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| "The
English translation of Mudgee is "Nest in the Hills". It describes
the large undulating valley ringed by ancient, extinct volcanoes. Mudgee
and nearby towns nestle in this valley. In Aboriginal mythology, this
distinctive landform provided the semblance of a gigantic nest.To this
day, the nest continues to support many human activities including literature,
the performing and creative arts, mining, livestock, wool production,
tourism and of course one of the most sublime creations of man, the production
of fine wines." (Mudgee Tourist Guide 2004), |
| Mudgee,
on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, is a 4 hour drive north
west of Sydney across the Blue Mountains and is on the edge of the Wollemi
National Park in the foot hills of the Great Dividing Range. The nearest
large towns are Dubbo, Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange. Dubbo, 136km away,
is the Regional Centre for this large, mainly agricultural area. |
| In
England, Mudgee would be classed as a busy market town. There are both
old and new sales yards, but since the local abattoir closed some while
back due to financial problems, the sale of farm animals has ceased. There
is a move to re-open the processing plant but the debate regarding the
responsibility of previous debts continues at government levels. However,
with the surrounding vineyards and wineries, olive plantations and stone
fruit orchards, the town has the regular buzz and atmosphere of a busy
rural town. |
The
town is constructed on a grid system. The two main shopping streets running
at right angles to each other with the clock tower at their intersection.
There is a good variety of shops, cafés, juice bars, pubs and restaurants.
The two largest stores are Woolworth, the main food supermarket, and Big
W, which sells a wide range of non-food products. Harvey Norman (furniture
and electrical), Everyday Living (furniture) and Super Cheap (the "Australian"
Halfords) are in a developing area fronting the Sydney Road on the south
eastern edge of town. Bunnings, the equivalent of England's B&Q, are
developing the block of land close to Harvey Norman. There is, of course,
the usual array of businesses associated with rural industry, building
and home maintenance. The Mid Western Shire Coucil (soon to be renamed
following a local referendum) has its offices in Mudgee. There is a good
library and all medical facilities, including a small hospital, although
airlifting patients to Orange, Dubbo or the Sydney North Shore hospital
is not uncommon. There are plenty of schools and sports facilities including
a newly refurbished open-air heated swimmimg pool. |
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| The
currently disused railway cuts the town in two with just 3 crossing places.
The magnificent old Victorian railway station, opened in 1884, has just
been completely refurbished. Newly sanded and polished boarded floors, mosaic
tiled cloakrooms and tasteful decor give the whole building that special
Victorian atmosphere. It now houses an Art & Craft Centre and a new
café/restaurant, aptly named 1884, where you can dine inside or "al-fresco"
on the platform. |
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The
old branch-line ran from Lithgow in the south to service Kandos, Rylstone,
Lue, Mudgee and Gulgong. One can still get the Dubbo train from Sydney,
alight at Lithgow and the journey to Mudgee by Country Link coach. Every
so often a sleeper train, originally used on the Sydney - Melbourne route,
does a tourist run between Sydney and Gulgong, but at low speed because
of the condition of the track.There is a move to re-open the line, but
the rail-track company claim that the cost of track remedial work and
the recommissioning of signals, crossing lights and barriers is not economically
viable. (Now, haven't we heard it all before!!) |
The
small airport is on the northern edge of the town from where there are
four daily return flights to Sydney in a 12 seater twin engined turbo-prop
aircraft. The outward journey of about 50 minutes at 10,000 ft, takes
a south-eastern dog-leg route to the coast and then south, whilst the
slightly shorter return corridor, at 9,000ft, is directly north over the
Blue Mountains and Lake Windamere. There is a Civil Aviation Radio Beacon
close to the airport which means we are below the flight-path for outward-bound
long-haul flights from Sydney to South East Asia and then, maybe, on to
the UK. So twice a day - morning and evening - we hear and usually see
the airliners up at around 30,000ft tracking overhead. |
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Mudgee's
population is around 8,500 but the town is growing. New blocks of land
on the edges of the town are being relased for residential building, whilst
vacant blocks within the existing town are being infilled. Our house is
on the southern edge of town, which cannot spread much further, if any,
because of the rising hills. However, there is quite an area of development
to the north-west of us. One of the really great things is that there
are plenty of lovely trees, so the whole area has a green and leafy atmosphere
for most of the year. |
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