

After going into hiatus for some time, racing returned to The Grassy Flat course in the early 1880s and in 1883, it was highlighted that “...agitation [is] likely to take foot shortly with the object of obtaining a good and permanent racecourse. Those who are acquainted with the portion of land part of which served as a cricket ground assert that an excellent course could be obtained there if the residents would only apply to Government for the grant...We are firmly of the opinion that if Pambula had a good course the equestrian events in store would more than emulate those of by gone days in all round importance.”

Then, in 1889, the “…long defunct…” jockey club was reformed and after applying to the Government for a suitable area, plans were well underway by December 1890 for organised horse racing to make its reappearance in the Pambula District.

By December 1891, the club had “…twenty men at work doing up the new course, which will be on what is known as ‘the Marsh’…a perfect flat, good safe going and when the present improvements are completed will prove second to very few courses in the colony…” With 13 January 1891 set down for their first meet, a holiday was proclaimed for the District of Eden and local media commented that “…there ought to be a big crowd of visitors.” This was the first year that the Pambula Cup was run.

By 1898, the Pambula District Jockey Club began investigating the buildings necessary for their meetings. However, as reserve conditions stated that, once erected, structures could not be removed from the site, the club purchased between two and three acres of adjoining private land for their facilities. Tenders were called in October for construction of a grandstand and saddling paddock with that of local builder Job Koerber’s for £75 accepted. It was noted that the contractor was to “...have the present grandstand…” That was followed in 1903 by a committee stand and publican’s booth; and in 1904 the grandstand was enlarged and improved, again by Job Koerber.

Local resident Mr. W. Cole remembered that “Because of the soft springy nature of the track it was a popular racetrack with

2 Cattle judging at Pambula Show C 1940s

Above and below: Cattle judging at Pambula Show, C. 1940s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

11 Judging cattle, Pambula Show C 1940s.

jockeys and trainers alike. The annual Race Carnival on Boxing Day was always a great attraction…Pambula Races were always a great district attraction bringing crowds from as far distant as the Monaro. Horses used to train for weeks prior to the meeting being stabled at the hotels and on private properties. Eventually the local Jockey Club built stables at the top end of Quondola Street…The Jockey Club was a well-to-do club and put up good prize money. There was a “smithy” adjacent to the stables [Cousemacker’s] and a great sight to see the horses and jockeys going down to the track for their early morning gallop, the sound of which could be heard all over town. The Royal Hotel had extensive stables, more so than the Commercial.”

Eventually the Pambula and Eden clubs amalgamated to form the Imlay District Jockey Club, and after more than a century, the final Boxing Day track meet was held on the reserve in 1997.

The Jockey Club was only one of a number of horse racing organisations that made use of the site. Among the others were the Pambula Pony and Galloway Club, formed in June 1897; the Pambula Proprietary Racing Club, in 1912; the Pambula Picnic Race Club, in 1917; the Pambula District Trotting Club, in 1921; and the Diggers’ Race Club, in 1946.

From the early 1930s, a number of local greyhound racing enthusiasts also trained their dogs on the reserve and in 1937 a Greyhound Coursing Club was formed. However, although the Jockey Club granted use of their course by the new organisation, the many licensing rules and regulations saw the idea fall by the wayside. Nonetheless, dog owners continued to use the ground for training purposes, racing their animals at other courses including one at nearby Bega.

The Pambula Civilian Rifle Club was established in 1893, adopting a code of rules in July and erecting a range in the reserve. With one dozen rifles and ammunition issued by the Military Staff Office, target practice commenced before the end of the year. It became Volunteer Reserve Corp in 1895 and in November, Lieutenant Bradbury visited Pambula to enrol members. The organisation’s military foundations are evident in its admission regulations

Jack Martin (with microphone) (above) and the crowd (below), Pambula District Jockey Club race meeting, C. 1960s.

Images © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

which stated that men must be of good physique, not less than five foot six inches in height, with a chest measurement of not less than 34 inches, had to pass a medical test and take the oath of allegiance. Seventeen members were accepted at that first enrolment. Drill Sergeant Winterton of Bega arrived in October 1896 to put the local Reservists through a week-long course of drill and musketry and the following month, about 20 members of No. 3 Company Bega Mounted Rifles arrived to give a military display on the recreation ground. Staff Sergeant Winterton returned the following year to conduct the second course of instruction.

Although defunct by 1899, a meeting was held at the Club Hotel in 1903 for "...the purpose of reforming the Pambula Civilian Rifle Club". Almost 30 names were submitted, and after further enrolments, an announcement appeared in the May 1904 Government Gazette that formation of the Pambula Civilian Rifle Club had been approved. After the trustees declined permission to re-establish the rifle range on the reserve, a new facility was developed on the Pambula Temporary Common.

Football kicked off on the ground in after a small advertisement appeared in the Pambula Voice during 1896. With a keen response from the community, a public meeting was called at which it was unanimously decided to form a club under Rugby Rules and practice began in August. The club adopted navy blue and white colours and played their first match on the recreation reserve in September 1896, defeating the Yowaka Miners team 11 to nil in front of a crowd of about 200 spectators. Apart from Pambula and Yowaka, the only other clubs in the district then were Bega, Bombala and Candelo, with matches played in a fairly ad hoc manner until the first organised competition began in 1904.

Around the mid-1920s, there began a gradual change from union to league, the two codes co-existing for many years. The first League match on the Pambula ground was in May 1925, when the local team met Bega. Two months later a local league governing body was formed. This was followed in the early 1930s with the establishment of the Group 16 Rugby League Committee.

The Pambula Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Society was formed in 1902 and immediately began planning to hold their inaugural show on the recreation reserve the following year. As with other organisations, because ground conditions

Above: Lloyd Cole to right parading his champion bull at the 1964 Pambula Show.

Below: Young show jumpers at the 1964 Pambula Show.

Images © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

Pambula Show 1964 Timms boy far left Tim

stated that buildings, erected on site could not be removed, society member John Martin Senior offered to let the organisation part of his adjoining paddock at a nominal rent. Tenders were awarded to J. A. McDonald (£22/10/-) for yards and Job Koerber (£90) for the pavilion, and the Society made use of the jockey club’s grandstand and adjoining saddling paddock, while the area in the centre of the race course became the judging ring, parade ground and show jumping arena. Over the years, yards for cattle, pigs and other livestock were erected and in 1923, Job Koerber’s tender of £75/10/- was accepted to lay a floor in the pavilion. In 1937, he secured the contract for alterations and addition to the same building. The Society moved from the reserve to the Martin Park ground in 1975.

Local schools held their annual sporting carnivals on the reserve while friendly societies such as the Grand United Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity also made frequent use of the ground over a lengthy period. For many years, the racecourse also proved popular for local teenagers learning to drive, the wide track and absence of traffic making it an ideal spot to build their skills and confidence behind the wheel.

Above: The northern (left) and southern (right) entrances to the former show society pavilion.

Images courtesy of © Angela George. All rights reserved.

In 1997, local resident Alexandra Seddon purchased a nearby area of six acres in Bullara Street, naming it the Waterbird Sanctuary and laying the foundations for the recreation reserve’s future use. At the same time, the Imlay District Jockey Club relocated to Kalaru, leaving the site unoccupied. In 2001, Ms. Seddon purchased a further 42 hectares for conservation purposes and the Pambula Wetlands and Heritage Project Inc. committee was formed to manage both it and the Waterbird Sanctuary. The following year, the 29-hectare recreation reserve was re-gazetted as the Pambula Wetlands and Heritage Reserve and in September 2003 the Lands Department appointed a Trust Board to manage the site. That same year, Alexandra Seddon gifted her land on the flat to the Pambula Wetlands and Heritage Project Inc. and Voluntary Conservation Agreements have since been signed over portions.

The area is a place of outstanding heritage significance for its lengthy and important association with the human population of the district over thousands of years, its natural heritage values and its scientific and research potential. It has outstanding historic significance for its role in providing a formal place for sporting and leisure activities over more than a century. This value continues to the present day through its ongoing use for passive recreational activities.

The site consists of a flat area of marshy wetland surrounded by grazing and farmland, currently used as a wetlands reserve, waterbird sanctuary and passive recreation facility. Remnants of the site’s previous use as the town recreation reserve include a racetrack, stables, pavilion, stewards’ rooms, judge’s box, bar

Above: The former Pambula A. H. and P. Society’s pavilion building.

View of the former recreation reserve showing the pavilion, toilet block, grandstand and judge’s box.

and cafeteria and toilet block. Sadly, the 1902-built grandstand collapsed during strong winds in August 2019. The open-air space is a combination of public and private ownership. Although the private areas are visible from those that are public, inclusion in this project does not indicate or imply any right to access or trespass on private property.

Above: Views of the former grand stand (left) and grand stand, judge's box and concrete block bar and cafeteria (right).

Above: Remains of the former grand stand after high winds in August 2019.

The reserve is an important tangible indication of the integral role sporting groups have played within the local community. As such, it also has the potential to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of sporting and recreational pursuits in the district from 1879 through to the present. Its lengthy association with the Pambula Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Society adds to this importance, and is indicative of the vital role agriculture and agricultural practices played in the economy and development of the local district for many years.

Through its association with so many local community organisations over a period of about 130 years, the area has outstanding social value to the community in general and specific aspects of the community in particular. This remains true to the present day through continuing use of the site for passive recreational purposes.

The heritage buildings, structures and facilities present on the ground add to this heritage value as tangible links with the development of sporting, recreational and agricultural activities and practices in the Pambula district. They serve as extant reminders of the socially and culturally important role these groups and organisations have played and, in some cases, continue to play in the history and development of the community. A number of the structures also demonstrate the simple, vernacular building style prevalent throughout the area.

The reserve is an important symbol of the development of Pambula and the shift from struggling to eke out an existence through to the phase where the population had become established and prosperous enough to turn their attention towards leisure and recreation. As such, it is closely associated with the development and economic progress of the Pambula district.

As an extant example of a public reserve dating from the 19th century, the site is a good representative example of its kind and is important in demonstrating the processes of public reserve creation and management from the time it was first dedicated. Illustrating the development of recreational and social facilities in the district, it is an important extant example of the local response to the need for public recreation areas and this continues through to the present as a public recreational amenity and open space in the vicinity of the township.

It is indicative of the forethought of the town’s early civic leaders both in the initial establishment of the reserve and in its subsequent maintenance. This far-sightedness continues through its ongoing management and utilisation as a passive community recreational facility and its recognition as an area of environmental and ecological importance.

The wetland is an important habitat for a diverse range of wildlife including bird, animal, reptile and plant species and is thus recognised as having important scientific and research value. The site also has considerable archaeological and cultural values, in the first instance through its use over an extensive time period by local Aboriginal peoples; and later through the subsequent European occupation; factors which add to its scientific and research potential.

Above: View of the former Pambula Recreation Reserve.

Approximate location of site.

References and bibliography:

Australian
Baddeley, Ben & Alma, pers. comm.
Baddeley Family Papers, private ownership
Bassett, Jan (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Australian History, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2nd ed., 1994
Bayley, William. A., The Story of the Settlement and Development Bega, Bega Intermediate High School, 1942
Bega District News
Bega Gazette
Bega Standard
Bega Times
Bega Valley Genealogy Society (comp.), Bega Valley Pioneer Register – Pre Federation, Bega Valley Genealogy Society, 2002
Bega Valley Genealogy Society, Consolidated Index to Ratepayers - Imlay Shire 1907-1958.
Behl’s Butchery of Pambula, assorted business records, private ownership.
Bennett, Joyce, pers. comm.
Bennett, Vida, pers. comm.
Bombala Herald
Brasch, R., How Did Sports Begin, Angus and Robertson, Australia, 1986
Brown, Stella, pers. comm.
Candelo & Eden Union
Dowling, Terry, pers. comm.
Dunn’s Almanac, various
Eden Magnet
Eden Magnet and Pambula Voice
Empire
Farmer and Settler
George, A. C. (“Bubby”) (comp.) History of Pambula – Old Records, Early Days, unpublished notebook
George, Allan, pers. comm.
George, Angela, From Bark Hut to Brick Veneer – 150 years of Public Education at Pambula, Pambula Public School, 1999.
George, Angela, Pambula District’s Built Heritage – A History, unpublished study, 2006
Grainger, Ron, Scrummaging of the Sapphire: Early Days of Rugby in South-east New South Wales, Ron Grainger, 2017
Hart, Denis, pers. comm.
Hart, Cecil, pers. comm.
Hart, Ron, pers. comm.
Higgins, Jules (comp.) Pambula’s Colonials Days, Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society, 1982.
A History of Lochiel Public School, prepared on the occasion of the centenary celebrations, 22nd November, 1969, unpublished history.
Illawarra Mercury and Southern Coast District Advertiser
Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company handbook, 2nd ed, 1912
Jones, Jack, pers. comm.
Joscelyn, Jean, pers. comm.
Kelly, Gwen, pers. comm.
Littler, Neville E., History of Group 16, Neville Littler, 1987.
Lyons, Joyce, pers. comm.
Magnet – Voice
Maher, Frank, pers. comm.
Marshall, Gwen, pers. comm.
Martin Family of Woodlands, Pambula, records, private ownership,
McDonald, Barry, pers. comm.
McKenzie, J. A. S. The Twofold Bay Story, Eden Killer Whale Museum, Eden, 1991.
Merimbula News Weekly
Mitchell, Noel, pers. comm.
Moore’s Almanac and NSW Country Directory, various
Munn, Chappie, pers. comm.
NSW Government Gazette
NSW Land Title Office records
Oaklands property, Land titles, conveyances and associated records, Kennedy and Cooke Solicitors, Merimbula, courtesy of Ian and Lyn Dunsmore
Pambula A. H. and P. Society minute books, private ownership
Pambula Electoral Roll, 1922.
Pambula – Rifle Range Papers, Box 149, NAA Series – SP 1008/1; item 538/45/59.
Pambula - Rifle Range Papers, NAA Series – MT 1461/1; item 31/1073/21.
Pambula School, AONSW 5/17264.3
Pambula Voice
Pinch. Mary, pers. comm.
Pratt, Charlie and Gerry, pers. comm.
Radford, Gordon, pers. comm.
Resource Allocation and Australian Water Technologies, for Bega Valley Shire Council, Pambula Racecourse Wetland Management Plan September 1998
Robinson, Frank, pers. comm.
Sand’s Sydney & NSW Directory, various
Stafford, Ron, pers. comm.
Sydney Morning Herald
Town and Country Journal
Vogt, W. Stanley, Picturesque Travel Princes Highway Bairnsdale to Bega n.d. (C. 1915)
Vogt, W. Stanley, Picturesque Travel Princes Highway Bairnsdale to Bega, 1928
Wellings, H. P. Early Pambula, newspaper clipping[n.d.]
Whant, Fred, pers. comm.
Whelan, Betty, pers. comm.
Wilks, Kevin, pers. comm.
Wilks, Shirley, pers. comm.

Panboola, formerly Pambula Recreation Reserve:

A Pambula Cricket Club team, C. 1930s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

Flooding on the Pambula Recreation Reserve, C. early 1900s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

Pambula District Jockey Club race meeting, C. 1960s.

Image © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

Above and below: Cattle judging at Pambula Show, C. 1940s.

Courtesy of the George Family Collection. All rights reserved.

Jack Martin (with microphone) (above) and the crowd (below), Pambula District Jockey Club race meeting, C. 1960s.

Images © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

Above: Lloyd Cole to right parading his champion bull at the 1964 Pambula Show.

Below: Young show jumpers at the 1964 Pambula Show.

Images © the Estate of Allan "Bubby" George. All rights reserved.

Above: The northern (left) and southern (right) entrances to the former show society pavilion.

Images courtesy of © Angela George. All rights reserved.

​

Images courtesy of and © Pat Raymond. All rights reserved.

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Approximate location of site.