This was published 9 years ago
Singleton, New South Wales: Travel guide and things to do
Singleton is situated on the banks of the Hunter River, 209 km north-west of Sydney via Cessnock. It has an elevation of 73 metres.
The area around Singleton was once occupied by the Wanaruah people. Because few written records of Aboriginal Australia were kept and because their communities and cultural practices were so devastated by the spread of agriculture, pastoralism and white settlement it is difficult to make firm assertions about life in pre-colonial Australia. However, it is known that the Wanaruah favoured goannas as a food source, covering larger animals in hot ashes and stuffing them with grass. They also adopted burning off practices as the new shoots which emerged after fire attracted kangaroos which they surrounded and killed with clubs and spears (du-rane) barbed with sharp stones. They also used stone axes (mogo) made of hard volcanic rock bound to a wooden handle. As ironbark is slow to burn it was utilised as a transportable fire-stick while stringybark was used to make a twine employed in fishing and basket-making.
Expeditions led by William Parr in 1817, Benjamin Singleton in 1818 and John Howe in 1819 ventured north from Windsor to the land west of Singleton. The latter party was searching for new grazing land. Guided by an Aboriginal known as Myles they followed what is now known as Doyle's Creek (see entry on Jerry's Plains) to its junction with a river which they briefly followed eastwards.
Howe returned in 1820 to explore this river and, again guided by Myles, they continued east along the river to a site just east of present-day Singleton. It being nearly St Patrick's Day Howe named the area St Patrick's Plains and it subsequently became known as Patrick's Plains. Only when they reached Wallis Plains (Maitland) did they realise the river they had been following was the Hunter.
Howe reported: "On our way down the river we came thro as fine a country as imagination can form...fit for cultivation and equally so for grazing". He also noted the relative ease of passage for cattle from Windsor. He was immediately granted land east of the present townsite.
Benjamin Singleton, a member of Howe's 1820 party, was in occupation of land by 1821 and was appointed district constable in 1823. He started an agistment enterprise on the banks of the river at what became known as Singleton's Ford (where the New England Highway now crosses the Hunter). When he established the Barley Mow Inn on the site in 1827 a settlement began to emerge.
The area was officially opened up for settlement in 1823 and large numbers followed by bullock power along the new track. Large pastoral estates, aristocratic in tone, were granted to men of substantial capital who utilised convict labour to improve their properties. Their authority over these men was reiterated by the fact that the most wealthy were made the first magistrates. Indeed one, James Mudie, acquired a reputation for his harshness (see entry on Baroona for more information). There were few small landowners.
Both grazing and agriculture soon commenced with wheat and tobacco proving early staples. Benjamin Singleton established a punt service across the river and the ford became a favourite river crossing for those headed north. He opened a flour mill on the riverbank in 1829 to process their grain and a post office was established at his inn the same year. Proper roads were in place by 1831. It was Singleton's grant which, when subdivided in 1836, formed the basis of the town.
The first church to be built was Presbyterian (1838) with Anglican and Catholic establishments erected in the 1840s. By 1841, when Singleton built the first courthouse, there were 431 recorded residents in the township and 2659 in the police district of Patrick's Plains.
The government attempted to make Whittingham the official township and, though the venture failed, the local denominational school was located there for some years. Singleton cut a 3-km track through the bush to the school so the children would not lose their way.
The depression of the early 1840s nearly brought the town to a standstill but it recovered with the help of a boiling-down works which increased the profit from sheep and cattle. By 1853 there were ten licensed inns. When the railway arrived in 1863 Singleton's economy boomed as it became the base for those continuing northwards via coach or dray. It soon became the main commercial centre, which it remains today.
Although its status as northern railhead was short-lived (passing on to Muswellbrook in 1869) Singleton benefited from the boom and through-traffic by the construction of a dual carriage railway/road traffic bridge in 1866, the year the town became a municipality. Moreover, the fertility of the area's soil guaranteed ongoing prosperity.
Small amounts of coal were being uncovered by 1850 and the first mine opened around 1860 at Rix Creek, 5 km north of town along the highway. By the late 19th century there were said to be 16 mines operating in the district.
The army camp was established in 1941 and it remains to this day. Singleton was declared a shire in 1976.
Today the local economy is diverse and healthy and consequently the population increased from 9572 in 1981 to about 20 500 in 1997. The principal sources of income are dairying, beef cattle, viticulture, vegetable growing, coalmining, power generation, tourism, commerce and the large army base. Coal is now uppermost. There are 18 coalmining operations in the shire which employed 4000 people and produced 46 million tonnes of coal in 1996 (40 per cent of the state's output). 70 per cent is exported and some used for local power generation. Most of the mines are open-cut. Dairying is also significant. One-quarter of the Hunter Valley's milk production comes from this area. The local stock yards are the fourth-largest in cash terms in NSW. There are also major vineyards and wineries at Broke.
Things to see
Tourist Information
Singleton Visitor Information Centre is located at 39 George St, tel: (02) 6571 5888 or (1800) 449 888.
Heritage Walk
Singleton has some fine heritage buildings. In fact it has good examples of all the main phases of Australian architectural history. Many of the commercial and administrative buildings date from the boom period which ensued from the arrival of the railway in 1863.
An historic walk brochure is available from the tourist information outlets which includes a map outlining the sites of the relevant buildings. The following differs somewhat from the council's production but has much in common.
Note that some of Singleton's finest buildings are historic homesteads from the early days of settlement, many on the outskirts of town - Bebeah, Ardesier, Townhead, Greenwood, Hambledon Hill, Abbey Green, Flowerbank and Crail. However, the present owners are not encouraging visitors.
Dangar Rd and Boundary St
The most economical route entails starting on the eastern side of town on pleasant, tree-lined Dangar Rd which contains a number of older buildings of architectural quality including 'Lonsdale' at the corner of Dangar Rd and Boundary St. This impressive late Victorian residence with its decorative verandah and fine landscaping was built in 1890 and extended in 1907.
Proceed west along Dangar Rd. At its end cross Boundary St into Percy St. Boundary St was named as it divided the original grants of Benjamin Singleton and John Howe as well as, at a later date, the domains of the Patrick Plains and Singleton councils.
Geraldine and Wade Cottages
Turn right into High St and on this block, to the right, is 'Geraldine'. This cottage was built in 1847 and once served as the Anglican school and parsonage. Continue along High St and take the next right into Gipp St. By the corner with Bishopsgate St is 'Wade' Cottage, a timber building constructed in 1860 for railway engineer William Burton Wade. His son, Charles Wade, later the chief justice and premier of NSW, was born here in 1863.
All Saints Anglican Church
Turn left into Bishopsgate St, At the corner of Bishopsgate and Goulburn Sts is The Christian Israelite Church. Opposite is a complex of Anglican buildings situated in a beautiful churchyard ringed around with jacaranda trees. Facing on to Goulburn St is The All Saints Sunday School (1864).
The two main buildings are the All Saints Anglican Church and the beautiful and rather elaborate Victorian Gothic rectory. The latter was built in 1875 and features steep gables, chimneys, a red slate roof and, its highlight, some beautiful gabled dormer windows.
The church was built in 1913 after the design of St Neot's Church in Cornwall (14th century), the point of origin of the Dangar family. Henry Dangar, a government surveyor, was a prominent figure in the early history of the district. His descendant, A.A. Dangar, lived at the remarkable Rosemont and financed the family mausoleum, built in 1862 in honour of Henry who died in 1861. It is situated between the church and the rectory. Girded by an iron palisade fence, a series of columns support an elaborate architrave and pediment.
The original church on the site was the first to be designed in Australia by noted architect Edmund Blacket. Built in 1845 it was demolished in 1910 and some of the stonework was used in the present church. A lovely little lych-gate (1900) faces High St.
Ewbank (Singleton Pottery Shop)
The rectory is on the corner of High St and Market St. Turn left from High into Market St and follow it to a short distance to the highway (George St). On the corner is the Singleton Pottery Shop, located in Ewbank, built in 1884 as the Bank of NSW and residence. It is quite a large and beautiful building. The entranceway is adorned with arch and columns and the upstairs verandah has a proliferation of cast-iron lacework.
Burdekin Park and Historical Museum
On the other side of the road is Burdekin Park, a particularly pleasant, well-maintained and shady spot in the heart of Singleton. The land was donated to the town by Benjamin Singleton in 1837 for usage as a market place and named in 1878 after a town benefactor.
There is an historical museum, open Tuesdays from 10.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m., as well as weekends and public holidays from 12.00 - 4.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6577 8536. The building was established by Benjamin Singleton as a courthouse and gaol in 1841. It served that function until the new courthouse was erected in 1868. The portico was added in 1899 when the building became the Singleton Municipal Council Chambers (1899-1941). The fountain in the park, a donation from Alexander Munro, the first mayor of Singleton, was made in Glasgow in 1887.
George St
Head northwards along George St. On the right-hand side of the road is the Royal Hotel (1859) and a shop dating back to the 1860s.
Over the road is the Hotel Percy. The current building dates from 1892, though the Horse and Jockey Inn was built on this site as far back as 1839.
At 74 George St is the old mechanics institute, designed by John Pender and built in 1866. It was rented by the Singleton Municipal Council from 1869 to 1874 and served as their council chambers from 1941 to 1975. It is now a community activities centre.
Over the road are the premises which served as the chambers of the Patrick Plains Shire Council from 1911 to 1975. They are currently unoccupied. A telltale sign is the leadlight window over the doorway which says 'Patrick Plains Shire Council Chambers, 1911'. The two councils were amalgamated in 1975.
Cross Kent St. On the corner of George and Cambridge Sts, is the Caledonian Hotel, built by Alexander Munro in 1851. A pleasant and well-kept building with iron posts it was the venue of the first municipal council meeting in 1866. It was here that the body of Aboriginal bushranger and multiple murderer, Joe Governor, was laid out in 1900 after he was killed by two farmers north of town. Governor was trying to get to an Aboriginal mission at St Clair when he was split up from his brother Jimmy after an ambush.
Turn into Cambridge St. The first three houses, at 4, 6 and 8, all date from the 1860s.
Return to George St. On the left is the old post office (1878). Designed by James Barnet it is a large building with an arched colonnade at the front and an upstairs balcony added at a later date.
Directly opposite is a single-storey weatherboard cottage which was the residence of the town's first policeman in the 1840s.
A little laneway runs down on the left-hand side of the bridge. The white, two-storey building with iron columns, supporting an upstairs verandah with fine lacework, is Bon Accorde, a former chemist's shop and dwelling from the 1870s.
Where the new concrete bridge now crosses the Hunter is the site of the original river crossing where Benjamin Singleton kickstarted the settlement by establishing a punt service, the Barley Mow Inn and a flour mill in the 1820s.
John Street
At the end of the laneway turn left into John Street which was, for many years, a mere track. However, when the railway arrived in 1863, it joined the ford to South Singleton Station and soon became the main commercial centre, which it remains today.
One of the commercial buildings which sprang up with the arrival of the railway is the white house on the corner which was built in the 1860s as Glass's General Store. Next door is 'Merah'. Erected as a private residence in 1862 it later served as the premises of the Joint Stock Bank.
Opposite Campbell St is the Dunolly Ford Bridge, built in 1905. Along the next block, to the left, is the old Masonic hall, with the title still emblazoned on the awnings. On the corner with Macquarie St are a pair of stone and timber buildings (c.1900) which were common at that time.
On the other side of the next crossroad (Elizabeth St) is the Imperial Hotel, built of rendered brick in 1881. Further down John St, between William and Pitt Sts, is the Club House Hotel, built c.1879 as McPhee's Hotel. It has some fine cast-iron lacework on the verandah and balcony, which were added in 1918. Nearby is the Jack Daniel's Tavern, formerly the Criterion Hotel (c.1863).
Elizabeth Street
Return to and turn into Elizabeth St. The first house on the left, as the words on the wall suggest, is the old Methodist Sunday School. Built in 1856 it served as the first Methodist Church. When the main church was built over the road in 1880 the stained-glass windows were transferred across the road from the old church which became the Sunday School Hall, now a private residence.
Next door is Bel Glen, the former Methodist Parsonage (1869), also a private residence. Over the road is the 1880 Methodist Church, now a Presbyterian Church. It is a sandstone building with lancet arched windows and door, leadlight windows and turrets. Next to it is the Methodist Kindergarten Hall (1918).
Further down the street is Singleton Public School, established in 1852 with the brick classrooms facing Hunter St dating back to the 1870s and 1880s.
On the right is the courthouse, designed by James Barnet in 1868 to replace the building in Burdekin Park. It is a symmetrical design with bays on either side of the main block, large columns, three round-headed windows, timber tracery, a clock in the gable with a tower on top and pilasters around the central windows.
Next door are Bundarra and the Sacred Heart Church of the Society of St Pius X, after which Elizabeth St returns you to Burdekin Park.
The Catholic Complex
Slightly outside the scope of this walk is one of the most impressive groups of buildings in Singleton, the Catholic complex in Queen St. The oldest building is the octagonally-shaped, Georgian-style cottage between the church and the college. It began its life as a presbytery in the 1840s and became a convent when the first Sisters of Mercy arrived from Ireland in 1875. A rendered sandstock brick building it consists of two hexagonal rooms and some fine joinery with a flagged verandah. It is now a museum. St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was consecrated in 1860. The towers were added in 1920. The original church on the site was a slab building erected in 1845.
The Chancel, intended as a small chapel for the sisters, was designed by Maitland architect Jonathan Pender and built in 1881. It was extended in 1894 with an organ gallery built under the direction of Frederick Menkens and a mosaic walkway connecting the chancel to the verandah of the new convent, which was then under construction.
Menkens' main contribution was the beautiful new convent, built between 1893 and 1909. The brick arches replaced superior cast-iron lacework in the 1940s. There is an elegant campanile and a statue of the Virgin Mary above the front door. Inside are ornamental steel ceilings, leadlight windows and doors and the whole is surrounded by fine gardens. It is still occupied by resident and visiting sisters.
St Catherine's College was designed by Menkens' partner F.G. Castleden and completed in 1911. It features brick buttresses and colonnades and a castellated parapet around the roofline. It blends well with the chancel on the other side of the garden.
The Italian Renaissance-style chapel is a building of some pulchritude. Within the spacious interior are a decorative vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows, and large Roman arches over the chancel and transepts. The floor of the nave is a tile mosaic, the choir stalls are maple, the altar is marble, there are three Italian murals at the rear of the chancel and a mid-19th century pipe organ. It was opened in 1925, while the novitiate was built in 1933.
Tours of the museum and other buildings are available to groups and by appointment only, tel: (02) 4965 4031.
The Catholic Cemetery is historic and the current presbytery in Patrick St (near the corner with Market St) dates from 1890.
Sundial
At the southern end of John St turn into Gowrie St. At the end of Gowrie Street is Rose Point Park where you will find one of the largest sundials in the southern hemisphere.
Lake St Clair
Follow the highway across the Hunter River to the north-western end of Singleton. The first right over the bridge is Bridgman Rd, signposted for Lake St Clair which is situated behind the walls of Glennies Creek Dam, named after James Glennie, a former naval captain granted land at the junction of the creek and the Hunter River in 1824.
The lake, covering 1540 ha, is named after St Clair homestead, now buried beneath the lake. The dam, completed in 1983, has a storage capacity of 283 000 million litres (half the volume of Sydney Harbour).
After 21 km the road starts to climb with the lake and dam wall fully in view after 25.5 km. From here the drive is quite scenic as the somewhat dry, straw-brown colour of the surrounding countryside gives way to verdant and less sparsely covered hills. A turnoff to the left at around 27 km will take you to the dam wall, 67 m high and 535 m long. Or just pull over to the left at the hilltop for a fine view.
It is 32.6 km from the highway to the recreation area. There are camping and visiting fees, powered sites, boating, carparks, picnic-barbecue areas and a boat ramp. Waterskiing, swimming, fishing and boating are popular pursuits.The lake has been stocked with bass, perch and catfish. For further information tel: (02) 6578 7292.
Beyond lies Mt Royal State Forest, it has visitor facilities and is accessible only by 4WD.
Apex Lookout
Just beyond Bridgman Rd, Maison Dieu Rd heads left off the highway at the north-western end of town and passes through the industrial area. Turn left into Hambledon Hill Rd (watch for the little blue lookout sign), then turn again after 600 m into Lookout Rd (signposted to the right). There are good views over the Hunter River flood plain.
Whittingham
Just south of Singleton, via the highway, is Whittingham which the government tried to establish as the official township in the late 1820s. Cemetery Lane runs off to the right. At its end, beyond the level crossing, is an Anglican cemetery. A plaque set into a one-metre high boulder marks the site of Joe Governor's grave. He and his brother, Jimmy Governor, were greatly feared in the district at the end of the 19th century. The book and film, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, are based on their activities. Shot and killed at St Clair, north of Singleton, in 1900, his corpse was not permitted within the bounds of the graveyard.
A little further south, on the highway, to the left, is Whittinghan Public School, a quaint old building (1871). Almost directly over the road is a large building, the former Lairmont Hotel, built in 1862 for David Faulkner. It is currently Polaroid Marketing Signs.
Howe Memorial
After another 1.8 km there is an intersection at which Range Rd runs off to the right and Racecourse Lane to the left. On the roadside, beside Range Rd, is an ill-maintained memorial reserve. Although there is a World War I cairn its principal function is to commemorate the arrival in the vicinity, on the 15th March, 1820, of John Howe's exploring party from Windsor, led by Aboriginal guides.
Army Museum
A signpost also indicates that Range Rd is one route to the Singleton Army Barracks (the main training facility for the Royal Australian Infantry Corps) and the Royal Australian Infantry Corps Museum. The museum has an historically inclined collection of infantry equipment, weapons and memorabilia dating back to Australia's first overseas military excursion to the Sudan in 1885. There is a picnic-barbecue area with light refreshments on offer and souvenirs for sale. They are open 9.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays but closed in November, tel: (02) 6570 3257. Guided tours for groups are available.
Neotsfield
Racecourse Rd departs from the highway directly opposite Range Rd. It leads, after 700 m, to Neotsfield Lane, where you will find Neotsfield homestead, named after St Neots, Cornwall, the birthplace of Henry Dangar who received this land in 1821 and built the house around 1828. John Singleton initially ran his cattle on this land until his own grant was confirmed.
Dangar, the assistant surveyor in the colony from 1821 to 1828, surveyed much of the Hunter Valley as it was opened for settlement. After being dismissed on charges of using his position for personal gain, he worked for the Australian Agricultural Company, finding a route over the Liverpool Range to the Liverpool Plains, where he selected a huge swathe of land for the company. He then retired to Neotsfield.
This impressive mansion has been substantially altered over the years and is difficult to see from the roadside, owing to trees. Although it has, in the past, been open for inspection it has recently changed hands and its current status is in limbo.
Baroona
Just beyond this point, if you look to the right, you will see, on the hilltop, not far from the road, the amazing sight of Baroona (formerly Rosemont) on land granted to James Mudie in 1823. Rosemount was built in 1829 by John Lanarch, his overseer and, later, his son-in-law and business partner. Mudie's own property, situated on the opposite side of the present highway, was known as Castle Forbes.
Mudie's story is quite interesting. Appointed a magistrate in 1830, he soon gained a reputation for the excessive use of corporal punishment. When Governor Bourke curtailed the capacity of magistrates to inflict summary punishments Mudie helped circulate a petition against Bourke for what he regarded as dangerous leniency.
Five of Mudie's convicts were executed after they mutinied, tried to shoot Lanarch and fled. An investigation into charges that Mudie and Lanarch degraded their servants cleared them of ill treatment but found them wanting in relation to the issuance of rations. Angered by the report, Mudie came under fire and counter-attacked by subverting Bourke's appointment of one of Mudie's critics. This appears to have played a role in Bourke's resignation of the governorship.
Subsequently Mudie was not reappointed to the magistracy. In 1837 he sold Castle Forbes and returned to England whereupon he published a distorted and vitriolic attack on perceived enemies, particularly within the magistracy. Upon his return to Sydney in 1840 he found his actions had alienated old friends. He was publicly horsewhipped by John Kinchela, the son of one of the judges he had decried. When Kinchela was found guilty of assault the 50-pound fine was paid by subscription. Mudie returned to England in 1842.
Albert Dangar, son of surveyor Henry Dangar, acquired Rosemont in 1869 and had Benjamin Backhouse design Baroona using the walls of Rosemont as the basic building block. J. Horbury Hunt designed the stables in 1887 and Frederick Menkens designed the tower and spiral staircase in 1893. The exterior is sandstone and stucco, the joinery of cedar and the fireplaces of marble. The cellar is convict-built. Two-time Melbourne Cup winner, Peter Pan, was foaled and died at Baroona.
Minimbah
Slightly further south, set back a little further from the highway but also to the right is Minimbah, a huge, distinctively white, 45-room mansion designed by Benjamin Backhouse and built in 1875-77 for Duncan Forbes Mackay on land issued in 1823 to John Cobb.
The walls are of cement-rendered sandstone and sandstock brick. There are verandahs on both stories with intricate wrought-iron lacework, a slate roof within which is a 3000-gallon water tank. The entrance hall has a tessellated floor and beaten copper panelling with a staircase of Australian cedar and rosewood carved in Germany that leads to a landing characterised by columns and arches. The joinery is of local cedar and the baths and fireplaces of marble.
Warkworth
Head south out of town on the Glenridding Rd, an extension of John St. At 6 km is the Maitland turnoff and at 7 km the Broke turnoff (along Wollombi Rd). Another 2.2 km brings you to an intersection. On the left is the turnoff to the Mt Thorley Industrial Area, the base for much of the local mine servicing industry. On the right is the road to Denman via Warkworth. If you take the latter a few hundred metres will bring you to a view of the Warkworth Open-Cut Mine.
It is 9.5 km to Warkworth itself. Now a coalmining area the land, first granted in 1824, was formerly given over to agricultural and pastoral activities.
As you come over and down hill into Warkworth, on the right-hand side of the road, is Jim Johnstone Park, named after the founder of a nearby colliery. The machine in the grounds is a Lee-Norse Continuous Coalmining Machine (1959).
Take the immediate right into High St which runs along the perimeter of the park - north, then west, then south back to the main road. 100 m down this road, to the right, is a strip of grass leading to St Phillip's Anglican Church and cemetery. Work commenced on the building in 1840 though it was not completed until 1853. Edmund Blacket was employed to finish the design in 1851 adding side porches, the circular window in the gable, the bell-cote and cross, and possibly the roof. However, it is an extremely modest affair.
Continue on from the church. Follow the tarmac as it veers westwards. At the end of this part of the street, before the road turns south back to the main road, is a picnic area by the bridge on Wollombi Creek. John Howe named this part of the creek 'Cockfighter Creek' after a horse of his that became ineluctably mired during the 1817 trek.
The bridge was originally a timber truss structure erected in 1871. Warkworth Public School, on High St, was established in 1859. The Hunter Valley Gliding Club is also located at Warkworth, tel: (02) 4988 6120 or, on weekends, (02) 6574 4556.
Bulga and Hillsdale Orchard
If, instead of turning off to Warkworth, you continue southwards along the Putty Rd then you will pass by huge open-cut mining operations on both sides of the road. 9 km will bring you to a bridge, beyond which is the tiny village of Bulga where there is little more than a store - service station. It was from Bulga that drover Peter Clarke set off in 1863 on a trip which saw him fatally shot by bushranger Henry Wilson (see entry on Murrurundi).
Exactly 4 km south of the store Thompson Rd heads off to the right. It is signposted 'Oranges For Sale - Pick Your Own'. Another 4 km will bring you to the rather beautiful Hillsdale Orchard where there are 5000 orange trees. The business is well-organised and caters for coach groups with morning or afternoon tea and a guided tour through the property, which takes in a display of Aboriginal artefacts found on the property over the years and a large and very pleasant semi-tropical fernery which the owners have created on a hillside. There are 6 km of walking trails along Milbrodale Creek, and bed-and-breakfast farmstay accommodation in the old farmhouse. Visitors can pick and eat their own oranges, tel: (02) 6574 5173.
Just south of Thompson Rd is a recreation ground and rest area. St Mark's Anglican Church, over the road, was dedicated in 1888.
Camberwell
13 km north of Singleton along the highway is the tiny village of Camberwell where St Clement's Anglican Church was built between 1844 and 1855. The Singleton to Newcastle section of the New England Highway closely follows a track that was already in existence by 1832.
Ravensworth
19 km north of the Singleton post office is another tiny settlement known as Ravensworth where there is a huge open-cut coal mine (on the roadside to the right) which exclusively supplies coal for domestic power generation. If you take a right turn into the Hebden Rd, near the school, you will see Ravensworth House to the right 3.5 km along the road. It was built in 1840 and possibly designed by John Verge.
Ravensworth was one of the first grants in the district, being made out to James Bowman in the early 1820s. He established a farm which was then the most northerly on the Hunter and, in 1832, married one of John Macarthur's daughters. Being the most northerly property at the time, the party of surveyor Henry Dangar retreated gratefully to this point after being attacked by Aborigines in the area west of present-day Murrurundi in 1824.
Lemington Road
4.6 km from Hebden Rd, Lemington Rd heads off to the left past the Hunter Valley Mine, the scene of major industrial disputes between Rio Tinto and its employees, to the Singleton-Denman Rd (17 km). Glimpses of the mine and the surrounding pasturage are available from the roadside en route. Looking southwards there are some fine views of the mountains' rocky cliff face in the near distance. At the southern end of the road is Moses Crossing over the Hunter River where the adjacent land is quite lush - a nice spot for a picnic.
Further north along the highway are Bayswater Power Station and Lake Liddell (see entry on Muswellbrook).
Galleries and Collectables
Two gift shops in town are Back a Bourke at 19 Gowrie St, tel: (02) 6572 3808 and Perennial Gifts, John St, open every day but Sunday, tel: (02) 6571 2077.
Tours
If mining is your interest then there are tours which cover the the remains of an 1890s mine, an overview of the area's mines and methods, and a detailed on-site inspection of all aspects of one operation, including the coal-loader. For more information ring Infotainment Tours on (02) 6573 1888. They also offer tours of the Hunter Valley wineries and boutique cellars.
Tourist Information
Singleton Visitor Information Centre
39 George St
Singleton NSW 2330
Telephone: (02) 6571 5888, 1800 449 888
Facsimile: (02) 6571 5999
Email: visitorcentre@singleton.nsw.gov.au
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