Glen Innes, New South Wales

Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and the Gwydir Highway. At the 2006 census, Glen Innes had a population of 5,944.

Climate
Glen Innes is 1,062 metres AHD with an average annual rainfall of 857 mm. The area has a similar climate to Blackheath, New South Wales in the Blue Mountains, with mild to warm summer and with cold and windy winters with regular frosts and snowfalls, though many snowfalls don't settle.

History
In about 1838 Archibald Boyd registered the first run in the Glen Innes district. Two stockmen known as “the Beardies” because of their long beards took Boyd to this area to establish his run. ‘The Beardies’ later introduced other squatters to the best runs in the area to become known as the Land of the Beardies or Beardie Plains. Furracabad Station was suggested by John James Galloway as an alternative to Wellingrove for a new town. However Furracabad Station was sold in the 1840s depression and passed to Major Archibald Clunes Innes, then to the Bank of Australasia, then to John Major, who sold it to Archibald Mosman. The name Glen Innes is believed to be bestowed by Mosman in honour of AC Innes. Glen Innes was gazetted as a town in 1852 and the first lots were sold in 1854. The post office was established in 1854 and the court in 1858 when they replaced the Wellingrove offices. In 1866 the population was about 350, with a telegraph station, lands office, police barracks, courthouse, post office and two hotels. There was still no coach service at this time, but in the 1870s a road was constructed to Grafton.

Tin was first discovered at Emmaville in 1872 and Glen Innes became the centre of a mining bonanza during the late 1800s. In 1875 the population had swelled to about 1,500 and the town had a two teacher school, three churches, five hotels, two weekly newspapers, seven stores and a variety of societies and associations. On 19 August 1884 the new Main North railway from Sydney opened. The arrival of the rail service and the expansion of mining contributed a new prosperity in the town, which is reflected in some of the beautiful buildings there.

The centre of the town retains some of its federation buildings and the owners have painted these buildings in the traditional colours. Many of these buildings have been placed on the Register of the National Estate.

Other nearby villages are: Deepwater, Torrington, Ben Lomond, Wellingrove, Glencoe and Red Range.

The town boasts a railway station that was once part of the Main North Line. These days the line is closed at this point so the station is not in use. The buildings have been reused.

Industries
The Glen Innes district has been a producer of wool, sheep and beef cattle since it was first settled. Sapphires are mined in the creek valleys immediately west of town, and while tin is no longer commercially mined, mineral exploration is ongoing. The town holds regular livestock sales in the local saleyards. The town contains all of the regular service industries required by the community. Notable individual businesses include a photographic processing facility, an exporter of waste material balers, a large cattle feedlot, and transport depots. Sawmilling was historically a major industry of the district, but is now only conducted on a reasonable scale by the local minimum-security prison. The conversion of State Forests into National Parks has led to tourism becoming an important employer.

Culture and tourism
Among the many attractions of this area are the extensive Land of the Beardies History Museum with its splendid collection of biographical and historical records, the town parks, fishing, fossicking areas, Gibraltar Range National Park, several waterfalls, the Australian Standing Stones, which are large monoliths and the World Heritage listed Washpool National Park.

There are several Christian churches, including the Cameron Memorial Uniting Church and St Andrews Presbyterian Church which hail from the town's Scottish roots; as well as the Holy Trinity Anglican and St Patricks Catholic Churches, Baptist, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist and other smaller congregations.

Annual events include: Minerama, a gem and fossicking festival; the Australian Celtic Festival, Land of the Beardies Festival, Pastoral and Agricultural Show and also horse racing, the prestigious Glen Innes Cup.

The local Arts Council produces several dramas and musicals throughout the year, and hosting travelling productions and film screenings. The town also has a thriving arts and crafts community holding regular displays.

The district also has its own community radio station that was initially started in the nearby village of Deepwater in 1998 and now also has a studio in Glen Innes. As well as broadcasting on two local FM frequencies 91.1 Deepwater and 105.9 Glen Innes it has a live 24/7 feed via the internet and can be accessed at the web site www.2cbdonline.com Link to listen The station is run by volunteers and presents local information and a diverse mix of music. A popular method used by many ex-residents and tourists to be informed of current and upcoming district events.

An integral part of any small town's culture is sport, and Glen Innes has annual competitions and representative teams in the following: Golf, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Lawn Bowls, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Cricket, Squash, Touch Football, Tent Pegging, Campdrafting, Shooting and Sheepdog trials.

Notable residents
Glen Innes was the birthplace of writer D'Arcy Niland and High Court judge Edward McTiernan. Notable Former Residents: Bishop Thomas McCabe, the first bishop of Wollongong whose grave is in St Francis Xavier Cathedral grounds, Wollongong. Other prominent families in this district include the Bloxsome, Rodgers, Gaden, Williams, Cameron, Donnelly and Newsome families.

The district has produced several sportsmen and women who have represented Australia. These include two Olympians (Debbie Wells and David Cooper), Rugby League players Reg O'Keefe and John Ferguson, pistol shooters Bruce Favell and Robert Landers, and veteran athlete Neville McIntyre.

Like all communities in rural Australia, Glen Innes made a solid contribution to the wars. Two of the more highly decorated armed servicemen that still have family in the district were Peter Turnbull and Charlie Scherf

Glen Innes and Scotland
Archibald Clunes Innes, from Thrumster, Caithness was a captain in the Third Regiment (Buffs), when he arrived in Australia in 1822 on the Eliza in charge of 170 convicts. He held a number of New England properties including Glen Innes Station and Dundee station.

Glen Innes has a number of street signs in Scottish Gaelic (though few residents speak much of the language). There is also a "Crofter"'s cottage.

The Australian Standing Stones are based on the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney (a non-Gaelic speaking area) or Calanais in Lewis.

Pitlochry is Glen Innes' twin town in Scotland.

Other towns nearby with Scottish names include Armidale, Ben Lomond and Glencoe.

Twin towns
Glen Innes has twin town status with Pitlochry in Scotland, and Mosman in Sydney, Australia.

Wind Farm
Glen Innes will soon be home to a new 26 turbine wind farm which the New South Wales Government has approved for the outskirts of the town. The turbines are 135 metres high and will be part of a $150 million project.