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About the shire
Local information that will interest long term residents as well as visitors and newcomers.
QUIRINDI
Even though there have been several translations of the name Quirindi, which is derived from the Kamilaroi Aboriginal language, the most appropriate would have to be 'nest in the hills' From any approach road the town looks a haven of tranquillity tucked within undulating slopes and ranges, its surrounding region blessed by some of the richest soil in Australia the Liverpool Plains.
Quirindi is the hub of the Liverpool Plains Shire Council. It's located a short distance off the New England Highway, 354 km north of Sydney and 63 km south-west of Tamworth.
Take the drive from Willow Tree and your approach to Quirindi will be the same as Surveyor-General, Sir Thomas Mitchell's in 1831 where he came across squatters who had pushed beyond the legal limits of location at the time looking for rich pastures.
To embrace the full beauty of the area the Whod-A-Thought It Lookout is a must. A full 360 degree expanse offers panoramic views of the town, the Liverpool Plains and the Great Dividing Range. It's the picnic perfect location to watch the sun set and contemplate how the region once supported oceanic coral reefs and beaches and now crops such as sorghum, wheat, cotton, sunflowers, lucerne and corn. To get there follow the Gunnedah signs to the edge of town where you'll see a signposted right-hand turn. The Lookout also has a location compass providing distances to various places of interest as the crow flies.
If you've packed your binoculars you'll want to take a drive north-east of Quirindi to old Quipolly Dam to look at some of the most plentiful waterbirds in the region. Even with the naked eye the Quipolly Bird Hide offers a bird's eye view of the dam and its inhabitants. The all weather viewing structure is snuggled amid reeds, and as the water gently laps at the pylons and the sun sparkles against a back drop of Cyprus Pine even the most disinterested feather watcher will become hooked. To find the Bird Hide head out of Quirindi along Borah Creek Rd, which is north-east opposite Nowland St, and follow the signs. The round trip is approximately 35 kilometres.
Quirindi has a place in the horse sports history books with the first Australian polo club formed in the region in 1888. The annual polo carnival, Australia's oldest, commenced in 1893 and is still held every August.
The Duke of Edinburgh played polo at Quirindi in 1968.
The town has a very active racecourse which hosts numerous meetings and the main event, the Quirindi Cup, is held in February. Equestrian sports are also particularly popular. The racecourse and showgrounds are a short distance from town on the road to Wallabadah.
No town steeped in such rural heritage as Quirindi's would be complete without a museum or heritage village. Quirindi is fortunate to have both. The museum is situated in Station St in a building constructed in 1887. The Rural Heritage Village is 3 kilometres from town on the Gunnedah Road. Both provide a host of historic information and memorabilia.
WERRIS CREEK
20 kilometres north-east of Quirindi, and again following the path that Mitchell took, is Werris Creek - Australias first railway town.
As with this entire region, the Werris Creek area is thought to have been formerly occupied by the Kamilaroi Aborigines. The first Europeans were squatters who were in the area by the 1830s and there were a handful of pastoral families occupying the valley by the early 1870s. On the eastern side of the present townsite was Summer Hill station which belonged to John Single, after whom the main street is named.
The town developed when a camp of railway workers was set-up to build the northern line from Quirindi to Tamworth. The railway was officially opened to Werris Creek in 1878 and a station was built the following year.
The town's impressive railway station which is to be refurbished to become the Australian Railway Monument consists of three linked main buildings of two-stories. The Monument promises to be the rail icon of the nation and the perfect location to step on a steam train for a ride. All aboard!
The town is not only what rail historians dream about it, it is still the major rail junction for the northern and north western parts of New South Wales and is an important service centre supporting a diversification of agricultural pursuits.
A large grain silo complex is also in operation, If youd like a break from looking at locomotives, drive to the top of the hill on which the town is situated. The backdrop of rolling hills can be breathtaking in the warm glow of an afternoon. The towns swimming pool is also located on the top of the rise. This community driven project was opened in 1968 and the unusual architectural design has drawn a great deal of praise over the years.
WALLABADAH
A 15 kilometre drive east from Quirindi through spectacular scenery youve come to expect from this region will take you to Wallabadah. Originally called Thalabuburi by the Kamilaroi people, and later by Europeans as Manfields Point Wallabadah derives its current name from Wallabadah Station, a 44000 acre holding taken up in 1835.
This little township on the New England Highway began to develop in the 1850s and was once larger than Quirindi. It was the road junction for the mail coaches from the north and north-west. This proved too tempting for Thunderbolt, then the most notorious bushranger in the colony, who robbed the northern mail coach at Wallabadah in 1867.
This once thriving, busy rural centre did not progress however when the rail went to its neighbour Quirindi in 1877. But the town still retains its early charm. Claret Ash trees line the street on the approach road from Quirindi. To the right as you head into town is the Anglican Church of the Ascension built in 1896. On the highway is the Marshall MacMahon Hotel which dates from about 1867. Across from the hotel is the Catholic Church built in 1910. Other historic buildings include the public school (1879) and school residence (1898).
Wallabadah became a soldier settlement location after World War II and residents in the town, known locally as "Wallaby", erected a sculpture of a wallaby sitting on a rock as a bicentennial project in 1988.
The nation's only garden memorial to the First Fleet is located off the New England Highway near the sculpture, and residents from all over Australia are drawn to the First Fleet Memorial Garden to see whether their distant relatives were aboard those first vessels.
This unique garden, built by a renown stone mason and First Fleet descendent, records the names in stone ship by ship of all those aboard the First Fleet.
A nearby creek side picnic area provides the ideal setting for a barbeque after the garden walk.
Australias first country racing club was established in Wallabadah in 1852 and racing continues to this day with the townships famous New Years Day racing meeting. Initially races were held on the western side of the village at a site known as the Flat but in 1898 the racecourse was moved to its current location.
One of the largest undisturbed areas of White Box forest left in Australia is located at the Wallabadah cemetery. Its worth the visit to get a good feel for the country prior to European settlement and as with all cemeteries every headstone echoes local history.
WILLOW TREE
South of Wallabadah on the New England Highway is the settlement of Willow Tree.
It was once said that the route from Wallabadah to Willow Tree, which crosses creek flats and streams flowing from the hills, was a popular site for bushrangers. Bushrangers are said to have preyed on lone travellers and coaches as they made their way along the uncertain steeply graded roads fleeing with their booty into the hills where they could safely hide. No risk of high jinx for todays traveller though, the trip is a smooth 18 kilometre run on highway bitumen.
The township of Willow Tree is a service centre to the rural areas of Warrah and Mount Parry. This area is the country through which Sir Edward Parry travelled in 1832 when he came to look at land for the Australian Agricultural Company. Willow Tree stands on land resumed from the AA Company grant issued in 1833.
The township developed with the advent of the railway line and from subdivisions of part of the great Warrah estate into small farms. Today it is a gateway village to the fertile Liverpool Plains.
It's worthwhile taking a detour to visit the explorer, Allen Cunninghams Memorial. Keep to the left of the road at the turn-off to the Park and drive 3 kilometres. There you will find a picnic site on the northern side of Coolah Creek and the Memorial.
Continue north for 4 km and you will come to Pandora's Pass where in 1832 Cunningham crossed the Warrumbungle Range onto the Liverpool Plains. There are excellent views back over the Coolah Valley and north over the Liverpool Plains from this vantage point.
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