ETICUP

Eticup townsite. Eticup townsite, Eticup townsite

Eticup was a thriving settlement with two stores, an inn, two blacksmiths, a church/schoolroom and resident’s houses. The settlement declined when the Great Southern Railway passed six kilometres to the east and most of the town’s businessmen transferred their various trades to Broome Hill, the siding which became a town. The settlers at Eticup included the Garrity’s, Krakouer’s, Carmody’s, Tylor’s, Rogers’, Nelson’s, Browns, Whitton’s and various landholders on surrounding properties.

The Eticup Memorial commemorates the little settlements’ rise and decline in the 1880’s. Located outside Mrs D Dennis’ fence on the Broomehill/ Kojonup Road, the plaque shows the location of the settlement’s stores, inn, blacksmithy and houses.

ETICUP/ ETTAKUP/ETTICUP
The horse-changing station for the mail from Albany to Perth in the early days.

From Merilyn Stewart (Gnowangerup)
Via Facebook:

The name ‘Ettakup‘ was taken from the Aboriginal word which was pronounced more like ‘Yee-ti-cup’ variously known as Eticup, Etticup and Ettikup. The preferred spelling is now Eticup.

In 1852 the first regular steam ships brought mail to Albany. A settlement was established in the area to provide a horse-changing station for the horses carrying mail from Albany to Perth. Eticup was 25 miles from Kojonup. These stations usually had a police station attached, as was the case with Eticup.

The first block at Eticup was surveyed about 1855 for Mr John McKail, who neither built nor lived there. Solomon Drolf arrived around 1858 and built a home from stones found on the site. He fenced his garden with stakes and a ‘dyke fence’ made by “digging a trench on each side and throwing the sods into the centre in order to make a wall on the top of which a post and rail fence was erected” (Quotes and information from Old Ettakup by Mrs Christen Norrish nee Wray Western Australian Historical Society)

“The little settlement of Eticup was attracting more settlers – between 1874 and 1883 George Whitton, Pat Garrity, Ned Brown, Joseph Nelson, the Carmody’s, Rogers’ and Tyler’s went to live at Eticup. The Gordon River, which ran close-by, provided almost fresh water supporting around 20 farms at the peak of settlement.“

Ettakup, which once had the air of an Australian village with its two stores, hotel, smithies [3], church and farmhouses,[a string of houses along the road] was doomed when the Great Southern Railway passed to the east of it and the townsite of Broomehill was formed on the line about four miles away.”

Early map of Eticup
Click to enlarge

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SAINT PETER’S CHURCH

From the inHerit website

St Peter’s Church was built in 1886 with the combined help of the settlers of the area. Some donated bricks, some roofing iron and work was done by working bees. A vestry was added in 1898, donated by Lady Brassey. The building was also used as a school room for settlers children until classes were shifted to Broome Hill in 1893. The cairn was built by A. W. Burridge, foreman of the Broome Hill Roads Board and was unveiled by Mr H. A .A. Tylor, who was born on the opposite side of the road.

An effort was made to move the church into Broome Hill, brick by brick, but WWII intervened and the plan was abandoned as impractical. Nothing remains of St Peter’s Church site at Eticup today, except for the plaque.

St Peter’s Church Memorial Plaque – READ MORE

Continue reading

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ETICUP CEMETERY

The Eticup Cemetery is a small cemetery, one of a few reminders of the small village of Eticup, 6km west of Broomehill. It is located on the eastern side of the Greenhills Road and north of the St Peter’s Church site, which is on the opposite side of the road.

There are believed to be 29 graves in the Eticup Cemetery but only four bear headstones. Those that have been traced include; Mrs Louis van Zuilecom and her son Henry, Thomas Norrish and his son George, Algernon Trimmer, Joseph Nelson Snr. and his grandson (the infant son of Nathaniel and Mary Nelson), the infant son of Ben and Annie Bransby, James and Sonny, the 3 and 5 years’ old sons of Thomas and Alice Birchall, Edward Brown, William and Mrs Peate, the little daughter of a railway worker, George Birchall and Nathanial Birchall’s son, Nathanial.

Eticup Cemetery

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GOBLUP ESTATE

The original Goblup farm was established c.1873 by Lady Cockburn-Campbell, developed into Goblup Estate by Lord Brassey in 1890. In the early days of the Eticup settlement, Church services were held at “Goblup Estate”.

This area has historic importance because the ‘Goblup Estate’ belonged to the Dowager, Sophia, Lady Cockburn-Campbell before Lord Brassey purchased it. The Anderson Brothers, Tom and Ross, took it over in 1940 and a new homestead was constructed. Continue reading

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ETICUP POLICE STATION

According to the State Records Office, a police station was established at Eticup in January 1865 and remained operational until December 1873.

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OLD ETICUP
HISTORICAL REVIEW.

Great Southern Herald
7 May 1938

An interesting paper, compiled by Mr. J. F. Hillman, of “Moulgerup,” Broomehill, titled “The Settlement and Settlers of Eticup,” was read before a recent meeting of the Katanning branch WA. Historical Society. The settlement and settlers of Eticup had such an important bearing on the history of the Katanning and Broomehill districts afterwards that the story, as related by Mr. Hillman, is published below.

THE FIRST SELECTIONS.
Something over 30 years before the towns of Katanning and Broomehill came into existence, the first block of land was selected at Eticup, or “Yeticup,” to give it its native name. This was surveyed about 1855 by Surveyor Gregory for John McKail. Solomon Droelf, a Dutchman, came three years later, and as far as can be ascertained he was still in possession in the late 60’s, but by 1869 he was too heavily in debt to be able to carry on. Continue Reading

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ETICUP NEWS

Eticup was one of the earliest settled towns in the area and during the late 1880s and 90s someone from the community was an avid writer providing news about Eticup to the West Australian and Western Mail newspapers. These reports have provided a wealth of historical information about the tiny town before its eventual closure due to the Great Southern Railway being routed via what is now Broomehill instead of Eticup.

I will be adding news reports as I find them, so do come back and check them out. You can read what I have found so far HERE

Found this gem on the Gnowangerup Facebook Group:

Eticup The Ball-Porteous Picnic c1910

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MEMORIES OF ETICUP

Do you have any information on the old Eticup townsite?
Or perhaps its people or buildings? Perhaps some old photos hidden away in a box in the cupboard?
I would love to hear from you if you do!
You can contact me, or send photos and information,
at admin@lostkatanning.au or  CLICK HERE
Start digging and help us preserve our local heritage, our local history, for future generations…

Visit the BROOMEHILL MEMORIES Facebook Page

Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup. Eticup.