Finley '' Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. is a town 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. It is the largest town in the

Berrigan Shire Berrigan Shire is a local government area in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire lies on the New South Wales State border with Victoria formed by the Murray River. The Shire is adjacent to the Newell and River ...

local government area. At the 2016 census, Finley had a population of 2,519 people. The town is located approximately west of

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 ...

on the intersection of the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At in length, the Newell is th ...

and

Riverina Highway Riverina Highway is a -long state highway located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The road was constructed over several decades with final asphalt concrete sealing completed during the 1960s. Route The eastern terminus of ...

History

The first permanent residence in the town was built in 1878. The post office opened on 1 January 1881 but was known as Murray Hut until 1893. Europeans first settled the area around Finley in the early 1840s, with wheat becoming the main crop. The Finley Agricultural & Pastoral Association was formed in 1912 and held its first show on 17 September 1913. The same agricultural show is still held annually on the first Sunday in September (

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...

). Periods of severe drought, combined with the Great Depression of the early 1930s, forced many farmers to abandon their holdings. In 1935, construction on the Mulwala Canal began in order to provide employment and bring water to the area’s rich farmland, with irrigation reaching the area in 1939, celebrated with a 'Back-To-Finley' event. This enabled the region to prosper with beef and dairy cattle, sheep, wheat, rice, barley, maize and canola.

Heritage listings

Finley has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Narrandera-Tocumwal railway: Finley Railway Precinct

Education

Finley has two primary schools, St Joseph's School, (

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

) and Finley Public School.

Finley High School Finley High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Finley in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1961, the school enrolled approximately 360 students in 2018, ...

attracts students from a wide catchment including the towns of Berrigan,

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne ...

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. At th Jerilderie had a population of 922 people. It can be found along the Newell Highway ...

and

Blighty "Blighty" is a British English slang term for Great Britain, or often specifically England.

. Finley is also home to a campus of Riverina TAFE.

Sport

Australian rules football,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

are all very popular in the town. Sporting teams include the Finley Football Club, who compete in the

Murray Football League The Murray Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

. The town also offers soccer, touch rugby, basketball, tennis and a Pony Club. The Finley Rodeo Committee holds an annual rodeo every January and Finley Apex Club hosts a

tractor pull Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farthe ...

every February. Finley has an 18-hole green grass golf course and two bowling green locations.

Notable residents

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mil ...

- Former Geelong Australian rules footballer *

Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...

- Former

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Australian rules footballer and 1999

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

list, 2019 I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here contestant *

Mark Whiley Mark Whiley (born 1 December 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Finley Football Club, F ...

- Former

GWS Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...

& Carlton Blues Australian rules footballer * Tom Hawkins - Current Geelong Australian rules footballer * Kram, Whitty and Janet - members of rock band Spiderbait * Craig Giles - musician

References

External links

Community website

Berrigan Shire - Official Site

Finley Railway Station

Finley Show Society Inc.
{{authority control Towns in Berrigan Shire Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Newell Highway Murrumbidgee Council