Bingara, New South Wales
Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek'[4]) is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. The Gwydir River being a main highlight of the town is a main catchment of the Murray-Darling System.
| Bingara New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View from HF Batterham Memorial Lookout | |||||||||
  Bingara | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 29°52′0″S 150°34′0″E | ||||||||
| Population | 1,428 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | c.1840 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2404 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 296 m (971 ft)[2] | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Gwydir Shire | ||||||||
| County | Murchison | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Parkes[3] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Location
Bingara is located 141 km north of Tamworth, 54 km west of Inverell, 449 km north of Sydney[5] and 358 km south west of Brisbane.[6] Bingara is located very close to Myall Creek, the site of the massacre of 27 to 30 Indigenous Australians.
History
Before British colonisation the Bingara region was within the country of the Wirraayaraay people.[7]
In 1827, British explorer Allan Cunningham crossed the Gwydir River near Bingara. At the time he mistook the river to be the Peel River, but realised his mistake on his return journey.
British colonisation at Bingara began in 1836 with the arrival of the pastoralist squatter Thomas Simpson Hall. Hall established the Bingara leasehold as a sheep and cattle station. The local Aborigines initially resisted Hall's incursion and both Aboriginal and Europeans were killed in the resulting skirmishes. Hall himself received a spear wound to his head during one of these battles. A detachment of New South Wales Mounted Police under Sergeant John Temple were dispatched to the area and, accompanied by Hall's armed stockmen, exacted a "terrible retribution upon the blacks". The creek running through Bingara is named Hall's Creek after Thomas Simpson Hall.[7]
The discovery of gold in 1852 brought prospectors to the area. In the 1880s, copper and diamonds were discovered also, causing a rapid development of the town. Bingara is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found. In fact, Bingara was the largest producer of diamonds in Australia at that time. Bingara changed the spelling of its name from Bingera to Bingara in 1890.[8] The first Bingera Post Office opened on 1 January 1853 and was renamed Upper Bingera in 1862 and closed in 1868. The second Bingera office opened in 1862 and was renamed Bingara in 1890.[9]
Heritage listings
Bingara has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- 74 Maitland Street: Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex[10]
- Bingara Delungra Road, Myall Creek: Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site[11]
Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 1,428 people in Bingara. 82.7% of people were born in Australia and 88.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 38.6%, Catholic 16.8% and No Religion 15.2%.
It is a popular site for retirement with 57% of the population aged 55 years and over, compared to the national average of 27.6% and a median age of 61. The median weekly household income for Bingara is $743 which is lower than the national median of $1,438.[1]
Sport
Bingara sporting life consists of the Bingara Bullets (rugby league), Gwydir River Rats (rugby union) and the Bingara District Cricket Association (cricket) with the representative team being Gwydir First XI. Notable sporting people include Andrew Hart (ex St George), sports broadcaster David Fordham,[12][13] and Sydney jockey Adrian Robinson also originates from Bingara.
Climate
Bingara has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfak/Cfal), with hot summers and cool winters.
| Climate data for Bingara Post Office, New South Wales, Australia (1878-present normals and extremes); 296 m AMSL | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.6 (105.1) |
41.7 (107.1) |
39.4 (102.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
29.1 (84.4) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
27.7 (81.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
39.4 (102.9) |
42.8 (109.0) |
41.7 (107.1) |
42.8 (109.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 33.6 (92.5) |
32.8 (91.0) |
30.8 (87.4) |
26.7 (80.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.7 (63.9) |
19.1 (66.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
30.3 (86.5) |
32.9 (91.2) |
26.2 (79.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.9 (78.6) |
25.1 (77.2) |
22.8 (73.0) |
18.4 (65.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
10.9 (51.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.3 (52.3) |
14.6 (58.3) |
18.6 (65.5) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
18.2 (64.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) |
17.3 (63.1) |
14.8 (58.6) |
10.1 (50.2) |
6.2 (43.2) |
3.7 (38.7) |
2.2 (36.0) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
10.2 (50.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 10.8 (51.4) |
9.2 (48.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
5.7 (42.3) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 90.9 (3.58) |
86.1 (3.39) |
64.0 (2.52) |
40.5 (1.59) |
48.4 (1.91) |
49.9 (1.96) |
50.4 (1.98) |
43.5 (1.71) |
45.5 (1.79) |
64.8 (2.55) |
71.8 (2.83) |
80.0 (3.15) |
735.8 (28.96) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.1 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 60.2 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (temperature, precipitation- 1878-present normals and extremes)[14] | |||||||||||||
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Bingara (Stat Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "BINGARA POST OFFICE". Climate Averages for Australian Sites. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- "Profile of the electoral division of Parkes (NSW)". Australian Electoral Commission. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- "Bingara, New South Wales". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Great Circle Distance between BINGARA and SYDNEY". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- "Great Circle Distance between BINGARA and BRISBANE". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- Milliss, Roger (1992). Waterloo Creek. Melbourne: McPhee Gribble. ISBN 0869141562.
- Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Australian Places. Sydney, NSW: Reader's Digest. 1993. p. 185. ISBN 0-86438-399-1.
- Phoenix Ayctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- "Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01990. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence. - "Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01844. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
- Fordham, John (27 December 2011). "Sports presenter had best seat in the house". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- Ricketts, Steve (16 December 2011). "Sports commentator David Fordham dies of prostate cancer". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Bingara Post Office, NSW Climate (1878-present normals and extremes)". Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- A. D. Parsons. "Butler, Athol Patrick (1902–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- Bennet, Darryl (1993). "Cowper, Andrew King (1898–1980". Australia Dictionary of Biography. ANU.
- "Who's who farewells beloved 'boy from Bingara' John Fordham".
External links
Media related to Bingara, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
Bingara travel guide from Wikivoyage