The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, with over 1400 people, left from Portsmouth, England and took a journey of over 24,000 kilometres (15,000 mi) and over 250 days to eventually arrive in Botany Bay, New South Wales, where a penal colony would become the first European settlement in Australia.
New England is a vaguely defined region in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia, about 60 km inland from the Tasman Sea. The area includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions. As of 2006, New England had a population of 202,160, with over a quarter of the people living in the area of Tamworth Regional Council.
Branxton is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Branxton is 171 kilometres (106 mi) north of Sydney via the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and New England Highway. Branxton is located mostly in the City of Cessnock, but part of it is in Singleton Shire. It had a population of 1,991 at the 2016 census.
Uralla is a town on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and Thunderbolts Way, 465 kilometres (289 mi) north of Sydney and about 23 kilometres (14 mi) south west of the city of Armidale. At the 2016 census, the township of Uralla had a population of 2,388 people,.
Liverpool Plains Shire is a local government area located in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed on 17 March 2004 by the amalgamation of Quirindi Shire with parts of Parry, Murrurundi and Gunnedah shires.
Kamilaroi Highway is a 605-kilometre (376 mi) state highway located in the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. The highway's northwestern terminus is at a junction with the Mitchell Highway at Bourke. Its southeastern terminus is a junction with the New England Highway north of Willow Tree.
Walcha is a town at the south-eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia.
Collarenebri is a town in north western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Walgett Shire Local Government Area and is situated on the Barwon River approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) northeast of Walgett and south west of Mungindi on the Gwydir Highway. It is 16 km (9.9 mi) from Pokataroo which was the nearest railway town prior to closure of the rail service there. The town is 150 metres (490 ft) above sea level. Collarenebri is one of three towns ending in 'BRI' in Northern New South Wales.
Denmark is a coastal town located on Wilson Inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 423 kilometres (263 mi) south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2016 census, Denmark had a population of 2,558; however, the population can be several times the base population during tourist seasons.
Quirindi is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the 2016 census, Quirindi had a population of 3,444. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the west and Tamworth to the north. The local economy is based on agriculture, with broadacre farming dominant on the black soil plains to the west and livestock grazing in the hilly eastern part of the district.
Thunderbolts Way is a 290-kilometre (180 mi) country road located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The road links Gloucester to Walcha, Uralla, where it very briefly joins the New England Highway and, to Copes Creek, 16 km (10 mi) south of the Gwydir Highway intersection at Inverell. The road is partially sealed and passes through thickly forested mountain areas with many nearby national parks and nature reserves.
Willow Tree is a village composed of about 308 people, located in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the Liverpool Plains, 14 kilometres south of Quirindi near the junction of the Kamilaroi and New England Highways. The town itself is small but the farms extend southwest out to the township of Warrah. It is a service centre to the rural areas of Warrah and Mount Parry.
The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England region, stretching from the Moonbi Range in the south to the Queensland border in the north. The region corresponds generally to the Bureau of Meteorology forecast area for the Northern Tablelands which in this case includes Inverell although it is significantly lower in elevation.
The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi) of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia.
The Northern Daily Leader, previously published as The Tamworth Daily Observer, The Daily Observer and The Tamworth Observer and Northern Advertiser, is a daily newspaper produced in the city of Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia. The paper publishes stories related to the Tamworth, New England and North West Slopes regions. It also publishes stories about state and national events. Its online website also publishes many of the stories featured in the newspaper.
Yarrowyck is a rural locality on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia.
Mooki River, a perennial stream that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia.
Drake is a parish and small rural community on the Bruxner Highway approximately 44 km east of Tenterfield, New South Wales and about 800 km north of Sydney, New South Wales. It is in the Tenterfield Shire local government area, which is part of the New England region. At the 2016 census, Drake had a population of 345 people.
Isaac Nichols was an English born Australian farmer, shipowner and public servant who was a convict transported to New South Wales on the Third Fleet, on the Admiral Barrington. He was transported for seven years in 1790 for stealing. He is most remembered as the first postmaster of the postal service now known as Australia Post.
