Book uncovers Haddon’s history from buildings to bushrangers

HADDON-based historian Laurie Moore has published his latest book Haddon and Nintingbool: The Valleys Next Door to Ballarat, an Early History.

This is the second edition of the book, which was first published in 2022 to celebrate Haddon’s 150th anniversary.

The township of Haddon was first declared on 26 November 1872 and at that time had a population of around 500 people.

By the mid 1870s, the town was producing more gold than Ballarat.

Today, Haddon has 11 houses which are still in existence from 1891.

The updated version includes more information Mr Moore has learned from local families, particularly from the Draffins, Kopkes and McKinleys (formally the Walker family).

“There have been a few changes since, a little bit of a modification of some of the family histories,” Mr Moore said.

“We stuck with those three families, there’s only one other family that is really old to the area and that is the Fraser family.

“We included as many names as we could because with local history people really like to be able to see names.”

Mr Moore was encouraged to begin the book by Golden Plains Shire councillor Helena Kirby.

It includes the stories of bush rangers, squatting, mining, hotels, schools, the railway, the police and the growth of land occupation.

Mr Moore has lived in the area for 26 years after retiring from Sydney and he said he hopes the book provides the community with identity.

“There was no sense of place, and I really set out to establish a sense of place by describing the human activity relevant to the area running from the Aboriginal people through,” he said.

Mr Moore also acknowledged the local Indigenous population and their long history in the area, and this is a topic he hopes to conduct more research into in the future.

The book is available to purchase through the Woady Yaloak Historical Society for $30 per book plus $15.30 postage and handling per book.

They can also be collected from the society’s office which is located at The Well at Smythesdale.

For more information, visit the society’s website.