1886 - GUNDAGAI. April 19. - VALUABLE LAND.- Monday, in the insolvent estate of James J. Crowe, of Bongongo, 400 acres conditional purchase realised 33s 6d per acre. Considering that the conditions of not completed and only 5s per acre been paid, this is a high price. The land is situated in the County of Bauclouoh, parish of Bongongo. - (Ref- Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907)(about) Previous issue Saturday 24 April 1886)
Early European settlers in the area originally used the land for grazing livestock. In 1874 while propecting for gold between Bongongolong and Coolac, a previously unrecorded meteorite was discovered near the village by local man Thomas McMahon.
A. Development in the area around Bongongolong boomed in the late 19th Century with the discovery of gold in Bongongolong Creek in 1879.
B. A public school was established in 1880
C. and by 1889 a stamping battery was in operation.
This attracted national media attention when in August, the manager of the mill was committed for trial for his part in the fraudulent sale of impure smelted gold.
D. By the early 20th Century, a community hall and post office had been built at Bongongolong.
The ongoing decline of the town from World War I onwards is evidenced by the closure of the public school for the last time in 1961.
E. Today little remains of the village, with a few farm houses surviving. The street grid and foundations for a number of community buildings remain visible.
Sometimes the town's name has also been spelled Bongongalong causing some difficulty when reviewing historical documents