Armidale is a city in the
Northern Tablelands
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 regio ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018.
[ Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.] It is the administrative centre for the
Northern Tablelands
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 regio ...
region. It is approximately halfway between
Sydney and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
at the junction of the
New England Highway
New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...
and
Waterfall Way
Waterfall Way is a country road in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, linking Raleigh on the state's North Coast to Armidale. The route passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has become ...
.
Geography
Armidale is on the banks of Dumaresq Creek, in the Northern Tablelands in the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
region about midway between Sydney and Brisbane at an altitude (980 m
AHD) ranging from 970 metres at the valley's floor to 1,110 metres above sea level at the crests of the hills. A short distance to the east of Armidale are heavily forested steep
gorges dropping down to the eastern coastal plain. Large parts of the highlands are covered by
Palaeozoic aged
metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
sedimentary rocks. Intruding into these meta-sediments are
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
plutons
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
which decompose to form sandy soil, slightly deficient in nutrients. There are also basalt flows which are more fertile for the soil substrates. Those areas away from the deep gorge country tend to display gently undulating terrain mainly used for
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
s and where granites occur the areas are usually covered in bushland.
The area contains a number of places of outstanding natural beauty and scientific interest as well as several
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
national parks including the
New England National Park
The New England National Park is a protected national park located on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in May 1935 and is situated approximately north of Sydney, and south ...
and the
Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The park is situated north ...
. To the west is
Mount Yarrowyck
Mount Yarrowyck is a mountain in northern New South Wales, Australia and has an elevation of 1153 metres. The mountain is located 23.4 km west of Uralla, 27.8 km west of Armidale and 38 km west of Guyra. The nearest sealed road to ...
Nature Reserve. The critically endangered
New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland
The New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland is a grassy-woodland community primarily situated in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions in northern New South Wales, Australia. Named after the Eucalyptus nova-anglica, it is listed as a ...
is the main vegetation community in the region.
The coastal plain can be reached directly at
Coffs Harbour via
Waterfall Way
Waterfall Way is a country road in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, linking Raleigh on the state's North Coast to Armidale. The route passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has become ...
to
Dorrigo and
Bellingen on the
Bellinger River, a two-hour drive.
![Armidale mornings 27May2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Armidale_mornings_27May2011.jpg)
During winter there is a problem with some air quality reduction caused by the use of solid fuel domestic wood heaters. A peer-reviewed study carried out by the University of New England in 2007 found winter woodsmoke causes 8.8 additional visits per day to GPs in Armidale for respiratory complaints, i.e., about 750 additional visits per year. Another peer-reviewed study estimated the use of wood heaters in Armidale was responsible for about 11.5 premature deaths per year with estimated annual health cost of $14.95 million – about $4720 per year for every woodheater in the city. A local retired doctor (now Associate Professor at the UNE Medical school) said he is so concerned by the wood smoke situation, he urges people with respiratory problems to leave town.
Climate
Armidale has a
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Cfb''). Armidale's elevation gives it a milder climate than most of northern New South Wales, but the summers are still very warm. Winters are long and cool, with many frosty nights.
Snowfall is rare, on average only one day in every three years.
![Rologas Fields](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Rologas_Fields.jpg)
In Armidale, the presence of four distinct seasons makes it climatically unlike much of inland Australia; hence, the "New England" moniker and the
autumn colours are notable features of the city. Summers are characterised by warm to very warm days followed almost always by cool, sometimes cold, nights. Thunderstorms often produce heavy falls of rain and occasionally hail in the afternoons and early evenings, also bringing a sudden drop in temperature. Unlike nearby coastal areas, Armidale does not usually experience high humidity levels making most of the summer days quite comfortable. Temperatures exceed on an average of 13 afternoons per year, but rarely reach higher than .
The highest temperature recorded at Armidale Airport was , recorded in February 2017.
As the leaves turn yellow and fall, day temperatures are mostly still warm, particularly in March and April. Days are sunny, the thunderstorm season is over, and rain becomes more sporadic. Nights become colder, and residents often awake to a thick fog blanketing the Armidale valley, but by 9 am fogs have cleared to be followed by a bright sunny day. The year's first frosts usually occur in April, but they are not severe.
Winters are cold; overnight temperatures drop below with
frost on the ground; at the Tree Group Nursery station a reading as low as was record on 30 June 2010, whilst the older station at Radio 2AD recorded on 15 July 1970. These cold frosty mornings are usually followed by sunny days. Day temperatures may make it as high as , but sometimes may not climb beyond .
[ These are typical Northern Tablelands winter days with westerly winds, bleak grey clouds, and showers of rain and very occasionally ]snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
. Rainfall during the winter months is not infrequent but is usually light.
In spring temperatures are warmer, although occasional morning frosts still can continue well into October. September is usually a pleasantly mild but windy month, and by late October with increasing heat and humidity the thunderstorm season is starting with increasing rainfalls. The spring months produce the most variable weather of the year. A week of very warm sunny weather can be followed by several milder days with temperatures right back at winter levels before gradually warming up again. This cycle often repeats itself many times until the start of summer.
Weather
Armidale has been prone to severe hailstorms and experienced three such storms over the ten-year period from 1996 to 2006.
On 29 September 1996 hail of up to in diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid fo ...
and southerly wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
s of up to were reported at the airport weather station. The area was declared a disaster zone and State Emergency Service
The State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of organisations in Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents. Specifically, the service deals with floods, storms and tsunamis, but can also assist in oth ...
crews were brought in from across the state. Damage was estimated to be in excess of A$200 million.
On 1 January 2000 many homes were damaged by extreme weather conditions which brought large hail stones, strong wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
s and flash flooding
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ov ...
.
On 21 December 2006 hail stones, high winds and flash flooding damaged more than 1,000 homes and destroyed the Armidale Livestock Exhibition Centre which collapsed entirely under the weight of accumulated hail. The city was declared a state of emergency by New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Premier Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techno ...
the following day.
On the night of 14 October 2021 at 10pm, an intense storm produced a tornado causing extensive damage. It tore away roofs and turned vehicles upside down.
Transport
The Armidale railway station
Armidale railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at 240 Brown Street, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1882 to 1883 by Edmund Lonsdale and Henry Sheldon Hoddard, and was opened on 3 February 1883 when the li ...
is on the Main North railway line and is served by daily passenger trains to and from Sydney. Armidale's airport has five daily scheduled flights to and from Sydney with Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
link. Regional airline Fly Corporate operates a scheduled air service with flights to and from Brisbane. Armidale Airport
Armidale Airport is an airport serving Armidale, a city in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located southwest of the town centre, on the New England Highway. The airport is operated by Armidale Regional Council.
Facilities
The ...
, at 1,084 metres (3,556 ft), is the highest licensed airport in New South Wales.
The city is linked further north by daily coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
to Tenterfield
Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...
provided by NSW TrainLink. Other bus companies such as Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
also provide numerous daily services. Local city services are provided on six different routes by Edwards Coaches and Armidale is serviced by 16 taxis
A taxis (; ) is the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light or the presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioural responses. A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often growth towards or away from a stim ...
.
Although the hills to the north and the south can be a challenge, cycling is an option to get around Armidale. A cycleway
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...
exists from the University of New England through the city to the residential areas on the eastern side of city. This cycleway snakes back towards Ben Venue School. The passage through the city provides easy access for cyclists to the shopping centres. Bicycle racks are in strategic locations around the city centre, including at The Armidale Food Emporium, The Armidale Plaza, and Centro Armidale. Places are also provided outside the Armidale Dumeresq War Memorial Library, and at either end of the Mall. A maze of marked cycleways on the shoulder of the roads in the city's southern residential areas allows cyclists to safely ride on the roads. There are also separate cycleways from the Armidale Arboretum along Kellys Plains Road to the south and from the north of the city along Rockvale Road to the Armidale State forest (known as the Pine Forest by locals).
History
Before the British colonial settlement of New South Wales, the indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
Anaiwan tribe occupied the area that encompasses current day Armidale.
British pastoralists first entered the region in the early 1830s, following the earlier exploration of the area by John Oxley. Oxley recommended the region for grazing, and soon squatters established large leaseholds in the locality. Armidale was initially founded in 1839 by George James MacDonald
George James Macdonald & Two Bars (30 September 1921 – 22 January 1982) was a New Zealand naval officer, civil engineer and inventor. He was born in Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand ...
who was the Commissioner of Crown Lands and head of the local Border Police detachment in the New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
district. MacDonald established his barracks on the site and named it after Armadale on the Isle of Skye in Scotland which was the ancestral home of the MacDonald clan.
The James Barnet
James Johnstone Barnet, (1827 in Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland – 16 December 1904 in Forest Lodge, Sydney, New South Wales) was the Colonial Architect for Colonial New South Wales, serving from 1862 to 1890.
Early life
Born the son of a ...
-designed heritage-listed Armidale Post Office opened on 1 April 1843. The town, which was surveyed in 1848 and gazetted in 1849, was established to provide a market and administration for the farms, but soon after gold was discovered at nearby Rocky River and Gara Gorges, and a gold rush ensued, enlarging the town rapidly in the 1850s. The gold mining settlement of Hillgrove about 40 km east of Armidale was supplied by electricity from Australia's first hydro-electric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
scheme, the Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme
Gara River Hydro-Electric Scheme is a heritage-listed former hydroelectric power station located at Castle Doyle, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Richard Threlfall and built from 1893 to 1895 by Cromp ...
, remains of which are still visible on the Gara River below the Blue Hole at Castle Doyle. The nearby town of Uralla
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, north of Sydney and about south west of the city of Armidale, New South Wales, Arm ...
holds the grave of the famous Captain Thunderbolt
Frederick Wordsworth Ward (1835 – 25 May 1870), better known by the self-styled pseudonym of Captain Thunderbolt, was an Australian bushranger renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island, and also for his reputation as the "gentleman bushra ...
– outlaw Fred Ward – who caused trouble in the area in the 1860s. As with Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
, the locals have adopted him as a larrikin
Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions".
In the 19th and early 20th centurie ...
hero and make the most of him as a tourist attraction.
Armidale became a municipality in 1863 and was proclaimed a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in 1885.
Although it does not lie between the two major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, a site just to the south of Armidale was, in the early 1900s, considered as a potential site for Australia's federal capital. Some saw its northerly location as better suited to all three eastern mainland states, including Queensland. Later, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s, Armidale was one of the centres of separatist agitation by the New England New State Movement
The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas f ...
. Local politician, David Drummond, a strong support of the movement, successfully lobbied for Armidale to have the second teachers' college in New South Wales, and later a university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, positioning the town as a potential state capital.
Demographics
According to the 2021 census, there were 23,967 people in the Armidale significant urban area.
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.9% of the population.
* 74.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Iraq 2.4%, England 2.0%, India 1.1%, Nepal 1.1%, and New Zealand 1.0%.
* 78.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Kurdish 1.1%, Nepali 1.1% and Mandarin 0.7%.
* The most common responses for religion were No Religion 36.1%, Catholic 16.7% and Anglican 16.1%.
Armidale is home to a Êzidî community of approximately 600.
City of Armidale
Armidale is a cathedral city, being the seat of the Anglican and Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s of Armidale. St Peter's Anglican Cathedral, which replaced the original St Peter's Church, was designed by the Canadian architect John Horbury Hunt
John Horbury Hunt (1838 – December 30, 1904) was a Canadians, Canadian-born Australian architect who worked in Sydney and rural New South Wales from 1863.
Life and career
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of a builder, Hunt was tra ...
, who also designed Booloominbah at the University of New England. St Peter's Cathedral opened for worship in 1875 and the tower was added in 1938. The Catholic Cathedral of St Mary and St Joseph was dedicated on 12 December 1919.
The city centre is laid out in a grid of streets. The main street is called Beardy Street, named for two of the founding settlers who had beards. The court house was built in the 1850s and is still a prominent feature of the central district. Much of the rest of the city is residential.
The Australian Wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
Fashion Awards, which showcases the use of Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
wool by fashion designers, are hosted by Armidale in March each year. The Autumn Festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
is a popular annual event of April in Armidale. The festival features a street parade, stalls and celebrations throughout the city. It is a regular part of the city's attractions, often promoting Armidale's diverse culture (for instance, posters set up by council attempt to attract tourists with the motto "Foodies Thrive in Armidale") and autumn colours. During May the annual New England Wool Expo is staged to display wool fashions, handicrafts, demonstrations, shearing competitions, yard dog trials and demonstrations, a wool bale rolling competition and other activities.
Suburbs
* Acacia Park
* East Armidale
* West Armidale
* Ben Venue
* Bona Vista
* Commissioners Waters
* Dumaresq
* Duval
* Madgwick
* North Hill
* Newling
* Soudan Heights
* South Hill
* St. Patrick's
* The Mission
Education
The city is home to a large number of education facilities, including the Armidale School (1894), New England Girls' School
, motto_translation = Whatsoever you do, do it heartily
, location = 13-83 Uralla Road, Armidale, New South Wales 2350
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales
, pushpin_image ...
(1895), Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC Armidale) (1887), and the Armidale Waldorf School (1985), schools of the Australian independent education sector. O'Connor Catholic College (1975) and St Mary's Primary School are systemic Catholic schools
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...
. Armidale High School (1911) and Duval High School
DuVal High School (DHS) is a comprehensive science and technology public magnet high school in the Seabrook census-designated place in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with a Lanham postal address. (1972) were government-funded secondary schools until their closing at the end of 2018. In 2019, the two schools were combined into one in the form of Armidale Secondary College
Armidale Secondary College (abbreviated as ASC) is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
History
The school ...
, which is located on what was the Armidale High School campus. It was previously located on the Duval High School campus as a placeholder while the Armidale High campus was partially demolished. Approximately 27% of Armidale's total population is in the 10–24-year age group, compared with an equivalent NSW figure of 18%.
University of New England
The university was founded in 1938, at first as a college of the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
, but then in its own right in 1954. The UNE contributes to Armidale's position as a city of culture and diversity, with a vibrant artistic and cultural element. The university has strong links to the rural community, and undertakes a lot of agricultural research. There is also a high-technology presence, as well as notable humanities teaching. UNE hosts a wide range of courses, and introduced a number of new courses in 2008, including a five-year Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
program as part of a joint medical program with the University of Newcastle. The university is built around the historic mansion Booloominbah
Booloominbah is a heritage-listed mansion at 60 Madgwick Drive, Armidale, New South Wales, Armidale, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Horbury Hunt in the Australian residential architectural styles ...
, which is now used for administration and houses a restaurant. UNE is one of the city's main employers.
Retail
Armidale is a major regional retail centre, housing three shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
s:
* Central Armidale. A A$49 million development anchored by a Woolworths and 32 speciality stores. It began trading under the name 'Centro' in late November 2007, and was rebranded 'Central' in 2014.
* Armidale Plaza, a A$70 million venture, officially opened an extension, refurbishment and rebranding (formerly Kmart Plaza) in August 2007. Armidale Plaza is anchored by Kmart
Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States.
The company was inc ...
, IGA and 50 specialty stores. Bi-Lo was one of the anchor stores until it closed on 28 February 2010. IGA became an anchor store where it opened there on 8 November 2011. Target Country closed its store in the centre in March 2021.
* The East Mall was constructed in 2002 and houses Coles Supermarket
Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group.
Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...
and 15 speciality stores.
Mall
Armidale has a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
which stretches over three blocks of Beardy Street in the centre of city. It features many shops and cafés with outdoor eating areas along with some notable architecture, including Tattersalls Hotel, built in the Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style during the 1930s; Armidale Courthouse; the city's main post office; the former Commonwealth Bank and the New England Hotel. The mall was opened in 1973 and was the first of its kind in regional Australia.
Armidale Dumaresq Council has been undertaking major upgrades to the mall since 2003 as part of th
Armidale CBD Streetscape Design Project
which aims at easing traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...
in the city centre by creating an emphasis on the "ring road" around the CBD with the assistance of signage
Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. A signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980.
Signs are any ...
, elevation of roads using paving and the creation of one-way streets.
Sports
The most popular sport in Armidale is rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
. The city has four teams in the New England Rugby Union
The New England Rugby Union, or NERU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the District of New England (New South Wales) in Australia. It is a member of the New South Wales Country Rugby Union.
History
Clubs
First ...
: Armidale Blues, Barbarians, Robb College, St. Albert's College, the latter two of which are made up of primarily university students staying on residence at the respective colleges.
A close second in popularity in the city is rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
. Armidale has two teams competing in Group 19, the Armidale Rams RLFC, and the Narwan Eels, a club with a distinct Indigenous influence. The Rams are based at Rugby League Park on Dumaresq St in Central Armidale, whilst the Eels are based at Newling Oval on the southern outskirts of the city.
Other sports teams include the UNE New England Nomads (University AFL team) and various soccer teams in the local SportUNE League.
Media
The city is serviced by one local newspaper, many radio stations including four local outlets, and all major television stations.
Local press
* '' Armidale Express''
* ''Armidale Express Extra''
* ''Armidale Independent'', closed November 2014
Local radio
* TUNE! FM
TuneFM (ACMA callsign: 2UNE) is the University of New England’s (UNE) campus radio station, a high power open narrowcasting service operated by UNELife. Founded in 1970, the station is Australia’s oldest university broadcaster, serving UNEâ ...
, one of Australia's oldest community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
stations aimed at a youth audience.
* 2AD/FM100.3, a commercial broadcaster owned by the SuperNetwork.
* 2ARM
2ARM FM is a community radio station, first established in the late 1970s, broadcasting from Armidale, New England (New South Wales) Australia. The station maintains a 24/7 365 days a year service.
Permanent Community Broadcasting 5-year term ...
92.1 FM
The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 92.1 MHz:
Argentina
* Bella Vista in Bella Vista, Corrientes
* Cadena 3 Villa Mercedes in Villa Mercedes, San Luis
* Cielo in Salta
* Concierto in San Genaro, Santa Fe
* Estación Serrano ...
, a community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
station staffed by volunteers and operating from premises in Kentucky Street with a Permanent Community Broadcasting Licence. See program guide at http://2arm.net.au
* 88.0 is a narrowcast tourist radio station.
*87.6 Raw FM Australia (Dance Floor Radio Network)
National radio
* Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
.
* ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors a ...
.
* ABC Classic FM.
* 2KY National Racing Service.
* ABC Local Radio.
Television stations
* Prime7
Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Ca ...
, 7Two, 7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
, 7flix
7flix is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 28 February 2016.
7flix targets a variety of viewers and offers drama, comedy, reality, docusoap, and movies.
History
On 18 Decembe ...
– Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
affiliated channels.
* Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
(NBN Television
NBN is an Australian television station based in Newcastle, Australia. The station was inaugurated on 4 March 1962 as the first regional commercial television station in New South Wales, and has since expanded to 39 transmitters throughout Nor ...
), 9Go!
9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, ani ...
, 9Gem
9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived.
History
Nine N ...
, 9Life
9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scripp ...
– Nine Network owned channels..
* WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netw ...
, 10 Bold
10 Bold is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It originally launched on 26 March 2009 as One HD with a focus on broadcasting sports-based programming and events, but rebranded to One in April 2011 to ...
, 10 Peach – Network Ten affiliated channels.
* ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, ABC TV Plus
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...
, ABC Me
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
and ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
.
* Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
, SBS, SBS Viceland
SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...
, SBS Food
SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world.
History
SBS first revealed it would laun ...
and NITV
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...
.
Subscription Television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
services are provided by Foxtel.
Attractions
* Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place
* Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The park is situated north ...
, which includes Dangar Falls and Gorge
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The park is situated nor ...
and Gara Gorge
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The park is situated north ...
* Saumarez Homestead
Saumarez Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead located at 230 Saumarez Road, Armidale in the Armidale Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The homestead was designed by J. W. Pender in the Federation Edwardi ...
New England Regional Art Museum
* Cathedral Rock National Park
Cathedral Rock is a national park west of Waterfall Way in New South Wales, Australia, east of Armidale and about north of Sydney.
This park is lying between the Guy Fawkes River and Macleay Range, and is about six kilometres west of Eb ...
* Waterfall Way
Waterfall Way is a country road in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, linking Raleigh on the state's North Coast to Armidale. The route passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has become ...
and Wollomombi Falls
The Wollomombi Falls is a plunge waterfall on the Wollomombi River in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia.
Location and features
In the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park approximately due east of Armidale and off the Waterfa ...
* Mount Yarrowyck Aboriginal Rock Art site
* Gemstone fossicking
In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New ...
Heritage listings
Armidale has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 158 Beardy Street: Armidale Post Office
The Armidale Post Office is a heritage-listed post office located at 158 Beardy Street, Armidale, in the Armidale Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The post office building was designed by the NSW Colonial Ar ...
* 164 Beardy Street: Commercial Bank of Australia Building
The Commercial Bank of Australia Building is a heritage-listed former bank building at 205–207 Flinders Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Percy Owen Cowlishaw and built by J C Harris ...
* 216 Brown Street: Armidale railway station turntable
Armidale railway station turntable is a heritage-listed railway turntable at 216 Brown Street, Armidale, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the Transport Asset Holding Entity (State Government). It w ...
* 234 Brown Street: Armidale railway station
Armidale railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at 240 Brown Street, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1882 to 1883 by Edmund Lonsdale and Henry Sheldon Hoddard, and was opened on 3 February 1883 when the li ...
* 125 Dangar Street: Central Park, Armidale
* 132 Dangar Street: Saints Mary and Joseph Catholic Cathedral
Saints Mary and Joseph Catholic Cathedral is a heritage-listed cathedral at 132 Dangar Street, Armidale, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It is the diocesan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Armidale and the seat o ...
* 108 Faulkner Street: Lands Board Office
* 60 Madgwick Drive: Booloominbah
Booloominbah is a heritage-listed mansion at 60 Madgwick Drive, Armidale, New South Wales, Armidale, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Horbury Hunt in the Australian residential architectural styles ...
* 122-132 Mossman Street: Old Teachers' College
* 36 Roseneath Lane: Roseneath
* 122 Rusden Street: St Peter's Cathedral
* 230 Saumarez Road: Saumarez Homestead
Saumarez Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead located at 230 Saumarez Road, Armidale in the Armidale Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The homestead was designed by J. W. Pender in the Federation Edwardi ...
* Allingham Street: Hunter River Lancers Training Depot
Hunter River Lancers Training Depot is a heritage-listed military installation at Allingham Street, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
History
The first record of ...
Notable people
The following notable people were either born in, currently live in or previously resided in Armidale
* Peter Allen, singer and stage performer
* Charles Badham (1884–1943) medical practitioner and public health officer
* Archie Barwick
Archie Albert Barwick (7 March 1890 – 28 January 1966) was an Australian farmer and soldier known for his diaries of World War I. His set of diaries are recognised as one of the most extensive and well written first hand accounts of military ...
, farmer and WWI sergeant
* Jack Bedson
John William "Jack" Bedson (born 5 March 1950) is an Australian writer, poet, children's picture book author, and former university librarian.
Early life and education
Bedson was born in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern an ...
, children's author and poet
* Kate Bell, actress
* Anya Beyersdorf
Anya Beyersdorf is an Australian actress-turned-writer/director born in Armidale, New South Wales. In 2014 she won an AWGIE Award - the Monte Miller Award for her screenplay Paradise at the Australian Writer's Guild Awards. In 2016, she was a ...
, actress
* Leigh Blackmore
Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the se ...
, writer and editor
* Florence Turner Blake
Florence Turner Blake (1873–1959) was an Australian artist and benefactor. She was also known professionally as Florence Turner Mofflin, Florence Turner Greaves and Florence Mofflin.
Early life
The youngest of six children she was born as Flor ...
(1873–1959) artist and benefactor
* Zihni Buzo
Zihni Jusuf Buzo (1912-2006) was an Albanian Australian civil engineer.
Biography
Zihni Jusuf Buzo was born (1912) in the neighbourhood of Murat Çelepia in Berat, Albania. In Albania, Buzo attended primary school in Berat. In his youth, Buzo ...
, engineer
* Alex Buzo
Alexander John Buzo (23 July 194416 August 2006) was an Australian playwright and author who wrote 88 works. His literary works recorded Australian culture through wit, humour and extensive use of colloquial Australian English.
Biography
Ear ...
, playwright
* Gilbert Ernest Cory (1906–1977) solicitor and army officer
* Zelman Cowen
Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982.
Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...
, 19th Governor General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.[Bruce Devlin
Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer.
Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in ...](_blank)
, professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer
* Edward Doody
Edward John Doody (15 December 1903 − 9 April 1968) was an Australian Roman Catholic bishop.
Born in Brisbane, Doody was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on 12 March 1927, and was later parish priest of Nambour. Doody was named bishop of the ...
, Catholic bishop
* Cadel Evans
Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...
, professional cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
* Hugh Gordon, veterinary parasitologist
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it ...
* Bill Hirschberg (1881–1963), rugby union player
* Anthony Kelly, martial artist
* Sir Frank Kitto
Sir Frank Walters Kitto, (30 July 1903 – 15 February 1994), Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia.
Early life and education
Kitto was born in Melbourne in 1903, but his family moved to Sydney, when his father, J ...
, former High Court Judge, former Chancellor of the University of New England
* John McIntosh – Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
* John Monckton (1938–2017) Olympic backstroke silver medallist
* Anne Plunkett, Australian Ambassador to Ireland; Portugal
* Gayla Reid
Gayla Reid (born 12 May 1945) is an Australian-born Canadian writer.
Biography
Born and raised in Armidale, New South Wales, Reid was educated at the University of New England, Australian National University and the University of British Colum ...
, writer
* Nich Richardson, television presenter and producer
* Frank Roberts, boxer
* Joe Roff
Joe Roff (born 20 September 1975) is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for ACT Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as ...
, rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
player
* Caroline Ann Rowland
Caroline Ann Rowland (1852–1921) was a Roman Catholic nun in the Order of St Ursula (religious name Sister/Mother Mary Cordula). In 1882 she founded St Ursula's College in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Early life
Caroline Ann Ro ...
(in religion Mother Mary Cadula), founder of St Ursula's College, Armidale
O'Connor Catholic College, formerly O'Connor Catholic High School, is an independent Catholic co-educational econdary day school, located in Armidale, New South Wales">Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. It was created by an amalgamation of S ...
* Sir Mark Sheldon (1871–1956) Businessman
* Angelina Sondaq, Miss Indonesia 2001 and politician, was born and educated in Armidale.
* Elzear Torreggiani
Elzear Torreggiani D.D., O.S.F.C, (28 May 1830 – 28 January 1904)
was a Catholic Bishop of Armidale, New South Wales.
Torregiani was born in Porto Recanati, Loreto district, Papal States, Italy and consecrated bishop on 25 March 1879. Prior to ...
, Catholic bishop
* Peter Turnbull, WW2 fighter ace
* Margaret Vyner
Margaret Leila Vyner, also known by her married name Margaret Williams (3 December 1914 in Armidale, New South Wales – 30 October 1993 in Reading, England) was an Australian-born model and actress who appeared in British films. She collaborated ...
, model and actress
* Don Walker, keyboardist for Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...
* George Warnecke (1894–1981), journalist, publisher, and founding editor of ''The Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by ...
''[Griffen-Foley, Bridget (2012)]
"Warnecke, Glen William ('George')"
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 18. Melbourne University Press. Online version retrieved 24 September 2016.
* Dean Widders
Dean Richard Widders (born 25 October 1979) is an Anaiwan Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He works with the National Rugby League as an Indigenous Pathways manager. He is coa ...
, rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
player
* Sir Thomas George Wilson
Sir Thomas George Wilson (March 27, 1876 – March 15, 1958) was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. He was a founding fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and State Nur ...
(1876–1958) obstetrician and gynaecologist
* Judith Wright
Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award.
Biography
Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New So ...
, poet
Sister cities
* Masterton, New Zealand
References
External links
Armidale.info
Photographs of Armidale in 1994, National Library of Australia
Armidale Regional Council
VisitNSW.com – Armidale
{{Authority control
Towns in New England (New South Wales)
Armidale Regional Council
Populated places established in the 1830s
Proposed sites for national capital of Australia