Stroud Post Office

Stroud (including Allworth, Booral and Stroud Road)
Attractive and historic town largely untouched by development
There is a special magic about Stroud (which rhymes with 'loud'). Time seems to have bypassed it. This is a small, old-style, genuinely historic and very picturesque country town full of attractive old buildings nestled peacefully in pleasant and green Karuah Valley. The absence of tourist facilities such as motels and restaurants is considered by some townsfolk to be a drawback but it is also its attraction.

Stroud is situated 219 km north of Sydney by road, 75 km north-east of Newcastle and 40 m above sea-level. Its current population is 550.

The area was once occupied by the Gringgai clan of the Wanaruah Aboriginal people. It is known that the Wanaruah had trade and ceremonial links with the Kamilaroi people and that they favoured goannas as a food source, covering larger animals in hot ashes and stuffing them with grass. They also adopted burning off practices as the new shoots which emerged after fire attracted kangaroos which they surrounded and killed with clubs and spears (du-rane) barbed with sharp stones.

The Karuah Valley represents a portion of the original grant of 500 000 acres made to the Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) between the northern shore of Port Stephens and Taree in 1826. The AAC was formed in 1824 at the instigation of the Macarthurs, a prominent family in the early colonial development of Australia. Sensing an opportunity of obtaining cheap land and labour the company aimed at producing fine wool and crops for the English market.

Henry Dangar explored the Karuah Valley on behalf of the AAC in 1826. Robert Dawson, the company's first superintendent, soon followed and he recorded his first impressions of the countryside about present-day Stroud, describing it as 'beautiful and picturesque, consisting of low undulating hills...I thought at the time I had never beheld so sweet a spot'. 'Perpetually reminded of a gentleman's park and grounds' Dawson also remarked upon the 'variety of scenery..The banks of the river on the left of us alternated between steep rocky sides and low meadows...[The] lively hue of the green hills, the unfed herbage around, and the blue tints of the mountains in the distance, furnished scenes of exquisite beauty'.

Dawson was so impressed he decided to establish the township of Stroud as early as November 1826. Farming commenced in the Booral district, 8 km south of present-day Stroud while areas further north were used for grazing.

Dawson named Stroud after the English town of the same name as the area evoked, for him, the countryside of Gloucestershire (hence the naming of Gloucester to the north).

Dawson was replaced by arctic explorer, Sir Edward Parry (1830-34), who established many of the town's early buildings, and by fostering education, law enforcement and religious life, its sense of community and cohesion.

By 1836 Stroud housed most of the AAC's convict labour force and was functioning as the company's principal storage site. It became a largely self-sufficient centre with its own tradesmen and gardeners.

In 1847 ether was used as an anaesthetic for the first time in Australia at the Stroud hospital which stood opposite St John's Church. In 1849 the first subdivision occurred with allotments sold to private buyers who began to arrive from England in 1850.

In 1851 renowned early Australian churchman J.D. Lang, responsible for establishing the Presbyterian Church in Australia, observed that 'Stroud is decidedly one of the finest villages of inland towns in the colony'.

The lack of success of the local farmers resulted in most of the sheep being moved to Tamworth in 1856 and by 1873 the AAC's relationship with the town had been totally severed.

Coal deposits were located on AAC land north of Stroud in 1855. Pits were established in 1858 but, despite the quality of the find, the costs of extraction proved prohibitive. Attempts to re-establish the venture in the 1870s came to nothing although a proposal was made in 1995 to establish an open-cut mine.

Stroud's first church was St John's Anglican Church (1856), followed by the Uniting and Roman Catholic Churches (1860-61). The former has been rebuilt while the latter still stands. The Presbyterian Church was completed in 1887 and the Baptist Church in 1912. The primary school at Booral was completed in 1865 and that at Stroud in 1882. The latter still stands in Erin St. The post office opened in 1884.

In 1913 the railway arrived and the Central Hotel replaced old Le Mottee's. The last hotel in Booral closed the following year.

In 1914 two substantial logging towns opened in the area around the operations of the Jarrah Timber Co., namely Simsville and The Branch. The former was located east of Stroud. It had one of the largest timber mills in the country and a population of some 500. Logs were brought from the surrounding country by bullock wagon and steam train then sawn and transported by train south to The Branch, from whence it was shipped down river to Port Stephens. Nothing at all remains today.

Things to see:  

Heritage Walk
Many of Stroud's old buildings have been preserved and the whole town is under National Trust classification. The oldest are convict-built. As a company town which was planned rather than developed piecemeal it had, and retains, some unity of focus and character.

Guided tours of the area can be arranged for groups and coach parties, contact (02) 4994 5400. However, the simplest way to see it is to get a heritage walk brochure from the newsagency at the corner of Cowper St (the main through-road) and Memorial Ave. The town is small enough to cover the ground on foot. The pamphlet also deals with the heritage of the areas to the north and south of Stroud.

Bucketts Way and Limeburners Creek
Most people would approach Stroud from the south via Bucketts Way which runs to the north off the Pacific Highway just west of Karuah. It is named after the mountains around Gloucester to the north which are known as 'Bucketts'. The road started its life as a track to Raymond Terrace. It is a green, well-vegetated and unpopulated road. After 6 km a road departs to the left to Clarencetown. Just beyond it is Limeburners Creek where a small community is all that remains of what was once a regular coach stopover for those travelling between Stroud and Raymond Terrace.

Allworth
It is another 10 km to the turnoff on the right to Allworth, a small village on the banks of the Karuah River where fishing and chicken breeding are the basis of the economy . The tidal limit of the Karuah River lies just north of here at the junction with Cromarty Creek, named after Captain Cromarty who had a land grant here before he exchanged it for property at Soldiers Point, Port Stephens. Thus, it is possible to journey by boat from the Allworth boat ramp to Karuah and on to Port Stephens as AAC employees did in the earliest days of European settlement.

Booral
8 km north of the Allworth turnoff is Booral, a tiny township 7 km south of Stroud that started its life as the AAC's principal crop-production centre which developed on the local river flats. At the southern end of town is a beautiful and tranquil spot adjacent a small bridge.

Booral Wharf Ruins
About 1.5 km down river, on the eastern bank of the Karuah River, are the ruins of the old wharf at Booral (c.1834). Situated at what was found to be the northernmost point of navigability it was used to facilitate an exchange of goods with the AAC settlement at Carrington.

Booral House
The AAC settlement at Booral, such as it was, focused on Booral House which can be seen from the roadside. It is situated east on a hill about 1.5 km from the main road.

In 1851 J.D. Lang, on a journey through the district, wrote 'The Commissioner's cottage is beautifully situated on a natural terrace overlooking the river and the cultivated land; and everything about it indicates the residence of an English gentleman of refined taste and in affluent circumstances'.

Booral House is a brick bungalow. It has a hipped roof, panelled doors and a recessed verandah backed by shuttered French windows. It has been carefully restored in recent years and is privately owned. It can be seen from the property gate on Lowes Lane.

Gundayn House
A sign to the left, immediately upon turning into Lowes Lane, indicates Gundayn House, with the entranceway demarcated by an avenue of trees. A Victorian manor house built c.1860 of rubble stone by schoolmaster Henry Skillman, it has a hipped roof, tapering wooden verandah posts and cedar joinery. There is also a small rubble stone outbuilding from an earlier date. It is open for guest accommodation and historic walks but by appointment only, contact (02) 4994 9246.

The Gables
Built in 1864 The Gables is aptly named as its most distinctive feature are its numerous gables which jut forth from the length of the roof. It was built by Robert Carnell and was initially known as The Wormery as attempts were made here to establish silk-worm farming on a commercial basis. It is now a nursery and craft gallery with a barbecue area.

St Barnabas Anglican Church
This rather plain sandstone building was originally erected in 1856 from monies forwarded by English shareholders which also funded a church in Gloucester and a school in Newcastle. It was relocated in 1873 from its original position just south of Booral House when the route of the main road was altered.

Alderley House
Alderley House is situated on Bucketts Way, to the left, halfway between Stroud and Booral. A long building with a verandah, timber columns, multi-paned windows and hipped roof it was built as a cottage for the AAC's farrier and his family with convict labour c.1831-32. A horse stable was located at the rear of the building. A kitchen, butcher and baker were situated at the front. Cobb and Co subsequently used it as a staging post and an apocryphal story suggests that bushranger Captain Thunderbolt, who had stolen horses at Monkerai, also rested them here.

Today Alderley House is the site of a small vineyard growing Chambourcin and Verdelho grapes. Contact 02 4994 5556 for more information about tastings and accommodation.

Stroud Gate
At the southern end of town, where Hinton St meets the main road, there was, originally, a town gate in a fence which encircled the settlement, partly for the defence of the sheep. At the time there was a 10 o' clock curfew due to concerns about Aborigines and convicts.

Court House

Courthouse
Located by the corner of Cowper St and Memorial Ave is the town's second courthouse. The first was erected on this site in the 1840s by the AAC. The present building was completed in 1876 and remained in use until 1974. The police residence and cells were removed in the 1930s. The building now serves as an historical museum, open Wednesdays from 11.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. The courtroom is still intact with original features and furnishings. There are photographs, records and historical material for sale, particularly concerning the unsolved McAskell murders which were investigated here in 1878.

St John's Anglican Church
St John's is a simple Gothic Revival church situated on the crest of a small rise. It was erected in 1833. The church was built by convict labour under the direction of Thomas Laman. His tombstone lies in the historic cemetery which surrounds the church, along with those of the murdered McAskells and the crew of the Carrington, a company schooner which foundered off the north head of Port Stephens in a gale on May 19, 1842. Another grave is that of Sarah White, the wife of J.C. White, AAC superintendent of flocks, and daughter of Robert Hoddle, the surveyor who laid out Melbourne. There is a legend that bushranger Captain Thunderbolt was married to a local girl in this building.

The grounds of St John's are very attractive. The building itself has as a small louvred belltower, lancet arched windows with simple timber tracery and an elliptical barrel-vault ceiling. The interior is largely unaltered and rich in cedar, including the stairway, doors, floor, altar, the interesting twin pulpits and the nicely carved benches. There is an old sundial on the grounds and a small carved stone in the porch from the Church of St Lawrence in Stroud, England. This carved piece of stone is said to be 600-700 years old.

The Anglican Rectory
On the northern side of the church is the Anglican rectory, a plain, single-storey building which features a large, open verandah with shuttered french windows and paired columns with classical motifs. Erected by convict labour in 1836 it was damaged by a severe fire in 1859 and largely rebuilt with further alterations in 1920.

Parish Hall
On the southern side of the church is the parish hall (c.1860 but of uncertain date) set amidst pleasant gardens. It is a simple building of locally-made bricks with stuccoed inner walls, a gabled iron roof and sash windows with semicircular brick arches. The central fireplace has a fluted cedar chimneypiece.

Quambi House
The exact date of Quambi House is contested but the late 1830s have been suggested. Originally known as Lady Parry's School it became a grammar school when the state school was opened in the 1880s and a private residence in 1900. It is now owned by, and is being progressively restored by, the local historical society who open it on Sundays from 1.00 p.m to 3.00 p.m.

Quambi is a two-storey house of sandstock brick with a hipped roof, shuttered and multi-paned windows, a fine door, painted semi-circular fanlights on the ground floor openings, brick arches, curved parapet brickwork to the kitchen annex (c.1860), a front porch supported by four classical columns, and cedar grates on both floors which are considered to be characteristic of the district. There is also an old milestone out the front.

St Columbanus Catholic Church
Stroud's second-oldest church is St Columbanus (1859). A rather plain church it has arched lancet windows and carved wooden bargeboards on the gables at the western end.

The Cottages
A number of the cottages on the western side of Cowper Street, between Broadway and Laman St, date from the 1830s and were built by convict labour for AAC employees. Thornleigh is a particularly fine building. It was this series of cottages which J.D. Lang was referring to in 1851 when he observed of Stroud that '[It] consists of a single street, the houses, which are principally neat cottages, being thrown back a considerable distance, on each side, from the line of the road, with flower gardens and shrubberies in front.'

Silo Hill
The hill is named after eight subterranean silos, convict-built in 1841 to store the AAC's grain and protect it (successfully) from weevils and other pests. They are still there and can be inspected by lifting the heavy iron cover by the picnic tables and climbing down the ladder. Some 6 m deep and 5 m wide they are internally lined with locally-made bricks and are clearly bell-shaped.

The two cannons were made in England in the mid-1850s, at the time of the Crimean War. They became part of the battery protecting Sydney Harbour in 1866 and, in 1882, were sent to Signal Hill (now Fort Scratchley) in Newcastle. A sign on the hill notes 'the cannons were positioned in 1909, being transported by bullock wagon from Booral'. They were intended purely as ornamentation.

From this point there are excellent views over Stroud.

Stroud House
Stroud House is a gracious cement-rendered building on Cowper St erected by the AAC and probably designed by Thomas Laman. It started as a single-storey building in 1828. This formed the basis of the present two-storey building (1832). Further additions were made in 1873. It served as a guesthouse for the company superintendents. From 1873 it was used by the Bank of Australia. In 1926 it became, and still is, a private residence. The house has five bays with sash windows and three gabled dormer windows with timber bargeboards. There are fine cedar fittings throughout. The convict servants' quarters were in the cellar.

Note the fine post office building over the road (cnr Erin and Cowper Sts), built in 1884. St James Presbyterian Church (1887), with its carved wooden bargeboards and lancet arches, is just down Erin St to the right.

Chalford House
At 27 Cowper St, is Chalford House which is built on the site of the old Australian Inn, Stroud's first hotel, erected in 1826. Alfred Bowen bought the inn in 1918. He and his family demolished it and rebuilt it using the old bricks, skirting boards, doors and fireplaces. They named the house Chalford and only sold it in 1996 when it was again opened to the public as a three-bedroom guest house. Today it is a private residence.

The Clare Community
The community of St Clare was started in 1975 when some sisters of this Anglican order moved to Stroud. Their mud-brick monastery, which serves as a contemplative retreat, was completed in 1980 with volunteer labour. They have more recently been joined by brothers of the Franciscan order who have a mud-brick hermitage. Visitors (02) 4994 5303

Washpool
About 3 km along the Dungog road is a bridge over the Karuah River. Upstream, on the northern side of the bridge, is the Washpool, a popular picnic, boating and swimming spot. The name relates to a series of sheep pens over a rock weir which stretched across the river. Some 800 sheep a day were apparently driven through them in order to wash them and thus improve the wool. The remnants of the weir can still be seen about 100 m north of the bridge (even the remains of the pens have been seen in a drought).

Stroud Road
Not far north of the Dungog turnoff, along Bucketts Way, is the attractive little village of Stroud Road. In the days before the railway came through (1911-1913) it was a stopover on the coach and mail route from Raymond Terrace to Gloucester. Later it functioned as the railhead for Stroud.

Services
Camping, fishing and swimming can be enjoyed at the Country River Camp, contact (02) 4994 5254. Turn off to the left just south of Booral along Washpool Road (signposted).

Events
The towns of Stroud in England, the United States, Canada and Australia hold an International Brick and Rolling Pin Throwing Competition on the same day in July. It is preceded by a procession. The Stroud Show is held in April.

Tours
Hunter Valley Day Tours offer a range of guided 4WD tours of the Hunter Valley complete with commentary. They pick up clients from anywhere. Bookings are necessary, contact (02) 4938 5031. Hunter Action Tours offer outdoor camping and walking tours, contact (02) 4976 1416 or (019) 459 473. Horizon Safaris conduct 4WD tours from Newcastle north through Stockton Beach up to Port Stephens or through the vineyards of Port Stephens and the Lower Hunter, as well as a tour through the heritage of Morpeth, contact (018) 681 600. Australian Scenic Tours can be contacted on (02) 4929 4333.

The Wine and Cheese Tasting Tour will pick you up from any location as far north as Singleton, contact (02) 4938 5031 while Hunter Vineyard Tours can be contacted on (02) 4991 1659.

Walking tours of the Hunter are conducted by Federation Track Walkers, contact (02) 9484 9701.

	Tourist Information
	Stroud Newsagency Cowper St Stroud NSW 2425 Telephone: (02) 4994 5117
	Hotels
	Central Hotel Cowper St Stroud NSW 2425 Telephone: (02) 4994 5197
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Valley View Bed & Breakfast 1783 Bucketts Way Wards River Stroud NSW 2422 Telephone: (02) 4994 7066 Facsimile: (02) 4994 7066