Inverell
| Inverell New South Wales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Inverell Court House, built in 1886 | |||||||
  Inverell | |||||||
| Coordinates | 29°46′S 151°07′E / 29.767°S 151.117°ECoordinates: 29°46′S 151°07′E / 29.767°S 151.117°E | ||||||
| Population | 12,000+ (2011)[1] | ||||||
| Established | 1856 | ||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2360 | ||||||
| Elevation | 582 m (1,909 ft) | ||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Inverell Shire | ||||||
| County | Gough | ||||||
| State electorate(s) | Northern Tablelands | ||||||
| Federal Division(s) | New England | ||||||
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Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate. At the 2011 census, the population of Inverell was 9,347.[1]
History
In 1848, Alexander Campbell held the 50,000-acre (20,000 ha) Inverell Station on the Macintyre River. The name derives from the name of Mr. MacIntyre's estate. The word is of Gaelic origin, and signifies "meeting place of the swans"; from "Inver", a meeting place, and "Ell", a swan.[2] The MacIntyre River and Swanbrook Creek join here. The area was also known as "Green Swamp" in the 1850s. Wheat growers, Colin and Rosanna Ross established a store there in 1853,[3] when he asked that a town be surveyed. In 1858 this was done and in the following years the plan was approved and the first land sale was held. Byron Post Office (open since 1855) was replaced by the Inverell Post Office on 15 September 1859.[4] The municipality was proclaimed in March 1872.[5] The last section of the Inverell branchline, from Delungra to Inverell, was opened on 10 March 1902.[6] The last train ran to Inverell on 22 June 1987,[6] and the Delungra to Inverell section of the line was closed on 2 December 1987.[6] In 1871, the population of Inverell was 509, this increased to 1,212 in 1881.[7] After Federation, the population of Inverell was 1,230 in 1911, and grew to 6,530 (1947) and 8,209 (1961 census).[8][9][10]
Mining
Diamonds were discovered at Copes Creek in 1875 and were mined at Copeton from 1883-1922. Commercial sapphire mining was commenced in 1919 at Frazers Creek near Inverell. Rich alluvial deposits in streams were worked initially by hand miners but there was little recorded production up until approximately 1960.[11]
Industry
The Inverell district is in a fertile agricultural region which produces a wide range of crops, including wheat, barley, oats, sorghum, wine grapes and maize. There are also some mining activities with tin, sapphires, zircons and diamonds (mainly industrial) being found.[11] Inverell is known as the ‘Sapphire City’ because of the sapphires that found throughout the local district, contributing to a major part of Australia's sapphire production.[12]
Copeton Dam, the district's main water supply, was completed in 1976.[13] While being smaller than Sydney Harbour, it can hold nearly 2 times the capacity of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour).[13] The Inland Fishing Festival is held there every year.
Education
There are two primary schools in Inverell; Ross Hill School and Inverell Public School. The two local high schools are Inverell High School and Macintyre High School. Holy Trinity School is a Roman Catholic School in Inverell which caters for students from Kindergarten to Year Ten.
Transport
Inverell is served by Inverell Airport.
Climate and weather
| Climate data for Inverell Research Centre | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 39.9 (103.8) |
38.2 (100.8) |
35.7 (96.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
27.4 (81.3) |
25.6 (78.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
31.9 (89.4) |
31.2 (88.2) |
34.7 (94.5) |
38.3 (100.9) |
38.5 (101.3) |
39.9 (103.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.5 (85.1) |
28.7 (83.7) |
27.1 (80.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
19.2 (66.6) |
15.7 (60.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.9 (67.8) |
23.1 (73.6) |
25.7 (78.3) |
28.3 (82.9) |
22.7 (72.87) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
14.4 (57.9) |
11.0 (51.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
4.8 (40.6) |
3.6 (38.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
7.0 (44.6) |
10.3 (50.5) |
12.7 (54.9) |
15.0 (59) |
10.27 (50.48) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) |
6.2 (43.2) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−5.0 (23) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
2.7 (36.9) |
6.0 (42.8) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 99.5 (3.917) |
98.3 (3.87) |
67.4 (2.654) |
39.9 (1.571) |
49.3 (1.941) |
44.1 (1.736) |
48.2 (1.898) |
44.6 (1.756) |
48.3 (1.902) |
76.7 (3.02) |
85.8 (3.378) |
98.4 (3.874) |
800.0 (31.496) |
| Source: [14] | |||||||||||||
Over the years, Inverell has had three weather stations run by government astronomers (prior to 1908) or the Bureau of Meteorology (after 1908), or both.[15] These stations are:
- Inverell Comparison (began observations in 1879, ceased observations in November 1997)[16]
- Inverell Research Centre (began observations in 1949, still operational; converted to an Automatic Weather Station in recent years)[17][18]
- Inverell (Raglan Street) (began observations in March 1995, still operational; observations done by human observer)[19][20]
Notable weather extremes
The highest maximum temperature recorded at Inverell was 43.7C on 4 January 1903 at the Inverell Comparison site.[16] The lowest maximum temperature for any of the Inverell weather sites was 3.0C on 3 July 1984 at Inverell Research Centre.[17] In September 1892, the town had its biggest snowfall, with 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) falling.[5] On 5 August 1923, snow fell in parts of the Inverell district.[21]
Notable people
.JPG)
- Lucien Lawrence Cunningham[22] (1889-1948), Farmer and politician
- Colin Madigan (born 1921), notable Australian architect.
- Leon Punch (1928–1991), former Deputy Premier of New South Wales.
- Rick McCosker (born 1946), cricketer and Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1976.
- Susan Hampton (born 1949), poet, winner of the Judith Wright Award.
- Graham D Stewart (born 1950), dancer, Saddlers Wells Royal Ballet [1970-1990].
- Steve Elkington (born 1962), professional golfer, 1995 US PGA Champion.
- Scott Sunderland (born 1966), former professional cyclist.
- Owen Craigie (Born 1978) former rugby league player for the Newcastle Knights, Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Widnes Vikings.
- Heinrich Haussler (born 1984), professional cyclist.
- Nathan Tinkler former mining magnate and businessman .
- John Williams NSW Nationals Senator
- Ivan Sen (Born 1971) notable filmmaker.
- Nick Doyle (Born 1991) Masterchef Contestant 2014
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Census QuickStats - Inverell (Urban Centre)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Inverell". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ↑ Readers Digest Guide to Australian Places, Readers Digest, Sydney
- ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Major Events in the History of the Inverell District 1827 – 1920" (PDF). Inverell Tourism. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bozier, Rolfe. "Inverell Branch". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ↑ "NSW 1881 census page vii". NSW 1881 Census - Historical and Colonial Census Data Archive. Australian National University. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 1911 - Part XIV Summary" (PDF). Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1911. Australian Bureau of Statistics. p. 220. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 30th June, 1947 - PART VIII. - POPULATION AND OCCUPIED DWELLINGS IN LOCALITIES" (PDF). CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 30th June, 1947. Australian Bureau of Statistics. p. 30. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 30TH JUNE, 1961 - VOL I.-NSW PART V.-POPULATION AND DWELLINGS IN LOCALITIES" (PDF). STRALIA. Australian Bureau of Statistics. March 1963. p. 28. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New England Holiday, New England Regional Tourist Zone Association, n.d.
- ↑ "Inverell, Northern Tablelands NSW Australia". Totaltravel. Yahoo!7. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Copeton Dam Brochure" (PDF). State Water Corporation. 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ "Climate Statistics for Inverell Research Centre". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ "A Hundred Years of Science and Service" (PDF). Bureau of Meteorology. 2001. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Climate statistics for Inverell Comparison". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Climate statistics for Inverell Research Centre". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ "Basic Climatological Station Meta-data - Inverell Research Centre" (PDF). Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ "Climate statistics for Inverell (Raglan St)". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ "Basic Climatological Station Metadata - Inverell (Raglan St)" (PDF). Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ "COUNTRY REPORTS.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 7 August 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ↑ Mcmullin, Ross (1993). "Australian Dictionary of Biography". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
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