Orange, New South Wales


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Orange
New South Wales

Population: 31,544 [1] (as of 2006)
Established: 1846
Postcode: 2800
Elevation: 863.2 m (2,832 ft) [2]
Location:
LGA: City of Orange
County: Wellington, Bathurst
State District: Orange
Federal Division: Calare
Mean Max Temp Mean Min Temp Annual Rainfall
17.6 °C
64 °F		 6.2 °C
43 °F		 884.5 mm
34.8 in

Orange is a provincial city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Mitchell Highway, 260 kilometres (160 mi) west of Sydney at an altitude of 862 metres (2,828 ft). Orange presently has a population of 31,544[1] and the city is a major provincial centre.

Key industries include agriculture, mining, health services and education. A significant nearby landmark is Mount Canobolas; at an altitude of 1,395 metres (4,577 ft) it gives commanding views of the district. Orange is one of the few cities in Australia to receive reasonably frequent snowfalls in winter.

Orange is the birthplace of poets Banjo Paterson and Kenneth Slessor, although Paterson only lived in Orange for a very short time as an infant.

The first Australian Touring Car Championship, known today as V8 Supercar Championship Series, was held at the Gnoo Blas circuit in 1960.[3]

Contents

History

In 1822 Captain Percy Simpson drove into the Wellington District and established a convict settlement which was called "Blackman's Swamp" after John Blackman. Percy had employed John Blackman as a guide because he had already accompanied an earlier explorer into that region.

In the late 1820s surveyor J. B. Richards worked on a survey of the Macquarie River below Bathurst and also of the road to Wellington. On a plan dated 1829, he indicated a village reserve, in the parish of Orange. It is thought that Sir Thomas Mitchell may have named the parish, as he had been an associate of the Prince of Orange in the Peninsular War, when both were aides-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, whose title was bestowed on the valley westward, by Oxley.

Legal occupation by graziers began late in 1829, and tiny settlements grew up on the properties and in connection with the road. In 1844 surveyor Davidson was sent to check on encroachments onto the land reserved for a village, and to advise on the location for a township; the choice being Frederick's Valley, Pretty Plains or Blackman's Swamp.

Blackman's Swamp was decided upon and proclaimed a village and named Orange by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1846 in honour of Prince William of Orange. At nearby Ophir the first payable discovery of gold in Australia was made in 1851 which led to the Australian gold rush. Subsequent discoveries of gold in nearby areas led to the establishment of Orange as a central trading centre for the gold. This is contrary to the popular belief that gold was first discovered close to the nearby regional town of Bathurst.

The growth of Orange continued as the conditions were well suited for agriculture, and in 1860 it was proclaimed a municipality. The railway from Sydney reached Orange in 1877. In 1946, 100 years after first being established as a village, Orange was proclaimed a city.

Industries

Orange is a well known fruit growing district, and produces apples, pears, and many stone fruits such as cherries, peaches, apricots and plums. Somewhat ironically, oranges are not grown in the area, as the climate is too cool. In recent years, a large number of vineyards have been planted in the area for a rapidly expanding wine production industry. The growth of this wine industry, coupled with the further development of Orange as a gourmet food capital, has ensured Orange's status as something of a tourism capital.

Other large industries include the Cadia gold mine and an Electrolux white goods factory. Orange is also the location of the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries head office, and a campus of Charles Sturt University (formerly part of University of Sydney). Orange High School is the largest school in the city. Other secondary schools located within the city are Canobolas Rural Technology High School, Kinross Wolaroi School and James Sheahan Catholic High School.

Climate

Source: Averages for ORANGE AIRPORT, 1968–2008, Bureau of Meteorology
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Temperatures (°C)
Mean daily maximum 25.9 25.2 22.4 18.3 13.9 10.4 9.3 10.7 13.6 17.2 20.3 23.9 17.6
Highest recorded maximum
Date and year		 37.2
3rd 1973		 37.5
15th 2004		 33.0
6th 1983		 29.8
4th 1986		 22.0
1st 1988		 18.5
5th 2002		 17.8
29th 1975		 20.4
21st 1995		 25.6
30th 1980		 30.7
21st 1988		 35.6
25th 1982		 35.0
8th 1979
Lowest recorded maximum
Date and year		 10.6
2nd 1970		 11.0
10th 1996		 10.0
30th 1987		 7.2
24th 1972		 0.5
31st 1977		 2.2
12th 1993		 −0.2
3rd 1984		 1.7
17th 1970		 3.0
4th 1975		 6.4
9th 1976		 6.0
16th 1988		 10.5
2nd 1984
Mean daily minimum 12.1 12.2 9.6 6.1 3.6 1.5 0.6 1.4 3.2 5.7 7.8 10.0 6.2
Highest recorded minimum
Date and year		 23.5
18th 2003		 22.5
17th 1983		 21.0
9th 1983		 15.0
11th 1983		 13.0
4th 2000		 11.2
8th 2001		 10.5
25th 1993		 11.2
31st 1995		 15.8
29th 2004		 15.6
14th 2002		 20.2
26th 2002		 21.5
23rd 1972
Lowest recorded minimum
Date and year		 1.7
2nd 1972		 2.4
13th 1996		 −0.5
28th 1984		 −3.5
27th 1978		 −6.6
24th 1982		 −6.5
14th 1977		 −7.1
1st 1971		 −5.8
6th 1974		 −6. 0
5th 1977		 −3.0
18th 1984		 −1.0
16th 2006		 −1.0
1st 2001
Precipitation (millimetres)
Mean total rainfall 87.6 81.8 50.4 52.9 63.7 66.4 87.4 91.7 78.1 77.7 74.4 72.5 884.5
Highest recorded total
Year		 320.6
1978		 289.3
1973		 137.0
1987		 288.7
1990		 193.8
1995		 163.4
1998		 208.6
1981		 251.8
1990		 165.0
1978		 255.1
1999		 163.8
2005		 193.0
1992		 1393.0
1973
Lowest recorded total
Year		 7.4
1985		 6.9
1979		 0.0
1981		 4.2
2004		 4.0
2005		 2.4
1972		 15.1
1970		 4.5
1982		 9.2
2007		 0.8
2002		 7.0
1980		 0.8
1979		 364.2
1982
Highest daily rainfall
Date and year		 116.2
24th 1978		 92.0
12th 1997		 49.5
11th 2000		 68.2
20th 1990		 64.4
28th 1977		 46.0
28th 1980		 56.4
29th 1981		 64.8
2nd 1990		 53.3
5th 1974		 68.6
4th 1993		 74.8
8th 2005		 74.7
27th 1971
Notes: Temperatures are in degrees Celsius. Precipitation is in millimetres. Orange Airport Latitude: −33.38S Longitude: 149.12E Elevation: 948 m ASL

Media

Orange has several radio stations, such as 105.1 2GZFM, 105.9 Star FM, 107.5 Community Radio, 103.5 Rhema FM and 1089AM — a commercial station that gets most of its programming from 2SM in Sydney. Recently a new radio station, HIT Country 88, opened and broadcasts on 88.0FM.

Electronic media is represented by the ABC, and television by Prime, WIN and Southern Cross Ten.

The local newspapers are the Central Western Daily,the Midstate Observer and Orange Photo News

Transport

The main street of Orange, Summer Street, as viewed from the vicinity of McNamara Street looking west in May 2008.

Orange is situated on the Mitchell Highway, linking the city to Bathurst to the East, and through to Molong, Wellington, Dubbo and Bourke to the north west. Due west are Parkes (100 km/62 mi) and Forbes (125 km/78 mi), which is midway along the Newell Highway, running from Brisbane to Melbourne. In 2007 a bypass road, known as the northern distributor road, was opened for use after decades of planning. Orange is also serviced by a regional-class airport, Orange Airport.

Railways

Orange has two railway stations. The main station, on the Main Western Line to Bourke, was opened in 1877[4] and is served by the daily Countrylink XPT service between Sydney and Dubbo and the weekly Xplorer service between Sydney and Broken Hill. A smaller station, opened in 1970[5], known as Orange East Fork, lies on the branch line to Broken Hill and is served by the twice-weekly Indian Pacific service to Perth.


Preceding station   CountryLink   Following station
towards Dubbo
 CountryLink Western
Dubbo XPT
towards Sydney
towards Broken Hill
 CountryLink Western
Broken Hill Outback Xplorer
Preceding station   Great Southern Railway   Following station
towards East Perth
 Indian Pacific
towards Sydney

Sister cities

Orange is a sister city to:

Notable citizens

See also

New South Wales portal

References

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Orange (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL162800&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved on 2008-06-29. 
  2. ^ "Climate statistics for Orange Post Office". Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Australian Government. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_063065.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-02-21. 
  3. ^ "1960: Let the race begin". Australian Touring Car Championship, 25 Fabulous Years. Gordon, NSW: R&T Publishing. 1986. pp. 14–26. ISBN 0 9590378 2 9. 
  4. ^ "Orange railway station". www.nswrail.net. http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Orange&line=NSW:main_west:0. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. 
  5. ^ "Orange East Fork Platform". www.nswrail.net. http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Orange+East+Fork+Platform&line=NSW:broken_hill:0. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. 

External links

Coordinates: 33°17′S 149°06′E / 33.283°S 149.1°E / -33.283; 149.1

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Cities of New South Wales

Capital: Sydney

Cities: Albury · Armidale · Bathurst · Blue Mountains · Broken Hill · Cessnock · Coffs Harbour · Dubbo · Gosford · Goulburn · Grafton · Griffith · Lake Macquarie · Lismore · Lithgow · Maitland · Newcastle · Nowra · Orange · Queanbeyan · Tamworth · Wagga Wagga · Wollongong






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