Hello Sue I have in my records that Holbrook was spelt both Germanton and Germantown..The first Europeans to see the area were Hume and Hovell, who passed through the region in 1824. The first settler in the district, John Purtell, called the area "Ten Mile Creek", since it was ten miles from the nearest settlement at the time, Father Therry's station. That was in 1838, and within a year, Johann Chirstoff Pasbst and John Mitten opened the Woolpack Inn at Ten Mile Creek. In 1852 Past was granted a one square mile piece of land, where his Inn stood. It was from this grant that the township of Holbrook emerged, and the nationality of the grantee gave the town it's first name - Germanton. The 1866 Robertson Land Act attracted many people into NSW from Victoria, and since it is near the border, the population of the Holbrook area grew. The first mill in Germanton opened in 1871, and in 1881 the town's population was 201. The turn of the century saw two major forces come into effect in Germanton. On a positive note, the town was connected to the state's railway network in 1902, after many years of lobbying by local people. Unfortunately, 1902 also saw one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the area, and many people left the area when their farms dried up. In 1906 there were 500 people in the town and 2000 in the district. In 1915, Germanton was renamed Holbrook, as the people of the area felt uncomfortable with the un-patriotic connotations of the previous name. After a vote the people of the town chose to honour Lieutenant (later Commander) Norman Holbrook, RN, who had recently been awarded the Victoria Cross for actions in the Dardanelles. Regards Alan Alan.Eade@bigpond.com Alan Eade