Guyra, New South Wales
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Guyra is a town of about 2200 people, situated midway between Armidale and Glen Innes in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It is the seat of Guyra Shire. Located on a volcanic uplift of the Northern Tablelands, the town is one of the highest in Australia at 1325 metres above sea level. The New England Highway is the main transport link to Guyra. The Northern Railway tracks still pass through the town, but this line is now disused north of Armidale.
The Anaiwan group of Indigenous Australians were the inhabitants of the region surrounding Guyra. Settlement by European farmers began in the 1830s. Guyra was proclaimed as a town in 1885.
The principle industries include fine wool and lamb, beef, potatoes and tomatoes. A 20ha heated green house was built at Guyra in 2005 to produce tomatoes.
The main annual celebration is the Lamb and Potato Festival held in January. The local bowling club boasts of being the highest (elevation above sea level) bowling green in the southern hemisphere. Guyra is located to one side of the Mother of Ducks Lagoon which is contained within a now extinct volcanic crater. The town is known for its extremely cold winters by Australian standards, with an average of 59 nights with subzero temperatures each year.
Guyra became the focus of national attention on 5 February 1960 when a four year old boy named Steven Walls wandered off from his father on a property north of the town and became lost for four days. Hundreds of volunteers searched the bush for the boy until he was discovered asleep against a log. His immediate question to searchers was 'Where's my daddy, where's my daddy?'; which gave rise to a hit song by singer Johnny Ashcroft, entitled 'Little Boy Lost'. A film of the events was later commercially made using many of the local people of Guyra and shown across Australia.
