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Nearby , in Cureton Ave , is a red-gum slab homestead which is a replica of the first home in the district , erected on this site by the Chaffey brothers in the late 1840s . The Watson brothers established the Merrang station at the same time on the western bank of the Hopkins River and the township of Hexham later developed on a portion of this property ( the Merrang homestead , dating back to 1859 , is still standing ) . Despite considerable achievements , the settlement was soon crippled by the nationwide depression of the 1890s , rabbit plagues , a devastating drought , dubious business associates , technical problems , transportation difficulties , settler dissatisfaction with and parliamentary hostility towards the brothers ' management , inflammatory press coverage , foreclosed mortgages and the liquidation , in 1894 , of Chaffey Brothers Ltd. George Chaffey returned to America but William remained to become a significant member of the business community . Wood Park Wines , established in 1989 , is a picturesque vineyard located in wooded hills below the Victorian Alps at Bobinawarrah in the Lower King Valley . The Petersen brothers made the first recorded ski crossing of the Victorian alps . In the desert can be seen the Corunna Airfield , built in 1943 as a long-range base for attacks on the Japanese-occupied islands of the Indonesian archipelago . They cleared hundreds of hectares , built fences and dug irrigation channels . Jamieson brothers , with 6000 sheep , took over the property within a few months .