The word 'Bangalow' is a native word and was used by one J. Henderson, in a document of 1851 referring to a particular palm tree.
If we are talking about the township, then the poster of Campbell’s first sub-division is very material. On offer by auction on 1st April were “good business sites, ideal spots for homes. A rare chance to become your own landlord!” There is a copy of the poster on the wall in Bangalow Real Estate. It shows that most of the land that had been selected by Robert Campbell.
Robert Campbell was one of the first settlers in this area arriving in 1881 and selected – Under the Roberson Land Act of 1861 – 640 acres which extended to the north and west of Byron Creek. The area was already well-known and worked by the cedar cutters (Ballina and Lismore were well established by this time). The area to the north and east of these municipalities being christened,” The Big Scrub” for the vegetation was very dense; it was very discouraging to settlement.
Marion Campbell with her three young children joined her husband on the selection after some five months – when he had made a clearing and built a house.
By 1903 (two decades later) there was a school on a 3 acre site the police station and Court house on one acre, the showground was established – complete with a hall, the catholic church was built and the railway ran through the selection. Roads were well established and named after the Campbell children. Readings Store was in business too.
Both husband and wife played major roles in this remarkable transformation. Marion is credited with getting the school started, and the post office established – against some opposition – suggesting the name be Bangalow – it had been Byron Creek- after the palm trees that grew both here and around her home town in the Hunter Valley.
Robert gave land for the Catholic Church and all denominations to establish the present cemetery: leased, then sold the land for the showground (24th June 1904), built two hotels in Bangalow one is Leslie Street and one on the site of the present one, as well as playing a leading role in the rapidly developing agriculture.
‘Heritage House’, Bangalow’s museum is located at the corner of Ashton and Deacon Streets. As well as an extensive collection of local history information and items and Museum also conducts a regular program of feature displays.
One of the feature displays is conducted to co-incide with Anzac Day each year. In addition to the history of local participation in the services, each year a special topic is chosen which highlights particular aspects of Australia’s military history.
Other featured displays have included; ‘Childhood’ and ‘Weddings’ each proving very popular with locals and visitors alike.
