Collector is a small village on the

Federal Highway Federal Highways and Federal Routes can be found in: *Australia: Federal Highway *Brazil: Brazilian Federal Highway and Brazilian Highway System *Germany: ''Bundesstraßen'' *Malaysia: Federal Highway and Malaysian Federal Roads System *Mexic ...

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 halfway between

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

. It is seven kilometres north of Lake George. At the , Collector and the surrounding district had a population of 376 people.

History

The area was first settled by

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

s in 1829 when

Terence Aubrey Murray Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (10 May 1810 – 22 June 1873) was an Irish-Australian pastoralist, parliamentarian and knight of the realm. He had the double distinction of being, at separate times, both the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislativ ...

was granted an area of land in the area in 1829, originally called ''Old Collector''. Murray acquired further land in the area and renamed his property ''Winderradeen'' where he built a 12-room house on the land in 1837. At about the same time he also acquired the property of Yarralumla on the

Limestone Plains Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The c ...

, now ''Government House''. A post office opened at Collector in 1848. The village reportedly is named after the Aboriginal name for the region, ''colegdar''. The town was bypassed in June 1988 as part of upgrade works on the Federal Highway, including the construction of a bridge across the Collector Creek floodplain providing all weather access to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The village has struggled to remain viable, once a convenient stopover for travellers between Sydney and Canberra most of the businesses in town had relied on the passing trade. The Bushranger Hotel in Collector was the site of a shooting of a Constable Samuel Nelson on 26 Jan 1865, by John Dunn, a member of

Ben Hall's gang Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

. A memorial was placed to mark the site of Nelson's grave a century later on 26 January 1965.

Heritage listings

Collector has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 24 Church Street (Federal Highway): Bushranger Hotel

Present day

Collector is situated in the Lake George wine region, and several

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...

have been established near the village, including Lerida Estate, Lake George Winery and the award-winning Collector Wines. The Collector Village Pumpkin Festival has been held annually since 2003. This traditional harvest festival offers market stalls, live music and entertainment, local produce as well as vintage car and farming machinery displays. Collector is increasing in popularity as a commuter town due to its proximity to the larger centres of Goulburn and Canberra, with new residents attracted by the country lifestyle and village atmosphere. There is a small public primary school located in the village, with 28 students enrolled in 2007.Collector Public School is a combined Primary school, serving years K-6. The uniform is compulsory and enforced. Collector Public School is 1 of 231 government schools in the Collector area.

Dreamer's Gate

Collector is also famous for the controversial sculpture ''Dreamer'' by Tony Phantastes, built between 1993 and 1997 to commemorate, among other things, his father and son's life. His artistic vision was to create a wonderland to document the history of Australian land-use practices. A Gothic structure of cement and chicken wire, the artist and the Gunning Shire Council are in constant battle regarding the structure since 1999. The plot in which the sculpture stands was for sale and the sculpture itself under demolition orders but still stands as of May 2021. Unfortunately, the piece has started to rust and has become structurally unstable. Image:Dreamer's Gate 2.jpg, front view Image:Dreamer's Gate 3.jpg, detail

History

Heritage listings

Present day

Dreamer's Gate

References

Further reading