Murrurundi
Murrurundi(/mʌruːrʌndaɪ/ MURR-oo-RUN-dye), is a rural town located in the Upper Hunter Shire, in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.
| Murrurundi New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The New England Highway at Murrurundi, with the Liverpool Range in the background | |||||||||
  Murrurundi | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°45′S 150°50′E | ||||||||
| Population | 847 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1840 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2338 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 467 m (1,532 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Upper Hunter Shire | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Murrurundi is situated 193 kilometres (120 mi) northwest by road from Newcastle and 309 kilometres (192 mi) north from Sydney. At the 2016 census the town had a population of 847 people.[1] The town is almost completely surrounded by mountains of the Liverpool Range, and is located on the Pages River, a tributary of the Hunter River.
History and overview
Prior to European settlement, the Murrurundi district was home to the Wanaruah and possibly the Kamilaroi Aboriginal people. The name "Murrurundi" is often erroneously thought to come from an Aboriginal word meaning "nestling in the valley". It does in fact mean "five fingers", a representation of the rock formation visible at the northern end of the township.[2]
European settlement of the area began in the 1820s, and the town itself was established by the New South Wales government in 1840.[2] In the same year, a local landholder, Thomas Haydon, established an adjacent private township called Haydonton. In the 1846 census, Murrurundi had a population of 52, while Haydonton had a total of 117.[3] In 1913, the two neighbouring settlements were merged to create the modern-day town of Murrurundi.
Benjamin Hall, father of bushranger Ben Hall had a small farm in a valley near Murrurundi in 1839. He opened a butcher's shop at Haydonton in 1842.[4] Ben Hall lived at Murrurundi with his family until the age of 13.[2]
Oil shale (kerosene shale) was mined at Mount Temi, some 11.25 kilometres (6.99 mi) to the north of Murrurundi from 1886, but lay dormant for many years. The mine was revived in 1910, by British Australian Oil Company, and a railway was constructed from Temple Court, 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) west of Murrurundi, to the terminal of an aerial ropeway bringing shale from the mine. Operations ceased during the First World War.[5]
Murrurundi is the nearest major town to the site of the Murulla rail accident, which occurred on 13 September 1926. 27 people were killed when runaway wagons smashed into a mail train.[6]
Annual events include the rodeo and the King of the Ranges stockman challenge. There are only a few sporting facilities due to the low population. These sports are senior rugby league, touch football, swimming club and cricket.
Murrurundi was the main town of the former Murrurundi Shire local government area, which was abolished and its territory divided between two new, larger, shires. The town of Murrurundi is now part of Upper Hunter Shire.
In January 2019, Murrurundi ran out of water making it necessary for trucks to begin daily delivery of potable water.[7]
In October 2019 it was announced that the Wilson Memorial Community Hospital would be demolished to make away for a new hospital.[8]
Heritage listings
Murrurundi has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Main Northern railway: Murrurundi railway station[9]
- Mount Street: Rosedale Cottage[10]
Transport
The New England Highway runs through the town, and it is served by a rail service.
Murrurundi railway station is located on the Main North railway line, 352 kilometres (219 mi) from Sydney. The station opened in 1872 and consists of a substantial brick station-house with a passing loop and goods yard.[11] There was also a locomotive depot for bank engines which lasted until the end of steam. It continues to be served by a daily rail service operated by a NSW TrainLink Xplorer train to and from Sydney and Armidale/Moree, trains will only stop at this station on request.
Climate
The area has two weather stations: one in the town, and another high up on the Murrurundi Gap about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the WNW. The latter has significantly cooler maximum temperatures (even when accounting for elevation) but also warmer minima, by virtue of being an exposed hilltop.
The town station commenced rainfall records in 1870; temperature averages and extremes from 1907 and 1965, respectively; whereas the gap station was not established until 2003.
| Climate data for Murrurundi (Haydon Street, 1907–2019, rainfall to 1870); 466 m AMSL; 31.77° S, 150.84° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 41.6 (106.9) |
42.2 (108.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
34.0 (93.2) |
27.9 (82.2) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.8 (76.6) |
27.3 (81.1) |
32.8 (91.0) |
36.5 (97.7) |
40.6 (105.1) |
40.6 (105.1) |
42.2 (108.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30.8 (87.4) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.8 (82.0) |
23.7 (74.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
15.8 (60.4) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.0 (62.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
24.2 (75.6) |
27.3 (81.1) |
29.7 (85.5) |
23.4 (74.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
8.5 (47.3) |
5.1 (41.2) |
3.2 (37.8) |
2.0 (35.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
5.0 (41.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
11.1 (52.0) |
13.7 (56.7) |
8.5 (47.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.2 (39.6) |
4.0 (39.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 90.2 (3.55) |
76.6 (3.02) |
62.5 (2.46) |
52.0 (2.05) |
54.2 (2.13) |
69.4 (2.73) |
62.7 (2.47) |
61.2 (2.41) |
57.2 (2.25) |
72.2 (2.84) |
75.9 (2.99) |
90.5 (3.56) |
829.7 (32.67) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 7.4 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 88.1 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[12] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Murrurundi Gap AWS (2003–2022); 729 m AMSL; 31.74° S, 150.79° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 39.2 (102.6) |
40.5 (104.9) |
34.7 (94.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
24.1 (75.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
23.9 (75.0) |
29.6 (85.3) |
34.2 (93.6) |
38.2 (100.8) |
39.3 (102.7) |
40.5 (104.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28.5 (83.3) |
27.1 (80.8) |
24.3 (75.7) |
20.9 (69.6) |
16.7 (62.1) |
12.9 (55.2) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.6 (58.3) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.6 (70.9) |
24.3 (75.7) |
26.6 (79.9) |
20.7 (69.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.7 (62.1) |
15.7 (60.3) |
14.1 (57.4) |
11.3 (52.3) |
8.2 (46.8) |
5.9 (42.6) |
4.9 (40.8) |
5.7 (42.3) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.9 (51.6) |
13.0 (55.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.8 (51.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
6.8 (44.2) |
5.5 (41.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
0.4 (32.7) |
1.8 (35.2) |
3.7 (38.7) |
5.7 (42.3) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 66.6 (2.62) |
70.3 (2.77) |
79.2 (3.12) |
32.2 (1.27) |
36.4 (1.43) |
65.2 (2.57) |
48.5 (1.91) |
42.0 (1.65) |
47.4 (1.87) |
56.8 (2.24) |
85.2 (3.35) |
86.8 (3.42) |
720.9 (28.38) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 8.6 | 8.5 | 10.2 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 13.4 | 11.4 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 10.6 | 115.3 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[13] | |||||||||||||
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Murrurundi (Urban Centre and Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- "History of Murrurundi" (PDF). Upper Hunter Shire Council. p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- "CENSUS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 92. New South Wales, Australia. 4 November 1846. p. 1355. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Murrurundi - Places to See". Traveller. The Age. January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- The British-Australian Oil Company's Railway Eardley, Gifford Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, August 1967.
- "Muralla, NSW: Train Collision". EMA Disasters Database. Emergency Management Australia. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- "What's life like in a town when it runs out of water?". YouTube. ABC. 23 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- "Wilson Memorial Hospital To Be Demolished". scone.com.au. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- "Murrurundi Railway Station group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01205. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence. - "Rosedale Cottage". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00421. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
- Murrurundi railway Station Accessed 1 April 2008.
- "Murrurundi (Haydon Street)". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- "Murrurundi Gap AWS". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
