Kearsley is a village in the

City of Cessnock City of Cessnock is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located to the west of Newcastle. The largest population centre and council seat is the city of Cessnock. The M ...

, 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 ...

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. Kearsley is located 5.7 kilometres south-east of the town of

Cessnock, NSW Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock LGA and was named after an 1826 grant of land called Cessnock Estate, which was ow ...

and is adjacent to

Werakata National Park The Werakata National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Lower Hunter Region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is located to the north, east and south of the town of Cessnock (the park is separa ...

. The village was named after William Kearsley, a prominent member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

and official in the miner's union. At the heart of the town from its foundation in 1912 until closure in 1964 was J & A Brown & Abermain Seham Collieries mine, the Abermain No.2 Colliery, the first mechanised pit in the Cessnock coalfield. Coal was shipped out via the South Maitland Railways.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 861 people living in Kearsley. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 9.1% of the population. * 89.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 0.7%, New Zealand 0.7% and Germany 0.5%. * 93.5% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 30.0%, Anglican 28.6% and Catholic 15.4%.

Notable people

* Maree Callaghan, first female mayor of the City of Cessnock * Arthur Francis CSC OAM, former Regimental Sergeant Major of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

* Oscar Hillery MM, World War I hero and recipient of the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

* George Jeffery MM, World War I hero and recipient of the

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 son ...

OAM, country music singer * Bob Pynsent, longest serving mayor of the City of Cessnock * Bill Rorke, soccer player

External links

* https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/86278 A

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people w ...

from Bill Kearney a resident of Kearsley recorded on the 1st December 1984 as a part of Voices of Hunter Collection he discusses the history of Kearsley.

References

Suburbs of City of Cessnock Mining towns in New South Wales {{Cessnock-geo-stub