The Yanco Agricultural High School, abbreviated as YAHS, is a government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary boarding school, located in Yanco in the Leeton Shire local government area, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia.
Yanco Agricultural High School is one of four government agricultural high schools; and is the only residential boarding school in New South Wales to have no day students. The school serves the south of New South Wales and Victoria, with the other agricultural high schools serving the other regions of the state.
Established in March 1922, the school catered for approximately 300 students in 2018, from Year 7 to Year 12, including eight percent who identified as Indigenous Australians and one percent from a language background other than English. The school is operated by the NSW Department of Education; the principal is Greg Hunt.
Yanco Agricultural High School is located approximately from the town centre along Euroley Road on a site including of natural bushland bordered by the Murrumbidgee River. YAHS enjoys sport and plays around the district in school competitions, and in inter-town competitions.
The heritage-listed site was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 7 June 2019.
History Traditional owners
The traditional owners of the YAHS grounds are the Wiradjuri people. It is unknown if the YAHS grounds held any particular special, spiritual, or economic significance for the Wiradjuri people.
Settlement What is today the Narrandera area was first invaded by European (mainly Irish) squatters during 1832–1833. The Wiradjuri people who lived in this area are historically referred to as the Narrungdera. However, it is unknown if this is the correct name for these people. Throughout the rest of the 1830s and early 1840s disease significantly reduced the Narrungdera population.Gammage, 1986.
The Yanco run settled during this time by Thomas Small was originally the closest to what became the North Yanko head station. During the frontier wars it was attacked several times, but it appears to have been one of the runs most persistently kept occupied. However, Small was defeated by these attacks and sold the property to James Thorn, perhaps as early as 1839–1840, who moved the head station to the North Yanco area.
In 1849 John Peter brought North Yanco from the Thorns. He appears to have had a good rapport with the Narrungdera or Wiradjuri as he employed around 50 to break in horses during the 1850s. At this time the region was experiencing a plague and the Narrungdera could break in up to 700 a year. In 1858 Peter sold the property to Alexander McNeil. Both Peter ad McNeil focused on breeding to improve their fleeces, and ultimately the prices of their wool, throughout their ownerships.
The North Yanco head station was likely moved to its current (or long-term) location in 1870 after the terrible floods of that year forced pastoralists to re-evaluate their station infrastructure. This location appears to have been a good choice as during recent flooding (early 2000s) the main school centre has avoided being flooded.
By 1881 North Yanco Station was owned by J. H. Douglas Esq. the local member for the district. It comprised around 95,000 acres and had a river frontage of 14 miles with an average depth back from the river of 25 miles. It stocked about 105,000 sheep and was known for the high quality of its wool. The gothic style homestead appears to have been located in the vicinity of the modern YAHS school complex. It was known as "the most perfect in this part of the district" and featured a large garden, several acres in size. Fruit, vegetables, and flowers were grown in the garden which was watered by a wind-powered water lifter – it is likely that this piped water from the Murrumbidgee. Head station complexes at this time in the district had become small villages with a variety of buildings and gardens and it appears North Yanco was no exception.Australian Town and Country Journal, 23 April 1881, p24.
James Henry Douglass was still owner in 1890 during the shearer's strikes, when the station had a board of 46 men and was worked by shearers from the union.
Sir Samuel McCaughey's ownership of North Yanco and the North Yanco Irrigation Scheme (1899–1919/1920)
Sir Samuel McCaughey was born at Tullyneuh, near Ballymena in Ireland on 1 July 1835. He was the eldest son of Francis and Eliza (née Wilson) McCaughey. His father was a farmer and merchant and once he finished school he joined his father's linen business, where he learnt accounting and office management, while also working on the farm. His uncle Charles Wilson convinced him to immigrate to Australia and he arrived in Melbourne in April 1856 to work on one of the properties (Kewell) owned by his other uncles John and Samuel (the Wilson Brothers) near Horsham. Starting as a general station hand he was appointed overseer two years later where he thrived due to his thrift, genial Irish humour, and kindness.ADBKelly, 1988
By 1860 he was able to convince his relations to back his purchase of a third share of Coonong, a 42,000 acre (16,997 ha) property near Urana in the Riverina, in partnership with David Wilson and John Cochrane. They initially suffered setbacks due to a lack of water, which perhaps encouraged McCaughey's interest in irrigation later in his life, but he persisted with the property, despite the withdrawing of his partners, which left him as sole owner in 1864. To solve his water problems McCaughey with his uncle Samuel Wilson deepened the Yanco Creek cutting and built dams. When he became partner in 1860 McCaughey also founded his sheep stud by purchasing old ewes descended from Tasmanian pure Saxon merinos from James Cochrane of Widegewa. From this time, he continued to improve the stud's quality by purchasing quality stock and sparing no expense in fencing and subdividing his paddocks.
McCaughey's water conservation and sheep breeding schemes proved a success and he acquired the Singorimba and Goolgumbla properties later in the 1860s (or in 1870) and by 1872 held 137,000 acres (55,443 ha). In 1874 he brought his brother David (1848–1899) to Australia to assist in the management of his properties. In 1881 he acquired Coree, Toorale, and Dunlop from his uncle Samuel Wilson. However, he continued to live at Coonong and in 1876 built a large homestead with a garden and lake.
By the 1890s McCaughey had developed a keen interest in water conservation and he attempted to get more water for Coonong through additional dams on Colombo Creek or raising the heights of three dams on Yanko Creek in 1896. To undertake this work he brought over Irish workers who were used to wet and boggy working conditions. This act infuriated six downstream graziers who sued him and his brother in the Supreme Court in June 1898. McCaughey lost the case and the jury awarded 2000 pounds damages to the plaintiff and he was ordered to limit the height of his dams. The other plaintiffs were later compensated with 10,000 pounds and McCaughey paid 17,000 pounds in legal costs.
McCaughey's inability to further his interests at Coonong encouraged him to purchase the North Yanco property in 1899 from Sir Charles Douglass for 220,000 pounds. At North Yanco, with its frontage on the Murrumbidgee, McCaughey felt that he could experiment with water conservation and irrigation measures without complaint from his neighbours. By this time he had also become convinced that large-scale irrigation schemes could materially benefit pastoralism in western NSW. To demonstrate this to the NSW public and government he determined to build such a scheme at North Yanco. This would demonstrate the possibilities of closer settlement based on intensive cultivation in dry areas while also increasing the station's sheep carrying capacity. The long-term goal of the plan was to subdivide North Yanko and establish irrigated farms for his employees and other settlers. To ensure the plan's success he decided to reside at North Yanco and oversee its development himself.Review, 228
In the same year McCaughey was appointed to the NSW Legislative Council by Sir George Reid to secure the passage of the Federation enabling bill. Reid valued McCaughey's experience and knowledge of land and McCaughey, who had no strong political leanings, was able to further some of his interests, such as large-scale immigration and, in time, irrigation schemes.
Sir McCaughey initially worked on providing water for the gardens and grounds of his new mansion at the original homestead site. A system of irrigation channels was cut across the site and a pumping plant built on the Murrumbidgee River 400 yards to the south. A subterranean irrigation system was built around the homestead area by removing the topsoil to a depth of 18 inches, installing a layer of gravel, and laying the excavated soil over the top. Through this method the area was watered by soakage which allowed the establishment of a beautiful gardens and grounds. An artificial lake was also created on the east side of the grounds.McCaughey, 2015
Sir McCaughey's new mansion was built between 1899 and 1902. When completed it featured two billiard rooms, lofty reception rooms, and ornate stained glass windows on the staircase and several doors. As part of his continued advocacy for irrigation he often used the mansion for the entertainment of visiting dignitaries, politicians, and other interested parties when they toured his irrigation works. He subsequently became renowned for his hospitality.
Following the completion of the irrigation works for the mansion area, Sir McCaughey commenced work on the main scheme to provide irrigation to the majority of the North Yanco Holding (approximately 1899-1900?). During the disastrous 1902 drought he already had 60 miles of channels constructed which irrigated 750 acres of Lucerne and 250 acres of sorghum. By 1903 the system involved 320 km (200 miles) of channels with weirs, regulators, and pumps (30 horsepower engine) that diverted water from three offtakes at Bundidgerry Creek (80 km east of his homestead), Oak Creek (50 km east), and Cowabbee Creek (60 km northeast) allowing the irrigation of 16,200 hectares (40,000 acres). Excess water from the system was channelled back to the river by a continuation of Cudgell Creek, known as Cudgell Escape. The system spread almost to his northeast boundary, 100 km west of the Bundidgerry creek intake. It mainly operated by gravitation but included at least one large rotary pump at the Pump Hole (at the end of Cudgell Escape). Traction engines and large scoops were used to excavate and maintain the irrigation system. Two of the engineers on the project were nephews of Sir McCaughey, Francis McCay and Alexander Stewart, that he had purposefully brought over from Ulster. Lucerne was the main grass grown as sheep fodder, but wheat, oaks, and potatoes were also cultivated. It proved to be a very successful and economical enterprise that allowed Sir McCaughey to prosper despite drought conditions. During the 1902 drought he also propped up the local/regional economy by offering work building channels to any man. Thus, by 1903 the station employed about 200 men. However, it is unclear how sustainable this farming method was across this landscape or land system as it may have quickly depleted the soil over the next five or ten years.