Singleton: История и современность австралийского города

Singleton's main urban area includes the town centre, Singleton Heights, Dunolly, Darlington, The Retreat, Wattle Ponds and Hunterview. Surrounding rural villages include Broke, Camberwell, Jerrys Plains, Goorangoola/Greenlands, Belford and Lower Belford. Singleton is located on the north eastern part of the geological structure known as the Sydney basin, which borders the New England region. Singleton is now home to a $100 million dollar lottery winner, the highest in the towns history.

The traditional landowners of the land around what is now Singleton are the Wonnarua / Wanaruah people. The Wonnarua / Wanaruah people have occupied the land in the Upper Hunter Valley for over 30,000 years. Singleton was established in the 1820s. In its early years, it was also called Patrick's Plains. The Main Northern railway line reached Singleton in 1863 and was the end of the line until 1869. The town retains many historic buildings, including the original courthouse built in 1841, various large churches and many traditional Australian pubs. The countryside surrounding Singleton contains an unusual number of fine old mansions, reflecting the aristocratic nature of land grants when the area was settled. They include 'Neotsfield' (1828), the elaborate 'Baroona' (1829), 'Abbey Green' (1865) and stunning 'Minimbah' (1877). A Telegraph Office was opened in Singleton on 25 February 1861 during the construction of the first telegraph line to Queensland. That Office combined with the Post Office on 1 January 1870. In May 1942, the community celebrated the appointment of the town's first female Telegram Messenger – Miss Daphne Lambkins. She was one of the first female Messengers in the Commonwealth. Singleton was subject to the major flooding of the Hunter River in 1955, causing extensive damage to the town. When the area was being settled, the government originally attempted to create a town at Whittingham in a flood free area, but the town grew by the river nonetheless. An embankment was constructed following the 1955 floods to help protect the town against any future flooding.

It was built in 1829 with property being on 33 hectares. John Larnach built the 1600ha house on land owned by his father in law James Mudie. He was assigned 64 convicts which comprised 67% English, 25% Irish and a few from Scotland with a median age of 28 years old. A servant set fire to the estate in 1832. In 1893 Baroona was given an addition of a spiral staircase, a card room and a viewing terrace.

In November 1833 six convicts decided to revolt because of their poor treatment, meagre provisions and floggings. Pelerin was built in the 1830s and is a stone faced two storey building. In 1899 it sustained major storm damage. In 1981 it was listed in the National Trust. Located on 535 Hambledon Hill Road, the land is 50 acres and is currently owned by artist Dale Frank. It has 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.

Singleton experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfal); with hot summers and mild winters; and with a moderately low precipitation amount of 652.7 millimetres (25.71 in). Precipitation is more abundant during the summer, as the town is affected by foehn winds during winter and spring. The highest temperature recorded at Singleton was 43.6 °C (110.5 °F) on 15 January 2001; the lowest recorded was –4.2 °C (24.4 °F) on 16 August 1994.

The town is located at the junction of the New England Highway and Putty Road. The Golden Highway branches northwest from the New England Highway ten kilometres south of Singleton. Singleton is also served by local and long distance rail services. Singleton railway station on the Main Northern railway line is located at the southern end of the town centre. There are also bus services, both intercity and local. A bypass for the New England Highway is planned to divert traffic from Singleton, more than 26,000 vehicles travel through Singleton daily, the environmental assessment and concept design are open to public feedback in 2019.

Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, electricity generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined. The largest employment industry is coal mining, which employs 24 percent of the town's workforce. Defence is the second largest employer with almost 4 percent of the workforce. which, along with the Newcastle Herald newspaper (daily, except Sundays), is published by Australian Community Media. The Hunter River Times was established in 2020 and provides news for the surrounding Singleton area.

Radio stations serving both Newcastle and the Hunter Valley can be received in Singleton.

Singleton is part of the Newcastle–Hunter Region television market, which is served by 5 television networks, three commercial and two national services (which include new sub channels that started in 2009 for the commercial networks and in recent years from the national services).

Sundial. Singleton is home to one of the world's largest sundials, presented by a local coal mine for the 1988 Bicentennial Celebrations. Wineries. The town is close to the famous Pokolbin wine region (southeast). There are also many wineries in the shire, especially around Broke. Boating. Lake St Clair is an artificial lake located to the north of the town, with facilities for boating and camping. National Parks. Wollemi and Yengo National Parks are located south of the town via the Putty Road. Barrington Tops National Park borders the north of the shire. Museums. Singleton has three main museums, the Singleton Historic Society Museum in Burdekin Park, the Royal Australian Infantry Corps Museum at the nearby barracks and the Mercy Convent Museum 'Sacred Spaces' within the grounds of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy (Singleton).