Willow Tree, New South Wales

Willow Tree is a village composed of about 169 people,^[1] located in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the Liverpool Plains, 14 kilometers south of Quirindi near the junction of the Kamilaroi and New England Highways. The town itself is small but the farms extend southwest out to the township of Warrah. It is a service centre to the rural areas of Warrah and Mount Parry.

History

Willow Tree is located at the north-eastern corner of the enormous Warrah grant which was made out to the Australian Agricultural Company in 1833. An inn was established on the future townsite, at the junction of the roads north to Quirindi and north-east to Wallabadah in the mid-19th century. It was, however, the arrival of the railway in the 1870s that led to settlement. Willow Tree Post Office opened on 1 August 1872 (though known as Warrah for a few weeks in 1877).^[2]

The village was surveyed when part of the Warrah grant was subdivided and sold in 1908.

One cemetery, located on the main road, is the resting place of five generations of Barwicks, a major family in the area between Willow Tree and Quirindi. Almost all of the old families in the area have either had members marry into the Barwicks, or have been entirely absorbed by the Barwicks.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics census held on 8 August 2006, the village comprises exactly 169 people,^[1] excluding impermanent residents. 84, or 49.7% of them are male, while 85, or 50.3% of them are female. 15.4% of the population were children aged between 0–14 years, while 42.6% of the population were aged 55 years or older.^[1] The median age was 50 years, which is higher than the median for all of Australia, 37. 97% of the residents were Australian citizens (88.2% were born in Australia), and 3.6% were born overseas. Other birthplaces for the residents of Willow Tree are England (2.4%), Indonesia (2.4%), and Germany (1.8%).^[1]

English is the only language spoken at home by 94.1% of the residents of Willow Tree. The only other languages spoken in the village are Indonesian and Dutch.^[1] 39.1% of the residents identify themselves as Anglican, 33.7% identify themselves as Catholic, 9.5% identify themselves as Uniting Church, 3.0% identify themselves as Baptist, and 4.7% have no religion. 58.5% of the residents over fifteen years old were married, 21.1% never married, 12.0% separated or divorced, and 7.7% widowed.^[1]

Education

Education is provided by a public preschool and a public primary school, Willow Tree Public School.^[3]

Transportation

Willow Tree is on the Main North railway line, 375 km from Sydney. The station opened in 1877 as Warrah, and was renamed Willow Tree in 1879.^[4] It continues to be served by a daily rail service operated by a Countrylink Xplorer train to and from Sydney and Armidale/Moree. The train to Armidale/Moree stops at 3:02pm and the train to Sydney stops at 12:03pm. They only stop on request.

References

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