The bustling mining village of Dalmorton, 106 kms east down the Old Grafton Road, is now long gone, but its glory days were recorded in the Glen Innes Examiner of March 11, 1933.
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The late Mrs Ann Pinkerton, who passed away in her ninetieth year this day twelve months ago was a native of Scone, of which place her late father Frank Isaac, was appointed first postmaster.
From Scone Mrs Pinkerton came to Buccarumbi, where she resided for a few years.
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The Buccarumbi bridge was then being erected.
From here deceased, in 1872 came to Dalmorton and taking charge of the post office became the first postmistress... at that time there were scenes of much activity due to the operation of the gold mines where two batteries* were employed.
[ At one stage there were up to 600 men working those goldfields].
Within a few years it became a small village containing five hotels, two stores, two bakers', and two butchers' shops, a police station, a post office, and a blacksmith's shop owned by the late Albert Battye, a niece of whom was then in charge of the private school.
With the slackening of the goldmines, the population dwindled until today, only the police station and post office combined, run by Mr JJ Elliott, a grandson of deceased remain in operation.
An 18 August 1877
'A Trip to Dalmorton' published in the same edition of the paper recalled a journey taken on August 18, 1877.
(The) road which was really a triumph of engineering skill had been formed by Mr David Houison, late Superintendent of Roads ... certainly, the work reflected very great credit on the professional skill of that gentleman though I wished he had made it a few feet wider ...this road for many miles is cut out of the side of the mountain, which in many places is solid rock...altogether the Newton Boyd road is to be ranked as one of the wonders of engineering in New South Wales.
Graham Wilson OAM records that the 1878 application for a Dalmorton school to cater for 26 pupils showed the prospective students would be the children of carriers, miners, accommodation house keepers and workmen on the road.
The nearest school was then 13 miles away, at Buccarumbi.
In this Dalmorton School History, Graham mentions many of the early families, and the teachers.
*Gold processing plants were known as batteries.
