Clarence Town is a both a primarily rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 locality and a township in the Dungog Shire

Dungog Shire

Dungog Shire is a Local Government Area in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the Barrington Tops region and consists predominantly of very rugged to hilly country which becomes less rugged from north to south.- Incomes :...

 Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is 193 kilometres (120 mi) north of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, 54 km (34 mi) north-north-west of Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, and 28 km (17 mi) from the Pacific Highway

Pacific Highway (Australia)

The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...

 at Raymond Terrace

Raymond Terrace, New South Wales

Raymond Terrace is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road north of Newcastle on the Pacific Highway. Established in 1837 it is situated at the confluence of the Hunter and Williams rivers and has about 12,600 residents. It is the administrative centre of the Port...

. The locality is bisected by the Williams River

Williams River (New South Wales)

The Williams River is a river that flows through Dungog, Clarence Town and Seaham in New South Wales, Australia. The river flows generally south east and south for about to its confluence with the Hunter River, just to the west of the Fitzgerald Bridge at Raymond Terrace. Previously it was known...

. The township sits just to the west of the river about 32 km (20 mi) upstream from where it flows into the Hunter River at Raymond Terrace.

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Wanaruah Aboriginal

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 people who called it Erringhi. There is a hotel in the main street of Clarence Town built in 1913 called The Erringhi Hotel.

The township is most famous for building and launching the William IV paddle steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 in 1831, although the town was still called Erringhi at this time. It was later renamed in 1832 after the Duke of Clarence

Duke of Clarence

Duke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...

, who became King William IV

William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

 in 1830.

Demographics

At the 2006 census the locality had a population of approximately 2,100 while the township, which is the largest population centre in the area, had a population of 794.

Township

Clarence Town has its own post office (built about 1880), a supermarket (IGA

IGA (Australian supermarket group)

Independent Grocers of Australia, or IGA, is a chain of independent supermarkets in Australia. It is the local variant of the international Independent Grocers Association...

), a primary school, several churches, a school of arts hall (which hosts many local events), a soccer club (home of the Clarencetown Cobras), a football field come cricket pitch, a fire station, police station, club, pub, hardware store and restaurant, a caravan park on the river and a swimming pool (home of the Clarencetown Comets swimming team). There are also several picnic spots and old houses and buildings to see.

Just out of town a little way is the Good Samaritan Donkey Sanctuary, which cares for mistreated donkeys. Visitors are welcomed; however appointments are required, except on advertised open days.

Disasters

In 2007, devastating floodwaters caused havoc in the Hunter Valley and claimed the lives of 2 people on a bridge into Clarence Town from Seaham, New South Wales

Seaham, New South Wales

Seaham is a suburb of the Port Stephens Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Williams River which flows into the Hunter River downstream from Seaham village at Raymond Terrace....

.