Murrumbateman is a town in the
Southern Tablelands
The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range.
The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...
of
New South Wales
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, 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 ...
. It is on the
Barton Highway
Barton Highway is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It connects Canberra to Hume Highway at Yass, and it is part of the route from Melbourne to Canberra. It is named in honour of Sir Edmund Barton, the first Pri ...
, approximately 30 kilometres north-west of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, and is part of the
Yass Valley Shire
Yass Valley Council is a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume and Barton Highways and the Main Southern railway line.
The Shire includes the towns, a ...
. At the , Murrumbateman had a population of 3,219 people.
[
]
History and economy
With the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century sheep farming, wheat growing and goldmining became major economic activities. The first government school opened in 1869.
Winemaking began in Murrumbateman in the 1970s with some of the surrounding rural properties being developed as grape growing areas or as boutique wineries.
In recent years much of the land has been subdivided into small hobby farm
A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...
blocks ranging from . Similar subdivisions have occurred in other regions around Canberra including Bungendore
Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway near Lake George, the Molonglo River Valley and the Australian Capital Territory border. It has ...
, Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
, Gundaroo
Gundaroo is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and in Yass Valley Council. It is situated to the east of the Yass River, about north of Sutton, about west of the Lake George range. At the , Gundaroo ...
and Burra. Residents tend to commute to Canberra for work rather than make a living off the small parcels of land. Other nearby towns are Yass
Yass may refer to:
People
* Catherine Yass (born 1963), painter
* Yazz, a British pop singer from the 1980s and 1990s
* Jeff Yass (born 1956), options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna I ...
, Gunning and Dalton
Dalton may refer to:
Science
* Dalton (crater), a lunar crater
* Dalton (program), chemistry software
* Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit
* John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist
Entertainment
* Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...
.
Murrumbateman has a pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
and a handful of retail outlets.
The Murrumbateman Market is held fortnightly at the Recreation Ground. The market focus is on local produce and local arts and crafts but there is always a range of products from the wider Yass Valley and beyond including fruit and vegetables, breads, cakes, jams, olives, chillies, sauces, biodynamic beef and a range of wines from the local area plus woollen and alpaca products and handmade goods of all types.[Murrumbateman Village Market](_blank)
Access date: 18 August 2016.
Annual events
* The Murrumbateman Pony Club hold an annual show jumping festival in June. The event is open for Pony Club Members.
*The Murrumbateman Field Days is held in October each year and draws large crowds from Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
and Yass
* The Australian Cool Climate Wine Show is held annually in September
Facilities and services
The trees around the grounds are heritage listed and parking underneath them is not recommended.
Murrumbateman has the following Sporting clubs:
*Murrumbateman Pony Club
*Murrumbateman Eagles AFL Club
Murrumbateman has the following facilities:
*Market - 9am to 1pm on 2nd and 4th Saturday each month www.mvmarket.com
*Park
*Public toilets
*Motel next to a takeaway store
*Petrol station/supermarket
*Garage
*Accountant
*Butcher
*Rural supplies store
* Rural Fire Service
*Pub
*Guesthouses
*Abode Hotel
*Restaurants
*Wineries
*Australia Post agency
*Hair & beauty salon
*Dentist
*Doctor
*Pharmacy
*Veterinary clinic
*Dance school
*Pre-school
*Family day care
*Library
*Catholic Church
*Uniting Church
*I.T. specialist
*Landcare group
New development
The Fairley Estate, a new 100 home subdivision at Murrumbateman, will add 60 per cent more housing to Murrumbateman and trigger other infrastructure and commercial developments. Consisting of an adjoining 19 hectares, the new subdivision is named ''Fairley'' after a Murrumbateman teacher of the early 1900s. It will include a commercial and tourist precinct with an international hotel chain as a tenant, boutique brewery, bakery, childcare, visitors' centre and cafe and children's park, medical services and post office.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 3,219 people in Murrumbateman. 82.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.6%. 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 34.2%, Catholic 25.5% and Anglican 18.5%.[
]
Notable people
* Sir Walter Merriman – sheep breeder, knighted in 1954 for his contributions to the fine wool industry, and founder of the Merryville stud, MurrumbatemanMerryville Stud - History
Access date: 18 August 2016.
* David Pereira
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David Pereira (born 21 September 1953) is an Australian classical cellist, considered one of the finest working today. He was Senior Lecturer in Cello at the Canberra School of Music from 1990 to 2008. Later he worked there as a Distingui ...
- Australian cellist
References
Further reading
* Dorothy Mulholland: ''Far away days: a history of the Murrumbateman, Jeir and Nanima districts''. Murrumbateman Old School Grounds Committee, 1995.
* David James Wagner, Jr.: ''Background notes on the district of Murrumbateman, 1824-1960''. Murrumbateman, 1960. Republished online at
History of Murrumbateman (NSW), 1824-1960
Retrieved 23 August 2016.
* Meryl Hunter: ''From the beginning: a history of the Murrumbateman Field Days to 2006''. Murrumbateman Agricultural Bureau and Progress Association, 2009.
External links
Murrumbateman
- general website on Murrumbateman
Murrumbateman Field Days
Murrumbateman Market
Australian Cool Climate Wine Show
Fairley Estate
*
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Southern Tablelands
Yass Valley Council