Barry is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the Central West region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, in

Blayney Shire Blayney Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railwa ...

. It is situated within an hour's driving time of the townships and villages of Blayney, Millthorpe,

Mandurama Mandurama is a village in the Blayney Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the , Mandurama and the surrounding area had a population of 355 people. Geography Mandurama is situated west of Sydney, southwest of Bathurst, and northeast of Co ...

, Neville, Lyndhurst and

Carcoar Carcoar is a small town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Blayney Shire. In 2021, the town had a population of 271 people. It is situated just off the Mid-Western Highway 258 km west ...

. In the , a population of 166 people was recorded.

History

One of the original occupants was prospector

Edward Hargraves Edward Hammond Hargraves (7 October 1816 – 29 October 1891) was an Australian gold prospector who led an expedition in the Macquarie River region of New South Wales in 1851, and publicised the resulting finds, starting the New South Wales ...

, who originally named the village Five Islands. He probably chose this name from a parcel of about of land that he previously owned in the Five Islands area of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, New South Wales. The village developed during the second half of the 19th century with the building of a school in 1862, stores, a church, a blacksmith's establishment and town hall, the establishment of a general goods carrier and the influx of agricultural workers. In 1890 the village changed its name to Barry – probably in honour of a Caleb Barry, who was the former bank manager of nearby Blayney and a vigorous member of the Church of England in that town. Indeed, the streets of Barry are named after clergy (including bishops) of the time, such as Barber, Moorhouse, Hale, Marsden, Pearson, Sawyer, Turner, Selwyn and Staunton.

Barry today

Today all the public buildings except for St James Anglican Church, the school and the community hall are closed. Other public buildings, such as the Post Office, the stores, the school residence and the former Roman Catholic Church of St Therese, are private residences. Barry's streets, other than the intersection of Selwyn and Sawyer Streets, remain unsealed. Water resources have, however, improved, with water now flowing from a hilltop tank that is constantly supplied by a bore.

Notes

Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Blayney Shire {{CentralWestNSW-geo-stub