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Hammond.
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Phillip Butler took up some pastoral leases in 1840 which eventually became known as Coonatta Station. These leases covered an area from present day Melrose in the south, to Hawker in the north. By the mid 1850s the property was owned by Grant and Stokes who built a church and school near the homestead. Before the great drought of the 1860s more than 90,000 sheep were shorn annually.
The effects of the drought were soon forgotten by land-hungry farmers pushing far beyond Goyder's Line. By the mid 1870s Coonatto station was cut up for farming blocks followed by newly surveyed towns to house the farmers, their families and the services needed by them. Towards the end of the wheat-drive in 1879 four new towns were laid out, all named after Governor Jervois' children.
Hammond, which was made up of 112 sections, was named after his son, the Rev William Henry Hammond Jervois. His other son John was honoured with Johnburgh. Amyton and Carrieton were named after his daughters Amy and Carrie (Caroline). In 1881 the town of Bruce was also added. With the deceptively good seasons still continuing, both farmers and towns did well. When in 1882 the narrow gauge railway from Terowie was extended to Quorn, Hammond had gained a daily train service to Adelaide. Previously, wheat was transported sixty kilometres to Port Augusta.  Hammond 2008 One of the very first services at Hammond was provided by Jacka Brothers of Melrose. In 1877 Bill Jacka built the Hammond hotel and supplied it with their beer. The hotel remained in business for just over 115 years. Some of the early publicans in charge were John Liddon Fry, 1892, Jane Fry, 1903-05 and James Ferrier in 1913. Its last publican was Joe Talbot. Michael Bernard Ryan, J.P., farmer, grazier and auctioneer came to Hammond in 1878. MB Ryan, born in Ireland in 1853, came to South Australia with his parents and siblings in 1855 on the ship Bucephalus, which came from Liverpool and arrived on 13 October. The family took up residence in Kapunda. Years later, Henry started his working life as a boundary rider before getting involved in farming and grazing. After his marriage to Bridget Dundon of Kapunda in 1878 the young couple moved to Hammond. As Early as 1884 MB Ryan was interested in politics. Four years later he was listed as a butcher and from 1891 as an auctioneer as well. There were other Ryans too as in 1894 when five adult Ryans were listed. Among them was JW Ryan who was a store keeper. In 1901 six adult Ryans were residing at Hammond. In 1901 MB Ryan was President of the Hammond Political Leaque. He also served for many years on the District Council and in 1903 was appointed a Justice of the Peace. On 16 June he spoke at a farewell meeting for Mr Dickenson, bank manager for the last three years, who was leaving for Caltowie. After Michael Bernard's death at 82, on 31 May 1935, several papers had his Obituary. The Southern Cross wrote on 14 June 1935; that 'the north has lost one of its best-known identities. A shrewdness of character, his great foresight, and an amiable personality and kindness of heart caused him to be loved and respected by all with whom he came in contact. Deceased came from Ireland with his parents, the late John and Susan Ryan, as a baby who later settled at Crystal Brook in 1873. Four years later he went to Hammond, and his connection with the north commenced. He took up a section of land at Hammond, adjoining Coonatta Station, as a farming and grazing proposition, and married, at Caltowie, Bridget, daughter of Mr and Mrs M Dundon, of Kapunda. Owing to poor seasons, he found the land would not support him. He then entered the auctioneering business, which he carried on successfully for thirty years, and later as a representative of Dalgety and Co. The knowledge he gained amongst pastoralists in his younger days proved invaluable in his business, and he was regarded as an authority where sheep and cattle were concerned. On September 12, 1912, he retired to Quorn, where he resided up to the time of his death. He took an active part in public affairs, and for a quarter of a century or more was a member of the defunct District Council of Hammond. From 1915 to 1924 he was a member of the Corporation of Quorn; He was one of the oldest Justices of the Peace in the district. He took an active interest in sport, and was connected with the Hammond Catholic Sports from their inauguration in 1879. He never failed to put in an appearance until failing health debarred him from attending. For many years he was a steward of Quorn's St. Patrick's Day Racing Club and a member of the Jockey Club in its earliest years. He also took an active interest in the Quorn Show Society and anything for the welfare of the district. The remains were interred in the Quorn General Cemetery on Saturday, the Rev. Father Hayes officiating at the graveside. The pallbearers were: Messrs J McNamara, JB Cormack (Hammond), AJ Roberts, RJ White, B Jericho, and E McMahon'. Ryan's wife Bridget and daughter Ellen Maud are also buried there. Before long the new town had its Methodist Church followed by an Anglican and Catholic Church. Although the Catholic Church building was slightly second-hand, it came from Willochra nearly eight kilometres down the road, it lasted much longer than the others which closed during the 1950s. The first Parish Priest was Father Doyle. Several stores opened up for business, including Tuckwells of Wilmington, Hogart Venning from Quorn and John Brett also from Wilmington. Naturally Hammond also had its own Law Enforcement Officer. In 1894-5 it was Mounted Constable Kelly who was kept busy for most of the time. Among some of his most serious cases he had to solve was the one in January 1895. Some of Richard Richardson's chicken had disappeared without trace. Eventually Kelly solved the crime and arrested Thomas Duffy and Colin McPhail. Both were charged thirty shillings each. History has not recorded what happened to the chicken!  Hammond Hotel 2008 Race meetings were held almost from the time the town was surveyed. The first one, just before Christmas 1878, consisted of four events. The main race was won by Bill Cross' Lady Pinda. St Patrick's Day in 1895 was celebrated with a very successful race meeting with nine starters in the St Patrick's Day Handicap. During the evening most of the locals attended the ball held in the Hammond Hall. Regular attendants were the brothers Jack, Jim and Ted Mc Mahon. Between 1889 and 1950 they missed only one meeting! By the mid 1880s Hammond had a population of seventy people living in seventeen houses. At one stage Hammond even had a cottage hospital where many babies were born and adults and children were treated by the resident doctor. Unfortunately this service was not yet available in 1896 when Annie Maloney, daughter of Denis Maloney, was severely burnt while sweeping out the kitchen of Thomas Ryan and his wife. Dr Harbison of Carrieton was sent for and did all he could but Annie had to be transported to the Port Augusta Hospital by horse and cart for further treatment. Although a post office had been operated by J. Moller since 1878 at Coonatta Station, this was later removed to the Main Street in Hammond where W.L. Hudson was appointed Post Master in 1880. Four years later Telegraph facilities became available with Money Order facilities in 1891. Arthur George Martin, born in 1868 at Moonta, started working for storekeeper Tuckwell & Son at Hammond in 1887. He stayed with them for the next fifteen years. Although by 1894 Ryan operated stores in both Hammond and Eurelia, it did not stop Martin from opening a store in 1904. Martin married Rosalie Blanche Jacka of Hammond, had five children and did well in business. He became very involved in local matters. At various times he was Auditor of the District Council, secretary of the Hammond Institute, president of the Literary Society, Sunday School Superintendent and Lay Preacher for the Methodist Church.  View from Hammond 2008 By 1888 the population had increased to 90 and the number of houses to 23. The Hammond hotel was run by William Jacka, H.P. Clark was the stationmaster, R.L. Richardson the postmaster and Annie S. Miller tried to do her part in educating the local children. Three years later the population had grown and now amounted to well over a hundred. Now the postmaster was C.H. Tuckwell and the hotel was kept by Mrs J. Jacka. The Bank of Adelaide was managed by Henry Vernon Eyre and the law was enforced by Police Trooper John James. During the 1890s the Hammond District Council was formed, meeting in its own Chambers or in nearby towns included in the district. At its 1 November 1897 meeting in Bruce councillors present were, Twopenny, Gum, Hudson, Cole, Walters and Kelly. They were informed by the clerk that an agreement with the Commissioner of Railways had been signed for the construction of a level crossing at the Moochra (Map) railway station. At this meeting the Council also granted slaughtering licenses to T.W. Metcalf of Pinda and W. Brewster of Willochra. It had not been a very good year for the farmers. In October 1897 it was reported that the harvest would be a total failure and people started to wonder how they could survive another year. During the past year a large number of farmers had received assistance from the 'Drought Distressed Farmers' Fund' but this fund was now running very low. It was felt that the government should start some public works, especially anything to do with the conservation of water, to provide employment and at least some income. It is most important that people should be kept on the land. A Provisional school was opened in 1885 with on average twenty children attending. Not all of them were well behaved children. On 19 November 1886 John Martin, aged ten, was charged by Mounted Constable Thomas, with having placed obstructions on the railway line. Luckily the driver spotted it in time and no harm was done. With an increase of farmers in the district and residents in the town, attendance figures slowly grew until by 1903 it reached 55 students. During the first ten years the school had many teachers including Ellen Wynne, Sinclair Ganson and Edward J. Nettle. Most of them stayed for a year or so only. Nettle was an exception. He served the school and community from 1895 until 1908. He was replaced by Thomas Moten who also remained for a long time. He instructed the children from 1909 until the end of 1916.  Harvesting 1884. (SLSA) By the turn of the century Hammond was a thriving town and had survived the drought of the 1880s and depression of the 1890s. It had three stores, Tuckwells, Brents and Hogart & Venning. There was a butcher, baker, saddlery and a blacksmith operated by David Baker who employed thirty men. Between them they made buggies, drays, ploughs and repaired any other implement used on the farm or in the town. Not all were successful though. Francis Fels, who had operated a store and saddlery at Melrose and Hammond for some time, was declared insolvent in 1893. The start of the new Century was marked by drought and dust storms. In 1901 Rev H.W. Doudney reported that the Church at Hammond had been damaged by a 'terrific dust storm which had blanketed the whole northern district in total darkness'. Both the vestry and watertank were blown away and later found in a paddock more than four kilometres away. In August 1904 it was reported that 'some boys have recently gone the rounds of the township making raids on unoccupied houses with stones, breaking windows and damaging roofs. Some of the empty houses are in a dilapidated state, with all the windows broken and piles of stones on the roofs. If a traveller occupies one of these places for a night they delight in annoying him with showers of stones. There being no police officer stationed here, the visits of the police from the neighbouring towns should be more frequent'.  Hammond 2008 Better news was reported on 20 November 1907 when C.H. Schiller was the first wheat farmer to deliver that year's harvest to J.E. O'Donoghue, the agent for W.R. Cave & Co. From its early days Hammond was active in many different sports. At times it played cricket, football, basketball, athletics and tennis. Teams visited nearby towns to take part in sporting carnivals. These carnivals were enjoyed by young and old. It often meant a trip over dusty roads by horse, or bullock wagon, for both players and their supporters. After a long day the return trip was made in the dark arriving home during the middle of the night or just in time to milk the cows. At the outbreak of WWI, especially after Gallipoli, many of the young men in the northern farming areas joined up to fight in the AIF. From Hammond it were, among others, Patrick William Ryan, Thomas Michael Sinapius, Denis George Maloney, Frederick Maloney, Thomas Vincent Ward, Thomas Nowell Twopeny and Thomas Samuel Gum. *** If you would like to find out more,
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