Population 2,513 (2011 census) LGA(s) Weddin Shire Mean max temp Mean min temp Postal code 2810 Federal division Division of Hume | Postcode(s) 2810 State electorate(s) Cootamundra Elevation 410 m Local time Friday 7:13 PM | |
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Location 367 km (228 mi) W of Sydney
226 km (140 mi) NW of Canberra
197 km (122 mi) N of Wagga Wagga
55 km (34 mi) WSW of Cowra
51 km (32 mi) NW of Young Weather 27°C, Wind S at 13 km/h, 21% Humidity | ||
Grenfell is a town in Weddin Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is 370 kilometres 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.
Contents
- Map of Grenfell NSW 2810 Australia
- History
- Attractions
- Major events
- The villages of Weddin Shire
- Fossils
- People
- References
Map of Grenfell NSW 2810, Australia
History
In 1866 shepherd, Cornelius O’Brien discovered a gold bearing quartz outcrop. Within 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 December 7, 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 40,000 ounces 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.
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.
Attractions
Major events
The villages of Weddin Shire
Fossils
Grenfell is an important centre of for fossils of Devonian ducks, which occur in many surrounding outcrops of the Hunter Siltstone geological formation.
People
Cricketer Stan McCabe, cyclist Reggie McNamara and tennis player Jan Lehane were born in Grenfell.