Gunnedah

Gunnedah
Gunnedah from Mount Porcupine
State :  Australia State : New South Wales Founded : 1833
Coordinates : 30 ° 59 ′  S , 150 ° 15 ′  E Coordinates: 30 ° 59 ′  S , 150 ° 15 ′  E Height : 264  m
Residents : 7,984 (2016)
Time zone : AEST (UTC + 10) Postal code : 2380 LGA : Gunnedah Shire
Gunnedah

Memorial to the miners who lost their lives. Gunnedah

Gunnedah is a city in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales . It is the administrative center of the Gunnedah Shire Local Government Area . The city is 75 km west-northwest of Tamworth and 475 km north of Sydney . The 2016 census counted 7,984 residents, 1,198 (15%) of whom were Aboriginal .

history

The area around today's Gunnedah was originally inhabited by Aborigines who used the Kamilarois language . Where the city stands today, the first European sheep farmers settled in 1833 or 1834. Since the economy was then limited to sheep, Gunnedah was known as The Woolshed before the current name came from the name of the Aborigines who lived there, who called themselves Gunn-e-darr . The most famous of them was Cumbo Gunnerah .

Dorothea Mackellar wrote her famous poem My Country about her family's farm near Gunnedah. In her memory, the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Award is given to students in Gunnedah every year .

Coal was discovered on Black Jack Hill in 1877. In 1891 6,000 liters of coal had already been extracted from the ground. The Gunnedah Colliery Company was founded in May 1899 and on June 22 of the same year a 5.7 km long private railroad was opened from Gunnedah Station to the mine. In September 1957, the state took over the operation of this private railway.

In early 2012, Gunnedah experienced a mining boom that resulted in mining companies leasing private properties for up to AU $ 1,350 / week. An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale occurred in June 2012, the tremors of which could be felt up to 120 km away.

geography

Gunnedah is located 264 m above sea level in the Liverpool Plains in the valley of the Namoi River . The area is very flat; the highest hills reach a height of about 400–500 m above sea level. The climate is hot in summer and mild and dry in winter. However, thunderstorms can cause floods in the Namoi River. Larger floods can cut off the traffic routes into the city and cut it off from the outside world.

economy

The main industry is agriculture, which accounts for 80% of the added value in the area. The main products from Gunnedah are: sheep's wool, coal, beef, lamb, pork, grain and oilseed.

Gunnedah also hosts AgQuip , Australia's largest exhibition for agricultural machinery , every year .

traffic

Gunnedah is at the junction of the Oxley Highway (Australian Route 34) and the Kamilaroi Highway (Australian Route 37).

Gunnedah Station is on the Mungindi railway line . The station, which opened in 1879, consists of a large station building, a single platform, a through track and a small freight yard. At the moment there is one diesel multiple unit each day to Sydney and Moree .

tourism

The area around Gunnedah has a particularly large number of wild animals. B. Kangaroos , Echidna and Koalas . Koalas can also be seen in trees in the city, as well as in the surrounding area. Gunnedah is known as the “Koala Capital of the World”, a title that Port Stephens north of Newcastle and Port Macquarie also claim, where a special hospital for koalas has been built.

media

The local newspaper is called Namoi Valley Independent and the radio stations 2MO and 2GGG . 2MO claims to be the first radio station in Australia outside of the big cities.

Known residents

• Erica Packer - model and singer, wife of James Packer .
• Miranda Kerr - supermodel
• Ben Smith - rugby player
• John O'Neill - rugby player
• John "Dallas" Donnelly - rugby player
• James Wynne - rugby player
• Dorothea Mackellar - poet

Web links

Commons : Gunnedah  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Gunnedah website
• AgQuip website
• Gunnedah Shire website
• Gunnedah Speedway website
• Gunnedah High School website
• Gunnedah South Public School website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Australian Bureau of Statistics : Gunnedah ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
2. ↑ About NSW - Gunnedah . Government of New South Wales ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ Gifford Eardley: A Short History of the Gunnedah Colliery Co. Ltd. Railway . In: Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. March 1977, pp. 58-67.
4. ^ Mining Boom Strangling Heart of the Country Town . Bigstreet ( Memento of the original from March 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ^ Gunnedah Railway Station . NSWrail.net. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
6. ↑ CountyLink Timetable . CountryLink.info. Retrieved April 1, 2008
7. ↑ Girl from Gunnedah to Leave Others in her Wake . The Sydney Morning Herald