Allendale North. Allendale North Hotel 1910 (SLSA) The small village of Allendale North is about 5 km north-west of Kapunda. It was laid out, in an agricultural district, as Allendale on section 1563 by William C Oldham in about 1859. Oldham had arrived in the Lord Goderich in 1838. Not only had a provided a town, the Oldhams also did their bit populating it. On 20 December 1860 his wife gave birth to a daughter and on 15 July 1862 a son. This was followed on 9 March 1864 by another daughter. On 27 August 1864 the lady of FB Oldham, Esq. gave birth to a son. Another early birth was a son to DW Robertson on 27 December 1864. Among those planning a family were Henry Merrett and Maria McAuliffe who were married on 25 November 1860. On 26 March 1864 John Delbridge and Jane Bargwanna Halse were married by T Allen, Bible Christian Minister. Four months later, on 28 July Charles W Ward married Emmeline Hosken. Edward Prior, youngest son of Thomas Prior of Allendale married Ann, second daughter of Joseph Warrick of Hamilton. Allendale’s post office, which had opened in 1851, was renamed Allendale North 1865 to distinguish it from Allendale, near Port MacDonnell, in the South-East. There are also towns named Allendale in Victoria, Western Australia and England. On 7 December 1859 FB Oldham offered to sell by auction 35 valuable building blocks, opposite the Wheatsheaf Inn and next to the Flour Mill. Five years later an allotment with a cottage on it was sold for £145. By this time the small town had a mill, a store, a Bible Christian Chapel, the Wheatsheaf Hotel and a population of about 70. On 11 November 1861 the foundation stone was laid for the new Bible Christian Chapel by James White. The original chapel had become too small and dangerous. The Wheatsheaf Hotel was run by Eliza Bean in 1878. On 24 January 1864 William Oldham and William Malcolm of the Allendale Steam Flour Mill made it known that they had installed an additional boiler and superior silk dresser and other appliances which would enable them the supply the very best silk dressed flour without delay and on the lowest terms. Three months later the mill, which could produce 70 tons of fine flour a week and was housed in a substantial building and in perfect working order, was to be sold by Townsend, Botting & Kay as well as three acres of land. They had no luck. On 21 December 1864 Oldham & Co advertised it again and added that they had put the mill into thorough working order with new stones and other improvements. The newspapers ran the ad for months. It must have put some strain on the partnership of William Oldham and William Malcolm as it was dissolved by the end of the year. Finally the mill was sold in September 1865 to Bennett, Barton, Jeffs and Kelly who would trade as Jeffs, Kelly & Co. In November 1865 the mill was closed for repairs. William Jeffs had previously worked in the Kapunda Mine office and then at the Allendale Mill, so presumably he knew what was going on. It wasn’t until the mid-1870s that the mill was doing really well and in January 1877 Peter Galt advertised for a miller to work a night shift. In 1881 the mill was operated by Cowan & Co. Many years later the Allendale Silver and Lead mine would be worked and in May 1889 W.L. Ware, its secretary, would make the first call of one penny per share, stating that those who did not pay before 16 June would have their shares forfeited. A school had been open for some time and in February 1861 Thomas Chartres succeeded Mr Ellis as teacher. In September 1863 the Education Department informed the Trustees that it would withdraw the school’s licence unless student numbers increase before the end of the year. At the start of 1867 it was a school master which was needed. A month later, February 1867, John W. Stiles was appointed teacher by the Allendale Trustees of the school house. He resigned in November 1868. In September 1870 the school children were examined by the local members of the School Board W Lewis JP, W Oldham JP and the Rev. J Hancock. Basley and Williams from the Kapunda District Council were also present. They noted ‘a very clear evidence of progress in all branches of education’ among the 47 children present. They complemented teacher J Symonds on a job well done. Symonds resigned on 8 December 1873. William Lewis, JP, of Allendale, was a Member of Parliament representing the Light District. However in July 1871 when asked to stand again he declined the honour. A Catholic school was opened in January 1868. Farming was, and would remain, a major form of income for most of Allendale’s population. Whereas in the earliest days most of the farm work was done by hand, several farmers who could afford it invested in the early Strippers. When improvements to these machines became available they too found early buyers. In September 1865 J Robins made it known that he was very pleased with his Adamson Reaping and Winnowing Machine, produced by the Adamson Brothers at Kapunda. Symonds, who already ran a store at Allendale now bought section 128 of 301 acres in the Hundred of Booyoolie for £609.10.6 in the early 1870s and planned to start farming. J Basley snr, farmer of Allendale bought section 11 of 599 acres in the Hundred of Kanyaka and H Sloan, farmer of Allendale, bought sections 1,2 and 8 of 350 acres in the Hundred of Red Hill at £1 per acre. Allendale North remained a very small village. Births and marriages were often only just enough to make up for those who left or died. Richard Hall, boot maker of Kapunda married Helen Johns of Allendale on 20 January 1866. On the same day John Moyle Trewartha of Kapunda married Elizabeth Woolcock of Allendale, not to be mistaken for the Elizabeth Woolcock, the first and only woman ever hanged in the Adelaide Gaol. On 26 March 1868 Henry Williams married Hannah Maria Basley and on 13 July 1871 Thomas Berriman, draper of Moonta, married Elizabeth Jane Williams of Allendale. In 1889 Emily Harvey gave birth to a healthy son, who was named Elisha. He would become a bank accountant and enlisted in the army in January 1916. Among those who died during these early years were George Giles on 23 December 1860 of consumption, aged 22. Thomas Prior died 17 April 1866 followed a few months later by James Haines who died 13 June 1866, aged 51. Thomas Bunney died 19 July 1867. John Cole died 10 March 1869, aged 50 and on 29 May 1880 James Caddy Treloar died at his home in Allendale North, aged 70. He had only recently returned from the Echunga goldfields. The Wheatsheaf Hotel at Allendale North, pictured above, was run by the Robertson Family for some eighty years. In 1910 William Arthur Johnston Robertson was the licensee. Before him it was his mother, Margaret who was born in 1844 and was the licensee from 1892 until 1910. She died on 20 February 1911. Before her it was his grandmother. William was born on 9 December 1869 at the hotel to David Weicheston (Weighton) Robertson and Margaret Jane, nee Stribling. In 1900 William married Jane Catherine Warrick, who was born in 1870. He had the licence from 1910 until 1947, when he retired. Both Jane and William died in 1961, Their son Murray David was the publican from 1947 until 1959. Allendale North Cemetery. Below are SOME of the headstones of the Allendale North Cemetery. In an attempt to save as much space as possible and increase the speed of downloading, only part of the stone is displayed. Flinders Ranges Research has a full photograph of each of these, and many others as well. *** If you would like to find out more, please go to HOME PAGE for more information. Thank you for visiting Flinders Ranges Research, We hope you enjoy your stay and find the information useful. This site has been designed and is maintained by FRR.