Wellington, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Wellington is a town in inland New South Wales
, Australia
located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire
Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from Sydney
on the Great Western Highway
and Mitchell Highway
. In January the average minimum temperature in the town is 17.5 °C and the average maximum is 31.7 °C, while in July the average minimum is 1.5 °C and the average maximum is 15 °C.
people. Explorer John Oxley
was the first Europe
an to discover the area in 1817 and named it "Wellington Valley" after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
.
Wellington was originally established in 1823 by Lieutenant Percy Simpson in early 1823 as an agricultural station. Squatters started settling along the Macquarie Valley and in 1832 [Church Mission Society CMS] was established in the settlement to teach Christianity to the Aborigines. The convict settlement ceased in 1831 but a village called Montefiores was established on the north side of the Macquarie River crossing. The Town of Wellington was gazetted in 1846. Wellington Shire Council was established in 1949.
Wellington is the second oldest New South Wales
settlement west of the Blue Mountains. One of its hotels, the Lion of Waterloo, established by Nicolas Hyeronimus
in 1842, is the oldest operating west of the Blue Mountains, and is near the venue of the last recorded duel fought on Australian soil in 1854. The railway from Sydney
reached Wellington in 1880.
As a regional centre Wellington benefited by the development of the gold mining industry in the district from the 1850s. Initially this was working alluvial deposits of gold but later focused on the mining of quartz reefs. Among the mining districts was Mitchells Creek
located 8 miles to the north east near the present day town of Bodangora
and vegetables are grown on lands on the river, wheat, wool, fat lambs and beef cattle are grown on surrounding pastures. At the 2006 census
, Wellington had a population of 4,660 while the population of the surrounding shire is 9200. The town acts as a commercial centre for the district; however, Wellington has been supplanted in commercial importance by Orange
and Dubbo.
In September 2008, the Wellington Correctional Centre was opened. A Probation and Parole Office was also opened in the centre of town. Wellington Council hopes this will stimulate economic growth in the area, due to increasing employment opportunities and the need for non-locals to utilise Wellington facilities.
Anne Jones is the town mayor, elected in March 2004, along with her deputy Mayor Michael Augee.
The local newspaper The Wellington Times, a Rural Press
title, is published three times a week with a circulation in the region of around 1500 http://www.ruralpresssales.com.au/detail.asp?region=North+Western&paper_id=62&state=NSW.
XPT service which runs between Sydney and Dubbo and return. The train stops heading to Dubbo at 12:58pm and heading to Sydney at 2:47pm.
The closest commercial airport is that of Dubbo. Qantaslink and Regional Express Airline service the airport three-five times daily from Sydney. A small airport (Bondangora Airport) for private planes exists twelve kilometres east of Wellington.
, a man-made lake. is located 30 kilometres south of the town. Its capacity is three and a half times that of Sydney Harbour and supplies water for irrigation schemes downstream. It is also a popular location for anglers, sailors and water skiers. Burrendong Arboretum
is a sanctuary for endangered Australian flora and covers 1.60 km².
The nearby Wellington Caves
feature the Cathedral Cave with the massive Altar Rock.
The Wellington Boot, a country racing festival is held in March and April annually. The Bell River Wine Estate is nearby as is the Nangara Gallery, it has a collection of Aboriginal artefacts.
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...
located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire
Wellington Council
Wellington Council is a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Macquarie River and the Mitchell Highway....
Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from 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...
on the Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway
The Great Western Highway is a highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs 210 km from Sydney to Bathurst.Starting as Broadway at the intersection of City Road near the fringe of the Sydney CBD, and becoming Parramatta Road to Parramatta itself, the Great Western Highway heads due west from...
and Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway
The Mitchell Highway is a major rural highway in Australia, travelling through central and northern New South Wales and south central Queensland. The highway starts from its northern end in Queensland with the Landsborough Highway near Augathella and continues south to Charleville and Cunnamulla...
. In January the average minimum temperature in the town is 17.5 °C and the average maximum is 31.7 °C, while in July the average minimum is 1.5 °C and the average maximum is 15 °C.
History
The area was originally occupied by the WiradjuriWiradjuri
The Wiradjuri are an Indigenous Australian group of central New South Wales.In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill, Narrandera and Griffith...
people. Explorer John Oxley
John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of English colonisation.October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to Western Port in 1804-05...
was the first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an to discover the area in 1817 and named it "Wellington Valley" after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
Wellington was originally established in 1823 by Lieutenant Percy Simpson in early 1823 as an agricultural station. Squatters started settling along the Macquarie Valley and in 1832 [Church Mission Society CMS] was established in the settlement to teach Christianity to the Aborigines. The convict settlement ceased in 1831 but a village called Montefiores was established on the north side of the Macquarie River crossing. The Town of Wellington was gazetted in 1846. Wellington Shire Council was established in 1949.
Wellington is the second oldest 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...
settlement west of the Blue Mountains. One of its hotels, the Lion of Waterloo, established by Nicolas Hyeronimus
Nicolas Hyeronimus
Nicolas Hyeronimus was a pioneering innkeeper, merchant, pastoralist and politician in colonial New South Wales, Australia.Born in Wallonia, Hyeronimus arrived in New South Wales in about 1840. In 1842, he established the Lion of Waterloo, the first inn at Montefiores, near present day...
in 1842, is the oldest operating west of the Blue Mountains, and is near the venue of the last recorded duel fought on Australian soil in 1854. The railway from 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...
reached Wellington in 1880.
As a regional centre Wellington benefited by the development of the gold mining industry in the district from the 1850s. Initially this was working alluvial deposits of gold but later focused on the mining of quartz reefs. Among the mining districts was Mitchells Creek
Mitchells Creek
Mitchells Creek Goldfield is claimed to be Australia's first goldfield. It is located at Bodangora near Wellington, New South Wales.Gold was apparently first found in this area by a shepherd called McGregor in Mitchell’s Creek on the Montefiore's squatting run, Nanima in 1848...
located 8 miles to the north east near the present day town of Bodangora
Economy and demographics
Wellington is the centre of rich agricultural land. While lucerneLucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
and vegetables are grown on lands on the river, wheat, wool, fat lambs and beef cattle are grown on surrounding pastures. 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,...
, Wellington had a population of 4,660 while the population of the surrounding shire is 9200. The town acts as a commercial centre for the district; however, Wellington has been supplanted in commercial importance by Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
and Dubbo.
In September 2008, the Wellington Correctional Centre was opened. A Probation and Parole Office was also opened in the centre of town. Wellington Council hopes this will stimulate economic growth in the area, due to increasing employment opportunities and the need for non-locals to utilise Wellington facilities.
Anne Jones is the town mayor, elected in March 2004, along with her deputy Mayor Michael Augee.
The local newspaper The Wellington Times, a Rural Press
Rural Press
Rural Press Limited was an Australian media company which owned approximately 170 newspaper and magazine titles, The Canberra Times being the most prominent. These were predominantly in rural Australia, though it also owned a number of agricultural publications in the United States and New Zealand...
title, is published three times a week with a circulation in the region of around 1500 http://www.ruralpresssales.com.au/detail.asp?region=North+Western&paper_id=62&state=NSW.
Transport links
The town is served by twice a day the daily CountrylinkCountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
XPT service which runs between Sydney and Dubbo and return. The train stops heading to Dubbo at 12:58pm and heading to Sydney at 2:47pm.
The closest commercial airport is that of Dubbo. Qantaslink and Regional Express Airline service the airport three-five times daily from Sydney. A small airport (Bondangora Airport) for private planes exists twelve kilometres east of Wellington.
Nearby attractions
Lake BurrendongLake Burrendong
Lake Burrendong is the name of the impoundment created by Burrendong Dam on the Macquarie River in the central west of New South Wales.The water of the Macquarie River and the Cudgegong River flow into the lake, which, when full, has a capacity of approximately 1,189,000 megalitres...
, a man-made lake. is located 30 kilometres south of the town. Its capacity is three and a half times that of Sydney Harbour and supplies water for irrigation schemes downstream. It is also a popular location for anglers, sailors and water skiers. Burrendong Arboretum
Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum
The Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum is located near Mumbil, south-east of Wellington in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia...
is a sanctuary for endangered Australian flora and covers 1.60 km².
The nearby Wellington Caves
Wellington Caves
The Wellington Caves are a group of limestone caves located 8 kilometres south of Wellington, New South Wales, Australia.- History :The Wellington region was long inhabited by the 'Binjang mob' of the Wiradjuri people. While there is no direct evidence that they entered any of the caves at...
feature the Cathedral Cave with the massive Altar Rock.
The Wellington Boot, a country racing festival is held in March and April annually. The Bell River Wine Estate is nearby as is the Nangara Gallery, it has a collection of Aboriginal artefacts.
Notable residents
- Ben AustinBen AustinBenjamin James Austin OAM is an Elite Athlete with a Disability swimmer for Australia. His classification is S8 .-Personal:...
, paralympian who grew up in Wellington. - Evander Cage, TEW veteran.
- Max CullenMax CullenMax Cullen is an Australian stage and screen actor. Max has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film Spider and Rose and the television series The Flying Doctors and Love My Way.Cullen was born in Wellington, New South Wales...
, actor. - Terry FaheyTerry FaheyTerry Fahey is an Australian former professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Eastern Suburbs and Canberra Raiders clubs...
, former rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player for South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
, Eastern SuburbsSydney RoostersThe Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
and Canberra RaidersCanberra RaidersThe Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
. - Nicolas HyeronimusNicolas HyeronimusNicolas Hyeronimus was a pioneering innkeeper, merchant, pastoralist and politician in colonial New South Wales, Australia.Born in Wallonia, Hyeronimus arrived in New South Wales in about 1840. In 1842, he established the Lion of Waterloo, the first inn at Montefiores, near present day...
, pioneering innkeeper, merchant, pastoralist and inaugural MLAMembers of the New South Wales Legislative AssemblyFollowing are lists of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly:* Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1856–1858* Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1858–1859...
for Wellington. - Ian O'BrienIan O'BrienIan Lovett O'Brien is a former Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1960s, who won the 200 metre breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in world record time...
, Olympic gold medallist in the 200m breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics1964 Summer OlympicsThe 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
, grew up in Wellington.* - Blake Ferguson, NRL Player Canberra Raiders formally with Cronulla Sharks ,use to play Junior Rugby League with Wellington Cowboys
External links
- Visit Wellington - Official website promoting regional tourism and local attractions
- About Wellington and District
- Travel Mate page
- Wellington Gateway Sculpture Innovative environmental sculptureEnvironmental sculptureThe term environmental sculpture is variously defined. A development of the art of the 20th century, environmental sculpture usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer...
and town gateway by project artist Fran Ferguson and team, constructed 1993-1995