Greta is a small 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 ...

History

The Traditional Owners and Custodians of the Maitland area are the

Wonnarua The Wonnarua people, otherwise written Wanarruwa, are a group of Aboriginal Australian people united by strong ties of kinship, and who survived in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Hunter Region ...

people. The Greta area was first colonized by Europeans around Anvil Creek in the 1830s. When the town was surveyed in 1842 it was given the name Greta, possibly after a small river in Cumberland, England. Coal mining was established in the area in 1862 with the development of a railway station. In 1864, kerosene shale was discovered. By the 1870s, Greta had four hotels, four churches, a school and schools of arts. Geologist

Edgeworth David Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter ...

discovered the Greta Coal Seam in 1886. By 1907 ten collieries were in operation. At the 2016 census the town had a population o
2,830

Greta Army Camp

The Greta Army Camp, located on the town's outskirts, was opened in 1939 as a training ground for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

soldier training, and in 1949 was transferred to the

Department of Immigration The Department of Immigration was an Australian government department that existed between July 1945 and June 1974. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Adminis ...

who transformed it into one of Australia's largest migrant reception and training centres between June 1949 and January 1960 as part of the

post-war immigration to Australia Post-war immigration to Australia deals with migration to Australia in the decades immediately following World War II, and in particular refers to the predominantly European wave of immigration which occurred between 1945 and the end of the Whit ...

. Over 100,000 new migrants seeking a new life in Australia passed through Greta Camp throughout its 11-years in operation.

Transport

Greta is located on the New England Highway, approximately 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 ...

. Access to Sydney will be possible 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 ...

when it is completed.

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 Hunter ...

passes through Greta railway station, which opened in 1869.

Heritage listings

Greta has the Greta railway station.

Images of Greta

File:Greta-Cenotaph.jpg, Greta War Memorial Cenotaph File:Army Camp Shelter anzac 2004.jpg, Greta Rest area shelter File:Welcome to Greta Sign.jpg, The welcoming sign to Greta's Hunter River Catchment File:Childrens Litter PRevention Sign.jpg, A Child's litter prevention sign. These signs were commissioned by Greta Tidy Towns to help children understand the importance of maintaining a Tidy Town

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control suburbs of City of Cessnock suburbs of Maitland, New South Wales