Kentucky is a village in the

New England New England is a region consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...

region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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 ...

. It is about south of Uralla and north-west of Walcha and about off the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

. Kentucky is located by rail from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Sandon County Sandon County is one of the 141 cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It is centred on Armidale, and also includes Uralla. Sandon County was named in honour of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, Dudley Ryder, First Earl of Harrowby and Visc ...

on the Northern Tablelands. It is at an altitude of 1066m and is within Uralla Shire. At the 2016 census, Kentucky had a population of 158.

History

On 25 May 1870 Alexander Binning Walker, a rural lock-up keeper, chased, confronted and killed the infamous

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

Fred Ward, alias Captain Thunderbolt, at Kentucky Creek, Uralla. The Kentucky railway station, on the Main North Line, was opened on 2 August 1882. It was closed many years ago, though daily Sydney/Armidale trains still pass through the village. The area was a former soldier settlement region with many orchards and other agricultural properties. The development of the Kentucky Returned Soldiers Settlement along the railway between Kentucky and Wollun commenced in July 1918. This settlement covered , mostly of a light sandy granite type soil. The area was divided into eighty holdings of 40 to each depending on the location of the farm. The total orchard area which was planted with apples, pears, prunes, plums and cherries was . The Kentucky Memorial Hall, in 2008, installed a memorial plaque at the Noalimba Avenue of Honour dedicated to the original soldier settlers and those servicemen and women from the district who enlisted in subsequent conflicts. About 4 km south of Kentucky is Kentucky South which was a rail siding that opened on 18 October 1926 and closed on 20 February 1975. Some of the old rail sheds remain there along with several houses.

Kentucky today

The district now has several well-known

Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

sheep studs and produces some top super fine

wool Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...

, as well as quality beef cattle. Apples, cherries, pears and other stone fruit are available from the orchards during the season. The Kentucky Tree Nursery produces many low cost trees and shrubs for farm planting. A boutique distillery and brewery (Dobson's), a fine-dining restaurant (Pinot) and a sophisticated nightclub (The Speakeasy) together comprise Eastview Estate, developed since 2009 immediately to the north-east of the village. Kentucky also has two churches, a community hall, general store and a progressive public school. Some of the country gardens are opened to the public through the open gardens scheme and community fund raising schemes. The current population is about 60 persons.

References

* Uralla: http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/NSWUralla.shtml {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales) New South Wales soldier settlements Uralla Shire Main North railway line, New South Wales Australian places named after U.S. places or U.S. history