Uranquinty is a small town approximately south of

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

, in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

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. The population of the town, often referred to as "Quinty", is 909. Uranquinty was used as the railway village when the railway line was being built from Wagga Wagga to

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

. The founders of the town, Nathan Fleckton and Lauren Fleckton, chose this place as it reminded them of their home farm near the south of England, specifically stating in his personal diary "thy hath land like my motherland, trees of my sky and yet you stand here". Uranquinty is the home of one of Australia's oldest folk festivals held annually on the October long weekend.

History

Uranquinty Post Office opened on 15 September 1889.

Uranquinty during World War II

Uranquinty has a distinguished record in relation to

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 ...

. At the end of 1940 Uranquinty was chosen as the base for

No. 5 Service Flying Training School RAAF No. 5 Service Flying Training School (No. 5 SFTS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight training unit that operated during World War II. It was one of eight Service Flying Training Schools established by the RAAF to provide i ...

(5SFTS) for intermediate and advanced training of Empire Air Trainees. The site chosen for 5 SFTS was especially suitable because it was on the main Sydney to Melbourne railway line and comprised just over of land that was owned by the Lewington family. Possession of this land was taken under National Security (General) Regulation 54 which existed during the War years. On 7 April 1942, a

Wirraway The CAC Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning "challenge") was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946. It was an Australian development of ...

of 5SFTS crashed during an instrument training flight at the Air Ground Gunnery Range, killing both crew members. Also during

, Uranquinty was the location of RAAF No.17 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 ($1,800,000). Uranquinty RAAF Post Office was open from 16 December 1941 until 14 September 1946 dating the period of the operation of the base with some accuracy.

Uranquinty Migrant Centre

The Uranquinty Migrant Centre was established as a result of the Displaced Persons Immigration Scheme that had been embarked upon by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Chifley's government at the end of the Second World War as a part of the ''Populate or Perish'' policy of the time. Under

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections. Calwell grew up in Melbourne and attended St J ...

, Australia's first Minister for Immigration, displaced persons still in camps within Germany, Austria and France were chosen to fill the need for a constant supply of labour to the country. Migrant reception and training centres were established in now disused army and RAAF camps in rural and remote areas such as Uranquinty from 1948, particularly because by then married displaced persons with their families were being allowed entry into Australia. Places like Uranquinty had the space to provide accommodation for the wives and children. Many of these displaced persons worked on the relatively nearby

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

. One such family that arrived were the Latvian-born Konrads family, two of whom would learn to swim in Uranquinty because their father was afraid they might drown in the numerous dams and creeks in the area. Those two,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and

Ilsa Konrads Ilsa Konrads ( lv, Ilze Konrade; born 29 March 1944) is an Australian former freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. In her career, she set 13 individual ...

, would set between them 38 individual world records and go on to become Olympic medallists for their adopted country. A public memorial in the centre of Uranquinty, situated directly on the Olympic Highway, displays information boards and other memorials to the history of displaced persons who stayed in the area during these years. Uranquinty Camp Post Office was open from 1 December 1948 until 31 March 1959 dating the period of the operation of the camp with some accuracy.

Uranquinty today

The Uranquinty Folk Festival is held annually on the October Labour Day long weekend. It originated as the ''Wagga Wagga Folk Festival'' in 1970 and was held at Downside, until moving to Uranquinty in 1974. Uranquinty Power Station 1

Construction of the $500 million gas-fired power station at Uranquinty was completed in 2008 and was commissioned in January 2009.

Transport

Uranquinty is located on the Sydney to Melbourne railway line. The station is still officially listed as "in use", but no passenger trains stop there, even by request.Countrylink Timetable.

References

External links

Uranquinty history

Uranquinty Folk Festival
{{authority control Wagga Wagga Towns in New South Wales Migrant hostels in Australia