Electoral district of Bathurst
Bathurst is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Paul Toole of The Nationals. Bathurst is a regional electorate that encompasses the entirety of the local government areas of Bathurst Region, the City of Lithgow, Oberon Shire, Blayney Shire, Oberon Shire plus the southern part of Mid-Western Regional Council. Bathurst was created in 1859 replacing Western Boroughs. Between 1920 and 1927, it absorbed parts of Hartley and Orange and elected three members under proportional representation. In 1927 Bathurst and Orange were recreated as single-member electorates, it was held by the Labor party for 20 years until the Coalition's landslide win in 2011, where the Nationals candidate Paul Toole recorded a swing of 36.7%, the largest in state history. Of particular note was the suburb of Eglinton, where labor support plummeted from 854 of 1,690 to 180 of 1,690 first preference votes; this trend was somewhat reversed in 2015, with Toole being re-elected by a margin of around 15,000 votes, a majority of two-thirds of the vote, but still down from the approximate 20,000 margin from 2011
Weddin Shire
Weddin Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The shire's major town is Grenfell and it includes the small towns of Caragabal and Quandialla; the mayor of Weddin Shire Council is Cr Mark Liebich, unaligned with any political party. Weddin Shire Council is composed of nine Councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office; the mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 10 September 2016, the makeup of the Council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election, is: Weddin Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Iandra Road, Greenethorpe: Iandra Castle Koorawatha-Grenfell railway, Grenfell: Grenfell railway station
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, extending from 120 km to 310 km north of Sydney. It contains its tributaries with highland areas to the north and south. Situated at the northern end of the Sydney Basin bioregion, the Hunter Valley is one of the largest river valleys on the NSW coast, is most known for its wineries and coal industry. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within 25 km of the coast, with 55% of the entire population living in the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. There are numerous other towns and villages scattered across the region in the eleven local government areas that make up the region. At the 2011 census the combined population of the region was 620,530. Under Australia's wine appellation system, the Hunter Valley wine zone Australian Geographical Indication covers the entire catchment of the Hunter River and its tributaries. Within that, the Hunter region is as large, includes most of the wine-producing areas, excluding the metropolitan area of Newcastle and nearby coastal areas, some national parks, any land, in the Mudgee Shire.
The Hunter wine region is one of Australia's best known wine regions, playing a pivotal role in the history of Australian wine as one of the first wine regions planted in the early 19th century. The success of the Hunter Valley wine industry has been dominated by its proximity to Sydney with its settlement and plantings in the 19th century fuelled by the trade network that linked the valley to the city; the steady demand of consumers from Sydney continues to drive much of the Hunter Valley wine industry, including a factor in the economy by the tourism industry. While the Hunter Valley has been supplanted by the massive Riverina wine region as the largest producer of New South Wales wine, it still accounts for around 3% of Australia's total wine production and is one of the country's most recognisable regions. For over 30,000 years the Wonnarua tribe of Aboriginal Australians inhabited the land, now known as the Hunter Valley wine region. Along with the Worimi to the north and the Awabakal to the south, the Wonnarua developed a trading route connecting the Coquun Valley to the harbour now known as Sydney harbour.
The wine-making history of Hunter Valley begins with the European settlement of the Sydney and the New South Wales region of Australia in the late 18th century as a penal colony of the British Empire. The Hunter River itself was discovered, by accident, in 1797 by British Lieutenant John Shortland as he searched for escaped convicts; the region soon became a valuable source for timber and coal that fuelled the steamship trade coming out of Sydney. Land prospector John Howe cut a path through the Australian wilderness from Sydney up to the overland area in what is now known as the Hunter Valley proper in 1820. Today, the modern Putty Road between the cities of Windsor and Singleton follows Howe's exact path and is a major thoroughfare for wine tourists coming into the Hunter Valley from Sydney; as previous plantings in the coastal areas around Sydney succumbed to the humidity and wetness, plantings to the west were limited by spring frost damage, northern reaches leading to the Hunter became by default, the wine region of the new colony.
The expansive growth of the Hunter Valley in the mid to late 19th century came directly from its monopoly position of the lucrative Sydney market. The provincial government of New South Wales had enacted regulations that placed prohibitive duties on wines from other areas such as Victoria and South Australia. Following World War I, many returning Australian veterans were given land grants in the Hunter Valley; this temporarily produced an up-tick in plantings but the global Great Depression as well as a series of devastating hail storms between 1929–30 caused many growers to abandon their vineyards. The Hunter Region is considered a transitional area between the Paleozoic rock foundation of the New England Fold Belt located to the south and the Early Permian and Middle Triassic period rock formations of the Sydney Basin to the south. Between these two geological areas is the Hunter-Mooki Thrust fault. At one time this fault was geologically active and gave rise to the Brokenback range that feature prominently in the Hunter region.
Strips of basalt found throughout the region bear witness to the volcanic activity that has occurred in the history of this fault. The Permian rocks in the central and southeastern expanse of the Lower Hunter Valley were formed when the area was underneath a shallow marine estuary; the remnants of this period has left an extensive network of coal seams that fuelled the early population boom of the Hunter Valley in the 19th century as well a high degree of salinity in the water table of much of the area. The further north and west, towards the Brokenback Range and the Upper Hunter, the more Triassic sandstone that can be found leading to the carboniferous rocks that form the northern boundary of the Hunter with the New England Fold Belt and the foothills of the Barrington Tops. Overall, the Hunter Valley has more soils that are unsuitable for viticulture than they have areas that are ideal for growing grapes; the soils of the Lower Hunter vary from sandy alluvial flats, to deep friable loam and friable red duplex soils.
In the Upper Hunter, the rivers and creeks of the region contribute to the areas black, silty loam soils that are overlaid on top of alkaline clay loam. Among the hills of the Brokenback range are strips of volcanic basalt that are prized b
West Wyalong
West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. Located 467 kilometres west of Sydney and 262 m above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, the Mid-Western Highway between Sydney and Adelaide; the West Wyalong district is the largest cereal-growing centre in NSW. Eucalyptus oil production started in 1907 and the West Wyalong area became one of the major world exporters of the product; the Wiradjuri people were the first to inhabitant this region. Or Wirraayjuurray people are a group of indigenous Australian Aboriginal people that were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans scattered throughout central New South Wales. In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill and Griffith. There are significant populations at Wagga Wagga and Leeton and smaller groups at West Wyalong, Dubbo, Cootamundra and Young.
Gold was discovered at Wyalong in September 1893 by Joseph Neeld. In 1895 West Wyalong was developed 5 kilometres from Wyalong around the bullock track, without the benefit of town planning, resulting in curious kinks in the road where it avoided trees; as well as the mines, the White Tank water supply was located here. This is now the location of McCann Park; the goldfield was declared the most productive in the colony in 1899. As mining declined West Wyalong became the main service centre for agriculture in the surrounding district, although for many years there was rivalry between the towns. Both towns wanted the Temora railway line, but settled on a compromise of a station midway between the two towns, called Wyalong Central. Development since the 1970s has expanded Wyalong in the direction of West Wyalong with several motels built at Central Wyalong. A shared bicycle and pedestrian track was constructed in 1994 to link Wyalong with West Wyalong; the population has stabilised recently. This is due, in part, to the Cowal Gold Mine adjacent to Lake Cowal, 45 km northeast and Pace Farm's egg production facility.
West Wyalong Movies is a project by Ross Harmer aimed at documenting the history of West Wyalong and The Bland Shire. The Poppet Head Lions Park Dakota DC3 West Wyalong Museum West Wyalong Airport St Mary's War Memorial Catholic School - The original St. Mary's Church School was built in 1901 of corrugated iron and staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. By 1903 there were 167 students; the present St. Mary's School was built in 1961. West Wyalong Primary School West Wyalong High School Wyalong Public School The Tattersalls Hotel The Metropolitan Hotel Royal Hotel The White Tank Hotel West Wyalong Services & Citizens Club West Wyalong Lawn Bowling Club West Wyalong Golf Club Toppy Pub The town's rugby league team competed in the Maher Cup. West Wyalong Wildcats - West Wyalong Mallee Men - rugby league West Wyalong-Girral Bulldogs - Australian rules football & netball West Wyalong Weevils - senior rugby union West Wyalong Pirates - junior rugby union Alleena Cricket Club - cricket Tallimba Cricket Club - cricket White Tank Cricket Club - cricket Australia Day Breakfast and Awards, West Wyalong David Earl Memorial Cricket Match, West Wyalong Pancake Breakfast, West Wyalong West Wyalong Rugby League Knockout Barmedman Modified tractor Pull Candy Stripe Fair, West Wyalong ANZAC Day Celebrations Wellness West Wyalong Festival Ladies Day Out in West Wyalong Mother's Day Luncheon, West Wyalong Masonic Debutante Ball, West Wyalong Catholic Debutante Ball, West Wyalong Weethalle Show West Wyalong Show Ball Barmedman Show & Beaut-Ute Comp.
West Wyalong Show Ungarie Show West Wyalong Charity Campdraft Mirrool Silo Kick Challenge'in the West' Festival www.inthewest.com.au Early Markets, Wyalong Christmas Market/Carols by Candlelight, West Wyalong New year Celebrations & Bi-annual Fireworks, West Wyalong Dymphna Cusack, author Reginald Roy Rattey, Victoria Cross recipient Terry Gathercole, champion swimmer Ron Crowe, champion rugby league footballer Mark O'Meley, rugby league footballer Scott Staniforth, rugby union footballer Mat McLachlan and historian Anthony Gelling, rugby union representatives Neale Daniher, former AFL footballer, former AFL coach and motor neurone disease campaigner Terry Daniher, former AFL footballer Anthony Daniher, former AFL footballer Chris Daniher, former AFL footballer Dal Stivens, author - grew up in the town Matt Blackwood, Parkour World Champion Media related to West Wyalong at Wikimedia Commons Bland Shire Council
Lachlan Shire
Lachlan Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Lachlan River, the Lachlan Valley Way and the Broken Hill railway line; the largest town and council seat is Condobolin. The Shire includes the towns and villages of Tottenham, Lake Cargelligo, Albert and Fifield; the Mayor of Lachlan Shire Council is Cr. John Medcalf, unaligned with any political party; the Lachlan Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Condobolin, McDonnell Street: All Saints' Anglican Church, Condobolin Lachlan Shire Council is composed of ten Councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards, each electing two Councillors. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office; the Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 10 September 2016 and the makeup of the Council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election by ward, is: Media related to Lachlan Shire at Wikimedia Commons
Sydney
Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders"; as of June 2017, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,230,330 and is home to 65% of the state's population. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney area for at least 30,000 years, thousands of engravings remain throughout the region, making it one of the richest in Australia in terms of Aboriginal archaeological sites. During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to chart the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay and inspiring British interest in the area.
In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Phillip named the city Sydney in recognition of 1st Viscount Sydney. Penal transportation to New South Wales ended soon after Sydney was incorporated as a city in 1842. A gold rush occurred in the colony in 1851, over the next century, Sydney transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural and economic centre. After World War II, it experienced mass migration and became one of the most multicultural cities in the world. At the time of the 2011 census, more than 250 different languages were spoken in Sydney. In the 2016 Census, about 35.8% of residents spoke a language other than English at home. Furthermore, 45.4% of the population reported having been born overseas, making Sydney the 3rd largest foreign born population of any city in the world after London and New York City, respectively. Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, the 2018 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranks Sydney tenth in the world in terms of quality of living, making it one of the most livable cities.
It is classified as an Alpha+ World City by Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has an advanced market economy with strengths in finance and tourism. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as Australia's financial capital and one of Asia Pacific's leading financial hubs. Established in 1850, the University of Sydney is Australia's first university and is regarded as one of the world's leading universities. Sydney is home to the oldest library in Australia, State Library of New South Wales, opened in 1826. Sydney has hosted major international sporting events such as the 2000 Summer Olympics; the city is among the top fifteen most-visited cities in the world, with millions of tourists coming each year to see the city's landmarks. Boasting over 1,000,000 ha of nature reserves and parks, its notable natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, Royal Botanic Garden and Hyde Park, the oldest parkland in the country.
Built attractions such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House are well known to international visitors. The main passenger airport serving the metropolitan area is Kingsford-Smith Airport, one of the world's oldest continually operating airports. Established in 1906, Central station, the largest and busiest railway station in the state, is the main hub of the city's rail network; the first people to inhabit the area now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia and before that from southeast Asia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago. However, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Western Sydney's gravel sediments that were dated from 45,000 to 50,000 years BP, which would indicate that there was human settlement in Sydney earlier than thought; the first meeting between the native people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula and encountered the Gweagal clan.
He noted in his journal that they were somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors. Cook was not commissioned to start a settlement, he spent a short time collecting food and conducting scientific observations before continuing further north along the east coast of Australia and claiming the new land he had discovered for Britain. Prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans; the earliest British settlers called the natives Eora people. "Eora" is the term the indigenous population used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is "from this place". Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan; the principal language groups were Darug and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the indigenous people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells, cooking fish. Britain—before that, England—and Ireland had for a long time been sending their convicts across the Atlantic to the American colonies.
That trade was ended with the Declaration of Independence by the United States in 1776. Britain decided in 1786 to found a new penal outpost in the territory discovered by Cook some 16 years ear
Parkes, New South Wales
Parkes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the local government area of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 11,408 as at 30 June 2016. Parkes was founded in 1853 as the settlement Currajong, named for the abundance of kurrajong trees in the local area by the settlers, but was known as Bushman's. In August 1873, Henry Parkes visited the area and in December 1873 the town was renamed Parkes in his honour. In March 1885, Parkes was proclaimed a town. Bushman's Lead Post Office opened on 1 August 1872 and was renamed Parkes in 1873; the railway from Molong via Parkes to Forbes, was opened on 18 December 1893. Parkes attracted significant attention during the gold rush of the 1870s onwards, to this day modern mining companies still have sites in the region. In 1939, Parkes became a sister city with Coventry in the United Kingdom; this was in honour of the fact. Parkes has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: 39 Currajong Street: Parkes Post Office May Street: Parkes railway station With the presence of the nearby Parkes Observatory, Parkes has had an important role in the scientific community.
In addition to local research conducted at the radio telescope, Parkes scientists have assisted NASA for several missions as a Southern Hemisphere relay and communications station. A rich variety of farming is conducted in the region surrounding Parkes, although the staple farming products are wheat and wool. Parkes prides itself on its modernising ideology and culturally; the Dish, although set in Parkes, was filmed in Forbes' historic precinct. This is due to few historic buildings remaining in Parkes. Parkes is home to the Parkes Spacemen rugby league club; the area is supported by Northparkes, 27 km north-north-west of the town. Parkes became a key country location after the completion of the railway in 1893, serving as a hub for a great deal of passenger and freight transport until the 1980s; as successive governments reduced the NSW country rail systems, this part of the economy was lost to the community. Periodically governments and businesses have raised the topic of an "inland port" whereby Parkes Regional Airport would be expanded to serve as a starting point for domestic and international freight destined for areas in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Environmental studies are complete, development consents are in place, contracts have been exchanged, some properties have changed hands and studies are continuing. Parkes Shire Council, with approval from the State Government, has rezoned 516 hectares of agricultural and industrial land on the western edge of the town for the development of the Parkes National Logistics Hub with an additional reserve of over 100 hectares; the site has been designed for the 24-hour, 7-day-per-week operation of a multi-modal transport facility. FCL runs a significant intermodal operation at Goobang Junction on Parkes' western outskirts. On 20 October 2006, Premier Morris Iemma opened Specialised Container Transport's intermodal terminal nearby on a 296 hectare site, it has 5 km of a 7,400 square metre warehouse and about 40 staff. An larger terminal to be sited nearby is being promoted; the Roads & Maritime Services' Western Regional Office is located in Parkes. Essential Energy is represented by a training and maintenance centre.
Main tourist attractions are the CSIRO Telescope 20 km north of town on the Newell Highway, Bushmans Hill, the War Memorial Lookout. Nearby there is the Goobang National Park, Peak Hill which features an Open Cut Mine that can be toured during holidays. There are many great parks. Parkes has an associated number of schools. Parkes Public School was founded in 1876 under Archibald Booth as educator, Parkes East Public School and Middleton Public School are in the area. Holy Family Catholic School and Parkes Christian School operate in the town, with Saint Patrick's School Trundle and St Joseph's School, Peak Hill operating the shire. Parkes High School is the main public high school for the town. Parkes Christian School offers education for students from Kindergarten to Year 10 in 2013, extending to Year 11 in 2014 and Year 12 in 2015. Many Parkes students attend the nearby Red Bend Catholic College in Forbes. Parkes is located on the Australian transcontinental railway line, the Newell Highway linking Victoria to Queensland.
Parkes has a warm temperate climate, with significant temperature variations between summer and winter. Under the Köppen climate classification, Parkes lies in the transitional zone between humid subtropical and semi-arid climates. Summer maximum temperatures average out at 32 °C, however reach 35 °C, there are a few days that top 40 °C each year. Winters are cool and sunny, however occasional cold fronts can bring prolonged periods of light, misty rain with low maximum temperatures. Rainfall in spring and summer falls as thunderstorms, with an annual average of 587.5 mm of rainfall. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −4.2 to 45.5 °C. Parkes is sunny, having around 135.0 clear days annually. Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006; the Indian Pacifi
