Attunga, New South Wales
| Attunga New South Wales |
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 Attunga
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| Population: | 633[1] |
| Postcode: | 2345 |
| Elevation: | 374 m (1,227 ft) |
| Location: | |
| LGA: | Tamworth Regional Council |
| State District: | Tamworth |
| Federal Division: | New England |
Attunga is a small farming community in the New England region of New South Wales Australia.
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[edit] History
The name is an Aboriginal word for "a high place", and was originally the name for a nearby farm operated by pastoralist John Brown in the 1840s.[2] The land had previously been part of a 313,000-acre (1,270 km2) grant to the Australian Agricultural Company in 1834 and had been used to graze 6,000 sheep.[3]
The village of Attunga was gazetted in 1847[4] but early settlement appears to have been slow. The first recorded burials at the Attunga Cemetery date from 1872 with the earliest inscriptions dated 1881.[5]
Population growth remained slow until the mid-twentieth century. The current population of 633 includes families of commuters to Tamworth. Services in Attunga currently include a primary school, supermarket, hotel and sports ground, and rural fire service headquarters.
The English singer-songwriter Max Bygraves owns "Attunga Park", an 84 hectare farm near the village.
[edit] Industries
The main industries are sheep and cattle farming, and limestone mining from a mine to the east of the town. The town abuts the Attunga State Forest, a popular walking and camping destination.[6]
The town was served by the Barraba branch railway line until the local station was closed in 1985.
[edit] Environmental issues
Recent drought conditions have caused bank erosion along Attunga Creek, as a result of stock movements across and along the creek bed. In 2006 the town of Attunga received funding for a major program of bank stabilisation and revegetation to restrict stock movements to defined corridors near the waterway.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Attunga (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC16107&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Attunga" Geographical Names Board
- ^ "Tamworth's History: The Beginning of European Settlement - 1800-1850". Tamworth Regional Council. November 2007. http://www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=9281&cid=48883&id=71862. Retrieved 2007-11-09.[dead link]
- ^ "Geographic Names Register:Attunga". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. October 1995. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=TRckWy. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Attunga General Cemetery". Australian Cemeteries Index. August 2006. http://cemindex.arkangles.com/cemetery.php?id=147. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Information Guide to Attunga". The Northern NSW Regional Internet Site. November 2007. http://www.nnsw.com.au/attunga/tourism.html#TOURISM. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Question on Notice: Envirofund funding". Hansard, Parliament of Australia. February 2006. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?id=2541705&table=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
