The original owners of Glen Innes and surrounding areas are the Ngarabal people.[3] The Ngarabal name of the township of Glen Innes is Gindaaydjin, meaning "plenty of big round stones on clear plains".[4] The arrival of European settlers saw the significant disruption of the life of Ngarabal people. Many Ngarabal people continue to live in the Glen Innes area, still practising many aspects of their traditional culture and way of life.[5]
In about 1838 Archibald Boyd registered the first run in the Glen Innes district. Two stockmen known as "the Beardies" because of their long beards took Boyd to this area to establish his run. The Beardies later introduced other squatters to the best runs in the area to become known as the Land of the Beardies or Beardie Plains.[6]
Furracabad Station was suggested by John James Galloway as an alternative to Wellingrove for a new town. However Furracabad Station was sold in the 1840s depression and passed to Major Archibald Clunes Innes, then to the Bank of Australasia, then to John Major, who sold it to Archibald Mosman. The name Glen Innes is believed to be bestowed by Mosman in honour of Innes. Glen Innes was gazetted as a town in 1852 and the first lots were sold in 1854.[6] The post office was established in August 1854 and the court in 1858 when they replaced the Wellingrove offices.[7] In 1866 the population was about 350, with a telegraph station, lands office, police barracks, courthouse, post office and two hotels.[8] There was still no coach service at this time, but in the 1870s a road was constructed to Grafton.
Tin was first discovered at Emmaville in 1872 and Glen Innes became the centre of a mining bonanza during the late 19th century. In 1875, the population had swelled to about 1,500 and the town had a two-teacher school, three churches, five hotels, two weekly newspapers, seven stores and a variety of societies and associations.[8] On 19 August 1884 the new Main North railway from Sydney opened.[9] The arrival of the rail service and the expansion of mining contributed a new prosperity in the town, which is reflected in some of the beautiful buildings there.[citation needed]
The centre of the town retains some of its federation buildings and the owners have painted these buildings in the traditional colours. Many of these buildings have been placed on the Register of the National Estate.
The town boasts a railway station that was once part of the Main North Line. Today, the line is closed so the station is not in use and the buildings have been repurposed.
Heritage listings
Glen Innes has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Glen Innes district has been a producer of wool, sheep and beef cattle since it was first settled. Sapphires are mined in the creek valleys immediately west of town, and while tin is no longer commercially mined, mineral exploration is ongoing. The town holds regular livestock sales in the local sale-yards. The town contains all of the regular service industries required by the community. Notable individual businesses include a photographic processing facility, an exporter of waste material balers, a large cattle feedlot, and transport depots. Sawmilling was historically a major industry of the district, but is now only conducted on a reasonable scale by the local minimum-security prison. The conversion of State Forests into National Parks has led to tourism becoming an important employer.
Climate
Glen Innes is 1,062 metres (3,484ft)AHD with an average annual rainfall of 857 millimetres (33.7in). The climate is officially classed as a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).[16] The area records some of Australia's coldest minimum temperatures outside the Snowy Mountains and Tasmania[citation needed], with mild to warm summers and cold, windy winters with regular frosts and occasional snowfalls, though many snowfalls do not settle. Glen Innes's highest recorded temperature was 37.3°C (99.1°F) on 22 December 2019, and its coldest was −12.8°C (9.0°F) on 8 July 2002.[17] Rainfall is heaviest in late spring, owing to the effects of the surrounding mountains, causing uplift which in turn causes frequent, heavy storms during this period. At 6:33AM on 19 July 2019, the town registered a temperature of −12.3°C (9.9°F), making it the coldest place in Australia in that year.[18]
Climate data for Glen Innes Airport AWS (1996–2022); 1,044 m AMSL; 29.68° S, 151.69° E
There are several Christian churches, including the Cameron Memorial Uniting Church and St Andrews Presbyterian Church which hail from the town's Scottish roots; as well as the Holy Trinity Anglican and St Patrick's Catholic Churches, Baptist, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist and other smaller congregations.
Annual events include: Minerama, a gem and fossicking festival; the Australian Celtic Festival, Land of the Beardies Festival, Pastoral and Agricultural Show and also horse racing, the Glen Innes Cup.
The Glen Innes Arts Council produces their own theatrical productions throughout the year and presents travelling productions and film screenings. It is the longest continuously running arts council [citation needed] in Australia, housed in their venue, The Chapel Theatre. The chapel is equipped with a state-of-the-art, 3D Digital Cinema system with Dolby 7.1 Sound. Information on Glen Innes Arts Council productions and screenings can be found at their website - http://www.gleninnesartscouncil.com
The town also has a thriving arts and crafts community, with a public art gallery, the Glen Innes Art Gallery that hold regular and changing exhibitions each year.
Sport
The most popular sport in Glen Innes is rugby league. The town's team, the Glen Innes Magpies, play in the Group 19 Rugby League A-Grade competition. However due to non interest and a lack of numbers to make a team, the Glen Innes Magpies had to withdraw from the group 19 competition in 2022.
Glen Innes has annual competitions and representative teams in the following: Golf, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Lawn Bowls, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Cricket, Squash, Touch Football, Tent Pegging, Campdrafting, Shooting, Sheepdog trials, Roller Skating and Roller Hockey.
Media
The district also has its own community radio station, 2CBD FM. As well as broadcasting on two local FM frequencies 91.1 Deepwater and 105.9 Glen Innes, it has a live 24/7 feed via the internet. The station is the only radio station with studios in Glen Innes and is run by volunteers and presents local information and a diverse mix of music.
Notable residents
Glen Innes was the birthplace of writer D'Arcy Niland, High Court judge Edward McTiernan and architects Colin Madigan and Nancy Allen. Notable Former Residents: Bishop Thomas Absolem McCabe[de], the first bishop of Wollongong whose grave is in St Francis Xavier Cathedral grounds, Wollongong, Margaret Fulton, Australia's first and most famous real-food cookbook author and Garry McDonald of "Norman Gunston" and "Mother and Son" fame. Other prominent families in this district include the Gaden, Rodgers, Williams, Cameron, Donnelly, McIntyre, Williamson and Newsome families.
The district has produced several sportsmen and women who have represented Australia. These include two Olympians (Debbie Wells and David Cooper), Rugby League players Reg O'Keefe and John Ferguson, pistol shooters Bruce Favell and Robert Landers, masters athletics world champion Neville McIntyre and Andrew McIntyre (Tentpegging).
Two of the more highly decorated armed servicemen that still have family in the district were Peter Turnbull and Charles Curnow Scherf. Another major contributor to the wars from Glen Innes was Edward (Ted) Kinsella who was a soldier and army official who was stationed in Greece, Gallipoli and France.
Glen Innes and Scotland
Archibald Clunes Innes, from Thrumster, Caithness was a captain in the Third Regiment (Buffs), when he arrived in Australia in 1822 on the Eliza in charge of 170 convicts. He held a number of New England properties including Glen Innes Station and Dundee station.
Glen Innes has a number of street signs in Scottish Gaelic (though no residents speak the language). There is also a "Crofter"'s cottage.
Other towns nearby with Scottish names include Armidale, Ben Lomond and Glencoe. The name of nearby Inverell is also of Scottish Gaelic origin, meaning "meeting place of the swans" in reference to the black swans once typically seen on the Macintyre River.
Glen Innes is[20][21] home to a turbine wind farm (White Rock Wind farm) which the New South Wales Government approved 23km west of the town.[22][23] There are 70 turbines standing 150 metres high. Stage 2, consisting of another 49 turbines and a Solar Farm have also received approval from the NSW Government.[24]
Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It is approximately halfway between Sydney and Brisbane at the junction of the New England Highway and Waterfall Way.
Redfern is an inner southern suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The area experienced the process of gentrification and is subject to extensive redevelopment plans by the state government, to increase the population and reduce the concentration of poverty in the suburb and neighbouring Waterloo.
Dubbo is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
Berry is a small Australian village in the Shoalhaven region of the New South Wales South Coast, located 143 km (89 mi) south of the state capital, Sydney. It has many historical buildings which are listed on the New South Wales Heritage Register. Berry attracts many tourists who come to enjoy the diversity of landscapes, including coastal beaches, rich dairy farming, and forested mountains. The village hosts a local Produce Market which is held twice each month on the second Saturday and fourth Sunday. Together with Kiama 23 km (14 mi) to the north, Berry acts as a gateway through to other towns and villages along the South Coast of NSW via the Princes Highway and the South Coast railway line. Major highway building projects in and around Berry have now bypassed the village, creating uninterrupted motorway conditions for coastal travel south to Nowra and the South Coast and north to Wollongong and Sydney. This has resulted in the removal of all but local and visitor traffic within the village. Planning is underway to create a pedestrian-friendly precinct in and around Queens Street.
Richmond is a town in New South Wales, in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue Mountains on the Cumberland Plain. It is about 65 km by road from Sydney and about 78 km by road from Lithgow.
Junee is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in particular correctional services. In 2015 Junee's urban population was 4,762.
Mosman Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass.
Guyra is a town situated midway between Armidale and Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within Armidale Regional Council and at the 2016 census, it had a population of 1,983.
Ben Lomond is a village on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is situated 6 km off the New England Highway between Armidale and Glen Innes. It was located in the Guyra Shire local government area until that council was amalgamated into the Armidale Regional Council on 12 May 2016, with parts of the surrounding district in Glen Innes Severn Shire and Inverell Shire. It is primarily a farming area, with most of the residents involved in sheep, cattle and grain farming.
The Ngarabal are an Aboriginal people of the area from Ashford, Tenterfield and Glen Innes in northern New South Wales, Australia.
Stonehenge is a rural locality on the Northern Tablelands of New England in New South Wales, Australia.
Woodford is a village in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, about 90 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD. Its elevation is 609 metres (1,998 ft) above sea level. It is situated on the Great Western Highway and has a railway station on the Main Western railway line served by NSW TrainLink's Blue Mountains services. At the 2016 census, Woodford had a population of 1,934.
Bolivia is a locality on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The remains of the settlement comprises the former Bolivia Hotel, a disused post office, a disused railway siding and a community hall.
Dundee is a rural locality about 40 kilometres north of Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the New England Highway at the Severn River in Severn parish, Gough County, New South Wales. The elevation is 985 metres.
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.
The Armidale Region is a local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Armidale Dumaresq Shire with the surrounding Guyra Shire.
The Yarraford Rail Bridge is a heritage-listed closed railway bridge that carried the Main Northern Line across Beardy Waters, situated 694.371 kilometres (431.462 mi) from Central station, near Glen Innes, in the Glen Innes Severn local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by John Whitton in his capacity as Engineer-in-Chief for Railways and built in 1886. It is also known as Beardy River Railway Viaduct. The property is owned by Transport Asset Holding Entity, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Glen Innes Showground is a heritage-listed showground at Bourke Street, Glen Innes, Glen Innes Severn, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by various architects, including Thompson and Holmes, J. P. O'Connor, Rowland Bros and Madigan and Cusick. It was built from 1873 by various builders, including A. W. Lane, G. Cooper and H. A. Tutt and Son. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 4 September 2015.
The Severn River railway bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge that carries the Main Northern Line across the Severn River at Dundee, Glen Innes Severn, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Whitton in his capacity as Engineer-in-Chief for Railways and built in 1886. It is also known as Severn River Railway Viaduct. The property is owned by Transport Asset Holding Entity, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
↑ MacPherson, J. (1905). Ngarrabul and other Aboriginal tribes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 29, 677-684
↑ MacPherson, J. (1930). "Some Aboriginal place names in Northern New South Wales." Royal Australian Historical Society, Journal and Proceedings, 16 (2), 120-131.
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