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Grenfell

Towns

Weddin Shire Council NSW, PO Box 125, Grenfell, NSW 2810
02 6343 1212

Description

Grenfell is a town in Weddin Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia.

Grenfell is atown in Weddin Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia.It is 370 km (230 mi) west of Sydney.It is close to Forbes, Cowra and Young.At the 2011 census, Grenfell had a population of 1,996. The town is served daily by connecting NSW TrainLink services from Sydney via Bathurst and Lithgow. Grenfell is approximately 5 hours from Sydney and 2 1/2 hours from Canberra.

History

In 1866, shepherd Cornelius O’Brien discovered a gold bearing quartz outcrop. Within some weeks, large parties of miners from the Lambing Flats and Forbes diggings arrived. Tents, bark huts and a business centre grew along the banks of Emu Creek. A few months later, Grenfell was proclaimed on January 1, 1867 after Gold Commissioner, John Granville Grenfell, who was wounded by bushrangers near Narromine on 7 December 1866. John Granville Grenfell was driving a coach at the time and refused to stop when bushrangers called him to. He was shot twice in the groin and died 24 hours later. Between 1867 and 1869 over 1,100 kilograms (40,000 oz) of gold were produced each year on the Grenfell goldfields and were the richest gold fields in NSW during this time.

Grenfell was a goldmining town first known as Emu Creek and renamed in honour of John Grenfell, Gold Commissioner at Forbes, who had been killed in 1866 when bushrangers attacked a stagecoach on which he was travelling. "Weddin" Post Office opened on 3 December 1866 and was renamed "Grenfell" on 24 December the same year. By 1870-71 it was producing more gold than any other town in NSW. However, by the mid-1870s gold was in decline. During the First World War, manganese ore was mined near Grenfell for the production of ferromanganese.

Wheat was first grown in the district in 1871. In late October 1901, the railway from Koorawatha to Grenfell was officially opened. Unlike most Australian country towns Grenfell has a main street which bends.

The town's rugby league team competed for the Maher Cup.

In June 2007, the Spirit of the Bush Concert was held on the sporting fields. Acts included the organiser and Australian of the Year Lee Kernaghan, local and international star Steve Forde & the Flange, Adam Brand, Leo Sayer, Diesel, and The McClymonts.

Weather
Things to do

Chrysler Car Museum

Ochre Arch Farm Tours

Iandra Castle

Ben Halls Cave

Weddin Mountains National Park

Seaton's Farm

Bird Watching and Bird Trails

Endemic Garden

Wallangreen Sculpture Garden

Grenfell Art Gallery

Patina Gallery

Grenfell Museum

Historic Railway Station

Historic Main Street and George Street

Henry Lawson birthplace and statues

O'Brians Hill

The Big Gold Pick and Pan

Sporting Hall of Fame

Details

Type: Towns

Population: 1001-10000

Time zone: UTC +11:00

Area: 877.968 km2

Elevation: 201-500 metres

Town elevation: 397 m

Population number: 2,573

Local Government Area: Weddin Shire Council

Location

Weddin Shire Council NSW, PO Box 125, Grenfell, NSW 2810

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Attribution

This article contains content imported from the English Wikipedia article on Grenfell, New South Wales

Grenfell - Localista

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