Drake is a parish and small rural community on the
Bruxner Highway approximately 44 km east of
Tenterfield, New South Wales and about 800 km north of
Sydney, New South Wales
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 ...
. It is in the
Tenterfield Shire local government area, which is part of 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 province ...
region. At 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 ...
, Drake had a population of 345 people.
The town is in
West Fairfield Parish of
Drake County New South Wales
History
In 1858 gold was discovered near Newmans Pinch, a hill on the western side of Fairfield (now Drake) and
Timbarra and quite a few years later
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
was also mined in the vicinity.
The ''Timbarra'' Post Office opened on 1 November 1858, was renamed ''Drake'' in 1867 and closed in 1871. The later Drake office opened on 1 April 1879 and closed in 1985.
During the 1860s the first sale of Drake allotments took place with 16 of the 40 lots being sold. The Public School opened in November 1887.
The Australian
Antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient ti ...
Co. began mining here in 1872, with Drake as their community centre.
[Donald, J. Kay, Exploring the North Coast and New England, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1987] Between 1872 and 1890 Drake was a thriving mining and timber town with 14 hotels, a town band, and many private dwellings, plus a number of businesses including a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, post office and stores. A weekly
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
run was established to run from Tenterfield to Casino in 1885.
The town also served as a stopping point for
bullock team
An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen (draught cattle). It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. Th ...
s,
drovers and settlers passing between inland and coastal regions.
The original police station and house is near the cemetery, but is privately owned. There is a new Rural Transaction & Resource Centre. St Peter the Apostle Anglican Church (former) has been placed on the
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
.
The community is agricultural, timber and tourist based providing hiking, fishing and fossicking etc.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 345 people in Drake. 70.8% of people were born in Australia and 81.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common response for religion in Drake was No Religion at 46.5%.
References
* ''Call of the Highlands (The Tenterfield Story) 1828-1988'', Ken Halliday, Southern Cross Printery, Toowoomba, c. 1988
External links
Drake CemeteryNorthern Rivers Geology Blog - Drake
{{authority control
Towns in New England (New South Wales)
Mining towns in New South Wales