Pine Hill town sales

Pine Hill – unrealised expectations

Pine Hill was proposed as the first, and important, railway terminus on the western side of the Drummond Range. It was thought that it would become a key transport link for the developing pastoral industries of the central west of Queensland. So the sale of town allotments on 28 August 1883 was keenly anticipated.

‘The competition generally was very keen, and outsiders may have reason to wonder at how such sums can be given for allotments which may in two years become almost valueless.’ [Capricornian, 8 September 1883]

Unfortunately an inaccurate initial survey of the town and the loss of some sale details led to confusion about the sale of town allotments; both at the time and now. Following a second survey, many Deeds of Grant had to be reissued. By the time this had happened some years later, most of the business owners had moved on to Alpha or Jericho.

Disastrous fires on 13 June 1884 and 10 March 1885, which destroyed a number of businesses, hastened the move, particularly as the sale for Jericho allotments took place in Pine Hill just three months after the second fire and the new terminus was about to be opened.

The perception of the Capricornian’s correspondent proved to be accurate as Pine Hill’s population declined and it became a siding and settlement to support railway maintenance and nearby pastoralists.

Notes on the database:

Initial purchases at the town sale on 28 August 1883 are listed in the database, which includes the corrected size of allotments, purchaser and the total cost of the allotment as indicated on the Triplicate Deeds of Grants. In this instance, the value of improvements is not identified. Notes provide personal information about several purchasers.

References:

The information in the list has been obtained from the following series at Queensland State Archives:

Series 14026, Sales of Crown Land and Special Leases, 1859-1962.

Series 46, Triplicate Deeds of Grant – Town Lot B Registers.

Pine Hill town land sale, 28 August 1883 (upset price £25 per acre)