Hexham, New South Wales

Hexham is a suburb of the city of Newcastle, about 15 km inland from Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia on the bank of the Hunter River.

Settlement occurred at Hexham in the 1820s and it was named after the market town of Hexham, England with both towns being near to a Newcastle and sharing a history with one another; many of the coal miners from Newcastle upon Tyne and elsewhere in Northumberland moved to New South Wales at the time of settlement.

Geography
Hexham measures approximately 6.7 km from north to south and 6 km from east to west, covering an area of 18.7 km2. To the east the suburb is bordered by the Hunter River, while to the west the suburb consists mainly of unproductive swampland and floodplains. Almost all settlement exists within a narrow corridor stretching along the Pacific Highway between the Main North railway line and the Hunter River. This corridor, which is occupied mainly by highways and industrial areas, covers an area of only 1.1 km2. Within the zone residential development is confined to 3 small areas measuring only 0.137 km2 in total.

Roads
Hexham is located at the junction of the Pacific Highway to Brisbane via the coastal route, the New England Highway and is close to the northern end of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway.

Railways
Hexham has its own railway station on the Main north line, which passes through the area. It was the riverine terminus of the Richmond Vale Railway line, an early coal hauling railway from Minmi and Stockrington. The wharf was later closed and the line was converted to join the main line to access the coal handling facilities in Newcastle.

Mosquitoes
The mosquito species Ochlerotatus alternans is common in the area and adults, famed for their size and ferocity, are referred to as "Hexham Greys". The most famous Hexham Grey is "Ossie the Mossie", (sometimes spelled as "Ozzie the Mozzie") a large model of a mosquito that sits atop the Hexham Bowling Club sign at the corner of the Pacific Highway and Old Maitland Road in Hexham. The previous "Ossie" was replaced with a new "Ossie" (pictured) in 2005. Ozzie disappeared from the sign in early February 2010 and was replaced in April 2010