Werris Creek is a small town in

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 ...

, near Tamworth, in

Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...

Shire. It is north of

Quirindi Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the , Quirindi had a population of 2,602. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah, New South Wales, Gunnedah to the northw ...

and is at the junction of the

Main North railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale. The 1980s saw the line closed progressively north of Armidale; passenger services ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a population of 1,437.

History

The area was originally occupied by the

Gamilaraay 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 nations in Austr ...

people. "Werris" appears to derive from an Aboriginal word first written as "Weia Weia", but the exact meaning is not known. There is a similar Aboriginal word pronounced "werai", which means "look out", which might be related, because there are prominent hills in the area. In earlier years, Werris was written in a variety of ways, including Werres, Werries and Weery's. The first European settlers came to the area in the 1830s and the Weia Weia Creek Station was established by the Reverend Francis Vidal around 1841. By the 1870s, there were 20 pastoral families occupying the valley and, on the eastern side of the present townsite, was Summer Hill station, belonging to John Single, after whom the main street is named. Werris Creek Post Office opened on 1 January 1878 and a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was built there in 1879, designed by the NSW railway engineer

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 ...

. It is from Sydney by rail and was termed 'the first

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated, or was expanded, as a result of a railway line being constructed there. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, ...

in Australia'. On 2 October 2013 Werris Creek was slated to be the location for a film, ''

Unbroken Unbroken may refer to: Books and film * ''Unbroken'' (book), a 2010 nonfiction book by Laura Hillenbrand about World War II hero Louis Zamperini * ''Unbroken'' (film), a 2014 film based on the Hillenbrand book * '' Unbroken: Path to Redemption' ...

'', written by the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

, and directed by

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

Heritage listings

Werris Creek has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Main Northern railway:

Werris Creek railway station Werris Creek railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located at the junction of the Main Northern, Mungindi and Binnaway–Werris Creek lines ('' Keilbahnhof'') in Werris Creek of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves ...

Geography

Werris Creek is overlooked by Mount Terrible, known to the locals as 'Terrible Billy'. It is 380m or 1246 feet above sea level. It has an average annual rainfall of 685 mm or 27 inches. On 18 July 1965, for the first and only time in recorded history, Werris Creek was blanketed by three inches of snow.

Facilities

Werris Creek has one school, Werris Creek Public, which was established in the 1880s, The town previously had two schools, with St Joseph's Catholic school having been established in 1915 but it closed on 9 April 2009. The town has a swimming pool (opened in 1968), tennis courts, bowling green and golf club. There is a

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 ...

team, the Magpies, which is part of the

Group 4 Rugby League Group 4 is a rugby league competition in the New England and north west area of New South Wales, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. Structure The Group runs a first grade, reserve grade, league tag and under 18s competitions. All ...

competition. In 1996 the Werris Creek Magpies won the Clayton Cup for being the best performed, premiership-winning first grade team, in country New South Wales. The town has a large grain silo and a recently opened (2005) coal mine. The main employer in the town is

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock, jointly owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Governm ...

. A high percentage of the working population are also employed in nearby Tamworth. Werris Creek is a four-hour drive 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 ...

and is situated midway between the famous wine growing area of the

Hunter Valley 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 and its ...

and the cooler climate vineyards of 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 ...

. Werris Creek is also located within three hours of beaches in Newcastle and four hours of Australia's coastal resorts of Forster,

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

and

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

Railway station

opened in 1878, and was moved to its present location in 1880. The heritage listed Werris Creek station building, built in the late 1880s, was designed by the famed NSW railway engineer

. The Australian Railway Monument was opened in October 2005 near the station and part of the station building has been opened as a railway museum. A historic display depicts the history of Werris Creek as the first railway town in Australia from the age of steam through to the modern day diesel. It is still served by the daily

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

Xplorer service to and from Sydney Central which amalgamates/divides at the station, half the train to and from

, the other half to and from Moree. Werris Creek was a

with a large locomotive depot.

In popular culture

Marie Hodson, a country musician, lives in Werris Creek. Tokyo 2020 Australian rhythmic gymnast Scott Suckling began his career in Werris Creek. American singer/songwriter and Country/Rockabilly recording artist Jason Lee Wilson memorialized the town in the song "Werris Creek" which was included on his 2007 debut solo album entitled "High Country". Bobby Rivers played by musician and Australian Rock Legend,

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...

, reminisces about growing up in Werris Creek in the 1960s during an episode of the final series of his TV sitcom '' All Together Now'', an actual yearbook from Werris Creek school 1967 was used as a prop in the episode.

Filming of Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken"

In 2013, different historic locations in Werris Creek including the train station, alleyways and streets were filmed for Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" (2014). During the filming, Angelina visited Werris Creek and walked around the town talking with locals and happily had pictures taken with them.

References

External links

{{authority control Liverpool Plains Shire Railway towns Towns in New England (New South Wales)