Toomelah

Toomelah (formerly Toomelah Aboriginal Mission or Toomelah Station) is an Aboriginal Australian community in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia.

Toomelah is located north of Moree on the MacIntyre River and is close to the town of Goondiwindi across the border in Queensland.^{[citation needed]}

It lies within the Boggabilla locality in Moree Plains Shire.^{[citation needed]}

The Toomelah Aboriginal Station was originally established as the Euraba Aboriginal Reserve in 1897 by the NSW Government's Aboriginal Protection Board. It was initially located on Whalan Creek a few miles south of the town of Boomi, New South Wales. The site was located in a wet-weather swamp and had poor access to potable water during dry periods. In 1925, the residents of the Euraba reserve, as well as Aboriginal people from the reserve at Terry Hie Hie, were moved to a new site halfway between the towns of Boomi and Boggabilla. This reserve was given the name Toomelah, but is now referred to as 'Old Toomelah'. In 1938, the water supply to this reserve failed and the Toomelah reserve was relocated to its present site at the junction of the Dumaresq River and the Macintyre River around 10 km south-east of Boggabilla.

The Euraba Aboriginal Reserve was established in 1897 and consisted of a few huts and some rough shelters alongside Whalan Creek. In 1912, a school was established and the population of approximately 100 people was placed under the control of a government appointed manager. Rations of basic food items were handed out weekly. Aboriginal men on the reserve were utilised by local farmers for shearing, labouring and mustering. The Euraba men were also occasionally allowed to conduct exhibition corroborees and rugby league matches in neighbouring towns.

Three Aboriginal men from Euraba signed up as soldiers in WWI. Charles Bird, George Bennett and Jack Stacy fought in Western Europe and the Middle East. They all survived and returned as heroes with congratulation ceremonies being conducted in English and the Gamilaraay language.

During the 1918-20 influenza pandemic, most of the reserve fell sick. With no access medical facilities, the residents' only carers were the manager and school-teacher, Herbert E. Hockey, and his wife.

In 1925, the Euraba settlement was deemed unsuitable and the residents were moved to a new location halfway between the towns of Boomi and Boggabilla. It was named Toomelah but is now known as Old Toomelah. The local graziers requested that the site be enclosed in a dog-proof fence.