Singleton, New South Wales
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Singleton New South Wales | |||||||||
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Coordinates | 32°34′0″S 151°10′11″E / 32.56667°S 151.16972°E | ||||||||
Population | 16,921 (2015)[1] | ||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2330 | ||||||||
Elevation | 40 m (131 ft) | ||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Singleton Shire Council | ||||||||
County | Northumberland | ||||||||
State electorate(s) | Upper Hunter | ||||||||
Federal division(s) | Hunter | ||||||||
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Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 kilometres (122 mi) north-north-west of Sydney, and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Newcastle.[2] At June 2015, Singleton had an urban population of 16,921.[1]
Singleton's main urban area includes the town centre, Singleton Heights, Dunolly, Darlington, The Retreat, Wattle ponds and Hunterview. Surrounding rural villages include Broke, Camberwell, Jerrys Plains, Goorangoola/Greenlands and Belford.
Singleton is located on the north-eastern part of the geological structure known as the Sydney basin, which borders the New England region.[3]
History
Singleton was established in the 1820s. In its early years, it was also called Patrick's Plains.[4] The Main Northern railway line reached Singleton in 1863 and was the end of the line until 1869. The town retains many historic buildings, including the original court house built in 1841, various large churches and many traditional Australian pubs. The countryside surrounding Singleton contains an unusual number of fine old mansions, reflecting the aristocratic nature of land grants when the area was settled. They include 'Neotsfield' (1828), the elaborate 'Baroona' (1829), 'Abbey Green' (1865) and stunning 'Minimbah' (1877).
Singleton was subject to the major flooding of the Hunter River in 1955, causing extensive damage to the town. When the area was being settled, the government originally attempted to create a town at Whittingham in a flood-free area, but the town grew by the river nonetheless. An embankment was constructed following the 1955 floods to help protect the town against any future flooding. [citation needed]
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All Saints' Anglican Church
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All Saints' Church Rectory
Climate
Singleton has a humid subtropical climate with hot wet summers and cool drier winters.
Climate data for Singleton | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 44.4 (111.9) |
40.0 (104.0) |
41.0 (105.8) |
34.7 (94.5) |
28.2 (82.8) |
25.4 (77.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
30.4 (86.7) |
33.0 (91.4) |
39.0 (102.2) |
43.0 (109.4) |
41.4 (106.5) |
44.4 (111.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
27.7 (81.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
21.1 (70.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
20.1 (68.2) |
23.1 (73.6) |
26.0 (78.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
29.7 (85.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.3 (63.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.2 (59.4) |
11.1 (52.0) |
8.6 (47.5) |
5.6 (42.1) |
4.8 (40.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.5 (56.3) |
15.9 (60.6) |
11.1 (52.0) |
Record low °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.5 (45.5) |
2.5 (36.5) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
0.4 (32.7) |
2.5 (36.5) |
5.0 (41.0) |
8.1 (46.6) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 70.2 (2.76) |
107.6 (4.24) |
75.1 (2.96) |
38.3 (1.51) |
37.8 (1.49) |
31.7 (1.25) |
41.7 (1.64) |
27.6 (1.09) |
44.1 (1.74) |
32.8 (1.29) |
59.2 (2.33) |
86.6 (3.41) |
649.4 (25.57) |
Average precipitation days | 10.1 | 10.1 | 9.1 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 6.6 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 102.1 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 49 | 52 | 54 | 51 | 60 | 57 | 54 | 44 | 43 | 43 | 46 | 47 | 50 |
Source: [5] |
Transport
The town is located at the junction of the New England Highway and Putty Road. The Golden Highway branches northwest from the New England Highway ten kilometres south of Singleton. Singleton is also served by local and long-distance rail services. Singleton railway station on the Main Northern railway line is located at the southern end of the town centre. There are also bus services, both intercity and local.
Economy
Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, electricity generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined. [citation needed]
The largest employment industry is coal mining, which employs 24 percent of the town's workforce.[6] Defence is the second largest employer with almost 4 percent of the workforce.[6]
The Lone Pine army barracks is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Singleton.
Media
The Singleton Argus is a bi-weekly newspaper which was established in 1874. It is currently owned and published by Fairfax Media. The weekly newspaper that serves Singleton and the Hunter Valley is The Hunter Valley News,[7] which, along with the Newcastle Herald newspaper (daily, except Sundays), is published by Fairfax Media.
Radio
Radio Stations serving both Newcastle and the Hunter Valley can be received in Singleton.
Television
Singleton is part of the Newcastle-Hunter Region television market, which is served by 5 television networks, three commercial and two national services (which include new sub-channels that started in 2009 for the commercial networks and in recent years from the national services).
Tourism
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Singleton_Sundial_Feb_2010.jpg/220px-Singleton_Sundial_Feb_2010.jpg)
- Sundial. Singleton is home to one of the world's largest [citation needed] sundials, presented by a local coal mine for the 1988 Bicentennial Celebrations.
- Wineries. The town is close to the famous Pokolbin wine region (southeast). There are also many wineries in the shire, especially around Broke.
- Boating. Lake St Clair is an artificial lake located to the north of the town, with facilities for boating and camping.
- National Parks. Wollemi and Yengo National Parks are located south of the town via the Putty Road. Barrington Tops National Park borders the north of the shire.
- Museums. Singleton has three main museums, the Singleton Historic Society Museum in Burdekin Park, the Royal Australian Infantry Corps Museum at the nearby barracks and the Mercy Convent Museum 'Sacred Spaces' within the grounds of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy (Singleton).
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St Patrick's Catholic Church, Queen Street
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Convent of the Sisters of Mercy
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St Catherine's College
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Aboriginal painting, Baiame Cave, Milbrodale
Heritage sites
Singleton Shire contains a number of buildings and other sites that are on the Register of the National Estate[8]
- Anglican Church of St James, Jerrys Plains
- Strowan, Denman Road, Jerrys Plains
- Singleton railway station
- All Saints Church, Singleton, including Rectory, Dangars Mausoleum and All Saints Sunday School
- Court House, Elizabeth Street, Singleton
- Ewbank and outbuildings, George Street, Singleton
- Club House Hotel, John Street, Singleton
- Baroona, Whittingham, near Singleton
"Baroona" Homestead, Singleton - Minimbah House (formerly Dulcamah), Whittingham, near Singleton
- Appletree Aboriginal Area, 75 kilometres north-west of Newcastle
- Baiame Cave (popular name), Milbrodale
Education
Singleton is home to a number of educational facilities. These include schools operated by NSW Department of Education and two non-government schools at both Primary and Secondary levels; as well as a TAFE campus, Singleton Community College and a number of pre-schools. St Catherine's Catholic College provides classes from kindergarten to year 12, while Australian Christian College has classes from pre-kindergarten to year 10.
Schools operated by NSW Department of Education include:
- Broke Public School
- Jerrys Plains Public School
- King Street Public School
- Milbrodale Public School
- Mount Pleasant Public School
- Singleton Heights Public School
- Singleton Public School
- Singleton High School
Hunter Institute of TAFE operates a campus in Singleton. It provides training and further education as well as collaborating with secondary schools for students completing Senior years.
Notable people
- Australian country music matriarch Joy McKean was born in Singleton in 1930.
- Rugby league players: Sean Rudder,[citation needed] Kerrod Holland and Rugby Union player Josh Valentine.
- Former Premier of New South Wales, Sir Charles Wade was born in Singleton, serving as premier from 1907-1910.
- Queensland politician Charles Dutton (1834–1904), was born in Singleton.
- 2016 Dakar Rally champion Toby Price lives in Singleton.
- playwright Wendy Richardson OAM was born in Singleton in 1933.
- Television and film producer Cherie Nowlan was born in Singleton. She is best known for directing the 1997 film Thank God He Met Lizzie starring Cate Blanchett and Frances O'Connor.
- Joseph Burnett was born in Singleton in 1899 and is best remembered as the Captain of the ill-fated HMAS Sydney, which was lost on 19 November 1941 in a battle with German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran.
- Artist Dale Frank was born, and currently lives in Singleton
Sister city
Japan - Takahata, Yamagata, Japan[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2014-15: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2005 to 2015". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2015.
- ^ Robinson's Road Atlas of Australia, Lansdowne Press, 1983
- ^ http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0007/96847/20758.gif
- ^ Gee, Valma. "Patrick's Plains". Family History society of Singleton. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Singleton". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Singleton (SUA)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Hunter Valley News". huntervalleynews.net.au. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, pp.2/210-211
- ^ "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg/40px-Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg.png)
- "Hunter River catchment" (map). Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales.
- Singleton Shire Council
- Tourist guide for Singleton - Visit NSW