Neville is a small village in the south east 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...

, in Blayney Shire

Blayney Shire Council

Blayney Shire Council is a Local Government Area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railway line....

. It is 60km south of Bathurst

Bathurst, New South Wales

-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...

 or about 16 km south east of Mandurama

Mandurama, New South Wales

Mandurama is a village in the Blayney Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The site of the village and surrounding areas was home to the Wiradjuri people prior to settlement, and the name "Mandurama" is derived from their word for 'water holes'...

. It is 940 metres above sea level and currently has a population of about 100.

History

European settlement of the area began soon after the establishment of Bathurst in 1815, but the exact time is still unclear. What is known is that the village was known by different names before it was finally called Neville in 1888. Other names previous to Nevile include "No-one swamp" or "Number one Swamp" (the creek that it is on) and Macquarie in reference to Lachlan Macquarie

Lachlan Macquarie

Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...

, an early governor of New South Wales and then "Mount Macquarie" which the nearby Mount Macquarie is still called. Indeed Neville can be reached by travelling the difficult road from Carcoar

Carcoar, New South Wales

Carcoar is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Blayney Shire. In 2006, the town had a population of 218 people. It is situated just off the Mid-Western Highway 258 km west of Sydney and 52 km south-west of Bathurst and is 720 m above sea-level...

 over Mount Macquarie which is partially surrounded by the Neville State Pine Forest. Neville is picturesque from the top of this Mountain with forest creeping to its peak and a snow covered outlook at times during the winter.

Another possibility is that Neville was a stagecoach stop on the direct road from Rocklea to Cowra. The modern city of Cowra was built in a region previously called "The Lachlan". The road joining Rocklea, the first town west of the Blue Mountains, to "The Lachlan" was called "The Old Lachlan Road". Fragments of the "Old Lachlan Road" still exist near Rocklea, north of Hobbys Yards, south of Woodstock and in Neville.

Features

Several of the old building were created during the time Neville was called Mount Macquarie such as the school built in 1858 and which is still used today. Several churches were built during the late 19th century, but there are no longer regular services - though the Uniting church and the tiny Presbyterian church are still available for special occasions. The other remaining church - the former Methodist church has been converted into a house. A public hall was built in 1890, and is still used for public functions today. There is a hotel, which was built in 1910 after the original Neville Hotel was destroyed in a fire. There is also a general "valley" store.

Neville today

While never a major centre in the region, Neville has lost more and more importance over the years due to several factors including the establishment of the railway line through Blayney

Blayney, New South Wales

Blayney is a farming town and administrative centre with a population of 2,745 in 2006, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia...

, the dominance of nearby centres including firstly the historic town of Carcoar and now Blayney, and the disintegration and disappearance of important roads linking the village to major centres such as Cowra

Cowra, New South Wales

Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. It is located on the Mid-Western Highway, 317 kilometres west of Sydney on the banks of the Lachlan River at an altitude of 310 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census Cowra had a population of 8,430...

to the south.