  
History of Holbrook
The township of Holbrook was originally named Friday Mount and Camden Forest by explorers Hume and Hovell in 1824. It
was renamed Ten Mile Creek in 1856, after the creek nearby, and in 1876, the name changed again to Germanton, in
honour of a German pioneer. The first resident at Ten Mile Creek (now Holbrook) was German born shepherd Johann
Pabst. Pabst arrived in Australia in 1825, to work for the Australian Agricultural Co. founded by John Macarthur. In 1838
Pabst, together with his wife and two daughters, arrived at Ten Mile Creek. He later became the licensee of a Grog shop
known as the Woolpack Inn on the southern bank of the Ten Mile Creek. This establishment became known as the 'The
Germans' and in 1858 the settlement was officially named Germanton.
Finally, during World War I, anti-German sentiment led to it being renamed Holbrook, after British Navy Submarine
Commander Norman Holbrook, who torpedoed a Turkish battleship in 1914 in the Dardennelles.
Holbrook’s unique link with submarines began during WW1 when the town’s forefathers believed Germanton was no
longer an appropriate name. Lt. Norman Holbrook's name hit world headlines for the most daring underwater raid in the
war. On December 13 1914 Holbrook (Royal Navy) made a hazardous journey through the Dardanells to torpedo and
sink the Turkish battleship Messoudich. He was the first naval VC winner of WW1 as well as the first submariner to get
the medal. Back in Germanton, Holbrook as the new name for the town was greeted with enthusiasm.
This area was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. The explorers Hume and Hovell were the first known
Europeans in the area. They travelled through in 1824 when looking for new grazing country in the south of the colony
of New South Wales. The district around Holbrook is now renowned for local produce including merino wool, wheat and other
grains, lucerne, fat cattle and lamb.
The town was originally called Ten Mile Creek and the first buildings erected in 1836. A German immigrant, John Christopher
Pabst, became the publican of the Woolpack Hotel on 29 July 1840 and the area became known as "the Germans". By 1858
the name had evolved in to the official name of Germanton, though the postal area retained the name Ten Mile Creek. In
1876 the name Germanton was gazetted and the old name Ten Mile Creek consigned to history. Ten Mile Creek Post Office
opened on 1 January 1857, and was renamed Germanton in 1875
The railway arrived in Holbrook in 1902. The town was serviced by the Holbrook branch railway line until the line was
closed over 20 years ago. The Holbrook railway line was a short, closed, railway line and ran for 26 km east to the town of
Holbrook from the Main South railway line at Culcairn. Construction commenced in July, 1901 and the line opened on 18
September 1902. Holbrook was, at that time, known as Germantown. The initial service on the line consisted of a mixed
train that operated in both directions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, connecting with the overnight Mail Trains to
and from Sydney. From 18 December 1923, the thrice weekly mixed train was replaced by a CPH rail motor which
operated twice a day in each direction on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. A goods train operated on Mondays. The
Rail motor service was short-lived and mixed trains returned from 18 November 1924, but now making one return trip on
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. From 26 August 1929, the mixed train was reduced to running only twice weekly and,
by 1946, this had been further reduced to running on Mondays only. Dieselisation of the line took place from 11 February
1962, using 48 class locomotives. Passenger services ceased completely from 12 October 1970. Goods services continued
to operate on Mondays until 8 July 1974 when all regularly scheduled trains ceased. The last revenue train to operate on
the line was a livestock special on 7 March 1978. The line was officially closed on 2 February 1987. Much of the
infrastructure remains along the line.
 
Bushranger - Dan Morgan
James McLaurin was born on 23 July 1821 at Dunoon, Argyllshire, Scotland and was part of Holbrook's early brush with
Bush ranger Mad "Dog" Morgan. In 1852 James had been attracted to the Victorian goldfields and in 1861 he acquired the
90,000-acre (36,421 ha) Yarra Yarra run, near Holbrook (Then called "Germanton"). When Yarra Yarra was threatened by
the bush ranger Daniel "Mad Dog" Morgan, McLaurin led his sons and station hands in a raid on Morgan's camp, only to find
it deserted; in his absence his homestead was plundered by the bush ranger. In March 1872 he was elected to the
Legislative Assembly for the Hume and resigned in February 1873. He died on 10 November at Yarra Yarra and was buried
in the Germanton cemetery.
Many German migrants living in South Australia and Victoria moved to the Riverina after the 1861 Robertson Land Act
provided for the selection of land for £1 per acre. In 1858, the town of Holbrook was locally known as ‘the Germans’ and
officially changed to ‘Germantown’ in 1876. Communities in the Riverina grew and prospered in the late 19th and early
20th centuries with the success of the wool and agricultural industries. Jindera, Walla Walla, Gerogery, Milbrulong, Henty
and Trungley Hall also maintained Germanic populations, along with the townships of Jindera, Walla Walla and Henty.
The Sunshine Farm Gate from approximately 1904 is believed to be one of the first cast iron manufactured gates in the
Cowabbie district. The gate was erected by Adolph Pfrunder on his property Baden at Grong Grong.Adolph Pfrunder was
born on 27 November 1859 and migrated from Baden Baden, Germany at the age of 19 years.
Johann Christopher Pabst came to Australia in 1825, under contract as a shepherd to the Australian Agricultural Company.
At the completion of his indenture with the AAC, Pabst moved to the Germanton area of the Riverina. Pabst became a well
known land holder and publican and the area was known to locals and travellers as ‘The German’s’ or ‘German’s Flat’,
which eventually became Germanton. The name of Germanton was officially changed to Holbrook in 1915, due to the
strong anti-German sentiments generated by World War One.
Pabst became a successful businessman and licensee of the ‘Woolpack Inn’ at Ten Mile Creek (Germanton) in 1840. At that
time it was the only building where the town of Holbrook now stands. Because of the difficulty of pronouncing the name
‘Pabst’, the area of the ‘Woolpack Inn’ was referred to by locals and travellers passing through, as ‘John the German’s’ or
‘The German’s’ or ‘German’s Flat. This common usage then evolved into the place name, Germanton. Johan Pabst was also
a prominent figure in local community activities including horse racing, with the Border Post of February 1875 listing him
among stewards at the Ten Mile Creek race meeting.
John Purtell arrived in the Sydney as a convict on board the Mangles in 1822. He had been sentenced at Limerick to seven
years transportation. Purtell received his ticket of leave on 21 March 1827. By 1858, Purtell had built, and was operating, the
‘Criterion Hotel’ in Germanton. The Purtell family was also involved in community affairs, with John Purtell’s sons, William
and Maurice, listed as stewards of the Ten Mile Creek Races in February of 1875.
Maurice Purtell and Mary Gertrude Pabst were married at Ten Mile Creek on 27 December, 1874. The marriage of Gertrude
Pabst and Maurice Purtell was no doubt one of the social highlights of the year in the Germanton area. Dressed in her
expensive and stylish, French designed and made wedding gown, Gertrude Pabst reflected both the business success and
social standing of her father, John (Johann) Pabst. During the cold winter months and prior to a wedding, a popular night
time activity was feather picking or federschleissen. Young people would gather to strip the hard central shaft from feathers
kept from chickens, ducks and geese. The stripped feathers were then used to fill a quilt and presented to the bride to be.
Dancing, music and a supper of streusel kuchen completed the evening. It was often the beginning of relationships between
other young couples. On the night before a wedding, young local men would gather at the bride’s home for the ritual of tin
kettling (polterabend). First, making sure that all the horses had been led a safe distance away and securely tied, lengths of
iron, empty kerosene tins and cow bells would be banged and rattled and shot guns would be fired in the air. The rowdy group
would then be invited into the brides home for glasses of home made wine and cake (streusel kuchen).
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