Deepwater is a parish and small town 40 kilometres north of Glen Innes on the

Northern Tablelands, New South Wales 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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. At the 2021 census, Deepwater had a population of 456. Deepwater is located on the

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and the

Main North railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale. The 1980s saw the line closed progressively north of Armidale; passenger services ...

(now closed). The village is on the northern bank of the Deepwater River which is a tributary of the Mole River. Deepwater is a popular tourist destination for people who enjoy outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, bird watching, motorbike riding and Gem fossicking. The town has two hotels with accommodation, a bed and breakfast, a craft brewery, antique shop, Diner, Roadhouse, bakery, Supermarket and other speciality stores.

History

The land where Deepwater was established is the territory of the Ngarabal people, who had occupied and carefully cultivated the country for thousands of years.K.M. Schlunke, 2005. "Bluff Rock: Autobiography of a Massacre." Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press. The Ngarabal name for Deepwater is Talgambuun, meaning dry country with many dead trees. The Deepwater run was occupied in 1839 by William Collins for the Windeyer brothers. In 1848 their run covered . The Windeyers had a close relationship with Edward Irby, who took up Bolivia Station further north. There was strong Ngarabal resistance to Irby and Windeyer's incursions into Ngarabal country, including the killings of shepherds. Irby's memoirs record that Windeyer joined him in pursuing and killing groups of Aboriginal people in retaliation for these acts. The principal incident of this was on 17 October 1844, when Irby records that he and Windeyer "gave it to them severely" near Bolivia. In addition, Commissioner for Crown Lands from the Clarence district, Oliver Fry and his assigned troopers, shot a group of Aboriginal people from further east into Ngarabal country at Deepwater, murdering five children, four women and seven men on 15 April 1845. Deepwater railway station was opened in 1886, and served the town until closure in 1989. The Deepwater Public School was established in 1894. Some of the old buildings still in existence are the Deepwater Inn (currently being restored after a fire), Picture Theatre, Court House, Post Office, School of Arts, General Store and the Deepwater Public School. Deepwater has an Apex Park, Bakery, School, The Top pub and the Bottom pub, Post Office, CRT, Roadhouse, Antique Store and Foodworks Supermarket. An annual race meeting is held in January at the Deepwater Racecourse located behind the Deepwater Golf Course.Northern New England, Examiner, Glen Innes It also has service organisations that include the

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, Far West and Apex Club, SES and Rural Fire Service, pre-school and some other community organisations. The district is an agricultural area with the main pursuits being wool, fat lamb and beef cattle production. In the past dairying, tin mining and timber were industries that contributed to the economy of the district.

Media

Local news coverage is provided by Glen Innes News which publishes online as well as in print. Deepwater is served by community radio station 2CBD FM which broadcasts from studios in Glen Innes

Notable people

- Alex Cameron

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales)