Glen Innes is a parish and town on the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

, in 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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

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. It is the centre of the

Glen Innes Severn Shire Council Glen Innes Severn is a local government area in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The council serves an area of and is located adjacent to the New England Highway. The council was formed by the amalgamation of Severn Shire ...

. The town is located at the intersection 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 the

Gwydir Highway Gwydir Highway is a state highway in northern New South Wales, Australia. The highway was named after the Gwydir River, which in turn was named after a locale in Wales. Route Gwydir Highway traverses the New England region from the inland pla ...

. At the 2016 census, Glen Innes had a population of 6,155.

History

The original owners of Glen Innes and surrounding areas are the

Ngarabal The Ngarabal are an Aboriginal people of the area from Ashford, Tenterfield and Glen Innes in northern New South Wales, Australia. Language Ngarabal was still spoken in the area around Glen Innes, Stonehenge and Emmaville when John MacPherson p ...

people.MacPherson, J. (1905). Ngarrabul and other Aboriginal tribes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 29, 677-684 The Ngarabal name of the township of Glen Innes is Gindaaydjin, meaning "plenty of big round stones on clear plains". The arrival of European settlers saw the significant disruption of the life of Ngarabal people. Many Ngarabal people continue to live in the Glen Innes area, still practising many aspects of their traditional culture and way of life.AMBS (2010). Glen Innes Severn LGA Aboriginal Heritage Study. Consultancy report to Glen Innes Servern Council. In about 1838 Archibald Boyd registered the first run in the Glen Innes district. Two stockmen known as "the Beardies" because of their long beards took Boyd to this area to establish his run. The Beardies later introduced other squatters to the best runs in the area to become known as the Land of the Beardies or Beardie Plains.''Reader's Digest Guide to Australian Places'', Reader's Digest, Sydney. Furracabad Station was suggested by

John James Galloway John James Galloway (18 February 1818 – 30 June 1883) was an early surveyor of Australia and New Zealand and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life John James Galloway was born on in Leith, Scotland. In 1837, at the ...

as an alternative to Wellingrove for a new town. However Furracabad Station was sold in the 1840s depression and passed to Major

Archibald Clunes Innes Archibald Clunes Innes (1799–1857) was a soldier and pastoralist from Thrumster, Caithness, Scotland. When he arrived in Australia in 1822 he was a captain in the Third Regiment (Buffs), on the ship ''Eliza'', in charge of 170 convicts. Inne ...

, then to the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by Royal Charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

, then to John Major, who sold it to

Archibald Mosman Archibald Mosman (15 October 1799 – 29 January 1863) was a Scottish-born merchant, grazier and whaler in New South Wales, Australia. Early life Archibald Mosman was born on 15 October 1799 in Scotland to Hugh Mosman, convener of Lanark and Agnes ...

. The name Glen Innes is believed to be bestowed by Mosman in honour of Innes. Glen Innes was gazetted as a town in 1852 and the first lots were sold in 1854. The post office was established in August 1854 and the court in 1858 when they replaced the Wellingrove offices. In 1866 the population was about 350, with a telegraph station, lands office, police barracks, courthouse, post office and two hotels.Donald, J. Kay, Exploring the North Coast and New England, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1987. There was still no coach service at this time, but in the 1870s a road was constructed to Grafton.

Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

was first discovered at Emmaville in 1872 and Glen Innes became the centre of a mining bonanza during the late 19th century. In 1875, the population had swelled to about 1,500 and the town had a

two-teacher school A two-room schoolhouse is a larger version of the one-room schoolhouse, with many of the same characteristics, providing the facility for primary and secondary education in a small community or rural area. While providing the same function as a c ...

, three churches, five hotels, two weekly newspapers, seven stores and a variety of societies and associations. On 19 August 1884 the new Main North railway from Sydney opened. The arrival of the rail service and the expansion of mining contributed a new prosperity in the town, which is reflected in some of the beautiful buildings there. The centre of the town retains some of its

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

buildings and the owners have painted these buildings in the traditional colours. Many of these buildings have been placed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. The town boasts a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that was once part of the Main North Line. Today, the line is closed so the station is not in use and the buildings have been repurposed.

Heritage listings

Glen Innes has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Bourke Street: Glen Innes Showground * Grey Street:

Glen Innes Post and Telegraph Office Glen Innes Post and Telegraph Office is a heritage-listed post office at Grey Street, Glen Innes, Glen Innes Severn, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by NSW Government Architect's Office under Walter Liberty Vernon. and built fro ...

* Main Northern railway:

Glen Innes railway station Glen Innes railway station is located on the North Island Main Trunk line in New Zealand. Eastern Line services of the Auckland railway network are the only regular services that stop at the station. It has an island platform layout. Every h ...

* Main Northern railway, 694.371 km:

Yarraford Rail Bridge over Beardy River The Yarraford Rail Bridge is a heritage-listed closed railway bridge that carried the Main Northern Line across Beardy Waters, situated from Central station, near Glen Innes, in the Glen Innes Severn local government area of New South Wales, ...

Demographics

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 6,155 people in Glen Innes. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.8% of the population. * 82.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 2.0%. * 88.0% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 29.0%, Catholic 21.0% and No Religion 19.5%.

Industries

The Glen Innes district has been a producer of

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 ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and beef

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 ...

since it was first settled. Sapphires are mined in the creek valleys immediately west of town, and while tin is no longer commercially mined, mineral exploration is ongoing. The town holds regular

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

sales in the local sale-yards. The town contains all of the regular service industries required by the community. Notable individual businesses include a

photographic processing Photographic processing or photographic development is the chemical means by which photographic film or paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing transforms the latent image in ...

facility, an exporter of waste material balers, a large cattle feedlot, and transport depots. Sawmilling was historically a major industry of the district, but is now only conducted on a reasonable scale by the local minimum-security prison. The conversion of State Forests into National Parks has led to tourism becoming an important employer.

Climate

Glen Innes is 1,062 metres AHD with an average annual rainfall of 857 mm. The climate is officially classed as a

temperate oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

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 ...

: ''Cfb''). The area records some of Australia's coldest minimum temperatures outside the Snowy Mountains and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, with mild to warm summers and cold, windy winters with regular frosts and occasional snowfalls, though many snowfalls do not settle. Glen Innes's highest recorded temperature was on 22 December 2019, and its coldest was on 8 July 2002. Rainfall is heaviest in late spring, owing to the effects of the surrounding mountains, causing uplift which in turn causes frequent, heavy storms during this period. At 6:33AM on 19 July 2019, the town registered a temperature of , making it the coldest place in Australia in that year.

Culture and tourism

Among the many attractions of this area are the extensiv
Land of the Beardies History Museum
with its collection of biographical and historical records, the town parks,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

fossicking In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New ...

areas,

Gibraltar Range National Park Gibraltar Range is a national park in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, north-east of Glen Innes and north of Sydney. The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Au ...

, several

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s, the Australian Standing Stones, which are large

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

s and the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

listed

Washpool National Park The Washpool National Park is a protected national park located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The park is situated approximately north of Sydney, inland from . The park has two campgrounds and is managed by the NSW N ...

. There are several Christian churches, including the Cameron Memorial Uniting Church and St Andrews Presbyterian Church which hail from the town's Scottish roots; as well as the Holy Trinity Anglican and St Patrick's Catholic Churches, Baptist, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist and other smaller congregations. Annual events include: Minerama, a gem and fossicking festival; the Australian Celtic Festival, Land of the Beardies Festival, Pastoral and Agricultural Show and also horse racing, the Glen Innes Cup. The Glen Innes Arts Council produces their own theatrical productions throughout the year and presents travelling productions and film screenings. It is the longest continuously running arts council in Australia, housed in their venue, The Chapel Theatre. The chapel is equipped with a state-of-the-art, 3D Digital Cinema system with Dolby 7.1 Sound. Information on Glen Innes Arts Council productions and screenings can be found at their website - http://www.gleninnesartscouncil.com The town also has a thriving arts and crafts community, with a public art gallery, the Glen Innes Art Gallery that hold regular and changing exhibitions each year.

Sport

The most popular sport in Glen Innes is rugby league. The town's team, the Glen Innes Magpies, play in the

Group 19 Rugby League The New England Group 19 Rugby League competition is a Rugby league competition which is run under the auspices of the NSWRL, which absorbed the NSWCRL in 2019. It is based in the New England region. It was originally called the Group 5 Rugby L ...

A-Grade competition. However due to non interest and a lack of numbers to make a team, the Glen Innes Magpies had to withdraw from the group 19 competition in 2022. Glen Innes has annual competitions and representative teams in the following: Golf, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Lawn Bowls, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Cricket, Squash, Touch Football, Tent Pegging, Campdrafting, Shooting, Sheepdog trials, Roller Skating and Roller Hockey.

Media

The district also has its own community radio station, 2CBD FM. As well as broadcasting on two local FM frequencies 91.1 Deepwater and 105.9 Glen Innes, it has a live 24/7 feed via the internet. The station is the only radio station with studios in Glen Innes and is run by volunteers and presents local information and a diverse mix of music.

Notable residents

Glen Innes was the birthplace of writer

D'Arcy Niland D'Arcy Francis Niland (20 October 191729 March 1967) was an Australian farm labourer, novelist and short story writer. In 1955 he wrote '' The Shiralee'', which gained international recognition in its depictions of the experiences of a swagman a ...

, High Court judge

Edward McTiernan Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE (16 February 1892 – 9 January 1990), was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He served on the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1976, the longest-serving judge in the court's history. McTiernan ...

and architect

Colin Madigan Colin Frederick Madigan AO (22 July 192117 September 2011) was an Australian architect. He is best known for designing the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Biography Born in Glen Innes, New South Wales, Madigan studied architecture ...

. Notable Former Residents: Bishop , the first bishop of Wollongong whose grave is in St Francis Xavier Cathedral grounds, Wollongong,

Margaret Fulton Margaret Isobel Fulton (6 October 1924 – 24 July 2019) was a Scottish-born Australian food and cooking writer, journalist, author and commentator. She was the first of this genre of writers in Australia. Fulton's early recipes encouraged A ...

, Australia's first and most famous real-food cookbook author and

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

of "Norman Gunston" and "Mother and Son" fame. Other prominent families in this district include the Gaden, Rodgers, Williams, Cameron, Donnelly, Williamson and Newsome families. The district has produced several sportsmen and women who have represented Australia. These include two Olympians (

Debbie Wells Debbie Wells (born 29 May 1961) is an Australian former sprinter who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1980 Summer Olympics, and the 1984 Summer Olympics. Wells was three times Australian 100 metre champion, and twice Australian 200m champi ...

and David Cooper), Rugby League players Reg O'Keefe and John Ferguson, pistol shooters Bruce Favell and Robert Landers. Two of the more highly decorated armed servicemen that still have family in the district were Peter Turnbull and Charles Curnow Scherf. Another major contributor to the wars from Glen Innes wa
Edward (Ted) Kinsella
who was a soldier and army official who was stationed in Greece, Gallipoli and France.

Glen Innes and Scotland

, from

Thrumster, Caithness Thrumster is a crofting township on the main A99 road between Wick and Inverness. It is the nearest village to Wick. The transmission mast used to broadcast BBC television and radio signals to Caithness was located here until 1960. The villag ...

was a captain in the Third Regiment (Buffs), when he arrived in Australia in 1822 on the Eliza in charge of 170 convicts. He held a number of New England properties including Glen Innes Station and Dundee station. Glen Innes has a number of street signs in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

(though no residents speak the language). There is also a "

Crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural are ...

"'s cottage. The Australian Standing Stones are based on the

Ring of Brodgar The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar, or Ring o' Brodgar) is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the He ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

(a non-Gaelic speaking area) or Calanais in

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotla ...

is Glen Innes'

twin town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

in Scotland. Other towns nearby with Scottish names include

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...

and Glencoe. The name of nearby

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the ...

is also of

origin, meaning "meeting place of the swans" in reference to the black swans once typically seen on the Macintyre River.

Twin towns

Glen Innes has

status with

in Scotland, and

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

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 ...

Wind farm

Glen Innes is home to a turbine wind farm (White Rock Wind farm) which the New South Wales Government approved 23 km west of the town. There are 70 turbines standing 150 metres high. Stage 2, consisting of another 49 turbines and a Solar Farm have also received approval from the NSW Government.

References

External links

Glen Innes events and informationVisitNSW.com - Glen Innes
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales)