Aboriginal and early settler history The area now known as Canbelego is part of the traditional lands of
Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of
Ngiyampaa people. The Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell and his expedition had camped and obtained water, in early 1845, at a place that he called "Canbelego" but that was not the later site of the village; it was a location—on
Bogan River, near to the modern-day locality of Grahweed—about 30 km from
Nyngan. As Mitchell tried to use local language names whenever possible, it is likely that the name Canbelego is derived from the local aboriginal dialect. Grahweed and the later site of Canbelego lie at opposite ends of area of the
County of Canbelego, and it is likely that the village took its name from the county. After settler colonisation, the area of the village was partly within
Robinson County (Parish of Cohn) and partly within Canbelego County (Parish of Florida).
Mount Boppy Gold Mine The original Mount Boppy Gold Mine operated from 1901 to 1922. It was, at the time, regarded as being the largest gold producer in New South Wales. Over that period, the mine produced 13.5 tons (433,000 ounces) of gold. By the end of 1912, shareholders had received a return of 356% on their capital investment, rising to 500% over the entire 21 years of operation. Between 1929 and 1941, there was minor production of gold from remnant ore and attempts to process tailings. Around 500,000 tonnes of
tailings—still containing an average of 3g of gold per tonne—were left on the surface. Starting in 1974, these tailings were reprocessed to recover more gold. Later mining operations included reprocessing of tailings sand that had been used to back fill the old underground workings. In 2020, drilling revealed intersections of high-grade gold-bearing ore below the bottom of the existing pit. Gold was again being mined there in 2021, and that was expected to continue, until 2022, with limited mine site rehabilitation. In May 2024, Manuka Resources announced that it had raised $8 million in capital to commence production at the Mount Boppy mine.
Other mines South-east of the Mount Boppy mine was the Mount Boppy South mine, which was worked in conjunction with the main Mount Boppy Gold Mine. Other nearby mines included the Canbelego Copper Mining Co. (also known as 'the Burra', located 5 miles south of the village, which was operating as early as 1886), the North Mount Boppy Gold Mining Co., and the Restdown Copper Mining Co. (15 miles south-east of Canbelego). Nearer to the railway station at Boppy Mountain was the Boppy Boulder Gold Mine.—mined between 1906 and 1914—was once again, in 2022, the focus of exploration as a copper resource.
Mining village Growth The village of Canbelego was proclaimed in December 1902, although the emerging settlement— at first informally known as Mount Boppy Mine—had been surveyed and named Canbelego, by late 1900. In May 1901, the population was 184. By the end of 1902, there was already a population of 300 to 400, and two hotels. By mid 1904, the rapidly growing population had reached around 900, with 180 employed at the Mt Boppy Mine. It became a full post office, in July 1901. The public school was established in 1901, initially with around 35 children; by mid 1904, it had an enrollment of 158, and an average attendance of 120. The main street, Edward Street, had three hotels, six stores, two butchers, a baker, blacksmith, billiard saloon, cool drink shops, many boarding houses, a post office, and a court house under construction. There was also a local doctor. The first of its church buildings, the Presbyterian Church, built in 1901, was shared when necessary with other denominations, pending the other churches being built. All the houses in the town were neat houses of
weatherboard construction, not the temporary structures common in mining towns of that time. On the outskirts of the village, a sawmill was busy cutting timber for building work in the growing village. In 1905, the population reached around 1,500, with around 300 of these being employees of the mine. By 1907, the population had reached around 2,000. Construction of an Anglican church (The Church of the Good Shepherd) began in late 1908, and it was consecrated in mid 1909. Anglican church services were conducted by visiting priests of the
Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd. By 1908, the village had a Catholic church (St Phillip's). In 1908, a second school, a Catholic Convent School, was opened, with four
Sisters of St. Joseph and 70 pupils, and by 1916 it had 135. In 1910, the village's new
Methodist church was opened. The new building was necessary because the Methodists could no longer use the building of 'a sister church' (probably the Presbyterian church) for their services.
Businesses In 1908, Michael Lane, a storekeeper from
Nymagee, bought land in Edward Street, for a
general store that was to be a part of Canbelego until the early 1920s. His first store, located directly opposite the Commercial Hotel, was burned down, in 1911, Wong Sing Wah, who operated a
market garden, on the Nyngan Road, just outside Cobar, had a fruiterer and greengrocer's shop, in Edward Street. Robert Linton ran a soft drink business in the village. and race meetings were held there on New Year's Day until the racing club was wound up in 1912. A 'patriotic meeting' of the Canbelego Race Club was held at a new race course at Canbelego, in May 1916, and the tradition of races on New Year's Day revived for 1917, with an Easter Monday race meeting in 1918., Victoria (c.1908) The village had a
cricket club, from September 1904, playing games against
Cobar and
Wrightville. The games were typically limited to one
innings for each side, to allow visiting sides to catch the afternoon train home. Home games were played on a ground known as Canbelego Park. There was also a football club, also playing at Canbelego Park. Initially, the football code played was
Rugby Union but, by around 1916, it had changed to
Rugby League. It competed in music competitions against other towns. A travelling cinema 'Phelan's electric biograph' visited and entertained the village over two nights in August 1907. The village had its own venue for motion pictures, Levy and Wall's Picture Show, On 27 October 1911, the village was entertained by a touring 'Bio-megaphone', an early form of talking motion picture show. It was powered by "
huge electric generator imported from America expressly for this tour", and was fitted with "
Fire-proof guards to prevent any danger of conflagration". Probably, it was either a
Chronophone or a
Chonomegaphone (an enhanced version of the
Chronophone). Both electrically powered devices were made by
Lèon Gaumont, played
Phonoscènes, and amplified the sound using compressed air; both kinds of device had been in use elsewhere in Australia by 1911. Most likely, the 'Bio-megaphone' was a
Chronophone that had been improved by using a later model film projector, then rebranded, for marketing purposes, to compete with the more modern
Chronomegaphone (both the 'Bio-megaphone' and
Chronomegaphone began showing, on the same day, in two different Melbourne theatres).
Phonoscènes were typically the duration of one
gramophone record, including only one song, but longer
sound-on-disc films were made of
operas.
Difficulties of Mount Boppy Gold Mine, with Canbelego in the background, c.1912. The rapid growth in population soon exposed the vulnerable water supply—a continuing problem in a semi-arid area—overcrowding at the school, and inadequate postal and telegraph arrangements. The village would suffer an extraordinary number of building fires. but it can vary greatly from year to year, with drought an ever present risk. All watercourses in the area are ephemeral. Enormous amounts of water were needed for the gold processing operations. The mine drew its water from a vast 'tank'. Despite the mine tank's 12-million imperial gallon capacity—enough for eight months operation if full—and very careful water management at the mine, lack of water was a cause of interruptions to production and employment, during droughts. Paradoxically, infrequent but heavy rain could also interrupt mine operations, if water found its way into the mine, as occurred twice in 1913. The village's water came from a separate 'Government Tank'. So critical was the mine to the village's economy that, if the mine's tank fell below eight feet in depth and subject to approval, water was transferred from the Government Tank to the mine's tank. From 1914, the mine began using groundwater, from the abandoned North Mount Boppy shaft, in its boilers. The quality of the village's water supply was poor; on at least one occasion, the water from the 'Government Tank' was declared unsafe to drink, by the Government Analyst. It often contained silt, and water needed to be boiled to be safe to drink. Distribution of water to the town depended upon there being enough wind to operate the windmill-driven pump feeding a distribution tank. Keeping livestock away from the village's water supply, particularly goats that thrived in the
semi-arid climate, was a constant problem. Some houses and commercial premises had rainwater tanks, but these could not be relied upon in Canbelego's climate. Groundwater from the mine workings was clean, but brackish and unfit for human consumption. In 1911, water was brought in by rail, but there was only enough to supply the village, and the mine shutdown temporarily.With little water and no fire brigade, fire was a constant threat to a village built mainly of wood and
corrugated iron sheets. There were serious fires that destroyed multiple commercial buildings, in 1904, 1906, January 1911, October 1911, November 1911, 1913, and 1915, as well as house fires that destroyed individual residences. The most destructive fire was the fire of February 1915; it destroyed two of the village's hotels and seven shops, all in Edward Street. Only with great effort, by surface staff from the mine, was the fire prevented from spreading to the other side of the street. The fire of November 1911 had been nearly as destructive; it consumed eight buildings, mostly shops. After more fires affecting hotels and businesses, a skeptical reporter opined in early 1916 that, "
Fires seem to be quite fashionable in Canbelego at present". but in others, including the destructive fire of February 1915, it was not possible to reach a conclusion on whether there had been arson or not. The fire risk at Canbelego, in general, was such that insurance cover had become harder to obtain by 1912. it was in some ways a
company town. That had advantages; the mine employed a doctor, who was also allowed to have a private practice in the village; the company provided a small hospital, in 1908, and a library, in 1907; and the village's electricity supply originally came from the mine. The surface employees of the mine also fought fires in the village. A miner told how his (presumably single) board and accommodation at Canbelego was 17s 6d, per week, much higher than the 12s 6d that he had paid while working near the coast at
Pambula. A local agent gave evidence that the minimum weekly rental on a house suited to a family was 7s 6d per week, whereas a better house, with a bathroom, could cost 10s 6d. In nearby Cobar, miners contributed 9d each per week to retain a medical practitioner. Wages for mine workers had increased to between 9s and 11s 6d, per shift, depending upon their classification and, for some, the conditions where they were working. At the time, union members paid to their union 2s 9d, on joining, and 9d per fortnight for the union's working expenses. There were no rock-drilling machines at the Mount Boppy Mine, with all mining, including blast hole drilling, by hand, other than
rock blasting. Manual work included the manhandling of mine trucks (or
mine skips)—containing 8 to 9
cwt (around 400 to 460 kg) of rock—into and out of the lift cage, with trucks arriving at the surface at a rate of around 40 per hour. The core of the mine's surface operations was its huge
stamper battery, used to pulverise gold-bearing rock. It had 40 stamper heads—each weighing 950
pounds, and impacting 88 times per minute—in 1904, its continuous roar was labelled "''Canbelego's lullaby
"; it was reported that, "Canbelegolites get so used to it they can't go to sleep without it''". Sundays were always a day of quiet, with the mine not working on the day of rest and religious observance.
Accidents, fatalities, and emergency medical treatment , inside a
stope (Mt Boppy Mine, 1905). Note the absence of any
personal protective equipment and the bar being used to bring down rock, from below.Hard-rock mining was a dangerous occupation; the accident rate for Cobar district miners, in 1912, was 109.3 accidents per 1,000 workers. Over the years of its operation, up to 1922, at least ten men died as a result of accidents at the Mount Boppy mine. Canbelego had been free of mining fatalities, until July 1905, when the first death occurred at the Mount Boppy mine, followed by another death, in 1908, In late January 1914, two men, John Sedgeman and William Stevens, died in separate accidents at the Mount Boppy mine; both left widows and children. Later, in April 1914, a miner and recent widower, William (W. J.) Nicholls, was killed instantly by a large falling rock; he was survived by his seven then-orphaned children, the eldest being just fourteen. The tailings sand used to fill the old mine workings was also a hazard. In August 1913, Thomas Shepherd was buried under falling sand. Other miners worked to uncover him, by which time he had died of
asphyxia. He left a widow and five children, the eldest only thirteen years old. Even if a victim survived an accident, the medical facilities available to treat them, at Canbelego's small 'mine cottage hospital' (opened in late 1908) were limited, and some injuries were just too severe to treat successfully at the time. In March 1916, a miner, Edward Webb, was caught in a rockfall and pinned against timber. He sustained internal injuries and a fractured pelvis. When his condition had not improved after a day, he was relocated, on a
goods train, to the district hospital at Cobar. Once there, the doctors "
decided that the case was not one suitable for immediate operation and gave instructions to the matron as to treatment", and it was there that Webb died. His body was returned to Canbelego, Webb, who owned no property, left a widow, Emline Amy Jane Webb, and children. He died
intestate, compounding the problems of his family. Price's 18-year-old son, Leslie, had miraculously survived an earlier serious accident, with both legs broken above the knee, when he was caught in machinery, in September 1908. Price himself had experienced a near miss, in January 1908, in an incident in which the miner working alongside him, a popular man and keen sportsman, Herbert Corbett, lost his leg. Amputation of Corbett's leg, below the knee, could not arrest the process of "
mortification" and, after a second operation, he died at Cobar district hospital. When Corbett's body was returned for burial, at Canbelego, the
funeral cortege from the railway station, led by the town band and including members of the miners' union, the
A.M.A., was said to be over three-quarters of a mile long. Probably the last miner to die at the Mount Boppy mine, in July 1921, was a shift boss, husband, and father of three, Samuel Lecount, who fell 400 feet down a shaft. As a younger miner, he had survived two quite similar accidents. In October 1900, at the
Prince of Wales mine, at
Reno, near
Gundagai, he fell into a shaft but, after he had fallen around 80 feet, his leg became entangled in a line, exposing the bone in his leg but saving his life. In January 1904, while working at the New Golden Gate mine,
Mathinna, Tasmania, he had fallen into an ore pass and then had been covered quickly by falling rocks; he had been rescued, after three hours, with only bruises and shock. Fatal accidents also occurred outside the mine. A fall from a bullock wagon and being run over took the life of Canbelego's carrier, Owen Byrne, in 1914, a clothing fire that of old-age pensioner, Mrs Smart, in 1908, and an accidental shooting that of 15 year old Thomas Henderson, in 1915. Fortunate to survive was the mine's accountant, Eric (E. B.) Treatt, a former
N.S.W. Lancer and a veteran of the
South African War. In September 1903, he was at the
Commercial Bank in Cobar, after accompanying the
gold escort from the mine on the train. While inside the manager's office, with the bank manager and another man, he bent over to retrieve a document and a loaded
revolver fell from his top pocket onto the floor. The revolver discharged and the bullet went through Treatt's thigh and entered his abdomen. Without the newly discovered
X-rays, great difficulty was experienced in finding the bullet, at Cobar. He was taken to Sydney, where X-rays were used, but without a result. Treatt eventually recovered, still carrying the bullet, and returned to his job at the mine. An elder brother of state politician,
Vernon Treatt, after Canbelego, he was first an
A.M.P. agent and later a farmer and orchardist, near
Young, where he was also an unsuccessful political candidate. Treatt was to have a long life.
Disease and infant mortality The village had outbreaks of
typhoid fever, a disease caused by bacteria. In those times, the disease was a regular visitor to settlements, but especially those with poor water quality and sanitation. More serious cases were transferred to the district hospital at Cobar. Canbelego had a serious epidemic, in 1906. Another serious bacterial disease was
diphtheria, affecting especially infant children. Evidence was given, in 1905, that for every ten births in the district, there was one death before the age of one year.Some health conditions could not be treated adequately at the time. In late December 1912, William Duncan Williamson, a well-respected Scottish-born
metallurgist, died unexpectedly of heart disease, aged only 39. He had been the Mount Boppy Mine's chief metallurgist for nine years, and he just been granted a provisional
patent for treatment of gold and silver ores using cyanide. Earlier in 1912, Warran Williams, died at the small hospital, from
pneumonia, one month short of his 21st birthday. Pneumonia also took the life, in 1913, of 39 year old Bernard Pascoe, a husband and father of six, who for twelve years had been a winding engine driver at the mine. In July 1919, Canbelego suffered a serious outbreak of
Spanish Influenza, during the second and more lethal wave of the pandemic in Australia. Most of the community were infected—temporarily closing the mine and overwhelming the small hospital—resulting in at least nine deaths in one week.
Crime, policing and justice Canbelego had a police station and courthouse, which also serviced the surrounding district. Canbelego's police officers played an important role in the mining village's life. Two police officers, who were publicly honoured for their work at Canbelego, were Senior Constable Angus MacAulay (at Canbelego 1901–1905) and Senior Constable George Jeffrey (at Canbelego 1905–1915). In 1912, the police presence in the village was one
mounted police constable and two foot constables. The courthouse, which opened in 1904, was used for matters presided over by visiting
police magistrates.
Thefts and other crimes The gold produced at the Mount Boppy Gold Mine was a valuable and easily portable target for thieves. In July 1908, two miners, brothers named Hogan, were committed for trial on charges of stealing gold, in the form of small pieces of gold and rich pieces of gold ore, from the mine. At his trial, James Hogan was sentenced to three years
penal servitude for the theft of 11½
ounces of gold. For his work in solving the gold theft, Senior Constable George Jeffrey was presented with a large inscribed gold watch, sent by the directors of the company in London. In 1909, Constable Davies was charged with
malicious wounding of Richard Miller, a blacksmith. Miller had managed to escape, shot in the heel and buttock. Davies was eventually acquitted, on the basis that the shooting had been lawful. Evidence was given that the wounding was accidental, probably the result of a
ricochet of a warning shot. Miller pleaded guilty to being on
licensed premises after hours. In June 1916, residents, particularly women, were alarmed at sightings of a masked man outside windows of private residences in the village. There were cases of petty theft and arson. He was subsequently tried and convicted, at
Dubbo, and sentenced to be
hanged, a sentence later commuted. Following the successful outcome of the case, George Jeffrey was promoted to Sergeant and relocated to
Yass, in 1915. He retired, in 1933, after 37 years with the police, as Superintendent of the Riverina Police District, at
Albury.
The 'Canbelego Tragedy' On 9 July 1916, the village was stunned by a
murder suicide, referred to, at the time, as the 'Canbelego Tragedy'. A discharged soldier, William Henry Carroll, shot and killed his girlfriend, Gertrude Tessy Pearson, then fired at his own sister, Rosey Carroll, but missed; when his sister last saw him, he was reloading his rifle. Fearing for their own lives, his sister and his mother fled and summoned a policeman, Sergeant McLean, who found Pearson dead and Carroll mortally wounded by a gunshot to the head. Carroll died in hospital, later on the same day. Gertrude Pearson, believed to be from
Botany, was staying as a guest of Carroll's family, at Canbelego, at Carroll's invitation, but had announced her intention to return to Sydney on the following Monday. Just before the shooting she and Carroll had quarrelled. She was described as a "
refined girl" who was "
said to have been 17 years old, but hardly appeared that age." Carroll had been an army recruit, in training at Liverpool Camp; during that time he met Gertrude Pearson and they had formed what was described as an "
intense attachment". He was discharged, after he had participated in what became known as the '
Liverpool mutiny', in February 1916. It had started as a protest strike by recruits, but escalated into a massive and violent, alcohol-fuelled riot, in
Liverpool and later in the streets of
central Sydney. Carroll and a five-years-older man, John Carroll (possibly a relative), both had been sentenced to two months of imprisonment, for violently attacking a police constable during the riot. Carroll's father stated that his son always had a violent temper and was "
madly jealous" around Miss Pearson. The coroner's findings were willful murder and suicide. not in Canbelego. Although the only people she knew in the district were the Carroll family, in an outpouring of sympathy, her funeral was well attended. By mid September 1915, it had become the Recruiting and Patriotic League (later Association), which was chaired by the manager of the mine, James Negus. By late January 1916, 52 men had volunteered, reportedly over 80 by August 1916, The roll of honour does not include all the soldiers who came from the village or enlisted there, then there are three more from a newspaper report of August 1916.—and another volunteer, in early 1918, James Huggett. service number 1633, his name is missing from the Canbelego village's roll of honour, and it probably contributed to his violent death, in 1946, aged just 51. An early recruit was a 38 year old married man and father of two, Thomas Sinclair Keen. Keen served as a Sergeant with the
Engineer Corps. He survived the war, returning to Canbelego, as an invalid due to his wounds and sickness, in September 1917. He was given a reception by the Patriotic Association upon his return. Reverend William Smart was the minister of Canbelego's Methodist church and a supporter of the war effort. He enlisted as a private soldier and served for 20 months, as a stretcher bearer in the First
Field Ambulance, before returning to Canbelego, as an invalid, in September 1917. He too was given a reception upon his return. In 1915, he had deserted a woman, Wilhelmina 'Minnie' Henderson, who was expecting their child, in Canbelego, before fleeing to Queensland. Once there, in October 1915, he enlisted, at
Enoggera, under an alias, Michael Dunn, and also giving false family details, but then deserted the army, for a second time. In March 1916, he was arrested in Sydney and sent back to Canbelego, where he was ordered to pay support costs for an infant child, in lieu of 12 months imprisonment. In April 1916, he was arrested, by the police at Canbelego, for twice deserting the army, and sent back to Queensland under military escort for
Court-martial. He embarked for war in September 1916, and later served, very briefly, as a
sapper in the
1st Tunnelling Company, before becoming ill. He survived the war, His name, his apparent attachment to Canbelego, and a reported former occupation as an assistant storekeeper—he had also been a miner and a general labourer— that connection alone probably explains why his name appears on the larger of Canbelego's surviving rolls of honour. His father died in July 1928,
intestate, and Lane himself was dead, before he could receive any inheritance. Although he had married Minnie in 1916, and they had two sons together, Lane died by suicide, at his home in
Chatswood, in 1930, aged just 38, after what seems to have been a troubled later life. He survived the war, but possibly never returned to Canbelego.John Bray, perhaps unsurprisingly for a miner, was a
sapper in the
3rd Tunnelling Company, A.I.F., when he was killed in action in France, on 12 September 1916. He was buried at the Pont du Hem Military Cemetery, at
La Gorgue, with another sapper killed on the same day. Well-known, as Jack Bray, he had been a local footballer and amateur boxer. The casualties, killed and wounded soldiers from Canbelego, continued to accumulate right up to the
armistice, in November 1918. Lance-Corporal Joseph Ellery, whose brother Stephen had been killed in action, returned to Canbelego, in January 1918, after recovering from wounds, wearing a
Military Medal. Asked how he had won the medal, he remarked that it was because his officer, who was by then dead, had lived long enough after the engagement to complete the recommendation. He said that many awards to brave soldiers had not occurred, simply because so many officers had been killed or disabled by wounds, before making their recommendations. His name too is missing from Canbelego village's roll of honour Driver Sidney Windsor (or 'Winsor' on the roll of honour), won the Military Medal, upon the recommendation of Major-General
Ewen Sinclair-MacLagan, commander of the
4th Division. Windsor had brought up and attached a
limber to an artillery piece, under heavy shell fire, and saved the gun single-handed. He returned to Canbelego, in time to attend a meeting, held in July 1919, to organise the village's peace celebration—following the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles. The timing of the planned celebration could not have been worse—it corresponded with the arrival of Spanish Influenza and on at least three other occasions by the war's end, winning the Military Medal.
Decline Last years of Mount Boppy Mine In 1917, the population was said to be around 2,000 but, in February of that year, hard rock mining was suspended at the Mount Boppy Gold Mine. The mine reopened in early 1918, after the sinking of a new shaft was completed, and the lode near the old shaft (Taylor's shaft) was then mined. Some surface plant was also relocated, due to concerns about 'creep' in the ground under the area where the surface plant had been located. Despite assurances that the closure was temporary, Some unemployed men from Canbelego found work, in 1917, building the extension of the railway line from Cobar to the
CSA Mine. The frequent droughts in the Cobar region had caused the Mount Boppy mine to shutdown on numerous occasions over its life, including in late 1918; it happened again in 1919 and in early 1920. Like Cobar and
Elouera, water was brought to Canbelego by rail, but the interruptions to work at the mine brought hardship when mine employees were stood down. The drought would be a long one, which was still affecting mining operations at the Mt Boppy mine, into the early 1920s. By March 1920, as the drought continued, Canbelego had begun to lose some of its weatherboard buildings, which were sold, demolished and taken to other places. Canbelego residents were paying six
shillings (6/-) for 100
gallons of water, which was brought by rail, from
Narromine to Boppy Mount—a distance of 213 km—and then by road to the village, in April 1920; at the time, an ounce of gold was worth £5/13/1, less than the cost for residents to buy in 2,000 gallons (7,570 litres) of Narromine water. Rain came in June 1920, allowing production to restart, but around the same time the miners were in dispute over wage rates. Nonetheless, the mine was able to produce enough gold, by the end of December 1920, to comfortably hold its place, for 1920, as the largest gold producer in New South Wales. On Monday 5 September 1921, the company announced that the mine had closed—consequently the last mining shift had ended on the previous Saturday at midnight—resulting in the loss of 200 mining jobs at Canbelego. Some work continued, for a time, processing tailings and remnant ore, and twenty miners worked the old mine, as
tribute miners during 1922. as did the Chesney Mine which depended on its smelter. In 1920, the C.S.A mine at
Elouera closed unexpectedly due to an underground fire, as did the Gladstone Mine which used its smelter. In July 1921, the Occidental Gold Mine at
Wrightville closed, and the widespread expectations that it would reopen were dashed in July 1922. After Mount Boppy closed, there were no longer any large mines working in the Cobar region, and there would not be until work resumed at the Occidental Mine, subsequently the New Occidental Mine, in 1933. Many miners and their families left the district altogether.
After the mine closed The final closure of the Mount Boppy Gold Mine, in 1922–1923, brought an end to hope for a revival of Canbelego's prosperity. A gold discovery and rush at nearby Muriel Tank, halfway to
Hermidale, proved minor, and nothing came of a mining claim pegged in Canbelego village itself. In 1921, the population was down to around 1,000, and the convent school closed at the end of 1923. The buildings owned by the mining company and the village's library of books were sold off, with the other mine assets, by auction, over three days at the end of August 1923. The hospital building had been sold as part of the mine assets, but then was bought back by the Mount Boppy company, and made available to the community at a
peppercorn rent, becoming known as the Mount Boppy District Hospital. By early 1924, the local hospital committee was struggling to keep it funded. The village's domestic electricity supply came from a
dynamo at the mine, and it therefore ceased when the mine's surface operations shutdown, probably during 1922. The motion picture show shut down, during the winter months of 1920, and was replaced, at least initially, with a Saturday night dance. The motion picture show closed for good around 1921, dependent as it was upon electricity. With a declining population, the price of houses collapsed; in January 1923, four houses were advertised for a total price of £35. The fate of some of Canbelgo's houses and other buildings was to be pulled down and sold off as building materials. Equipment at the mine that had been sold was being demolished and removed during 1924. The morning after it had been used for a dance, the public hall was destroyed by fire in March 1924, three months after another fire destroyed Lane's general store, in December 1923. probably indicating that it always had been an open-air venue. The destroyed public hall was insured. However, the picture show building was saved by volunteers. and in 1929, "
there are very few houses and shops in Canbelego". Limited gold production between 1929 and 1941 allowed the village to persist, with diminished circumstances. In 1931, the population was still 261 and the village had one hotel, two stores, two butchers, a bakery, and its public school, with 40 pupils. In 1944, the school had "
less than a dozen children".. By the 1930s, the goats that had once been kept in the village and other mining settlements in the region were running wild. In 1933, 200 goats were sent from Canbelego to
Lanyon, near Queanbeyan. From 1933 to 1935, a deposit of
galena with some gold, lying north-east of the village. known as the Newhaven shaft, was mined underground and in shallow pits. Radio broadcasts could be heard in the Cobar district, by 1927, one of the few positive developments for Canbelego residents, even if the signal was from far-away centres and reception only available at nighttime. Radio broadcasts would begin, from
Cumnock and
Dubbo, still some distance from Canbelego, only in 1935 and 1936 respectively. However, a mains electricity supply for Canbelego was decades away, and any radio sets would need to rely upon
dry batteries or farm lighting supplies for their power.Another significant improvement was that the village had obtained an ambulance, by April 1926, which allowed patient transport to larger towns; the hospital closed before then. The hospital building was handed over to the
Country Women's Association. A bush nurse, funded by the local CWA branch, was stationed there and used the building; she also drove and serviced the ambulance herself. In 1937, the local branch of the Country Women's Association had 37 members. As in many country towns, the organisation played a key part in raising funds for community purposes. and it had another successful year in 1940. The team was still in existence in 1954. By 1949, there were only 93 inhabitants left. A visitor in 1951 wrote of the village and its old Anglican church, ”
Here can be seen the little grey church on a windy hill, which in times past was surrounded by numerous houses, but now stands almost alone." By 1954, the village reportedly had just 24 houses. The old Commercial Hotel was destroyed by fire, in 1956. An attempt was made to remove its licence to
Dapto, in 1958, but it reopened, in a new hotel building, at a different site in Edward Street, in late 1959. The opening of the new hotel, officially the Arunta Hotel, but better known as the Canbelego Hotel, was cause for celebration, with a sports day, opening ceremony, and dance. It was not until 1958 that the
Barrier Highway was
sealed, between Cobar and Boppy Mount, making it easier for Canbelego's remaining residents to travel to the nearest larger town, Cobar. The poor road was something that probably had helped to preserve some amenities at Canbelego. However, once the road was sealed there was less need for amenities there. The road, to Nyngan, in the other direction, was not sealed until the early 1960s, but, once it was, there was probably less reason for travellers to stop at Canbelego. 1957 was a pivotal year of decline. The Mount Boppy District Hospital, a bush nursing station since the mid-1920s, closed in 1957. After late 1957, Canbelego no longer had its
Court of Petty Sessions and
Warden's Court. The police station closed in 1957. From 1958, Canbelego finally had a local government, as a part of the newly proclaimed
Cobar Shire.—and the post office. The school closed in April 1969. The post office closed in June 1987. During the last twenty years of its life, the hotel at Canbelego, then hosted by Mick James and his wife Cheryl, became something of a minor tourist attraction. The hotel burned down in either 1989 or 1990, and this time it was not rebuilt; its licence was transferred to a hotel in faraway
Coogee. As late as 1995, Canbelego still had a village hall, probably its last public building. ). == Boppy Mount ==