THIRTY years of carefully collected stories, clippings, accounts and cherished memories have resulted in Coolatai: Where is it you ask?, written by Joan and Alan Campbell.
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The 215-page book of the farming community’s recollected history is now in print, an idea that was born of Joan, a Coolatai transplant about 40 years ago who married Alan, a Coolatai man.
“About 30-odd years ago,” Joan said. “People were just telling me stories about Coolatai, and I said to anyone, ‘Had they written anything down?’ and they said no, so I just sort of kept it all.
“Then people were giving me clippings out of papers and poems, and they just kept on giving them to me,”
Joan took time over the years to visit with older residents and transcribe their stories.
“It came to a point and I said, ‘Well, I might as well put it in a book,” she said.
“I thought it would be shame to think all this old history was lost.”
People spoke to Joan about development and changes, and she related the story she was told about the initial mapping of the town.
“With Ottley and Mr Jardine meeting at the junction of Ottley and Jardine Creeks which they called, either one” she said.
“And then they took their bearings from a hill, each sort of went a different direction, took a bearing in those old days, and said well, this is going to be Coolatai.”
It came to a point and I said, ‘Well, I might as well put it in a book.
- Joan Campbell
She understood the town name came from a “weedy-weed in the creek,” and said the Coolatai Grass came from another place altogether.
“It came from up north, in Queensland,” Joan said.
“The Walker family from Coolatai Station brought it down as little seeds and planted it, thinking it was going to be good for the area because it likes sandy country,” she said.
Coolatai: Where is it you ask? is $40, and there will soon be a copy in the Inverell Library reference section. Joan has copies for sale, and those interested should contact The Inverell Times for more information.