Walcha, New South Wales
Walcha Federal division(s) | New England | ||||||||
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Walcha_churches.jpg/250px-Walcha_churches.jpg)
Walcha (
The town serves as the seat of Walcha Shire. Walcha is located 425 kilometres (264 mi) by road from Sydney at the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way. The Apsley River passes through the town to tumble over the Apsley Falls before joining the Macleay River further on. Originally the river caused flooding in the town prior to a levee bank being constructed and saving the town from more floods. At the 2021 census, Walcha had a population of 1369 people.[2]
The
History
The area was occupied by the Dhanggati (or
In 1818, John Oxley was the first European person to explore the area and the falls which were later to be named Apsley Falls.[3]
Hamilton Collins Sempill was the first settler in the
Not long after Sempill's arrival, in 1834, John McLean took up a run he called Bergen op Zoom, reportedly named in tribute to relatives Allen and Francis McLean, who had assisted the Dutch in the defence of that town against the French in the War of the Sixth Coalition. When McLean died in 1851, his family sold Bergen Op Zoom to Shropshire-born artist Edward Baker-Boulton,[5] who with his brothers already owned extensive runs in the Wellington district. Baker-Boulton was typical of the absentee owners of large stations, living for the most part in Sydney or 'back home' in the UK, the station being run as a partnership with David Bell, until 1874 when Bell left to take over management of his own holdings in the district. Baker-Boulton then returned from England to manage the station hands-on, and died there, aged 83, in 1895, where he is buried in the Walcha Cemetery. He was a noted artist of the early Colonial period whose works are largely forgotten now. Edith, the eldest daughter of his second wife, Rachel Gwyn, who visited Walcha in 1890, was the mother of renowned English children's author, Arthur Ransome, whose bucolic Swallows and Amazons series is still in print in the 21st century. The sixth book in the series, Pigeon Post, was the inaugural winner of the Carnegie Medal in 1936.
A "wool" road to Port Macquarie (the Oxley Highway) was under construction in 1842 for the transportation of wool from New England to the coast. Walcha Post Office opened on 1 July 1850.[6] The mail arrived from Macdonald River (now Bendemeer). Walcha was gazetted as a village site in 1852, when town allotments were sold, with annual sales following. At that time there was a blacksmith's shop, a general store and a flour mill. A Roman Catholic chapel was erected in 1854, a police station and the first Presbyterian church was built in 1857 and the Walcha Central School in 1859.
In 1861 the population was recorded at 355 and the Anglican church was built in 1862 of stone taken from the demolished homestead, 'Villa Walcha', erected on the Wolka run in the 1840s. The old church has fine stained-glass windows which bear tribute to some of the town's pioneers.
The population dropped in the 1860s but the town soon began to grow for two reasons: firstly,
On 5 April 1878 Walcha was proclaimed a town, when it was gazetted, the boundaries defined and a courthouse was built. A rail link to Sydney, Tamworth, Woolbrook and Uralla opened at Walcha Road in 1882. The town became a municipality in 1889. On 19 March 1890 the Walcha Pastoral & Agricultural Association was formed. This annual show has excellent exhibits of
Other district villages are: Niangala, Nowendoc, Woolbrook, Brackendale, Glen Morrison, Ingalba, Tia and Yarrowitch.
History was made at Walcha in 1950 when a
In 1992 the Walcha Telecottage was established to become the first telecentre established in Australia. The Telecottage is a not for profit community with the latest information communication facilities, in order to activate interactions between the local communities and to create employment opportunities. This Telecottage carries out not only the fundamental types of work such as job training, remote education, secretarial service and data analysis, but also Internet access service for individuals and small companies. Walcha Telecottage produces a weekly community newsletter, the Apsley Advocate, which is free and delivered to over 1,600 commercial and private addresses.[7]
Heritage listings
Walcha has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Ohio Homestead[8]
- South Street: St Andrew's Anglican Church[9]
- Thee Street: St Andrew's Rectory[10]
- Main Northern railway: Walcha Road railway station[11]
During 2008 Walcha recorded one of the state's highest rises in property values at 20 per cent over the last 5 years, according to a report from Australian Property Monitors.[12]
The local buildings and objects of natural, indigenous and historic significance listed on the Register of the National Estate includes the following:[13]
- Apsley Gorge National Park (1977 boundary), Oxley Highway
- Betts Farm, Irish Town, Thunderbolts Way
- Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, now known as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (Hastings-Macleay Group)
- Europambela Homestead including outbuildings, grounds and Cemetery, Moona Plains Road
- Langford Homestead, Garden and Cemetery, Nowendoc Road
- Ohio Homestead, Ohio Road
- Rowleys Creek Gulf Nature Reserve
- St Andrews Anglican Church (former), South Street
- St Andrews Rectory (former) including garden and trees, Fitzroy Street
- St Paul's Presbyterian Church and Fletcher Memorial Hall, Hill Street
- The Hole Creek Nature Reserve (1977 boundary), Winterbourne Road
- Walcha Courthouse, Apsley Street
Climate
Like most of the
Climate data for Walcha | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 35.4 (95.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.9 (84.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
25.2 (77.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
20.3 (68.5) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
11.8 (53.2) |
12.7 (54.9) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
21.7 (71.1) |
24.7 (76.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) |
12.3 (54.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
5.2 (41.4) |
1.0 (33.8) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
2.0 (35.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.3 (50.5) |
5.0 (41.0) |
Record low °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−11.7 (10.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 95.1 (3.74) |
76.1 (3.00) |
59.1 (2.33) |
40.4 (1.59) |
42.3 (1.67) |
55.7 (2.19) |
50.8 (2.00) |
50.6 (1.99) |
53.7 (2.11) |
65.2 (2.57) |
78.2 (3.08) |
83.8 (3.30) |
751 (29.57) |
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 7.8 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 87.3 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[15]
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Flora
The district supports a wide range of plants across a variety of land forms. Some of the native plants that can be seen growing naturally in the Walcha township and close by include: acacias (wattles), Eucalyptus viminalis ssp. huberiana (rough barked manna gum), Eucalyptus melliodora (yellow box), Eucalyptus nicholii (Narrow-leaved Black Peppermint), Eucalyptus nova-anglica (New England peppermint), Eucalyptus viminalis (manna or white gum), Exocarpos cupressiformis (native cherry) and Jacksonia scoparia (dogwood).[16]
Some of the rare or endangered plants that may be found growing in the district include: Chiloglottis anaticeps (bird orchid), Eucalyptus michaeliana, (Hillgrove spotted gum) and Philotheca myoporoides (Mountain Wax-flower), which are growing in the local national parks.[17]
Fauna
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1921 | 1,224 | — |
1933 | 1,526 | +24.7% |
1947 | 1,550 | +1.6% |
1954 | 1,741 | +12.3% |
1961 | 1,585 | −9.0% |
1966 | 1,550 | −2.2% |
1971 | 1,602 | +3.4% |
1976 | 1,665 | +3.9% |
1981 | 1,674 | +0.5% |
1986 | 1,639 | −2.1% |
1991 | 1,782 | +8.7% |
1996 | 1,623 | −8.9% |
2001 | 1,486 | −8.4% |
2006 | 1,623 | +9.2% |
2011 | 1,482 | −8.7% |
2016 | 1,451 | −2.1% |
2021 | 1,369 | −5.7% |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data.[18][19] |
The population of Walcha is mainly Christian (80.4%) and Australian-born (81.1%).
The median age of 53 years is older than the Australian average of 38.[2]
Industries
Walcha is known as the "Pasture Wonderland" as the dominant industry in the area is livestock grazing along with an expanding timber industry. The district usually runs about 937,000 sheep[20] (mostly Merinos) and around 85,500 stud and commercial beef cattle. Livestock produced in the Walcha district is some best in the country and local superfine wool has been acknowledged as some of the best in the world. A large modern dairy that produces approximately seven million litres of liquid milk per year for the fresh south east Queensland market was established south of the town in 2008.[21]
Some good Thoroughbred racehorses have been produced in the district including, Blue Spec (won the Melbourne Cup in record time), Kennaquhair (won Sydney Cup in record time and AJC Metropolitan Handicap), Eric and Tar Girl etc.[22] There is a Thoroughbred stud near the town.
There are also several large trucking businesses, a communications business, along with an engineering business. All regular retail services are also available in the town.
Health care, emergency and education
- A modern hospital was opened in 2007 to replace the old one.
- There is a modern Central School, a Roman Catholic primary school and a pre-school.
- Three full-time doctors have surgeries in the town.
- Aged Care-permanent and respite services are available at the Riverview Hostel.
- Ambulance Station with two full-time Ambulance Officers in attendance. The Shire is also serviced by the Angel 3 Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service which is based in Tamworth.
- Community Nurse
- Police Station - (3 police officers). A local Court House which is open every Thursday.
- State Emergency Services have a brigade in Walcha.
- The New South Wales Fire Brigades have a Retained fire station (No. 481) in Walcha
- Walcha and surrounding districts are serviced by the NSW Rural Fire Service and a Brigade of Volunteers run the local Fire Station.
Attractions
Natural attractions abound in the area and include the
Walcha has an Open Air Gallery where local, national and international artists have combined to create a unique streetscape with about 41 sculptures and artworks, plus 30 sculptured verandah posts in front of local businesses.[23] There is approximately one artwork per every 85 citizens in the "Open Air Gallery", along with a large collection of works in the local gallery, making Walcha a very cultural and artistic community for its size.[24]
The town has four churches representing the
The Walcha Jockey Club, Walcha Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association, Walcha Show Society and the Campdraft Club hold large annual events that extend over several days each. The Walcha Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association makes large annual donations to various local organisations and other worthy causes.
There are numerous other sporting and general interest clubs in the town.
Notable people
![]() | This article may contain embedded lists. by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article. (October 2015) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Walcha_polocrosse.jpg/220px-Walcha_polocrosse.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/STACE-Esther_M.jpg/220px-STACE-Esther_M.jpg)
- Edward Baker-Boulton (1812-1895), second owner of Bergen Op Zoom station (1851-1895) was the grandfather of renowned English children's author, Arthur Ransome (1884-1967), whose mother Edith Ransome was the eldest daughter of Edward and his second wife, Rachel Gwyn.
- Bob Beer is notable for his feats of endurance which included pedalling around Australia when he was 58 averaging 145 km every day, without support vehicle or backup.[26][27] He was the first person to run the 420 km across the Simpson Desert, which he accomplished in six days.[28] Bob Beer also made a remarkable solo journey across Australia by kayak from Port Alma to Murray Mouth.[29]
- Peter Fenwicke, rugby union player[30] captained the Australian team on its first world tour in 1957-58.
- Goodwin brothers, Paul, Maurice, Noel and Brian along with Bob Gill and John Nixon were members of the highly successful Walcha and New England polocrosse team, whose wins included the NSW championships (twice) and Australian championships (as the first club team to do so) in 1962.[31]
- Julia Griffin, notable local artist, internationally recognised painter.[32]
- John Heffernan, author of children's books[33]
- Stephen King, internationally recognised sculptor.[34]
- Andrew Laurie, an Australia national rugby union team ("Wallaby") player who was hooker on two tours of New Zealand.[35]
- Ross Laurie, notable local artist.[24]
- Bruce McNaughton five wins in the World Championship Sydney Royal Campdraft, three Risdon/Canning Downs campdraft cup wins, three ABCRA Horse of the Year titles, two ABCRA Australian Championship wins.[36]
- Hume L'Estrange, founder of Betetec Industries and designer of Aaron Loudspeakers, Australia's largest selling Hi-Fi speaker company.[37]
- Angus Nivison, Art Gallery of NSW’s annual Wynne Prize for landscape winner in 2002.[38]
- Sam Payne, former Australia national rugby union team ("Wallaby") halfback[39]
- Norman Roy held the NSW boxing title on two occasions.[40]
- Jacob Samuels was mayor of Walcha in 1902/03.QC was the 36th Governor of New South Wales.
- Mrs Esther Stace, who jumped 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), an unbroken world record in sidesaddle show jumping.[43]
- Casey Stoner, World MotoGP Champion 2007 - Grand Prix motorcycle racing (1985-); 2008 Young Australian of the Year.
- Dudley Towers represented NSW and Queensland in Rugby league as well as being one of the top runners in Australia.[40]
- Siblings, Graham and Kathryn Watts placed first and second in the World Bowhunting Championships in Sweden in 1984.[40]
- Jack Edward Archdale, popular TikTok content creator and cohost, with Luisa Dal Din, of the podcast We Mean Well.[44]
Walcha residents who have been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) are:[45]
- Adrian Mark Allen, For service to medicine, and to the community of Walcha.
- Ruth Louise Cotterill, in recognition of service to the community.
- Andrew John Cross, For service to the community of Walcha.
- Shirley Norma Davison, For service to the Walcha region, particularly through the Amaroo Local Aboriginal Land Council.
- Cecily Faith Hoare for service to the community of Port Macquarie, New South Wales.
- Erle Lewis Hogan for service to the community.
- Irene Doris Hoy for community service and was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal.
- Lindsay Edward McMillan for service to veterans and to the community.
- Stuart Norman Nivison for service to horse racing.
- Jillian Anne Munro Nivison Oppenheimer for service to heritage conservation and the environment, particularly through the National Trust of Australia.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Walcha (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Walcha (Urban Centre/Locality)" Archived 28 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Walcha's Early History". Walcha: Where Wild Rivers Run. Walcha Council NSW Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ISBN 0-86417-121-8
- ISBN 0-9752129-0-7
- ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ "Walcha Telecottage - Walcha Community Technology Services | Walcha NSW". www.walchatelecottage.com.au. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- .
- .
- .
- .
- ^ Walcha News, Walcha Property Amongst the Best in NSW, 15 May 2008
- ^ Australian Heritage Places Archived 25 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 23 November 2008
- . Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ "Walcha Post Office". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Walcha News, "Trees in our town" series, c.1975
- ^ Threatened Species Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3-2-2009
- ^ "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ New England County Information, Summerland Printers, Ballina, NSW
- ^ Walcha News - Countdown to milking Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 29 May 2009
- ^ Digby, John; "Thoroughbred Families and Sires of Australian and New Zealand", AJC & VRC, 2002
- ^ Great Holiday Ideas - Relax at Walcha, Vol. 4, May 2009, The Land, Rural Press, North Richmond, NSW
- ^ a b "New Paintings + Works on Paper | Damien Minton Gallery". 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ Walcha News, p.2, 7 May 2009, Rural Press Ltd
- ^ "Walcha". biketrekaustralia.com. Retrieved 30 July 2009.[dead link]
- ^ You could do it too![permanent dead link] Retrieved on 2009-7-30
- ^ – SMH Retrieved on 2009-7-30
- ^ The inland sea man: Across Australia by kayak. B. Beer?]. 1998. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ Peter Fenwicke Retrieved on 18 January 2009
- ^ Maitland Mercury, 6 August 1962
- ^ Julia Griffin Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ John Heffernan Archived 16 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2 September 2008
- ^ "Home". Black Fellows Gully. 13 February 2021.
- ^ Love in the bush Retrieved on 2 May 2009
- ^ Campdrafting Archived 6 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2009-5-2
- ^ Borrowman, Greg (21 August 2008). "Speaker moves off-centre". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Walcha - City of Art". artnews.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ^ NDL Walcha welcomes home former Wallaby[permanent dead link] Retrieved on 2 September 2008
- ^ ISBN 0-646-10032-7
- The Walcha News. Vol. 30, no. 1521. New South Wales, Australia. 4 May 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Northern Daily Leader Walcha history Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "The Agricultural Society of NSW, "Country Leader", 6 Nov 1989". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
- ^ Watt, Darcy (24 June 2022). "TikTok farmer Jack Archdale from Walcha has viewers in stitches". The Farmer Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ It's an Honour Retrieved 18 January 2022
Further reading
- "A Warm Welcome to Walcha 'the Pasture Wonderland of Australia'", Southern New England, November 1911.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Information about Walcha Presbyterian Church
- Information about Apsley Falls
- Discover Walcha
- Walcha Campdraft & Rodeo
- Walcha in Brief Archived 24 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
Walcha travel guide from Wikivoyage