Morpeth is a suburb of the
city of Maitland
The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.
The mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Philip ...
in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
[ It is on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and ]Port Stephens Council
Port Stephens Council (also known simply as Port Stephens) is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is just north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle ...
LGA
LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...
s.Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington, Northumberland, Ashington and Bedlington, Northumberland, Bedlington. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, th ...
, near Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, in England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
History
The traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people.
The town of Morpeth was initially created through the private actions of Edward Charles Close, who selected a property of 1,000 hectares and developed it as a river port from 1831-1841. The lieutenant built his house, known as Closebourne, on the property. A two-storey Georgian home made of sandstone, the house became an episcopal residence from 1848-1912.
The river port grew steadily throughout the 1830s. St James's Church, located on Tank Street, was built from 1837 to 1840 and was partly designed by John Horbury Hunt
John Horbury Hunt (1838 – 30 December 1904), often referred to as Horbury Hunt, was a Canadian-born Australian architect who worked in Sydney and rural New South Wales from 1863.
Life and career
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of ...
is now a Local Government Heritage listing. A major merchant at this time was James Taylor, who built a bond store circa 1850 near the bridge that is now heritage-listed. Morpeth Court House was built circa 1861 in a Greek Revival style and a local police station followed in 1879. The construction of the Great Northern Railway in 1857, bypassing Morpeth, meant that Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
developed as the regional port. Morpeth became less significant commercially, but still survived as a township with its own history and heritage.
Today, the town is a popular tourist destination due to its many historical buildings and river bank setting.
Heritage listings
Morpeth has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 102 Main Road: Morpeth Bridge
Gallery
File:Morpeth_006961.jpg, Morpeth Station, 1954
File:MorpethPostOffice.JPG, Morpeth Post Office, Swan Street
File:OldCourtHouse.JPG, Old Court House, Swan Street
File:MorpethBondStores.JPG, Morpeth Bond Stores, Swan Street
File:Arnott Bakehouse building.jpg, Arnott Bakehouse, Swan Street
File:Historic Arnott Bakehouse sign.jpg, Arnott Bakehouse plaque
File:StJamesChurch.JPG, St James's Church (1840), Tank Street
Notes
# The Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
Census Collection District of Morpeth only includes the township. It excludes persons living on some rural properties close to the township in the remainder of the suburb as well as in newer residential areas of the suburb near the township. This means that the actual population of Morpeth is slightly higher than shown.
# Average elevation of the suburb as shown on 1:100000 map 9232 NEWCASTLE.
# Area calculation is based on 1:100000 map 9232 NEWCASTLE.
References
External links
*
{{Suburbs of City of Maitland
Suburbs of Maitland, New South Wales
Towns in the Hunter Region
1821 establishments in Australia
Hunter River (New South Wales)