Kurri Kurri, New South Wales

Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044.

The town was founded in 1902 to service the local Stanford Merthyr and Pelaw Main collieries and mining communities. The town was named Kurri Kurri from an unknown source in Sydney, meaning "the very first" as it was the first town in Australia that was fully planned before anything was built. The local Progress Committee was responsible for clearing streets and supplying local services with State permission. The fire station and the hospital were built by locals with locally sourced money. There is no history of any Aboriginal inhabitants of this area, other than a visit to the outskirts by a small group prior to most of the building of the town. A family with some Aboriginal background lived in Kurri Kurri in the 1930 40s. The first European landholder was Benjamin Blackburn who was granted 400 acres on the Banks of Wallis Creek at Richmond Vale. The Kurri Kurri Hotel (1904) is one of several built during the era of mining prosperity in the early 20th century. It is an impressive three story building featuring prominent verandas with cast iron lacework. The Empire Tavern was also built during this period. Kurri Kurri has numerous small miners' cottages from the same period.

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 6,044 people in Kurri Kurri. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.6% of the population. 86.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 1.7%. 91.1% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 27.4%, Anglican 24.6% and Catholic 20.4%. The power station at Richmond Main Colliery, which provided the electricity for Kurri Kurri and surrounding districts, remained in operation for some years after the mine's closure, until the entire district was attached to the National Grid.

The Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter operated from 1969 to 2012, producing up to of aluminium per year.

Kurri Kurri was served by the South Maitland Railway and originally had two passenger stations – one at Stanford Merthyr, and one on the main SMR line at North Kurri Kurri (opened in June 1904). A new red brick station building and platform was built at Stanford Merthyr and opened in January 1909. It was renamed Kurri Kurri Station on 3 June 1922. However, with the closure of the SMR's branch line from Aberdare Junction to Stanford Merthyr, due to subsidence, North Kurri Kurri station was renamed Kurri Kurri in the mid 1930s. The station at Stanford Merthyr fell into disuse although the line from the colliery which passed through it was still in operation via the Richmond Vale Railway to Hexham. While passenger services on the South Maitland Railway have ceased, the line ceased use for coal haulage in 2020. The line ownership was changed in 2022 when Aurizon purchased 100% of shareholding in SMR. A new bridge was constructed to relocate the railway line to allow construction of the Hunter Expressway.

Until the creation of the local government area known as the City of Cessnock, Kurri Kurri was the centre of the Shire of Kearsley, which included most of the rural areas and villages around the township of Cessnock and part of the western suburbs of Maitland.

In 1988 the town established a Tidy Town Committee under the stewardship of the Keep Australia Beautiful competition. The town achieved immediate success and in the space of 6 years took the best town in NSW in 1993 and was a finalist in the best town in Australia. This was followed by the establishment of the Small Towns committee known as Towns with Heart.

A pub driven event called Mulletfest has been growing in Kurri Kurri for the past two years. The event celebrates the mullet haircut and other aspects of self identified bogan culture (such as pub rock music). The event has been well received by locals and attracts attendees from around the country.

Each year Kurri Kurri hosts a 1950s/1960s inspired Nostalgia Festival featuring rock 'n' roll dancing, hot rod and bike shows.

It is now becoming internationally renowned for its murals with more than 55 murals painted around the town and its environs depicting the history of the region and also recent events.

Retired Newcastle Knights Rugby league player Andrew Johns spent his childhood in Kurri Kurri, before moving to Cessnock. He would later play in the Kurri Kurri Under 16's side, as Cessnock was unable to field a team. Kurri Kurri is also noted as having produced more Rugby League internationals than any other bush town in Australia. Kurri Kurri is also home to the long Loxford Park Speedway, a motorcycle speedway. The speedway has hosted a round of the Australian Solo Speedway Championship every year since 2011 as well as hosting the Australian Sidecar Speedway Championship twice (2012, 2014), the Australian Under 21 Solo Championship on three occasions (2012, 2013, 2015), the Australian Under 16 Solo Championship in 2012, and the NSW Solo Championship each year since 2011. The speedway has also hosted rounds of the Sidecar Grand Slam series and also holds the Jason Crump invitational for solos annually on Boxing Day in honour of Australia's only triple Speedway World Champion. Loxford Park also includes a junior (under 16) track on its infield.