The town of Yass has had many lives. Today it is a market town, but also a dormitory suburb for Canberra’s younger public servants and a place of retirement for farmers and pastoralists who have handed their land on to the next generation. As a result, it is a pleasing mix of both young and old, with at least three pre-schools, three primary schools and one high school, but also a complex of nursing and retirement homes, all in a charming setting on either side of the serpentine Yass River. Demographically, the majority of the inhabitants are of British or Irish extraction, but there is also an active Indigenous group and a slowly-increasing number of Asian incomers.
As the title suggests, this book describes the growth of Yass and charts some of its several aspects, from a frontier town surrounded by bushrangers to the gateway to the Murray River and the great grazing lands of western New South Wales and Victoria. The book’s 220 pages describe these various events from both administrative and family points of view, so that it combines standard history with very personal stories ranging from two to over 40 pages in length. Only one of the 18 authors was actually born in Yass, the others having chosen to live in Yass for a variety of reasons.
The co-editors are also authors: Aedeen Cremin concentrating on the pre-colonial and colonial periods while Gloria Carlos discusses the creation and growth of the town itself. There are many colour or black-and-white illustrations showing how the town spread and developed in parallel with the growth of Australia, including the Boer War and Federation—when the town came close to becoming the Federal Capital but was gazumped by the newly-created ‘Canberra’. An unusual but effective inclusion is an 8-page spread of beautiful images of ‘Birds of Yass’, reminding us that the natural environment is an integral part of the town’s life and, for many, an additional incentive to settle there.
The work was commissioned by the owner of the then-Yass Bookstore (closed in early 2025). It is to be launched in the new Yass Bookstore by Allan McGrath, a former Mayor of the town, in February, at a date yet to be determined. Readers are cordially invited to join us on that occasion, which will be announced in these pages.
Aedeen Cremin and Gloria Carlos eds.
Yass Books 2025. ISBN 978-0-6450665-1-7.
The Making of Yass can be ordered from aedeencremin@gmail.com. Rrp $35 (+ p&p)
