Broadwater is a small town in the Richmond Valley local government area, in the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

region of

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 ...

. In 2016, the town had a population of 640 people. CC-BY icon

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It is on the Pacific Highway. The history of Broadwater has largely revolved around its

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

mill. In 1863 Henry Cook and Alexander MacDonald became the first people to select land in the area. To begin with, sugar was grown and crushed on the small private farms in the region. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) opened the town's sugar mill in 1880. In the early days

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

was grown as far up the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The river rises at the northern end of the Richmond Range, near its junction with the McPherson Range, on the Queensla ...

as the town of Bexhill and was carried to the mill on punts. In 1978 CSR sold the mill to the newly formed New South Wales Sugar Milling Cooperative, which established its head office at Broadwater. Today Broadwater is the centre of the region's highly mechanised

sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate cli ...

, which is still a major employer. In recent years the area has also seen an influx of new settlers, attracted by its peaceful rural lifestyle. The nearby Riley's Hill Dock began operation in the late 19th century and many punts, river boats and larger vessels were built in the dry dock there. One of its last major jobs was the restoration of the

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

ferry South Steyne in the 1980s.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 640 people in Broadwater. 86.4% of people were born in Australia and 91.2% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 29.4%, Catholic 23.8% and Anglican 19.2%.

Gallery

Image:Cane_burns.jpg, Sugar cane burns before harvesting for the Broadwater mill Image:Cane_harvester_at_work.jpg, A cane harvester collects cane for the mill Image:Cane_harvester.jpg, A stationary harvester Image:Laser_bucket.jpg, A laser bucket levels a new cane paddock for planting at Tuckurimba, near Broadwater Broadwater Church - panoramio.jpg, A wooden church in Broadwater

References

Towns in New South Wales Northern Rivers Richmond Valley Council {{NorthernRivers-geo-stub