Hunter Region |
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120 km north of sydney |
The Hunter
Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New
South Wales, extending from approximately 120 km to 310 km north
of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with
highland areas to the north and south. The Hunter Valley is one of
the largest river valleys on the NSW coast, and is most commonly
known for its wineries and coal industry. Most of the population of
the Hunter Region lives within 25 km of the coast, with 55% of the
entire population living in the cities of Newcastle and Lake
Macquarie. There are numerous other towns and villages scattered
across the region in the eleven local government areas (LGAs) that
make up the region. At the 2011 census the combined population of
the region was 620,530.
Geography
Rivers
The main river in the region is the Hunter River, after which the
region is named. Other rivers in the region include:
Allyn, Avon, Barrington, Bow, Bowman,Chichester, Gloucester, Goulburn, Isis, Karuah, Krui, Mammy
Johnsons, Merriwa, Munmurra, Pages, Paterson, Wangat and Williams rivers.
Water supply
Fresh water supply for the region is provided from a number of
sources, which are managed by the Hunter Water and State Water
Corporations. State Water Corporation's dams supply water for
irrigation, industrial use at coal mines and the region's coal-fired
power stations and town water to upper Hunter Region towns. Hunter
Water Corporation's dams supply the large urban population of more
than 500,000 living near the coast and centered on the cities of
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. State Water Corporation's Glenbawn,
the largest dam in the region, Chichester and Lostock are dams on
the Hunter, Chichester and Paterson rivers respectively. Hunter
Water Corporation's Grahamstown Dam, the largest dam supplying the
urban areas of the lower Hunter Region, is supplied with water
diverted from the Williams River just north of the Seaham Weir,
through a large pump station at Balickera. The dam itself has only a
small natural catchment and relies mainly on the pumped water from
the Williams River. A proposal to build Tillegra Dam on the Williams
River existed since the 1950s, but was scrapped in 2010. In addition
to the dams, fresh water for the lower Hunter Region is supplied
from the Tomago Sandbeds, via a series of bores.
Towns and cities
The Hunter Region includes four cities. In order of population these
are Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Maitland and Cessnock. Newcastle,
situated at the mouth of the Hunter River, is the second largest
city in the region, although its immediate metropolitan area
includes Lake Macquarie, though its statistical division also
includes parts of the Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens areas.
Other major centres of the Hunter Region
are Dungog, Gloucester, Kurri Kurri, Muswellbrook, Raymond
Terrace,Scone and Singleton.
Industries
The main industries in the Hunter Region are coal mining,
manufacturing, agriculture, viticulture and wine making, tourism,
horse breeding, electricity production, dairyfarming and
beef cattle farming, and associated service industries. The Hunter
Region is one of Australia's most famous wine-growing regions, known
for both its red and white wine varieties.
Coal mining
The most important economic activity in the valley
is coal mining (through businesses such as Rio Tinto and BHP
Billiton), mostly for export. There is increasing tension between
the coal mining industry and some other industries because of the
environmental impacts of coal mining including dust, water usage,
water contamination, and destruction of agricultural land, and the
impact of coal trucks on local and regional roads. The port at
Newcastle is the world's largest export facility for coal, most of
which is brought to the port via railway. Coal ships are often seen
off the coast of Newcastle. Climate change activists have staged
direct actions at the coal port on a number of occasions.
Electricity generation
Electricity generation at
the Eraring, Bayswater, Liddell, Munmorah, Redbank and Vales
Point coal-fired power stations is a major industry of the region.
Horse breeding
The Hunter Valley is Australia's main region for the breeding and
rearing of Thoroughbred horses and most of the country's best
racehorses. The Upper Hunter area around Scone is one of the largest
horse breeding areas in the world.
Tourism
The Hunter Valley is a major tourist destination in New South Wales
and is the 6th most visited place in Australia attracting more than
2.5 million people annually. There are regular events held in the
Hunter for visitors, including the Hunter Valley Steam Trains
running the first three Sundays of each month and regular scenic
cruises on the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie.
Wine growing
Pokolbin is the centre of the Hunter Valley wine country, which
claims to be Australia's oldest wine region. It is located between
the towns of Cessnock and Branxton, about 50 km west of Newcastle.
The wine country is primarily located within
the Cessnock and Singleton [LGAs. Its proximity to Sydney has been
an influence on the area's investments in wine production and its
emergence as a tourist destination. Much of the rolling countryside
around Pokolbin is under vine with the traditional varieties Shiraz andSemillon as
well as extensive plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and
small quantities of Pinot noir. The Pokolbin area has a large number
of vineyards, restaurants, shops, golf courses and country
guesthouses. Other parts of the valley including the Wollombi
Valley and Broke Fordwich subregion are also well known for wine,
along with theUpper Hunter Valley.
Administration
Political representation
For the purposes of Australian federal elections for the House of
Representatives, the Hunter Region is contained within the divisions
of Charlton, Hunter, Lyne, Newcastle, Paterson, and Shortland.
For the purposes of New South Wales elections for the Legislative
Assembly, the Hunter Region is contained within the electoral
districts of Cessnock, Charlestown, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Myall
Lakes, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Swansea, Upper
Hunter, Wallsend, and Wyong.
Environmental
protection
The Hunter Region contains the Goulburn
River National Park, Myall Lakes National Park, Barrington Tops
National Park, Werakata National Park, Watagans National Park, Mount
Royal National Park, Polkolbin State Forest, Putty State Forest,
Chichester State Forest, Running Creek Nature Reserve, The Glen
Nature Reserve, Black Bulga State Conservation Area, Myall River
State Forest and Karuah Nature Reserve.
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