Maitland, New South Wales

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Maitland New South Wales
Maitland Court House, High Street
Maitland
Population:	61,431 [1]
• Density:	155.1/km² (401.7/sq mi)
Established:	1820
Postcode:	2320
Coordinates:	32°43′55″S 151°33′04″E / 32.732°S 151.551°E / -32.732; 151.551Coordinates: 32°43′55″S 151°33′04″E / 32.732°S 151.551°E / -32.732; 151.551[2]
Elevation:	3 m (10 ft)
Area:	396 km² (152.9 sq mi)
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEDT (UTC+11)
Property Value:	AUD $255,000[3]
Location:	166 km (103 mi) N of Sydney 35 km (22 mi) NW of Newcastle
LGA:	Maitland City Council
Region:	Hunter
County:	Northumberland
Parish:	Maitland
State District:	Maitland
Federal Division:	Hunter Paterson
Mean Max Temp Mean Min Temp Annual Rainfall 24.4 °C 76 °F 11.5 °C 53 °F 815.6 mm 32.1 in

Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately 166 kilometres (103 mi) by road north of Sydney and 35 km (22 mi) north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England Highway about 17 km (11 mi) from its start at Hexham.

It has approximately 61,431 inhabitants, spread over an area of 396 square kilometres (153 sq mi), although the main built up area predominantly forms a strip along the New England Highway between the suburbs of Rutherford and Metford respectively.

Surrounding areas include the cities of Cessnock and Singleton Local Government Areas.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Floods 2 Economy 2.1 Retail 2.2 Tourism 3 Transport 4 Media 5 Annual Events 5.1 Hunter Valley Steamfest 5.2 Bitter & Twisted Beer Festival 5.3 Morpeth Jazz Festival 5.4 Groovin' the Moo 5.5 Maitland Show 6 Education 7 Notable residents 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

Originally Maitland consisted of three separate towns which arose roughly all around the same time. West Maitland, now just Maitland, was a privately founded town which grew because of its proximity to the river and which today is the commercial centre of the city. East Maitland which was established by the colonial New South Wales government and Morpeth another private town founded by Lt Close, a Peninsular War veteran. Each town functioned as if they were separate municipalities.

The present city was proclaimed in 1945 with the amalgamation of the three local government areas. The city's boundaries have been increased by incorporating parts of other local government areas since then (most notably Kearsley Shire which from 1946 to 1949 was the only local government area in Australia's history to have a Communist majority of councillors).

West Maitland was founded in 1820 close to the tidal reach of the Hunter River where vessels with a shallow draft could navigate. Nearby Morpeth served as the head of navigation for larger ships (later, steamships), and goods would be transhipped upriver to West Maitland on barges and smaller vessels. Originally the route river route between Morpeth and West Maitland was 26 kilometres (16 mi), today after various floods and river course changes this has reduced to just 9 kilometres (5.6 mi).^[4]:10

Maitland was therefore the point at which goods were unloaded for, and distributed to, the prosperous riverland of the Hunter Valley. Accordingly there were large warehouses (some of which still exist) built, which faced onto the main High Street and backed onto the Hunter River. For almost 20 years until the Victorian gold rush, Maitland was the second largest town in Australia. The arrival of the railway from Newcastle in the 1850s, coupled with the increasing silting of the river and larger ships spelt the end of the traditional river traffic.

The first electricity connected in the area was to Maitland Town Hall in 1922, to the Hall's front light.^[5]

[edit] Floods

Maitland floods

Year	Details
1806	Prior to settlement, but biggest on record. Reports of floodwaters being as high as 24.4 m (80 ft).
1820	Settlers report finding driftwood in trees 18.9 m (62 ft) above the normal river level.
1832	Seven killed, floodwaters peak at 8.9 m (29 ft).
1834	Floodwaters peak at 8.9 m (29 ft).
1857	Floodwaters peak at 9.2 m (30 ft).
1893	Extensive flooding destroys homes in Louth Park and Victoria Street. Nine killed.
1913	Floodwaters inundate central Maitland. Homes are lost on Mount Pleasant Street and in Horseshoe Bend.
1930	Floodwaters inundate Maitland.
1931	Floodwaters inundate Maitland.
1949	Floodwaters invade lower High Street, Maitland.
1951	Flooding in Maitland.
1952	Flooding in Maitland.
1955	Twenty five killed, 2,180 homes invaded by water.
1971	Biggest flood on record since 1955.
1998	Minor flooding in the Maitland district.
2007	Floodwaters invade suburbs of Maitland; central Maitland escapes flooding.

Maitland's proximity to the Hunter River has resulted in a succession of floods since European settlement. Over 200 floods have occurred on the Hunter River since settlement, 13 of those higher than the river's normal peak limit of 10.7 metres (35.1 ft). Of these 13, all have had a direct effect on the city of Maitland.^[6]

Between 1830 and 1834 Maitland experienced five floods. The 1832 flood was severe with water reaching about 8.84 m (29 ft) and killing seven people. The 1834 flood water reached the same height. In the winter of 1857 the Hunter River rose again to record heights, reaching 9.2 m (30 ft). Flooding continued for the next 30 years with the floods of the 1890s being the most disastrous. Much of the riverbank collapsed and many people were left without homes or personal possessions.^[6]

However, the 1940s and 1950s saw an increase in rainfall and the river rose again and again.^[6] In February 1955, Maitland and the Hunter Valley experienced its most severe flood in recorded history. The 1955 Hunter Valley floods, also commonly known as "The Maitland Flood", was the first Australian natural disaster to be broadcast by the media on an international scale.^[6] This flood is considered to be one of Australia’s worst floods.^[7] The waters reached 12.5 m (41 ft) and caused catastrophic damage. The volume of flood water was approximately 3,750,000 megalitres (824,884.7 million imperial gallons), or enough to fill approximately 1.5 million Olympic-size swimming pools and the cost of damage, in today’s currency, would have been over AUD $2 billion. Seven thousand buildings and homes were damaged and the flood claimed the lives of 14 people.

In early June 2007 an intense low pressure system which caused devestating storms to hit the city of Newcastle and the Central Coast also caused major flooding throughout the lower Hunter Region including the Maitland area. During the flooding on 11 June 2007 the Hunter River was expected to reach a peak of 11.3 m (37.1 ft) at Maitland's Belmore Bridge and break levee banks. Some 4000 residents of the suburb of Lorn were evacuated before the floodwaters became stable at 10.7 m (35.1 ft) and did not invade central Matiland.^[8] Other areas did not escape with waters inundating homes in Branxton, Louth Park and Raymond Terrace. The flood has been compared to the devastating 1955 Hunter Valley floods.

West Maitland station in Flood, 1930

A deserted farmhouse on the outskirts of Maitland during the 1955 flood

Flooding along the Maitland riverfront during the 2007 flood

[edit] Economy

[edit] Retail

Maitland has many shopping precincts including Stockland Green Hills (East Maitland), (Centro Maitland Hunter Mall) High Street Mall (City Centre), Rutherford, Melbourne Street (East Maitland) and Lawes Street (East Maitland). Morpeth, a suburb of Maitland, is also popular for its fashion boutiques, cafes and speciality shops.

[edit] Tourism

This section requires expansion with: examples and additional citations.

Tourism is also a significant local industry. Local attractions include the historic Maitland Gaol, the industrial history of the Walka Water Works, the historic river port town of Morpeth and the Maitland Regional Art Gallery.

[edit] Transport

Maitland Station lies on the Hunter Line and is the branch point for the Main North Line and the North Coast Line. Other railway stations in Maitland include:

• East Maitland
• High Street
• Metford
• Mindaribba
• Telarah
• Victoria Street
• Thornton

A passenger tram system ran from East to West Maitland between 1909 and 1926 after which it was replaced by buses which continue to service the route today.

[edit] Media

Local print media include:

• The Lower Hunter Star
• Maitland Mercury

[edit] Annual Events

[edit] Hunter Valley Steamfest

Hunter Valley Steamfest is an annual festival celebrating the history of steam power. It was established in 1985 in response to the temporary closure of the extensive South Maitland Railway network to Cessnock.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Bitter & Twisted Beer Festival

Bitter & Twisted is an annual international boutique beer festival held at historic Maitland Gaol. It is a celebration of beer, food and music.

[edit] Morpeth Jazz Festival

The Morpeth Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held at the popular historic riverside port of Morpeth. It is a celebration of music, wine and food.

[edit] Groovin' the Moo

Groovin' the Moo is an annual music festival held at the Maitland Showground.

[edit] Maitland Show

Annual agricultural show held at the Maitland Showground.

[edit] Education

Maitland has many training facilities including short course vocational training schools to international standard Phd studies.^{[citation needed]} The Hunter Institute of Technology has a campus in Maitland, as does the privately owned Hunter Valley Training Company (Australia's largest group trainer). These facilities provide excellent training in all fields, especially building and construction, engineering, mining, tourism and business administration. A new technical college is being developed within the city.

Maitland has twenty primary schools and seven high schools. The high schools are:

• All Saints College, St Joseph's Campus
• All Saints College, St Mary's Campus
• All Saints College, St Peter's Campus
• Hunter Valley Grammar School
• Maitland Christian School
• Maitland Grossmann High School
• Maitland High School
• Rutherford Technology High School
• Francis Greenway High School
• St Johns The Baptist Primary School

There are also numerous pre-school and day care facilities.

[edit] Notable residents

• John Bell (1940 -) actor
• David Berthold theatre director
• Greg Bird (1984-) professional rugby league player
• Alexander Brown (1851 - 1926) merchant and politician
• Percy Brereton Colquhoun (1866 - 1936) sportsman, lawyer and politician
• Abbie Cornish (1982 -) actress
• Ruth Cracknell (1925 - 2002) actress
• Les Darcy (1895 - 1917) boxer and folk hero
• Luke Dorn (1982 -) professional rugby league player
• Joseph Wilfrid Dwyer (1869 - 1939) Roman Catholic bishop
• Walter Edmunds (1856 - 1932) judge
• Adolphus Peter Elkin (1891 - 1979) Anglican clergyman and professor of anthropology
• Nick Enright (1950 - 2003) playwright
• Walter John Enright (1874 - 1949) solicitor and scientist
• H. V. Evatt (1894 - 1965) jurist, writer & politician
• Robert Ewing (1871 - 1957) taxation commissioner
• Lionel Bale Fletcher (1877 - 1954) Congregational minister and evangelist
• William Calman Grahame (1863 - 1945) politician
• Eleanor Mary Hinder (1893 - 1963) welfare officer and international public servant
• Richard St John Honner (1897 - 1962) surgeon and athlete
• Charles George Macartney (1886 - 1958) cricketer
• Percy Joseph Marks (1867 - 1941) solicitor and historian
• Charles Stuart Mein (1841 - 1890) barrister, politician and judge
• Sir Arthur William Morrow (1903 - 1977) physician
• Kathleen Clare O'Keeffe (1883 - 1949) public servant and campaigner for equal pay for women
• Charles Edward Pilcher (1844 - 1916) barrister and politician
• Henry Chamberlain Russell (1836 - 1907) astronomer and meteorologist
• Arthur Ernest Stonham (1900 - 1966) magistrate
• John Duncan Tipper (1886 - 1970) conservationist and electrical engineer
• Edward George Young (Dan) Tyrrell (1871 - 1959) vigneron
• Walter Lawry Waterhouse (1887 - 1969) agricultural scientist
• Ella Wilson (1870 - 1959) Sister of Charity
• Leonora Wray (1886 - 1979) golfer

[edit] See also

• Maitland Gaol
• South Maitland coalfields
• Walka Water Works

[edit] References

• "Maitland Visitors Centre". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_061388.shtml. Retrieved 5 July 2009. 

[edit] External links

• Maitland City Council
• Hunter Region
• History of the Maitland Mercury - State Library of NSW

v • d • e Towns, suburbs and localities of the City of Maitland | Hunter Region | New South Wales Towns, suburbs & localities Aberglasslyn • Allandale • Anambah • Ashtonfield • Berry Park • Bishops Bridge • Bolwarra • Bolwarra Heights • Buchanan • Chisholm • Dalwood • Duckenfield • East Maitland • Farley • Gillieston Heights • Gosforth • Greenhills • Greta • Harpers Hill • Hillsborough • Horseshoe Bend • Lambs Valley • Largs • Lochinvar • Lorn • Louth Park • Luskintyre • Maitland • Maitland North • Maitland Vale • Melville • Metford • Millers Forest • Mindaribba • Morpeth • Mount Dee • Oakhampton • Oakhampton Heights • Oswald • Phoenix Park • Pitnacree • Raworth • Rosebrook • Rutherford • South Maitland • Telarah • Tenambit • Thornton • Tocal • Windella • Windermere • Woodberry • Woodville Other places & points of interest Hunter River • Maitland Gaol • Paterson River • Walka Water Works

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