Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of

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, about north of Sydney and north-west of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

region. The area is predominantly known for coal mining and horse breeding, but has also developed a reputation for gourmet food and wine production. As at June 2018 Muswellbrook has a population of 12,364. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Located to the south of the Muswellbrook township are two coal fuelled power stations, Liddell and Bayswater. They were commissioned in 1973 and mid 1980s respectively and employ approximately 500 people from the area.

History

Before European settlement of the region 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 Upper Hunter ...

and

Gamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

peoples occupied the land. The first European to explore the area was Chief Constable John Howe in 1819, with the first white settlement occurring in the 1820s. The township of Muswellbrook was

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...

d on 23 October 1833. To the south, "Forbestown" was established by the sons of Francis Forbes in 1842; the name was changed in 1848 to "South Muswellbrook" to prevent confusion with the town of

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

Heritage listings

Muswellbrook has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 7 Bridge Street:

Muswellbrook Post Office Muswellbrook Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 7 Bridge Street, Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 08 November 2011. History The Muswellbrook Post Office was ...

*132 Bridge Street:

Weidmann Cottage Weidmann Cottage is a heritage-listed former retail building, residence and town house and now unused building located at 132 Bridge Street, Muswellbrook in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was bui ...

* 142-144 Bridge Street:

Loxton House Loxton House is a heritage-listed former residence and now restaurant located at 142-144 Bridge Street, Muswellbrook in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1838 and was added to the New S ...

* 178, 180-188 Bridge Street: Eatons Group * 710 Denman Road:

Edinglassie The Dunecht Estate is one of the largest private estates in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at . It is owned by The Hon Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray. Dunecht’s business interests include farming (in hand and let ...

* Denman Road: Rous Lench * Hunter Terrace:

St Alban's Anglican Church St Alban's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church located at Hunter Terrace, Muswellbrook in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built from ...

* Main Northern railway:

Muswellbrook railway station Muswellbrook railway station is a Heritage register, heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Northern railway line, Main Northern line in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Muswellbrook, in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area ...

Etymology

"Mussel Creek" (now called "Muscle Creek") was first named by a party of surveyors who found mussels in the small stream while camping along its banks in the early 19th century. The present spelling of Muswellbrook has a disputed etymology. Historians largely subscribe to one of two theories: # that the name derives from the

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...

area of London (England), due to the influence of Sir

Francis Forbes Sir Francis William Forbes (1784 – 8 November 1841) was a Chief Justice of Newfoundland, and the first Chief Justice of New South Wales. Early life Forbes was born and educated in Bermuda, the son of Dr. Francis Forbes M.D. and his wife Mar ...

whose wife, Amelia, was born and schooled in that town; or # that the name is a gradual corruption of the original gazetted name "Musclebrook", eventually adopted as the official spelling due to common use.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 12,075 people in Muswellbrook. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 9.3% of the population. * 84.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 1.4%, England 1.2% and Philippines 0.9%. * 87.7% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 27.8%, Catholic 24.5% and No Religion 23.5%.

Transport

The

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...

currently passes through the town. A route was selected for a bypass in 2006 but the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

suspended the project in August 2008. Denman Road provides a connection to the

Golden Highway Golden Highway is a highway, located in the Hunter and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. It runs eastwards from Dubbo towards Newcastle on the coast, allowing road transport to avoid travelling over the Blue Mountains to Sydney ...

Rail

The

Muswellbrook railway station Muswellbrook railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Northern line in Muswellbrook, in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves the town of Muswellbrook an ...

, is serviced by local (Newcastle to Scone) and long-distance rail (Sydney to Armidale and Moree) services. Interstate coaches and local bus services also call at the station. Muswellbrook lies at the junction of the

Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisban ...

and the Merriwa line, part of a cross country rail line to

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is locate ...

. As such, it formed an important junction, as well as serving the numerous coal mining sidings found within a short distance from the main station building.

Popular culture

The

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

song "Black Friday" from the 1975 album ''

Katy Lied ''Katy Lied'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It was certified gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37. The album was the first after th ...

'' contains the lyrics:

"When Black Friday comes, I'll fly down to Muswellbrook, gonna strike all the big red words from my little black book. Gonna do just what I please, gonna wear no socks and shoes, with nothing to do but feed all the kangaroos."

Songwriter

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

explained the lyrics in an interview with

Paul Cashmere Paul Cashmere is an Australian entrepreneur, broadcaster, music journalist and media executive. In 1995 he founded the digital music CD-ROM magazine, ''Undercover'', with Australian photographer and domestic partner, Ros O'Gorman (1960–2018) ...

of Undercover Music; "I think we had a map and put our finger down at the place that we thought would be the furthest away from New York or wherever we were at the time".

Donald Horne Donald Richmond Horne (26 December 1921 – 8 September 2005) was an Australian journalist, writer, social critic, and academic who became one of Australia's best known public intellectuals, from the 1960s until his death. Horne was a prol ...

spent his early childhood in Muswellbrook and the first volume of his autobiography, ''The Education of Young Donald'', features an extensive description of life in the town in the 1920s and early 1930s. Muswellbrook is also mentioned in Thomas Keneally's book ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith''.

Annual events

* Blue Heeler Film Festival * Muswellbrook Carnivale * Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter Eisteddfod * Muswellbrook Creative Arts Fair * NAIDOC Week Art Awards * Noisy Heerler Music Festival (October) * St Heliers Heavy Horse Field Days

Schools

* Muswellbrook South Public School * Muswellbrook Public School * St James Muswellbrook *

Muswellbrook High School Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New En ...

* Muswellbrook Pre School Kindergarten * Pacific Brook Christian School *Little Kindy Muswellbrook

Military history

During

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 ...

, Muswellbrook was the location of RAAF No.5 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 29 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at a total cost of £900,000 (A$1,800,000).

Notable persons

* Kurt Barnes (born 1981), a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

, was born and raised in Muswellbrook *

Brooke Boney Brooke Boney () is an Australian journalist and television presenter of Aboriginal Gamilaroi descent. She is an entertainment reporter on the Nine Network's breakfast program ''Today.'' Early life and education Boney was born around 1987 in ...

(born 1987), entertainment reporter on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

's breakfast program ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' * James Clifford (1936–1987), an artist, was born and raised in Muswellbrook *

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

(born 1955), a

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, was born in Muswellbrook *

Jamie Feeney Jamie Feeney (born 9 April 1978) is the coach of the Gold Coast Titans NRLW team, and an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played as a and for Canterbury Bankstown and the Melbourne Storm in the ...

(born 1978), a

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 112 ...

footballer was born in Muswellbrook *

Wayne Harris Carroll Wayne Harris (May 4, 1938 – June 4, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1961 through 1972. His son, Wayne Harris, Jr., coaches f ...

(born 1960), a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

who rode

Jeune Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...

to victory in the 1994

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

, was born and raised in Muswellbrook *

Shayne Hayne Kevin John "Shayne" Hayne (born 31 October 1967 in Wellington, New South Wales,) is an Australian former rugby league referee. He officiated in the National Rugby League, City vs Country Origin, State of Origin series, All Stars Matches, the ...

(born 1967), a rugby league football referee, grew up and spent most of his life in Muswellbrook *

(1921–2005), an author and journalist, was raised in Muswellbrook. Much of one of Horne's memoirs, ''The education of young Donald'', published in 1967, was based on his educative years in Muswellbook *

Simon Orchard Simon Orchard (born July 1986) is an Australian field hockey player. He plays for New South Wales in the Australian Hockey League. He is a member of the Australia men's national field hockey team and has won several medals with them including go ...

(born 1986), an Australian hockey player and Olympic medalist, was born and raised in Muswellbrook * Brydie Parker (born 1999),a

footballer for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

NRLW side, was born in Muswellbrook. * Fletcher Baker (born 1999),a