Singleton is a town on the banks of the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

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 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 ...

. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and 70 km (43 mi) 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 ...

. At June 2018, Singleton had an urban population of 16,346. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Singleton's main urban area includes the town centre, Singleton Heights, Dunolly, Darlington, The Retreat, Wattle Ponds and Hunterview. Surrounding rural villages include Broke,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, Jerrys Plains, Goorangoola/Greenlands, Belford and Lower Belford. Singleton is located on the north-eastern part of the

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

structure known as the

Sydney basin The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea. ...

, which borders the New England region.

History

The traditional landowners of the land around what is now Singleton are 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 Hunter Region ...

/ Wanaruah people. The

/ Wanaruah people have occupied the land in the Upper Hunter Valley for over 30,000 years. Singleton was established in the 1820s. In its early years, it was also called Patrick's Plains. 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 ...

reached Singleton in 1863 and was the end of the line until 1869. The town retains many historic buildings, including the original courthouse built in 1841, various large churches and many traditional

Australian pub An Australian pub or hotel is a public house or pub for short, in Australia, and is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. They may also provide other services, such as entertainment, meals and ...

s. The countryside surrounding Singleton contains an unusual number of fine old mansions, reflecting the aristocratic nature of land grants when the area was settled. They include 'Neotsfield' (1828), the elaborate 'Baroona' (1829), 'Abbey Green' (1865) and stunning 'Minimbah' (1877). A Telegraph Office was opened in Singleton on 25 February 1861 during the construction of the first telegraph line to Queensland. That Office combined with the Post Office on 1 January 1870. In May 1942, the community celebrated the appointment of the town's first female Telegram Messenger – Miss Daphne Lambkins. She was one of the first female Messengers in the Commonwealth. Singleton was subject to the major flooding of the Hunter River in 1955, causing extensive damage to the town. When the area was being settled, the government originally attempted to create a town at Whittingham in a flood-free area, but the town grew by the river nonetheless. An embankment was constructed following the 1955 floods to help protect the town against any future flooding. Image:SingletonBuilding0004.jpg,

Singleton High School , motto_translation = , city = , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Department of Education , district = Upper Hunte ...

Image:SingletonBuilding0005.jpg,

Singleton railway station Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

Image:SingletonBuilding0006.jpg, All Saints' Anglican Church Image:SingletonBuilding0007.jpg, All Saints' Church Rectory

Baroona

It was built in 1829 with property being on 33 hectares. John Larnach built the 1600ha house on land owned by his father-in-law

James Mudie James Mudie (1779–1852) was a Scottish-born free settler of Australia who became an officer of marines, large landowner, and author. He was the son of John and Margaret Mudie of Forfarshire, Scotland. Life in the military Mudie's life in t ...

. Larnach and Mudie worked together on property with the helped of convict labour to create a prominent

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

establishment producing

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. He was assigned 64 convicts which 67%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 25%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and a few from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with a median age of 28 years old. A servant set fire to the estate in 1832. In 1893 it was given addition of spiral staircase, card room and a viewing terrace.

1833 Revolt

In November 1833 six

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

decided to revolt based on poor treatment with little provisions and floggings. Larnach and Mudie were away from the property at the time washing sheep. The rebels stole clothes, guns, food and horses. They held Emily Larnach hostage with several servants locking them in an

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...

. They also attempted to kill John Larnach but he managed to escape to

Henry Dangar Henry Dangar (1796 - 1861) was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician. He was born on 18 November 179 ...

's house. Five of six men involved the riots were sentenced to death. The months leading to the revolt nearly two thirds of the convicts had been flogged with one third of them being flogged multiple times. In the trail on December 1833 lead the convicts being charged with stealing from two dwelling houses, shooting with intent to kill,

aiding and abetting Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally allo ...

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

. The inquiry produced little evidence of illegal work practice or servants and convicts being overworked.

Pelerin

Located on 30 Edinburgh Avenue on 3370 sqm, Pelerin was built in the 1830s and is a stone-faced two storey building. In 1899 it sustained major storm damage. The home was rebuilt for D H Dight who decided to retain its original name. It has 27 rooms including 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, study, and a timber kitchen. It has cedar joinery with 15-inch skirting board with 11-foot ceilings.

Ardersier House and Garden

The house was built in 1871 by Singleton's first mayor Alexander Munro. He named his property Ardersier after his birthplace in Scotland. It is a 1.26 ha property located at 48 Maitland Road. In 1981 it was listed in the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. It has three

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib for ...

s, two

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

s, plus study and an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

of two large rooms.

Hambledon Hill

Completed in 1865, the land was given on a free grant to brothers Edward, Henry and William Nowland in 1824. Located on 535 Hambledon Hill Road, the land is 50 acres and is currently owned by artist Dale Frank. It has 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It is a two-storey sandstock brick home on stone foundations with hipped slate roof, a deep stone paved verandah, with cast-iron balustrade and French Doors. Last sold in September 2007 for $720,000.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 16,089 people in the Singleton urban area. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.2% of the population. * 85.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 2.2%, England 1.5%, Philippines 0.8% and South Africa 0.7%. * 90.6% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 29.0%, Catholic 25.0% and No Religion 23.1%. CC-BY icon

Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Climate

Singleton experiences a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfa'',

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Trew ...

: ''Cfal''); with hot summers and mild winters; and with a moderately low precipitation amount of 652.7 millimetres (25.71 in). Precipitation is more abundant during the summer, as the town is affected by

foehn winds A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

during winter and spring. The highest temperature recorded at Singleton was 43.6 °C (110.5 °F) on the 15th of January 2001; the lowest recorded was -4.2 °C (24.4 °F) on the 16th of August 1994.

Transport

The town is located at the junction of 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 ...

and

Putty Road Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and beco ...

. The

Golden Highway Golden Highway is a highway, located in the Hunter Region, Hunter and Orana (New South Wales), Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. It runs eastwards from Dubbo towards Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle on the coast, allowing roa ...

branches northwest from the New England Highway ten kilometres south of Singleton. Singleton is also served by local and long-distance rail services.

on the

is located at the southern end of the town center. There are also bus services, both intercity and local. A bypass for the New England Highway is planned to divert traffic from Singleton, more than 26,000 vehicles travel through Singleton daily, the environmental assessment and concept design are open to public feedback in 2019.

Economy

Major industries near Singleton include

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmi ...

, light industry,

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

, horse breeding and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

production.

Dairying A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...

was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined. The largest employment industry is coal mining, which employs 24 percent of the town's workforce. Defence is the second largest employer with almost 4 percent of the workforce.

Lone Pine Barracks Lone Pine Barracks is an Australian Army base located in New South Wales, south of Singleton. The barracks is home to the Australian Army School of Infantry, Special Forces Training Centre, Defence Support Group Singleton and other regular suppo ...

is located south of Singleton.

Media

Print

The Singleton Argus ''The Singleton Argus'', also published as ''The Singleton Argus and Upper Hunter General Advocate'', is a semiweekly English language newspaper published in Singleton, New South Wales, Australia since 1874. History ''The Singleton Argus an ...

'' is a bi-weekly newspaper which was established in 1874. It is currently owned and published by

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

. The weekly newspaper that serves Singleton and the Hunter Valley is ''The Hunter Valley News'', which, along with the ''

Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

'' newspaper (daily, except Sundays), is published by Fairfax Media. The Hunter River Times was established in 2020 and provides news for the surrounding Singleton area.

Radio

Radio stations serving both Newcastle and the Hunter Valley can be received in Singleton.

Television

Singleton is part of 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 so ...

television market, which is served by 5 television networks, three commercial and two national services (which include new sub-channels that started in 2009 for the commercial networks and in recent years from the national services).

Tourism

* Sundial. Singleton is home to one of the world's largest

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

s, presented by a local coal mine for the 1988 Bicentennial Celebrations. * Wineries. The town is close to the famous Pokolbin wine region (southeast). There are also many wineries in the shire, especially around Broke. * Boating. Lake St Clair is an artificial lake located to the north of the town, with facilities for boating and camping. * National Parks.

Wollemi The Wollemi National Park () is a protected national park and wilderness area that is located in the northern Blue Mountains and Lower Hunter regions of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park, the second largest national park in New S ...

and Yengo National Parks are located south of the town via the

Barrington Tops National Park The Barrington Tops National Park is a protected national park located in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1969, the park is situated between Scone, Singleton, Dungog, Gloucester and East Gresford. The park is part ...

borders the north of the shire. * Museums. Singleton has three main museums, the Singleton Historic Society Museum in Burdekin Park, the

Royal Australian Infantry Corps The Royal Australian Infantry Corps (RA Inf) is the parent corps for all infantry regiments of the Australian Army. It was established on 14 December 1948, with its Royal Corps status being conferred by His Majesty King George VI. At her corona ...

Museum at the nearby barracks and the Mercy Convent Museum 'Sacred Spaces' within the grounds of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy (Singleton). File:SingletonBuilding0003.jpg, St Patrick's Catholic Church, Queen Street File:1 Convent of Mercy1.jpg, Convent of the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

File:SingletonBuilding0001.jpg, St Catherine's College File:BaiameCaveBulga0003.jpg, Aboriginal painting,

Baiame Cave Baiame Cave is a heritage-listed cave and cultural site of the Wonnarua people at Milbrodale, Singleton Council, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Baiame’s Cave, Creator Cave, Dhurramulan, Goign, Wabooee, Baiamai, Biami, Baima ...

, Milbrodale

Heritage listings

Singleton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 25 Dangar Road: Singleton District Hospital * 25-27 George Street: Singleton Post Office * 88 George Street:

Ewbank Ewbank is a brand of mechanical carpet sweepers sold in the United Kingdom since the 19th century. Originally owned by Entwisle and Kenyon Ltd, it is now owned by Earlex Ltd. History Founded in Accrington, Lancashire, the company has its origin ...

* Main Northern railway:

* Queen Street:

St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Cemetery St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Cemetery is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic cemetery at Queen Street, Singleton, Singleton Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. ...

Education

Singleton is home to a number of educational facilities. These include schools operated by

NSW Department of Education ) , 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 , e ...

and two non-government schools at both Primary and Secondary levels; as well as a TAFE campus, Singleton Community College and a number of pre-schools. St Catherine's Catholic College provides classes from kindergarten to year 12, while Australian Christian College has classes from pre-kindergarten to year 12. Schools operated by NSW Department of Education include: * Broke Public School * Jerrys Plains Public School * King Street Public School * Milbrodale Public School * Kirkton Public School * Mount Pleasant Public School * Singleton Heights Public School * Singleton Public School *

Hunter Institute of TAFE TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...

operates a campus in Singleton. It provides training and further education as well as collaborating with secondary schools for students completing Senior years.

Notable people

* Joseph Burnettborn in Singleton in 1899 and is best known as the Captain of the ill-fated , which was lost on 19 November 1941 in a battle with German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' * Charles Duttona Queensland politician and great-great grandfather of

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...

was born in Singleton *

Dale Frank Dale Frank (born 1959 in Singleton, New South Wales) is an Australian contemporary artist best known for his biomorphic abstract paintings. His practice has included found object-sculptures, performance installations, drawings and most recently ...

an artist, was born and currently lives in Singleton * Kerrod Hollanda

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 ...

player *

Joy McKean Joy McKean , (born 14 January 1930), is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and wife and manager of the late Slim Dusty. Known as the "grand lady" of Australian country music, McKean is recognised as one of Australia's leading songwrite ...

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass music, bluegrass, to yodeling to Australian folk music, folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English ...

matriarch, was born in Singleton in 1930 *

Cherie Nowlan Cherie Nowlan (born Singleton, New South Wales, Australia)

a television and film producer, was born in Singleton, best known for directing the 1997 film ''

Thank God He Met Lizzie ''Thank God He Met Lizzie'' is a 1997 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Cherie Nowlan and starring Frances O'Connor, Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett. It was Nowlan's directorial debut. In the United States, the film was released as ...

'' *

Toby Price Toby Joseph Price OAM is an Australian off-road and enduro motorcycle racing world champion. He lives in Gold Coast, Queensland, and rode for the KTM Off-Road Racing Team until October 2015. He now represents the Red Bull Factory KTM Rally Tea ...

the

2016 Dakar Rally The 2016 Dakar Rally was the 38th edition of the event and the eighth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 2, then ran through Argentina and Bolivia. Sébastien Loeb and ...

champion lives in Singleton *

Wendy Richardson Wendy Richardson, OAM (born 1933) is one of Australia's most popular playwrights, best known as the author of ''Windy Gully''. Richardson lives in Mount Kembla near Wollongong, New South Wales. She is very active in the local community, worki ...

a playwright, was born in Singleton in 1933 * Sean Ruddera rugby league player * Josh Valentinea

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player * Sir Charles Wadea former

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

, serving from 1907-1910, was born in Singleton

Sister city

Takahata, Yamagata 270px, Yamagata Takahata Winery is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 23,367, in 7629 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography ...

, Japan

References

External links

*
Singleton Shire Council

Tourist guide for Singleton - Visit NSW
{{authority control Suburbs of Singleton Council Towns in the Hunter Region Hunter River (New South Wales)