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Notes made by Woore is his surveys and inspections of runs in the Albert
District indicate few of the runs had any improvements, and that where
these did exist they were they comprised single huts and solitary sheep
yards. Woore also refers to the existence of wells. Despite Shaw's
assertion (above) that the area between Mount Poole and Mount Browne
had been taken up by Henry Hopwood by 1865, Woore makes no mention
of improvements on these runs. However, his notebook for the period
1868-1872 indicates a station existed at Gnurlta Lake in 1869, and his
1874-1877 notebook records that the Bates family was then established on
a run centred upon Cooillie (now Coally) waterhole. The notebooks
mention Sturt's Depot Glen waterhole, and a large waterhole just below it ­
"Tuesday 26 May 1874 left buggy at Cooillie (Bates's) and started for Grey
range. Camped at large waterhole just below the Depot Glen, called
Pitchinilula", but no station is mentioned. Woore describes Hermitage
Number Two Run as consisting "of stony plains and ranges intersected by
one or two small creeks which do not hold water long", stating that "it is an
inferior run and Mount Poole North-East Run is also very stony and dry
and I should think it not worth holding at any price.." (Wednesday 27 May
1874). Of the country north-west of Mount Poole he comments "poor
plains with a few little sandhills" and of Mokerley Waterhole, a little east of
north over similar country "The water is muddy. There are several old
black's gunyahs here. I marked one of the orange trees roughly W with
tomahawk. The country about here seems to be utterly worthless."
The most north-westerly European head station indicated in any of
Woore's 1874-1877 notes was at Coally, and as a result it is possible to
conclude that at the time European expansion had not resulted in the
establishment of permanent runs or stations beyond that point. The
location of Coally (Cooillie, Coelly) is shown on map 4, at one of the 'mud
huts'.
In Woore's last notebook (Number 7, 1877-1881) he records some details
of his work north of Coally and states that while travelling from Evelyn
Creek (probably Bates' head station) to Pitchinilula and then (Thursday 12
July 1877) to a camp on Torrens Creek ("miserable country") he met "the
Bates family on their way to Cooillie and got some rations from them". This
may indicate the existence of another run north of Coally by 1877, but it is
also possible to conclude that Matthew Lang, who Shaw states purchased
Mount Poofe Run and, some time prior to 1881 sold to Duncan M'Bryde,
did not establish a station or make any improvements.
2.2.4 Establishment of Service Centres
With the expansion of European pastoralism came the beginnings of the
infrastructure to service travelling stock and their attendant drovers,
shepherds and owners. This infrastructure was certainly not of wholly
European ownership, the historical record suggesting the involvement of