Finley, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
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 the largest town in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Finley had a population of 2,054 people.
The town is located approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
on the intersection of the Newell Highway
Newell Highway
The Newell Highway is the longest highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs parallel to the eastern coast about 400 kilometres inland, and is the main inland direct road link from Victoria to Queensland, bypassing the more congested coastal areas of New South Wales...
and Riverina Highway
Riverina Highway
Riverina Highway is a highway in New South Wales, Australia.Westwards, the highway stretches from Hume Weir, immediately east of Albury to Deniliquin...
s.
History
The post office opened on 1 January 1881 but was known as Murray Hut until 1893.Europeans first settled the area around Finley in the early 1840s, with wheat becoming the main crop.
Periods of severe drought, combined with the Great Depression of the early 1930s, forced many farmers to abandon their holdings.
In 1935, construction on the Mulwala Canal began in order to provide employment and bring water to the area’s rich farmland.
Education
Finley has two primary schools, St Joseph's School, (Roman Catholic) and Finley Public School. Finley High SchoolFinley High School
Finley High School is a school with 486 students, located in Finley in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia.The schools has an award-winning Show Team, which shows sheep and cattle. They also receive exceptional School Certificate and HSC results...
attracts students from a wide catchment including the towns of Berrigan
Berrigan, New South Wales
Berrigan is a town located on the Riverina Highway in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Berrigan is in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area and is the location of the Berrigan Shire Council offices...
, Tocumwal
Tocumwal, New South Wales
Tocumwal is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. The Newell Highway, part of the main road route between...
, Jerilderie
Jerilderie, New South Wales
Jerilderie is a town of 768 people in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the only town in the Jerilderie Shire Local Government Area....
and Blighty
Blighty, New South Wales
Blighty is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the Riverina Highway between the towns of Finley and Deniliquin. It is located in the Conargo Shire Council Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Blighty and the surrounding area had a population...
.
Finley is also home to a campus of Riverina TAFE.
Sport
Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
are all very popular in the town. Sporting teams include the Finley Football Club
Finley Football Club
The Finley Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is an Australian Rules Football club playing in the Murray Football League.The club is based in the town of Finley located in the Riverina district of New South Wales....
who compete in the Murray Football League
Murray Football League
The Murray Football League is an Australian rules football league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League.The league covers a large area of northern Victoria and southern New South Wales from Shepparton in the south to Deniliquin in the north.It covers much the same area as the...
.
The Finley Rodeo Committee holds an annual rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
every January and Finley Apex Club hosts a tractor pull every February.
Notable residents
- HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er and 1999 Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
list Shane CrawfordShane CrawfordShane Barry Crawford is a former Australian rules footballer, having played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League...
. - GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
ers, Jack HawkinsJack Hawkins (footballer)Jack Hawkins is a former Australian Rules footballer who played 182 games for Geelong from 1973 to 1981. He is the father of current Geelong forward Tom Hawkins and the son-in-law of former Geelong player Fred Le Deux....
and his son Tom HawkinsTom Hawkins (footballer)Thomas "Tom" Jack Hawkins is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League...
. - Fashion designer Jenny Hoo
- Rock band SpiderbaitSpiderbaitSpiderbait are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Finley in 1989 by bass guitarist Janet English, singer-drummer Mark Maher , and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004 the group's cover version of the 1930s Lead Belly song "Black Betty" reached number one on the ARIA Singles Chart...
. - country music singer Craig Giles.