Harden–Murrumburrah is a township and community in the Hilltops Region and is located in the

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

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 ...

in Australia. Harden is adjacent to both the Canberra region of 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. I ...

and the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

Region in the southwest area of NSW. The town is a twin town between Harden and

Murrumburrah Murrumburrah is a township in New South Wales, Australia, part of a twin town with Harden. The town is in Hilltops Council local government area in the South West Slopes area of NSW. It is on the Burley Griffin Way, the major link from the R ...

(which is noted as one of the earliest settlements in the southwest of

). The town is traversed by the

Burley Griffin Way Burley Griffin Way is a New South Wales state route, is located in south eastern Australia. Named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin, designer of the cities of Canberra and Griffith, the road links these two cities via Yass a ...

, the major link from and between the Riverina and the Hume Highway near Yass, and ultimately Sydney, Canberra and the coast. Cunningham Creek runs along the edge of the town. The

Olympic Highway Olympic Highway is a rural road in the central western and south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway and provides part of an alterna ...

traverses the western end of the shire and is the major link through the central west to the Blue Mountains and from there to the Sydney region. Harden is 3½ hours away by road from Sydney, and 1½ hours from Canberra and

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

History

Before European settlement the Harden area was inhabited by the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

people.

Hume and Hovell The Hume and Hovell expedition was a journey of exploration undertaken in eastern Australia. In 1824 the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane, commissioned Hamilton Hume and former Royal Navy Captain William Hovell to lead an exped ...

passed nearby in 1824. In the late 1820s, the 'Murrumburra' was established. Its superintendent, James Kennedy, established an inn on the townsite in the late 1840s. Gold was found in the area in the 1850s.

Harden railway station Harden railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main South line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Harden. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. History Hard ...

was opened one km east of Murrumburrah on the Main Southern line in 1877 as Murrumburrah, but changed its name to Harden a year after the opening of a new station in Murrumburrah in 1879. Harden has remained as the main station and, as a result, became the main town. A post office at Harden was opened on 1 January 1870, and in 1926 £2000 of funding was secured to provide extensive improvements to the aging facility. The first Australian Lighthorse was also founded in Harden–Murrumburrah, with the Lighthorse festival occurring annually. From 1906 until 2016 Harden–Murrumburrah was the seat of its own local council, but was amalgamated in 2016 to form

Hilltops Council Hilltops Council is a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of Boorowa Council, Harden Shire and Young Shire. The local government area covers muc ...

. The town's

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team competed for the

Maher Cup The Maher Cup was an Australian rugby league (originally rugby union) challenge cup contested between towns of the South West Slopes and northern Riverina areas of New South Wales between 1920 and 1971. The main teams involved were Cootamundra, Tum ...

. Harden is also home to Murrumburrah High School, which was established in 1977 and is currently the only secondary education facility for the town.

Facilities

Harden boasts a variety of facilities servicing residents from both Harden, Murrumburrah and surrounds. * Harden-Murrumburrah & District War Memorial Pool; containing a 50-metre Olympic swimming pool as well as two smaller wading pools. * Harden Post Office * Hilltops Council Library Harden Branch located inside the Trinity Centre. * Kruger Medical Centre, a healthcare facility with General Practitioners providing healthcare for chronic disease management, as well as family medicine, womens health and mental health. * Murrumburrah High School; a secondary education facility. * Murrumburrah-Harden Health Service, a small hospital facility with 33 beds including 13 hospital care beds and 20 residential aged care beds. The facility sits under the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

Climate

Harden experiences a humid subtropical climate (

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: ''Cfbl/Cfal'') with warm summers and cool winters.

Heritage listings

Harden has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Main Southern railway:

Population

According to the 2016 census of population, there were 2,030 people in Harden. CC-BY icon

Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
At the 2021 census, this had dropped to 1,900 people. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.7% of the population. * 84.6% of people were born in Australia and 90.7% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 31.3%, No Religion 24.9% and Anglican 24.6%.

Transport

The

Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...

passes through Harden. It became an important

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporar ...

with the line to Blayney branching off a few kilometres beyond Harden at Demondrille.

is served by two daily NSW TrainLink XPT services between

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Sydney in each direction and the twice weekly Xplorer service between

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

and Sydney. NSW TrainLink trial road coach services 703 and 704 between

and Canberra via Cootamundra pass through Harden, but as at September 2019 do not pick up or drop off passengers there.

Busabout Wagga Wagga Busabout Wagga Wagga is an Australian private bus company formed in 1916 as Fearnes Coaches, with depots in Wagga Wagga and Harden, New South Wales. History Fearnes Coaches Fearnes Coaches was founded by William Fearne and William Borlase in 1 ...

have a depot in the town.Harden Depot School Bus Services
Busabout Wagga Wagga

Gallery

File:Harden National Australia Bank 001.JPG, Harden National Australia Bank File:Mechanics Institute Harden.JPG, Harden Mechanics Institute File:Harden Post Office 001.JPG, Harden Post office File:Royal Hotel Harden.JPG, Royal Hotel File:Grand Hotel Harden.JPG, Grand Hotel Harden File:Harden Doncaster Hotel 001.JPG, Harden Doncaster Hotel File:Harden Carrington Hotel 005.JPG, Harden Carrington Hotel File:Harden Methodist Church 002.JPG, Former Harden Methodist Church File:Harden Roman Catholic Church 003.JPG, Harden Catholic Church File:Harden Trinity Centre 003.JPG, Harden Trinity Centre File:Harden Shire Council Office 002.JPG, Hilltops Council Office

Notes

External links

Hilltops Council

Hilltops Region Visitor Information

Harden-Murrumburrah Website (Archived)
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Harden Shire Hilltops Council Mining towns in New South Wales