Wellington, New South Wales

Wellington New South Wales
Main street
Wellington
Population:	4,660
Postcode:	2820
Coordinates:	32°33′S 148°56′E
Elevation:	305 m (1,001 ft)
Location:	360 km (224 mi) WNW of Sydney 49 km (30 mi) SE of Dubbo 100 km (62 mi) N of Orange 92 km (57 mi) W of Mudgee
LGA:	Wellington Council
State District:	Orange
Federal Division:	Parkes
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.3 °C 76 °F 9.4 °C 49 °F 614.5 mm 24.2 in

Wellington is a town in inland New South Wales, Australia located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from Sydney on the Great Western Highway and Mitchell Highway. In January the average minimum temperature in the town is 17.5 °C and the average maximum is 31.7 °C, while in July the average minimum is 1.5 °C and the average maximum is 15 °C.

History

The area was originally occupied by the Wiradjuri people. Explorer John Oxley was the first European to discover the area in 1817 and named it "Wellington Valley" after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Wellington was originally established in 1823 by Lieutenant Percy Simpson in early 1823 as an agricultural station. Squatters started settling along the Macquarie Valley and in 1832 [Church Mission Society CMS] was established in the settlement to teach Christianity to the Aborigines. The convict settlement ceased in 1831 but a village called Montefiores was established on the north side of the Macquarie River crossing. The Town of Wellington was gazetted in 1846. Wellington Shire Council was established in 1949.

Wellington is the second oldest New South Wales settlement west of the Blue Mountains. One of its hotels, the Lion of Waterloo, established by Nicolas Hyeronimus in 1842, is the oldest operating west of the Blue Mountains, and is near the venue of the last recorded duel fought on Australian soil in 1854. The railway from Sydney reached Wellington in 1880.

As a regional centre Wellington benefited by the development of the gold mining industry in the district from the 1850s. Initially this was working alluvial deposits of gold but later focused on the mining of quartz reefs. Among the mining districts was Mitchells Creek located 8 miles to the north east near the present day town of Bodangora

Economy and demographics

Wellington is the centre of rich agricultural land. While lucerne and vegetables are grown on lands on the river, wheat, wool, fat lambs and beef cattle are grown on surrounding pastures. At the 2006 census, Wellington had a population of 4,660 while the population of the surrounding shire is 9200. The town acts as a commercial centre for the district; however, Wellington has been supplanted in commercial importance by Orange and Dubbo.

In September 2008, the Wellington Correctional Centre was opened. A Probation and Parole Office was also opened in the centre of town. Wellington Council hopes this will stimulate economic growth in the area, due to increasing employment opportunities and the need for non-locals to utilise Wellington facilities.

Anne Jones is the town mayor, elected in March 2004, along with her deputy Mayor Michael Augee.

The local newspaper The Wellington Times, a Rural Press title, is published three times a week with a circulation in the region of around 1500 [1].

Transport links

The town is served by twice a day the daily Countrylink XPT service which runs between Sydney and Dubbo and return. The train stops heading to Dubbo at 12:58pm and heading to Sydney at 2:47pm.

Preceding station		CountryLink		Following station
Geurie towards Dubbo	CountryLink Western Dubbo XPT			Stuart Town towards Sydney

The closest commercial airport is that of Dubbo. Qantaslink and Regional Express Airline service the airport three-five times daily from Sydney. A small airport (Bondangora Airport) for private planes exists twelve kilometres east of Wellington.

Nearby attractions

Lake Burrendong, a man-made lake. is located 30 kilometres south of the town. Its capacity is three and a half times that of Sydney Harbour and supplies water for irrigation schemes downstream. It is also a popular location for anglers, sailors and water skiers. Burrendong Arboretum is a sanctuary for endangered Australian flora and covers 1.60 km².

The nearby Wellington Caves feature the Cathedral Cave with the massive Altar Rock.

The Wellington Boot, a country racing festival is held in March and April annually. The Bell River Wine Estate is nearby as is the Nangara Gallery, it has a collection of Aboriginal artefacts.

Notable residents

• Ben Austin, paralympian who grew up in Wellington.
• Evander Cage, TEW veteran.
• Max Cullen, actor.
• Terry Fahey, former rugby league player for South Sydney Rabbitohs, Eastern Suburbs and Canberra Raiders.
• Nicolas Hyeronimus, pioneering innkeeper, merchant, pastoralist and inaugural MLA for Wellington.
• Ian O'Brien, Olympic gold medallist in the 200m breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics, grew up in Wellington.*
• Blake Ferguson, NRL Player Canberra Raiders formerly with Cronulla Sharks, used to play Junior Rugby League with Wellington Cowboys

External links

• Visit Wellington - Official website promoting regional tourism and local attractions
• About Wellington and District
• Travel Mate page
• Wellington Gateway Sculpture Innovative environmental sculpture and town gateway by project artist Fran Ferguson and team, constructed 1993-1995