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Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands 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 ...
. Moss Vale is the administrative centre of
Wingecarribee Shire Wingecarribee Shire is the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales), Southern Highlands in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of Sydney a ...
local government area. It is located south-west of
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 ...
and north-east of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
. The Illawarra Highway, which connects to
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several heritage buildings. In the centre of the main street is Leighton Gardens. Moss Vale has undergone recent (2019) gentrification. It has become a hub for independent and creative businesses, including design stores, cafes, and bars. The town has a commercial district and a golf course, including a large parkland, Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve.


History

The Moss Vale area was once occupied by the
Gandangara people The Gandangara people, also spelled Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gundungurra and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Sh ...
, though they had disappeared by the 1870s, partly due to the loss of their hunting land to European settlers. Governor Hunter sent a party led by ex-convict John Wilson to investigate the area in 1798. Various others explored the area up to 1815, including John Warby, George Caley,
Hamilton Hume Hamilton Hume (19 June 1797 – 19 April 1873) was an early explorer of the present-day Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria. In 1824, along with William Hovell, Hume participated in an expedition that first t ...
and
John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...
. Hume,
Charles Throsby Charles Throsby (1777 – 2 April 1828) was an English surgeon who, after he migrated to New South Wales in 1802, became an explorer, pioneer and parliamentarian. He opened up much new land beyond the Blue Mountains for colonial settlement ...
and Joseph Wild explored the area west of
Sutton Forest Sutton Forest is a small village in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located 5 km southwest of Moss Vale, New South Wales, Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highw ...
in 1817 and in 1818, together with James Meehan, they explored the area between Moss Vale and
Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...
. Governor Macquarie granted Throsby , known as Throsby Park, at Bong Bong, on the northeastern outskirts of Moss Vale and put him in charge of building the Old Argyle Road from Sydney to
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...
in 1819. This road was replaced in the 1830s by a more direct road via Berrima surveyed by Thomas Mitchell and most of the population of Bong Bong moved to Berrima. The heritage-listed property of Throsby Park house was built about 1834, six years after Throsby's suicide. The area, which was considered to be part of
Sutton Forest Sutton Forest is a small village in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located 5 km southwest of Moss Vale, New South Wales, Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highw ...
, remained rural until the coming of the railway. Subdivision part of Throsby Park for the town of Moss Vale, named after Jemmy Moss, a herdsman at Throsby Park, commenced in 1864, in anticipation of the opening of Sutton Forest railway station in 1867 at the intersection with Old Argyle Road. Governor Belmore rented Throsby Park from 1870 to 1872 to what is commonly believed to escape the summer heat of Sydney. The railway and the Robertson Land Acts encouraged denser settlement by selectors in the Southern Highlands and led to the growth of Moss Vale as a town. In 1877 Sutton Forest railway station was renamed Moss Vale.


Climate

Moss Vale has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb'') with warm to mild, rainy summers and cool sunny winters.


Heritage listings

Moss Vale has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Church Road: Throsby Park * Main Southern railway: Moss Vale railway station * Main Southern railway 146.037: Argyle Street railway bridge * Oldbury Road: Oldbury Farm


Population

At the 2021 census, 9,310 people were living in Moss Vale. According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 8,579 people in Moss Vale. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.6% of the population. 78.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 4.4%, New Zealand 1.7% and China 1.5%. 87.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 1.3%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 25.8%, Anglican 24.9% and Catholic 22.1%.


Economy

Moss Vale holds a large part of the Southern Highlands Industry – as well as being a minor centre for agriculture, many light and medium industries are found in and around Moss Vale, including a James Hardie plant, a
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book distribution centre, and other manufacturing industries. Despite Moss Vale's prowess as an industrial centre, nearby Bowral is the commercial heart of the Southern Highlands. Moss Vale is believed to have fertile soil and good precipitation. Agricultural rural holdings in the area specialise in dairy herds, mainly Holstein Frisian, and there is an assortment of beef studs and sheep properties.


Council and safety

The Wingecarribee Shire Council Chambers are located at 68 Elizabeth Street, Moss Vale. They can be found online at
Wingecarribee Shire Council WebsiteWingecarribee Shire Council Facebook Page
The Southern Highlands Police Station, part of the Hume Police District is the main
NSW Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
Station serving the Southern Highlands (Wingecarribee Shire). It is located at 67 Elizabeth Street. Moss Vale has a New South Wales Rural Fire Service Brigade which is located at 49 Berrima Road. There is also a Fire and Rescue NSW Station which is located at 64 Elizabeth Street, Moss Vale which is across the road from the Police Station and just up from the Wingecarribee Shire Council Chambers.


Transport

Moss Vale station is the primary southern terminus of the Southern Highlands railway line. The line provides regular services from Moss Vale to southern Sydney, where a change of trains is generally required to access the city centre. Limited services continue south of Moss Vale to Goulburn and beyond (intercity, regional and interstate). The station has 4 Melbourne XPT services a day (2 to Melbourne, 2 to Sydney), with other services towards Canberra (3 daily trips in each direction) and Griffith (2 return trips per week). Moss Vale is the junction of the Unanderra – Moss Vale railway line to
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
, opened in 1932, but now only used by freight trains.


Television

Television is delivered from the Illawarra region with a transmitter based on Mount Gibraltar. The Southern NSW Channels are: ABC (with
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,
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,
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 ...
, ABC Kids) SBS (with SBS Viceland,
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, SBS WorldWatch, SBS World Movies,
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 ...
) 7 Moss Vale (with 7two,
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,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Racing.com, TVSN) –
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, ...
owned and operated WIN Television (with
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 ...
,
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,
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 ...
and
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) –
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 ...
Affiliate Southern Cross 10 (with 10 Bold Drama, 10 Peach Comedy,
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, Sky News Regional, SBN and gecko) –
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Affiliate


School

Schools in Moss Vale: * Moss Vale High School
Moss Vale Public School

St Paul's Catholic Primary School
* St Paul's International College * Tudor House School


Churches

Churches in Moss Vale:
Connect Christian Church
(AOG/ACC) *Moss Vale Jehovah's Witnesses Hall
Moss Vale Uniting Church in AustraliaSt Andrews Presbyterian ChurchSt John's Anglican ChurchSt Paul's Roman Catholic Church


Sport

Sporting teams in Moss Vale:
Moss Vale Basketball

Moss Vale Cricket Club
* Moss Vale Dragonflies Netball Club * Moss Vale Dragons Rugby League Club *
Moss Vale Golf Club Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

Moss Vale Hockey Club
* Moss Vale Rifle Club * Moss Vale Soccer Club (''Highlands Soccer Association or HSA for short)


Notable residents

* Ann Carr-Boyd, composer and musicologist * Tom Green, artist * Tony Lockett, former AFL player for the Sydney Swans * Steve Prestwich, drummer for popular
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 ...
n rock band,
Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...
* Ray Stone, rugby league player


Notable former residents

*Dr Frank Tidswell,
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
, and his wife Edith lived at ''Farnborough'' in the 1930s


References


External links

{{authority control Towns of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales)