Maitland, New South Wales
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Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley 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 and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of
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and north-west of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
. It is on 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, ...
approximately from its origin at
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...
. At the it had approximately 89,597 inhabitants, spread over an area of , with most of the population located in a strip along the New England Highway between the suburbs of Lochinvar and Thornton. The city centre is located on the right bank of the Hunter River, protected from moderate potential flooding by a
levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
. Surrounding areas include the cities of Cessnock and Singleton
local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...
.


History

The Wonnarua People were the first known people of this land. They called the area where Maitland is now situated, by the name Bo-un after a species of bird. From around 1816, cedar logging parties from the convict settlement of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
were the first Europeans to stay on the site. Governor
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
visited the area in 1818, naming it Wallis Plains after Captain James Wallis who was commandant of the Newcastle penal colony at the time. In 1819, convict farmers were allowed to select land at Wallis Plains, the most notable of which was Molly Morgan. Tom White Melville Winder was one of the largest proprietors on the Hunter. Winder held 7400 acres (2995 ha) by 1828 and by 1831 had acquired another 2600 acres (1052 ha). The oldest house (commenced 1821) in the greater Maitland LGA was called “Windermere” and also referred to the adjacent farmlands which were for agriculture and later a “boiling-down works”. Windermere estate was established before East Maitland and West Maitland were established as suburbs and so is of historical significance. By 1821 the first British government buildings, consisting of a cottage and barracks, were constructed, and in 1823 James Mudie financed the construction of a wharf. Two years later William Powditch opened the first general store at Wallis Plains. In 1829, assistant surveyor George Boyle White, officially laid out a township on the site of Wallis Plains. The village was called Maitland possibly in honour of Frederick Lewis Maitland. Due to population growth, Maitland was partitioned in 1835 into West Maitland (which was the original Wallis Plains settlement) and
East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...
. The nearby town of Morpeth developed at the same time from the Green Hills land grant given to Lieutenant Edward Charles Close, a
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
veteran. Morpeth served as the head of navigation for larger ships (later, steamships), and goods were transhipped upriver to West Maitland on barges and smaller vessels. Originally the river route between Morpeth and West Maitland was , today after various floods and river course changes this has reduced to just . West Maitland was therefore the point at which goods were unloaded for, and distributed to, the prosperous riverland of the Hunter Valley. Accordingly, there were large warehouses (some of which still exist) built, which faced onto the main High Street and backed onto the Hunter River. One famous business being E.P Capper & Sons founded in 1841. The Cappers “prospered mightily, branching out into property and financing but the large store in High Street was the foundation of their empire.  Built in 1888, it consisted of four stories in the front and three in the rear” it even included a lift. This impressive building was destroyed by fire in 1971. The arrival of the railway from Newcastle in the 1850s, coupled with the increasing silting of the river and larger ships spelt the end of the traditional river traffic. The municipalities of West and East Maitland were merged in 1944 and the name of West Maitland was officially reverted to Maitland in 1949, from which the present city is now known. The city's boundaries have been increased by incorporating parts of other local government areas since then (most notably Kearsley Shire which from 1946 to 1949 was the only local government area in Australia's history to have a
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
majority of councillors). The first electricity connected in the area was to Maitland Town Hall in 1922, to the hall's front light.


Belmore Bridge

The first bridge to link West Maitland with what is now the suburb of Lorn was opened in 1869 and named in honour of the then
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
, the 4th Earl of Belmore. Although the bridge proved vital to the city's development, the floods of 1893, 1913 and 1930 began to heighten the need for a new bridge that could withstand periodic flooding. A second Belmore Bridge, designed to withstand the impact of debris during floods, was built adjacent to the 1869 bridge in 1964. The new bridge, which redirected traffic away from St Andrews Street to a new intersection at the Maitland Court House, is one of the city's three main river crossings.


Floods

Maitland's proximity to the Hunter River has resulted in a succession of floods since European settlement. Over 200 floods have occurred on the Hunter River since settlement, 13 of those higher than the river's normal peak limit of . Of these 13, all have had a direct effect on the city of Maitland. Between 1830 and 1834 Maitland experienced five floods. The 1832 flood was severe with water reaching about and killing seven people. The 1834 flood water reached the same height. In the winter of 1857 the Hunter River rose again to record heights, reaching . Flooding continued for the next 30 years with the floods of the 1890s being the most disastrous. Much of the riverbank collapsed and many people were left without homes or personal possessions. Flooding was described as an “annoyance” and “detrimental to the town” in the 7 April 1840 advertisement for the sale of “ ''Windermere''” where position “on a hill” was described as an appealing feature. The 1940s and 1950s saw an increase in rainfall and the river rose again and again. In February 1955, Maitland and the Hunter Valley experienced its most severe flood in recorded history. The 1955 Hunter Valley floods, also commonly known as "The Maitland Flood", was the first Australian natural disaster to be broadcast by the media on an international scale. This flood is considered to be one of Australia's worst floods. The waters reached and caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. The volume of flood water was approximately and the cost of damage, in today's currency, would have been over A$2 billion. Seven thousand buildings and homes were damaged and the flood claimed the lives of 14 people. In early June 2007 an intense low pressure system which caused devastating storms to hit the city of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
and the Central Coast also caused major flooding throughout the lower Hunter Region including the Maitland area. During the flooding in 2007, the Hunter River was expected to reach a peak of at Maitland's Belmore Bridge and break levee banks. Some 4000 residents of the suburb of Lorn were evacuated before the floodwaters became stable at and did not inundate central Maitland. Other areas did not escape with waters inundating homes in Branxton, Louth Park and Raymond Terrace. The flood has been compared to the devastating 1955 Hunter Valley floods. From 20 to 22 April 2015, heavy rainfall in the Hunter, Central Coast and Sydney regions of New South Wales resulted in
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...
ing and extended power outages to over 200,000 homes. Maitland was badly affected and the flood gates at Maitland railway station were reinforced with sandbags to prevent flooding in central Maitland. Four people died as a result of the storms and a further four died in traffic related incidents. The towns of Dungog and Gillieston Heights, the homes of the four flood victims, were also badly affected, becoming isolated from other communities.


Jewish community

The Maitland Jewish Cemetery in Louth Park, one of only two provincial Jewish cemeteries in New South Wales, is testament to the Jewish community that was active in Maitland up until the 1930s. Between about 1846 and 1934, 53 Jewish people were buried in the low-lying cemetery. Burials ceased after this time due to dispersion of the community and the cemetery reaching capacity. One exception was Lea Abadee in 2010. The former Maitland Synagogue, located on Church Street, was the place of worship for about 70 families between 1879 and 1898.


Hospital

The Immigrants Home was founded by Caroline Chisholm in East Maitland and was the first public building that was used to treat the sick. The site eventually became known as Maitland Benevolent Asylum. In 1835, when the population hit 1900, residents started to petition for a new hospital. In 1843 a meeting was called to discuss applying to Benevolent Asylum in Sydney. A committee was formed and succeeded in obtaining a grant of £1000 for a new hospital on 5 December 1844. In April 1845 Sir George Gipps approved a grant of a site at Campbell's Hill, West Maitland opposite Boyne's Inn. The foundation stone was laid by Edward Denny Day on 26 January 1846. In April 1846 the foundation stone was removed and was never recovered. In September 1847 the Building Committee announced that plans for the building of the new hospital would be accepted. The cost of the building was not to exceed £2000 and fifteen guineas would be awarded to the party furnishing the approved plan. By May 1848 the Maitland Mercury was reporting that the walls of the new hospital were visible from the town. Opened in 1850 its first years saw 231 patients and 26 deaths. Between 1903 and 1905 saw the completion of the Ward Block 1 at the southern end of the hospital. With the growth of population in the district, it was found that the accommodation was inadequate and a new building was erected and opened in 1905. In 1916 a blood bank and isolation cottage were completed. In 1926 the hospital became a training school for nurses. New nurses' quarters which occupied the site of the old Royal Oak Hotel was built during the twelve months from October 1927 to October 1928. In the 1930s Ward Block 3 was built and extensions were completed to the nurses home in 1932 and 1937. The Addison Building (Ward Block 2) was progressively built and opened between 1942 and 1947. In 1960 new Nurses homes was built. In 1973 a new pathology building was opened. From 1975 to 1979 a new boilerhouse and workshops were built and the kitchen, cafeteria and storage areas were refurbished. The hospital was funded through subscribers, collection boxes,
donation A donation is a gift for Charity (practice), charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, Service (economics), services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donati ...
s and state
revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
for fines. In 1847 Governor Sir Charles Fitzroy visited to the hospital to hand over a £10. The Maitland Hospital was listed as a public hospital under the Second Schedule of the Public Hospitals Act, 1898 (Act No.16, 1898). Maitland Hospital was registered as a training hospital under the Nurses Registration Act, 1924 (Act No.37, 1924). From 1 November 1929 'The Maitland Hospital' was a hospital incorporated under Part IV of the Public Hospitals Act 1929 (Act No.8, 1929). Under this Act The Maitland Hospital was to be governed by a board of directors which could make by-laws and its subscribers were a body corporate which could be sue and be sued in its corporate name. ·The Area Health Services Act 1986 (Act No.50, 1986), which commenced on1 July 1986, effectively abolished the boards of directors and replaced them with area health boards this made the hospital a part of the Lower Hunter Area Health Service. From 1 August 1988 following the amalgamation of area health services the Maitland Hospital became part of the Hunter Area Health Service. Following amendments to the Health Services Act 1997 the Maitland Hospital became part of the Hunter and New England Area Health Service from 1 January 2005.


Heritage listings

Maitland has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Church Street: Brough House * 47 Church Street: Maitland Synagogue * 66 Church Street: St Mary's the Virgin Anglican Church * 71 Church Street: Grossmann House * 12–14 Free Church Street: Presbyterian High School * High Street:
Maitland Court House Maitland Court House is a heritage-listed courthouse at High Street, Maitland, New South Wales, Maitland, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon and built in 1895–96. The property is owned by t ...
* High Street: Maitland Town Hall * 381 High Street: Maitland Post Office * 473 High Street: Barden and Ribee Saddlery * 516 High Street: Department of Mineral Resources Historic Photographs Collection * Main Northern railway: Maitland railway station * 34 Regent Street: Cintra House * 5 Victoria Street: Maitland Lodge of Unity Masonic Hall and Lodge


Population

According to the , there were 89,597 people in Maitland. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.7% of the population. * 86.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 1.8%, New Zealand 1.0%, India 0.9%, Philippines 0.6% and South Africa 0.4%. * 90.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Malayalam 0.4%, Punjabi 0.4%, Mandarin 0.3%, Tagalog 0.3%, Afrikaans 0.2%. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.5%, Catholic 22.6%, and Anglican 18.2%.


Crime

Maitland has an assault rate of 1,110.4 per 100,000 population, which is significantly higher than the NSW state average of 823.4 per 100,000 population.


Climate

Maitland experiences a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(Köppen: ''Cfa'', Trewartha: ''Cfal''), with hot summers and mild to cool winters, and with a summer peak in rainfall. The highest temperature recorded at Maitland was 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) on 18 January 2013 and 21 February 2004; the lowest recorded was −4.5 °C (23.9 °F) on 24 August 2003. The average annual rainfall is 837.5 millimetres (32.97 in). On average, it has 90.3 clear days annually.


Economy


Retail

Maitland has many shopping precincts including Stockland Green Hills (East Maitland), Centro Maitland Hunter Mall, High Street Mall (City Centre), Rutherford, Melbourne Street (East Maitland) and Lawes Street (East Maitland). Morpeth, a suburb of Maitland, is also popular for its fashion boutiques, cafes and speciality shops. Historically, Maitland had E.P Capper & Sons founded in 1841. At the time it was seems as important as Anthony Hordens of Sydney.


Transport


Buses

Bus services in Maitland are operated by Hunter Valley Buses and Rover Coaches.


Rail

Maitland railway station lies on the Hunter Line and Main Northern line and is the junction point for the North Coast Line. Other railway stations in Maitland include: *
East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...
*
High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
* Metford * Mindaribba * Telarah * Victoria Street * Thornton * Lochinvar A passenger
tram system A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include seg ...
ran from
East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...
to West Maitland between 1909 and 1926 after which it was replaced by buses which continue to service the route today.


Air

Maitland Airport Maitland Airport, also known as Russell Field is a general aviation airport located in the suburb of Rutherford, New South Wales, Rutherford, approximately from Maitland, New South Wales, Maitland in the Australian state of New South Wales. Th ...
is a
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
airfield located beside 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, ...
at Rutherford. Construction was started in 1948 by the now-defunct Maitland Aero Club. In 1957, operation of the airfield transferred to the Royal Newcastle Aero Club which moved from Broadmeadow Aerodrome, its original base of operations, in 1963. The closest commercial airport is Newcastle Airport which is at Williamtown.


Media

Maitland is serviced by a number of regional newspapers, radio stations and television stations.


Print

The '' Maitland Mercury'' and '' Newcastle Herald'' are the foremost newspapers in the city. The ''Mercury'', established in 1843, operates out of offices on High Street and is Australia's oldest regional newspaper. ''The Lower Hunter Star'' is an adjunct to the ''Mercury'' and is published every Thursday. With a circulation of almost 20,000, ''The Lower Hunter Star'' is delivered to most residents within the
City of Maitland The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line. The mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Philip ...
.


Radio

Radio stations include:


AM stations

* 2HD (commercial) * ABC Newcastle (
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
) * 2HRN (off band commercial) * Sky Sports Radio (as part of statewide network)


FM stations

* Triple M Newcastle (commercial) * hit106.9 Newcastle (commercial) * New FM (commercial) * 2NUR (community) * 2CHR (Central Hunter Radio) 96.5 FM – (community) * Rhema FM Newcastle (Christian) *
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
(
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
)


Government broadcasters

*
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
** ABC Newcastle **
Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...
**
ABC NewsRadio ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
**
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
(youth station) ** ABC Classic FM (classical music) *
SBS Radio SBS Radio is an Australian radio network owned by the Special Broadcasting Service directed towards newly arrived immigrants in Australia. It originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded informa ...
(foreign language service)


Television

Maitland is part of the
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
television market, which is served by 5 television networks, three commercial and two national services. These networks are listed as follows: *
Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
,
9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History The la ...
,
9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anima ...
and
9Life 9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scr ...
: (A
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
owned and operated station since 2007, established 1962). * 10 Northern NSW, 10 Bold Drama and 10 Peach Comedy (Network 10 affiliate, owned by
WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
since 2017) (formerly branded as Southern Cross Ten, Ten Northern NSW, NRTV and WIN, which still owns the station). (It was established as a result of aggregation on 31 December 1991). * Seven (formerly known as Prime Television and
Prime7 Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as ''CBN (Australian TV station), CBN-8'' in Orange, New South Wales, Ora ...
), 7two (digital only),
7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
(digital only),
7Bravo 7Bravo is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network under license from NBCUniversal International Networks on 15 January 2023. The channel contains programming from NBCUniversal's Americ ...
(digital only) and
7flix 7flix is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 28 February 2016. 7flix targets a variety of viewers and offers drama, comedy, reality, docusoap, and movies. History On 18 Decembe ...
(digital only) (
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
/ Prime affiliate was established as a result of aggregation on 31 December 1991). A Seven Network owned and operated station since 2022. *
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
including ABC TV,
ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
, ABC Kids,
ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
and
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
. The ABC TV service was established in the 1960s. *
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...
including SBS,
SBS Food SBS Food (formerly Food Network) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first ...
, SBS World Movies, SBS WorldWatch, SBS Viceland and
NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...
.
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...
is Australian government operated. This service was introduced in the 1980s. Nine Northern NSW (as NBN) produces an evening news bulletin combining local, state, national and international news screening nightly at 6:00 pm on Channel 9, while Seven (formerly Prime7) and WIN Television produce short local updates to fulfil local content quotas. Subscription television service
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
is also available via satellite.


Theatre

The famous Scottish entertainer Sir Harry Lauder performed to a packed audience in Maitland Town Hall on Saturday 15 August 1925.


Culture


Art

Maitland Regional Art Gallery, or MRAG, opened at its current site in November 2003. In 2008, the gallery closed for redevelopment and was reopened on the 15 August 2009 by the artist
Margaret Olley Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of J ...
.


Library

Maitland and the surrounding area is serviced by the Maitland City Library and branches.


Annual events

* Hunter Valley Steamfest is an annual festival celebrating the history of steam power and industry in the Maitland area. It was established in 1986 in response to the closure of the last coal operated steam hauled freight service on the South Maitland Railway network in 1983. * Bitter & Twisted Beer Festival is an annual international boutique beer festival held at the historic
Maitland Gaol The Old Maitland Gaol, also known as Maitland Correctional Centre, is a heritage-listed former Australian prison located in East Maitland, New South Wales. Its construction was started in 1844 and prisoners first entered the gaol in 1848. By t ...
in
East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...
. * ChapelJazz (formerly Morpeth Jazz Festival) is an annual music festival held at the popular historic riverside port of Morpeth. It is a celebration of music, wine and food. * Groovin' the Moo is an annual music festival held at the Maitland Showground since 2006. * Maitland Show is an annual agricultural show held at the Maitland Showground.


Education

Maitland has many educational facilities ranging from primary and high schools to short course vocational training operations. The Hunter Institute of TAFE has a campus in Maitland, as does the privately owned Hunter Valley Training Company that is Australia's largest group trainer. These facilities provide excellent training in all fields, especially building and construction, engineering, mining, tourism and business administration. Maitland has twenty primary schools and seven high schools. Local high schools include: * St Joseph's College, Lochinvar (formerly All Saints College, St Joesph's Campus) * All Saints College, St Mary's Campus * All Saints College, St Peter's Campus * Hunter Valley Grammar School * Maitland Christian School * Maitland Grossmann High School (formerly Maitland Girls' High School) * Maitland High School (formerly Maitland Boys' High School) * Rutherford Technology High School * Francis Greenway High School There are also numerous pre-school and
day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
facilities.


Sport and recreation

Maitland has a strong sporting community with a range of sporting competitions and clubs based in the city. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: * Maitland FC
Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club that competes in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW competition. * Maitland Pickers
Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
club that competes in the Newcastle Rugby League competition. * Maitland Blacks –
Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club that competes in the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union competition. * Maitland Saints –
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
club that competes in the AFL Hunter Central Coast competition. * Maitland Off-road Radio Car Club, racing at Harold Gregson Reserve. Maitland Showground is an multi-purpose outdoor recreational area used for
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
, known as Maitland Greyhounds and
Harness Racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
, around the exterior of the greyhound track. The site is also a historic landmark for
motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
having been regarded as the birth of the sport on 15 December 1923 when New Zealand born promoter Johnnie Hoskins organised a series of motorcycle races.


Notable people

* William Arnott (1827–1901), biscuit manufacturer * John Bell (1940–), actor * David Berthold. theatre director * Greg Bird (1984–), professional rugby league player * Alexander Brown (1851–1926). merchant and politician * George Lyndon Carpenter (1872–1948),
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
general * Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), philanthropist, sheltered homeless immigrants in a cottage at Maitland * Percy Brereton Colquhoun (1866–1936), sportsman, lawyer and politician *
Abbie Cornish Abigail Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. In film, Cornish is known for her roles as Heidi in ''Somersault (film), Somersault'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in ''Bright Star (film), Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in ''Sucker Punch ...
(1982–), actress * Michael Cox (born 1956), cricketer, born in Newcastle, raised in Maitland * Ruth Cracknell (1925–2002), actress * Les Darcy (1895–1917), boxer and folk hero * Edward Davis (1816–1841), "Teddy the Jewboy", Australian convict turned bushranger * Edward Denny Day (1801–1876),
police magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''Roman magistrate, magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and pos ...
* Justin Dooley (1970–), rugby league player * Luke Dorn (1982–), professional rugby league player * Joseph Wilfrid Dwyer (1869–1939), Roman Catholic Bishop 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 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...
* Nick Enright (1950–2003), playwright *
H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for For ...
(1894–1965), former leader of the Australian Labor Party, Third President of the United Nations General Assembly, Justice of the High Court of Australia, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales * Clive Evatt (1900–1984), Australian politician, barrister and raconteur * Allen Fairhall (1909–2006), politician and Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Paterson * Brett Finch (1981–), rugby league player and sportscaster * Robert Finch (1956–), rugby league player * Michael Scott Fletcher (1868–1947), Methodist minister, foundation master of Wesley College, University of Sydney * Allan Grice (1942–), Motor racing driver, two-time winner of the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...
* Ben Hall (1837–1865), bushranger * Isaac Heeney (1996–), AFL player * Harry Holgate (1933–1997), politician, 36th
Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...
* Matt Jobson (1980–), rugby league player * Ellis Lawrie (1907–1978), politician * Frank Liddell (1862–1939), politician * Edmund Lonsdale (1843–1913), politician * Charles Macartney (1886–1958), cricketer * Christian Mansell (2005–), racing driver * Jack Marx (1965–), journalist and author * Charles Stuart Mein (1841–1890), barrister, politician and judge * Jim Morgan (1943–2005), rugby league player * George Moore (1820–1916), cricketer, born in England, but lived most of his live in Maitland * Milton Morris (1924–2019), NSW state politician known for his role in the Supercar scare of 1972 * Mollie McNutt (1885–1919), poet * Sir Arthur William Morrow (1903–1977), physician * Nell (1975–), artist * Ziggy Niszczot (1955–), rugby league player * Walter O'Hearn (1890–1950), politician *
Margaret Olley Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of J ...
(1923–2011), painter * Noel Pidding (1927–2013), rugby league player *
Baker Russell General (United Kingdom), General Sir Baker Creed Russell (11 January 1837 – 25 November 1911) was an Australian-born British Army officer who served with distinction in the Indian Mutiny, Anglo-Ashanti War, Anglo-Zulu War, Sekhukhune, Sekhuk ...
(1837–1911), Australian-born British Army officer * Henry Chamberlain Russell (1836–1907), astronomer and meteorologist * David Trewhella (1962–), rugby league player * William Samuel Viner (1881–1933), Australian chess master * Walter Lawry Waterhouse (1887–1969), agricultural scientist * Alasdair Webster (1934–), politician * Mary Dunstan Wilson (1870–1959), Sister of Charity, educator * Caitlin Wood (1997–), racing driver * Leonora Wray (1886–1979), golfer * Peter Wynn (1957–), rugby league player * Hudson Young (1998–), rugby league player * Marc Ongley (1952-), classical guitarist


See also

* Maitland, South Australia *
South Maitland coalfields The South Maitland coalfields was the most extensive coalfield in New South Wales until the great coal mining slump of the 1960s. It was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson (explorer), William Paterson's party when they were engaged i ...


References


External links


Maitland City CouncilMaitland City Library

Hunter Region

History of the Maitland Mercury – State Library of NSW
* {{Authority control Hunter River (New South Wales)