Wingello History
Wingello History features the history of the Wingello village.
The original Wingello was situated on the main South Road quite a way from where the present township is placed. William Mannix wrote to the Surveyor General in December 1826 concerning land that he wished to buy at a location called "Wanglow"; this is the earliest reference to the name. In 1834 road gangs began to construct the new South Road. The ironed gang were set up at Wingello in 4 wooden dwellings, and in early 1835 a detachment of troops were placed there; not long after, the road gang occupied the stockade.
The ironed gangs were made up of convicts who had committed crimes since their arrival. A Quaker named James Backhouse had visited the area in 1836, and wrote a book about his experiences explaining that some prisoners had received up to 800 lashes within 18 months, at a rate of up to 50 lashes per offense. From the year 1838 to 1839, the gang was relocated to Towrang. In 1844 a man from Bargo named Thomas Brown purchased the site where the stockades stood. On this land, he had built an inn named the White Horse. Brown died there in 1852, and was buried in the cemetery near the old stockade. In 1870 the inn property was offered for sale and was described as "Wingello House and grounds, formerly known as the White Horse Hotel". The inn contained 21 rooms and had been a changing station in the coaching days. A constable's hut and lock up was erected opposite the stockade in 1836.
After the opening of the Wingello railway station the settlement began to develop. The Coronation Hall was opened in 1902. This hall was a weatherboard building, which cost £60. This hall than burnt down in 1915 and a new hall were built in 1918.
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