Sandy Flat, New South Wales
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Sandy Flat is a historic locality on the
Northern Tablelands 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 ...
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 ...
. This locality is situated on
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, ...
and the former Main North Railway line about 20 kilometres south of
Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia, situated at the junction of the New England and Bruxner highways, along the Northern Tablelands, within the New England, New South Wales, New England region. At the , Tenterfield ha ...
. At the , Sandy Flat had a population of 209 people. Sandy Flat takes its name from a general description of the area. Nearby Bluff Rock is a commonly photographed landmark along the New England Highway.


History

The original inhabitants of the land were Aborigines of the
Kamilaroi The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous Australians, Indi ...
clan. Early community life at Sandy Flat for generations centred on a school (1886–1965), a public hall, a church, a general store and during construction of the railway line during the 1880s the community also had its own hotel. The Main Northern Railway line to Jennings opened on 1 September 1886 and the station at Sandy Flat closed on 20 February 1975. Sandy Flat Post Office opened on 20 June 1887. The Bluff River Rail Bridge at Sandy Flat, designed by
John Whitton John Whitton (1820 near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England – 20 February 1898), an English people, Anglo–Australians, Australian Railway systems engineering, railway civil engineer, engineer, was the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Gov ...
, is listed on the
Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
. It consists of 10-span timber deck Queen Post truss viaduct, with each span measuring . When completed in 1886 it was the second longest timber truss bridge in Australia. Remains of the Sandy Flat community comprises the remains of the former rail siding, a disused post office building and a modern
New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting government agency, agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the la ...
shed together with an information stand. There are some scattered agricultural properties in the surrounding area.


Sports

Apart from facilities for the more traditional sports such as tennis, cricket and football the Sandy Flat Rifle Range provided many hours of recreation for men around the time of World War I. The 1,000 yard range was opened in 1913 with a telephone connection and a substantial weather shelter for its sixty or so members.


Industries

Local industries include
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 breeding and beef cattle farms.


Sandy Flat railway station


References


Further reading

Halliday, Ken, ''Call of the Highlands'', Southern Cross Printery, Toowoomba, 1988 Tenterfield Tourism, ''Tenterfield: A Federation Town'', ICP Craftpress, Stanthorpe, QLD {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in New England (New South Wales)