Merriwa, New South Wales
Merriwa is a town located in the Upper Hunter Shire, in the far west of the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.
| Merriwa New South Wales | |
|---|---|
 Bettington Street (Golden Highway), the main street of Merriwa, 2017 | |
  Merriwa | |
| Coordinates | 32°9′S 150°21′E |
| Population | 1,790 (2011 census)[1] |
| Postcode(s) | 2329 |
| Location | 273 km (170 mi) NW of Sydney |
| LGA(s) | Upper Hunter Shire |
The town is located on the Golden Highway, 273 kilometres (170 mi) northwest of Sydney and about halfway between Newcastle and Dubbo. At the 2011 census, Merriwa had a population of 1,790 people.[1] Up until 2004, Merriwa was part of the Merriwa Shire local government area, when it was merged with nearby Scone Shire and Murrurundi Shire councils to form the Upper Hunter Council.
The 1940 Melbourne Cup winner, Old Rowley, retired to Merriwa.[2][3]
Events
Every year, Merriwa hosts a range of events including;
- Merriwa Morgans Cup Races - Held Annually in April
- The Festival of the Fleeces - Queens Birthday June Long Weekend Annually
- Merriwa Springtime Show - 3rd weekend of September annually
March 2020 marked the first of what is set to be an annual event - The "Le Tour de Merriwa" - an 84 km ride along the newly finished and quite, rural Coulson's Creek Road towards Willow Tree with what will become an iconic climb up to the Gap!
Heritage listings
Merriwa has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Bow Street: Colonial Cottage Museum[4] (1857)
- Merriwa railway line
- Merriwa Courthouse (1958)
- Fitzroy Hotel Merriwa (1914)
- The Royal Hotel Merriwa (1914)
- Holy Trinity Church (1875-99)
- The Catholic Church (1881)
Climate
| Climate data for Merriwa (Roscommon) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 43.8 (110.8) |
45.4 (113.7) |
37.4 (99.3) |
33.2 (91.8) |
28.8 (83.8) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
28.0 (82.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
37.4 (99.3) |
43.0 (109.4) |
43.7 (110.7) |
45.4 (113.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.4 (88.5) |
29.9 (85.8) |
27.4 (81.3) |
23.7 (74.7) |
19.8 (67.6) |
16.3 (61.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
18.0 (64.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
25.4 (77.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
29.7 (85.5) |
24.0 (75.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
15.7 (60.3) |
13.8 (56.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
2.2 (36.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.4 (54.3) |
14.7 (58.5) |
9.2 (48.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) |
6.9 (44.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.5 (40.1) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 78.0 (3.07) |
57.8 (2.28) |
58.6 (2.31) |
33.0 (1.30) |
36.8 (1.45) |
39.4 (1.55) |
35.2 (1.39) |
32.3 (1.27) |
38.3 (1.51) |
51.0 (2.01) |
61.2 (2.41) |
74.9 (2.95) |
613.9 (24.17) |
| Average precipitation days | 7.8 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 80.9 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[5] | |||||||||||||
Schools
- Merriwa Central School (Multi-campus)
- St Joseph's Private School
Notable people
- Catherine Cecily O'Brien, Dominican sister and educationist
- Lachlan Walmsley, a Scottish international rugby league footballer who plays for the Halifax Panthers in the RFL Championship.
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Merriwa (SSC) (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- Karen Shrosbery; Mike Pritchard (1 November 2016). "Legendary Melbourne Cup horses gone but not forgotten by NSW Hunter Valley". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- "Melbourne Cup Won By Old Rowley". The Canberra Times. 6 November 1940. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- "Cottage Museum". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00259. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence. - "Climate statistics for Merriwa". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
