Werris Creek
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 War memorial and church in Werris Creek |
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Werris Creek is a city in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales . It is located 20 km north of Quirindi and 39 km southwest of Tamworth . It belongs to the Local Government Area Liverpool Plains Shire and the 2016 census counted 1,442 inhabitants.
history
The area of today's Werris Creek was inhabited by the Kamilaroi Aboriginal tribe. The city's name is derived from a word in their language called Weia Weia . However, a meaning is not known. A similar word in this language, Werai , means 'viewpoint' and could also have something to do with the name of the town as there are higher hills in the area. 'Werris' used to be written in different ways. Well-known spellings are Werres, Werries or Weery's .
The first European settlers came to the area in the 1830s and the priest Francis Vidal founded the sheep breeding station Weia Weia Creek . In the 1870s there were already 20 families who raised cattle and lived in the valley. East of today's city was the Summer Hill sheep breeding station , which belonged to John Single , after the current main street of Werris Creek was named.
The first post office opened on January 1, 1878, and in 1880 the station was built according to plans by railroad engineer John Whitton .
Geography and climate
Werris Creek is dominated by Mount Terrible , which the locals call Terrible Billy . The city is 380 m high and the mean annual rainfall reaches 685 mm. On July 18, 1965, snow fell for the first and so far only time in Werris Creek. It was 75 mm high.
The city is four hours by road from Sydney and is halfway between the famous Hunter Valley wine country and the cooler wine country of New England's northern table country . From here you can reach the beaches around Newcastle in three hours and the seaside resorts of Forster , Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbor in four hours .
traffic
Werris Creek is a railway junction. There the railway line branches off to Moree and Mungindi from the Main Northern Railway Line from Sydney to Armidale . Located 411 miles north of Sydney by rail, the station made Werris Creek Australia's first railroad settlement.
The station was opened in 1878 and moved to its current location in 1880. The station building, designed by John Whitton in 1880 , is listed on the New South Wales List of Monuments. The Australian Railway Monument was recently inaugurated near the station and part of the station building houses a railway museum. A historical exhibition shows the way from Werris Creek as a railroad settlement from the age of the steam locomotives to today's diesel locomotives.
Werris Creek is still served by the CountryLink Xplorer , a diesel multiple unit coming from Sydney that is shared in Werris Creek. One part of the train goes to Armidale, the other to Mungindi via Moree. The train from Sydney arrives at 3:34 pm every day. Every day at 11:29 am, the train parts coming from Armidale and Moree are connected for the journey to Sydney.
economy
There are large grain silos in the city and a coal mine was opened in 2005. The largest employer is the Pacific National railway company . A larger part of the working population also commutes to nearby Tamworth.
Public facilities
Werris Creek owns a state school, Werris Creek Public School, which was founded in the 1880s. There used to be two schools. The St. Joseph's Catholic School was opened in 1915 but closed on April 9 in 2009.
The city has an outdoor swimming pool (opened in 1968), tennis courts, a bowling alley and a golf club. There is one team in the Rugby League , Group 4, the Werris Creek Magpies . In 1996 the Magpies won the Clayton's Cup as the best team in New South Wales.
Country Music
The American country and rockabilly singer and songwriter Jason Lee Wilson commemorates the city in his song Werris Creek , which is included in his 2007 debut album High Country .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics : Werris Creek ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ Premier Postal History: Post Office List . Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
- ^ Philippa Rogers The Australian Railway Monument and Rail Journeys Museum . www.historycooperative.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
- ^ Werris Creek Railway Station . NSWrail.net. Retrieved April 1, 2008
- ^ Werris Creek Primary closes doors . NBN Television News. March 19, 2009 ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2014 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.
