|
Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2011, it had a population of 2,267 including 1,004 Indigenous persons and 1,073 non-Indigenous Australian-born persons.〔 The balance of the population was born overseas. In 2013 it had a population of 2,300. Walgett takes its name from an Aboriginal word meaning 'the meeting place of two rivers'. 〔http://about.nsw.gov.au/view/suburb/Walgett/〕 The current signage at the outskirts of the town indicates a population of 2000 (December 2008) and an elevation of 130 metres. It is a regional hub for wool, wheat and cotton industries. It is the gateway to the New South Wales opal fields at Lightning Ridge to the north and The Grawin to the west. The main crop farmed in the district is wheat, however the drought has caused an increase in the farming of lucerne and other good hay crops. The town, like many other remote communities, has problems with crime linked to the abuse of drugs and alcohol.〔(Landline - 3 November 2002: https://instagram.com/p/7LytSaGZiH/Walgett employer forced to look overseas for staff. Australian Broadcasting Corp )〕〔(Busy kids means less boredom crime in Walgett :: Water )〕 As a result, many businesses have metal shutters to protect their premises from street crime. The town was listed as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in the State according to the 2015 Dropping Off The Edge report. ==History== A post office was gazetted for "Wallgett on the Barwin River" in 1851 and the town sites were surveyed in 1859. The district would have been occupied prior to this by squatters and their livestock.〔''Readers Digest Guide to Australian Places'', Reader’s Digest (Australia) Pty. Limited, Surry Hills N.S.W., 1993, ISBN 0-86438-399-1〕 The town of Walgett was proclaimed on 20 March 1885. The surveyor Arthur Dewhurst mapped the town, naming three streets after British Prime Ministers: Fox (main street—Castlereagh Highway), Pitt and Peel. Arthur Street was named after another surveyor. Walgett Courthouse was built in 1865.〔Zagar, C. (2000) ''Goodbye Riverbank: The Barwon-Namoi People Tell Their Story'', Broome, Magabala Books. p. 14.〕 Walgett was a port in the late 19th century for paddle steamers that plied the Murray-Darling river system. The first steamer reached Walgett in 1861 and travelled to the town regularly until c.1870.〔 Euroka Station, 10 miles (16km) south of the town on the Castlereagh Highway, was purchased by Fred Wolseley in 1876 and was the site of the invention of the Wolseley Shearing Machine. The machine was tested at Bourke in 1888 on 184,000 sheep and eventually revolutionised the shearing industry. Walgett's history includes the Freedom Rides in the mid-1960s. The Freedom Riders arrived in Walgett on 15 February 1965. They protested outside the Walgett RSL Club because they had been told the club was refusing to admit Indigenous ex-servicemen. They also picketed a ladies dress shop (Sheehan's), protesting the fact that the proprietor would not allow Indigenous women to try on dresses. After their protests the Freedom Riders left town and headed for Narrabri, when a short distance from town their bus was forced off the road by a car driven by a local farmer. This event led to Walgett, the Freedom Riders and the plight of Indigenous Australians receiving national and international media attention. 〔()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Walgett, New South Wales」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|