Bridge over Gwydir, Bingara, New South Wales

Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the

Gwydir River Gwydir River (locally wɑe̯də, a major inland perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands, North West Slopes, and Orana districts of New South Wales, Australia. The ri ...

Murchison County Murchison County is one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales, Australia. Murchison County is named in honour of Sir Roderick Impey Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871 ...

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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

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 ...

. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the

Gwydir Shire Gwydir Shire is a local government area located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire was established on 1 ...

that was created in 2003. The Gwydir River being a main highlight of the town is a main catchment of the Murray-Darling System.

Location

Bingara is located 141 km north of Tamworth, 54 km west of

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the No ...

, 449 km north of Sydney and 358 km south west of Brisbane. Bingara is located very close to

Myall Creek The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve co ...

, the site of the massacre of 27 to 30 Indigenous Australians.

History

In 1827 Allan Cunningham crossed the

near Bingara. At the time he mistook the river to be the Peel River, but realised his mistake on his return journey. The discovery of gold in 1852 brought prospectors to the area. In the 1880s, copper and diamonds were discovered also, causing a rapid development of the town. Bingara is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found. In fact, Bingara was the largest producer of diamonds in Australia at that time. Bingara changed the spelling of its name from ''Bingera'' to ''Bingara'' in 1890. The first ''Bingera'' Post Office opened on 1 January 1853 and was renamed ''Upper Bingera'' in 1862 and closed in 1868. The second ''Bingera'' office opened in 1862 and was renamed ''Bingara'' in 1890.

Heritage listings

Bingara has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 74 Maitland Street:

Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex is a heritage-listed theatre and cafe at 74 Maitland Street, Bingara, Gwydir Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Mark Woodforde with construction (including significant changes to the ...

* Bingara Delungra Road,

Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site is the heritage-listed site of and memorial for the victims of the Myall Creek massacre at Bingara Delungra Road, Myall Creek, Gwydir Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The memorial, which was unveiled in ...

Population

According to the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

of Population, there were 1,428 people in Bingara. 82.7% of people were born in Australia and 88.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 38.6%, Catholic 16.8% and No Religion 15.2%. It is a popular site for retirement with 57% of the population aged 55 years and over, compared to the national average of 27.6% and a median age of 61. The median weekly household income for Bingara is $743 which is lower than the national median of $1,438.

Sport

Bingara sporting life consists of the Bingara Bullets (rugby league), Gwydir River Rats (rugby union) and the Bingara District Cricket Association (cricket) with the representative team being Gwydir First XI. Notable sporting people include Andrew Hart (ex St George), sports broadcaster

David Fordham David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and Sydney jockey

Adrian Robinson Adrian Lynn Robinson, Jr. (November 21, 1989 – May 16, 2015) was an American football linebacker. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at Temple University. He also played ...

also originates from Bingara.

Climate

Bingara has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

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 ...

: ''Cfa,''

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Trew ...

: ''Cfak/Cfal''), with hot summers and cool winters.

Notable people

* Nate Butler * Andrew Cowper * John Fordham

References

External links

www.bingara.com.au
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales) Gwydir Shire Mining towns in New South Wales