Don Roulston Buzzard

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Toodyay

The site for the original town of Toodyay was determined in 1836. Following serious flooding of the River Avon in 1857 and 1859, the decision was made to transfer the town to the site of the Toodyay Convict Depot located approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) upstream.

The new township, to be known as Newcastle, was gazetted on 1st October 1860. The name “Newcastle” was derived from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Duke of Newcastle. The township of “Old” Toodyay continued to exist, although it ceased to expand.

In August 1909, the Federal authorities urged the town of Newcastle to change its name. The towns of Newcastle in New South Wales and Newcastle in Western Australia were being confused. All too often the problem of duplicated place names was causing mail to go astray.

One instance of mail going astray concerned an item discovered by Sir John Forrest (the first Premier of W.A. 1890 – 1901). A beautiful French ormolu clock had been delivered mistakenly to Newcastle, New South Wales, where it had sat unclaimed. Forrest recognised that the clock belonged to William Demasson of Newcastle, Western Australia, and arranged for it to be restored to its rightful owner. This incident is known to have contributed to the call for change.

In February 1910, the Municipal Council held a referendum and, by a slim majority, it was decided to change the name of the town to Toodyay. On 6th May 1910, it was declared that the town of Newcastle would henceforth be known as Toodyay and the old town of Toodyay would henceforth be known as West Toodyay. [63]

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[63] Wikipedia