Branxton is a town in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Branxton is north of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

via the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and New England Highway. Branxton is located mostly in the

City of Cessnock City of Cessnock is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located to the west of Newcastle. The largest population centre and council seat is the city of Cessnock. The May ...

, but part of it is in

Singleton Shire Singleton Council is a local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line. The mayor of the council is Cr. Sue Moore, an independent poli ...

. It had a population of 1,991 at the .

History

Branxton lies on the Traditional Country of the Wonnarua people. After colonisation, the township was initially referred to as Black Creek but in 1848, its name was changed to Branxton as the developer believed that the Black Creek would not attract buyers. As settlers took up further land grants the township expanded capitalizing on trade from settlers heading further north to settle the Liverpool Plains. By 1860 it was a village of 500 residents, a steam mill, post office, a mechanics institute and four hotels.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 1,991 people in Branxton. 87.2% of people were born in Australia and 93.5% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 34.7%, Anglican 26.8% and No Religion 21.4%. 1860 saw the main road being built by the general store Victoria House. In 1865 a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church was built. In 1871 St John's Anglican Church was built. In 1880 the police station was completed.

Transport

Branxton is located on 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 ...

between

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

and

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

. While the highway passes through the centre of the town, most through traffic bypasses via the

Hunter Expressway The Hunter Expressway is a long controlled-access highway in New South Wales, Australia. It was previously known as the F3 to Branxton link or Kurri Kurri Corridor during the planning stage. It has two lanes in each direction, running generally ...

. An infamous road sign on one approach to the town states that Branxton has "two cemeteries and no hospital!" The sign, erected by the local Lions Club, is meant to act as a deterrent to rule-breaking motorists. Branxton is located on the

Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisban ...

and has its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, served by

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

Hunter line The Hunter Line is a commuter train line operated by NSW TrainLink, running from Newcastle to Dungog and Scone in the New South Wales Hunter Region. It operates on the Newcastle, Main North and North Coast lines. Description of Route Hunte ...

Wine history

Photographs_of_the_Dalwood_Vineyards_near_Branxton,_New_South_Wales,_Australia,_1886

The Branxton region is considered one of the birth places of Australian wine. Located at the northern end of Wine Country Drive, it is the northern gateway to the world-renowned Hunter Valley

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

country of Pokolbin and

Rothbury Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is northwest of Morpeth and of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,107. Rothbury emerged as an important town be ...

. Winemaker

James Busby James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Resident, ...

, widely regarded as the "father" of the

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

industry, planted his first grape vines on his property "''Kirkton''", which is located at Belford in the Branxton district. In 1827

George Wyndham George Wyndham, PC (29 August 1863 – 8 June 1913) was a British Conservative politician, statesman, man of letters, and one of The Souls. Background and education Wyndham was the elder son of the Honourable Percy Wyndham, third son of Ge ...

arrived taking up a grant of land adjoining the Hunter River five kilometres east of the current town. His original homestead, '

Dalwood Dalwood is a village and county parish in the East Devon district of the English county of Devon. It is approximately away from the nearest town, Axminster, and away from Honiton. Dalwood can be accessed by the nearby A35 road. The village is ...

' is preserved within the grounds of the modern

Wyndham Estate Wyndham Estate was a leading winery in the Hunter Region, in New South Wales, Australia. It was founded by George Wyndham, who came to Australia in 1827 and planted a vineyard around his home, Dalwood, in the Hunter Valley. The winery won four g ...

complex. Management was eventually taken over by his son John who expanded the business, bringing it to international acclaim receiving awards at local and international exhibitions, including the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. The Wyndhams named some of their wines after local Aboriginal words such as ''Bukkulla''. At the height of Dalwood's success, a set of promotional photographs of the vineyard were produced in 1886, which was presented to various local dignitaries, including

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Facilities

Branxton is a busy service township with a supermarket, medical centre, swimming school and an art school. The town has several different sporting clubs. These include Greta-Branxton Colts Rugby League Football Club, Greta-Branxton Wildcats Soccer Club, Greta-Branxton United Cricket Club, and Branxton District Netball Club. Branxton also has facilities for tennis,

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

, golf and athletics. There are two primary schools within Branxton; Branxton Public School, and Rosary Park Catholic School. There is no high school in the town, and most students attend high school in nearby

or Cessnock.

Heritage listings

Branxton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Main Northern railway: Branxton railway station * Dalwood Road:

Dalwood House Dalwood House is a heritage-listed homestead and now house museum at Dalwood Road, Branxton, Singleton Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1829 to 1838 by George Wyndham. It sits in the grounds of the former Wyndham Estate w ...

References

External links

{{authority control Suburbs of Singleton Council Towns in the Hunter Region Suburbs of City of Cessnock Towns in New South Wales