North Star is a small village in the

Gwydir Shire Gwydir Shire is a local government area located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire was established on 1 ...

, located in northern

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 ...

near the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

border. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, North Star had a population of 327 people in the surrounding area, with a population of around 50 in the actual village.

History

European settlement of North Star began in around 1888, when five brothers of the Sutton family took up land holdings in the area. The surrounding lands were cultivated for grazing sheep, by 1910 the Wilby

Woolshed Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities. In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...

was operational, bringing in business from surrounding districts. The first wheat crops were planted in 1908. A post office was established in 1916, and the opening of the

Boggabilla railway line The Boggabilla railway line is a disused railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It branches from the Mungindi railway line at Camurra and ran for 130 kilometres to Boggabilla. Construction When the line was first approved, few could have ...

in 1932 brought new services and opportunities for the town. The silo and loading facilities were constructed in 1955 and the complex was expanded in 1965. North Star experienced strong population growth during this period, peaking in the 1970s but more recently has experienced decline due to falling profit margins for wheat farmers, and new technologies.

Facilities

* Grain storage capabilities owned by Grain Corp, with access to the railway line. * North Star Public School - current student enrolment is 32 pupils with 2 full-time teachers * North Star Sporting Club * Polo Ground * Golf Course * Four concrete Tennis courts * North Star Pub (Cleveland Hotel) ** Hotel rooms and bunk rooms ** Meals every day *The Vicarage Cafe - opened in 2021 and offering meals and coffee * North Star General Store - currently the store component is not operating ** Doubles as the post office * Caravan park * CWA Hall

Railway

The railway arrived on 20 June 1932 with the opening of the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

Boggabilla Boggabilla is a small town in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia in Moree Plains Shire. At the , the town had a population of 551, of which 63% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The name Boggabilla c ...

. In the 1980s, with the closure of all traffic except grain, the line was cut back to North Star which has the last

silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...

on the line. Following a study commissioned by 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 i ...

in March 2008, the preferred route for a proposed

Inland Railway Inland Rail, also known as Inland Railway and previously Australian Inland Railway Expressway, is a railway line under construction in Australia. Once complete, it will connect the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane along a new route west of th ...

corridor 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

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

will see rail traffic restored north of North Star, along a new alignment in the direction of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Adjacent stations

- terminus * Croppa Creek * Camurra * Moree - junction

Website

www.northstarnsw.com was launched in November 2011. It was a community run and built website featuring a calendar of events, Speakers Corner (a page for discussing community issues and achievements), as well as information on the local P & C and CWA fundraisers and events. The CWA were involved in the creation of the website.

References

Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales) Gwydir Shire {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub