Bigga, New South Wales

Bigga is a village in rural New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is in the Parish of Bigga, County of Georgiana. The name Bigga is thought to originate as a shortened version of Biggs Grant. Commissioner Biggs granted 640 acres (2.6 km²) to [http://genealogy.wikicities.com/Thomas_Mcguiness_(1810-1862) Thomas McGuiness] . Bigga is on the western side of the Abercrombie Mountains. It is 45 km northwest of Goulburn and southeast of Cowra. Nearby towns are: Abercrombie, Binda, Greenmantle, Grabine, Reids Flat, and Tuena. Nearby places are: Blanket Flat and Crooked Corner. These places were once towns.

Bigga is noted for producing some of the world's finest superfine wool.

The earliest explorer into the Bigga area was James Meehan who passed through in April 1820, travelling from Mount McDonald to Bathurst, via what was then called the Fish River, but today is known as the Lachlan River. The first official land sale in the region was of 1000 acres (4 km²) at "Sandy Creek" to [http://genealogy.wikicities.com/wiki/Samuel_A_Blackman_%281790-1843%29 Samuel Blackman] in 1835. "Sandy Creek" was one of the first fine wool farms in the district. During the 1850s there was a land boom and numerous families added to the three original families of the area: the McGuinesses, Blackmans and the Hearnes. After this the area again did not attract new settlers until the 1880s. Bigga village was proclaimed in 1892. In May 1896 a "Bigga and Blanket Flat" progress association was formed.

External links

* [http://www.hillcrestonpark.com.au/body_history.html Hillcreston Park superfine stud]
* [http://www.markdale.com/ Markdale - An original selection held by James Hearne]
* [http://www.bigga-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Bigga Public School]