BUCKINBAH TO YEOVAL – WHAT’S IN A NAME?
For July 2026, the Yeoval Historical & Family Museum / O’Hallorans Cottage uncovers some of the history of our town - how Yeoval got its name, its original connections to ‘Buckinbah’ Squatter Run and colonial settlement.
Before colonial settlement, the area around Yeoval was the traditional homelands of the Wiradjuri family mob, the Murrung-baa people (Wiradjuri meaning – Place of the Grey Box). They made their camp on the banks of the Balgan-baa (Wiradjuri meaning – place of the boomerang, referring to the shape of the bend in Buckinbah Creek).
Benjamin Boyd was a colonial entrepreneur. He established the whaling port of Boyd Town on the NSW South Coast and was also involved in slave trading ‘blackbirding’ people from the South Sea Islands.
In 1840, Boyd ‘took up’ land from Wellington to Baldry (halfway between Yeoval and Parkes), then across to Obley (halfway between Yeoval and Dubbo), and back to Wellington. He established a 66,000-acre squatter run, naming it ‘Gonoo’ (Wiradjuri meaning – running water).
Boyd was later forced to flee the colony of NSW when bankruptcy and his unscrupulous activities caught up with him. In 1851, he sailed for the Californian goldfields, stopping at Guadalcanal for provisions. Having previously abducted young men from the island for slavery, Boyd was captured and beheaded, with his head displayed in a ceremonial place.
The vast 66,000-acre run of ‘Gonoo’ was later subdivided into three squatter runs:
- Thomas MacCulloch – Obella
- Nicolas Hyreronimus – Goonoo
- Eleanor Terry – Buckinbah (19,200 acres)
Eleanor Terry held the Buckinbah run for ten years.
By 1858, when she sold Buckinbah, the property included:
- A superintendent’s cottage (later the stores depot)
- An overseer’s cottage (later the Paterson family home)
- Two labourer’s huts
- A woodshed, stockyards, and gardens
- Eight out-station buildings used as farm labourers’ huts
In 1861, the Robertson Land Acts were introduced, allowing the government to reclaim large squatter runs that lacked title deeds. These were subdivided into smaller farm blocks and auctioned, enabling people known as selectors to purchase land and obtain title deeds.
Andrew Bogle Paterson and his wife, Isobella Rose (née Barton), successfully selected and acquired the Buckinbah overseer’s homestead block. Their son, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson, born in 1864, spent the first seven years of his childhood at Buckinbah.
‘Barty’ played along the banks of Buckinbah Creek with the children of his Aboriginal nanny, Fanny Hopkins, partner of Irish convict Andrew Hopkins (alias Flannery).
After losing their wool clip in a flood, the Paterson family relocated in 1871 to ‘Illawong’ in the Yass district.
Paterson's Family Home - Buckinbah Homestead Managers Cottage
Gold discoveries in 1864 brought a rush of miners into the area, arriving from Hill End, Ophir, Parkes, Gulgong, and Tomingley. The settlement around the Buckinbah Stores/Depot rapidly expanded, with 23 mines including the Goodrich Mine operating locally by 1868.
By 1882, the settlement had grown to a population of around 300 people centred on the Buckinbah Stores Shop. However, confusion between the Buckinbah Station and the settlement caused ongoing mail delivery issues.
Gold Panners walking along the road
A public ballot was held to rename the settlement. A family from Yeovil, Somerset (England), who had settled in the area (reflected in Somerset Drive north of Buckinbah Creek), influenced the winning vote.
In 1884, with the opening of the post office, the village of Buckinbah was officially renamed YEOVAL.
Yeoval residents remain proud of their rich past, their town, and its colonial history.
You are invited to celebrate at the Back to Buckinbah Festival, to be held at the Yeoval Sports Grounds on 11 July 2026.
The Yeoval Historical & Family Museum / O’Hallorans Cottage will have a stand at the festival be sure to visit, collect information, and learn more about the area’s historical and colonial significance.
Written by: Victoria Parkes
The Yeoval Historical Society
References:
Australian National Library, NSW State Library, Trove Newspaper Records, Wiradjuri Language Dictionary, Local History Records – Yeoval Historical & Family Museum / O’Hallorans Cottage, Wikipedia