Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn () is a provincial
cathedral city in the
Southern Tablelands of
New South Wales,
Australia in
Goulburn Mulwaree Council. It is located 190 km south west of
Sydney on the
Hume Highway and 690 metres above sea-level. It has a population of approximately 25,000. It brands itself as "Australia's first inland city". Goulburn was named by James Meehan and the name was ratified by Governor
Lachlan Macquarie, after
Henry Goulburn, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The Aboriginal name for Goulburn is Burbong.
which is a Murring/
Wiradjuri word that indicates a special
Indigenous cultural area.
Goulburn is a railhead and service centre for the surrounding
pastoral industry and a stopover for those travelling on the Hume Highway. Goulburn was bypassed in 1992 and its particularly long
main street is quieter, but still busy during Saturday morning shopping. It has a pleasant central park and many historic buildings, including old houses near the railway station on Sloane Street and two 19th century cathederals. It is home to the
Big Merino, the world's largest cement sheep.
Goulburn is suffering more from the current Australian drought conditions than most cities, the last significant rain was in November 2004, the water supply for the city was last full in 2000.
Goulburn may soon be the first Australian city to use recycled water.
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Location of Goulburn in New South Wales (red) |
The
city is situated on the
Hume Highway in southern
New South Wales between
Mittagong and
Yass. It is one hour's drive from
Canberra.
Goulburn is part of the traditional land of the
Gandangara people.
The British Government claimed ownership of New South Wales in 1788 (see
Mabo v Queensland) and to hold all of its land as
crown land. The colonial government made land grants to free settlers such as
Hamilton Hume in the Goulburn area from the opening of the area to settlement inabout 1820, regardless of the welfare of the indigenous population. Later land was also sold to settlers within the
Nineteen Counties, including Argyle County (the Goulburn area).
This process displaced (disposessed) the local indigenous population and the introduction of exotic livestock drove out a large part of the Aboriginals' food supply. The reduction of the food supply and the accidental introduction of exotic diseases, substantially reduced the local indigenous population. Some local Aboriginals survived at the
Tawonga Billabong Aboriginal Settlement established under the supervision of the
Tarago police and there is no conflict recorded from this period. In the
1930s the
billabong dried up and the Aboriginal people moved away although some have, over time, made their way back.
The first recorded settler in Goulburn established 'Strathallan' in 1825 (on the site of the present Police Academy) and a town was originally surveyed in 1828, although moved to the present site of the city in 1833 when Surveyor Hoddle laid it out.
George Johnson purchased the first land in the area between 1839 and 1842 and became a central figure in the town's development. He established a branch store with a liquor license in 1848. By 1841 Goulburn had a population of some 1200 people - a courthouse, police barracks, churches, hospital and post office and was the centre of a great sheep and farming area.
A telegraph station opened in
1862, by which time there were about 1500 residents, a
blacksmith's shop, two hotels, two stores, the telegraph office and a few cottages. The town was a change station (where coach horses were changed) for
Cobb & Co by
1855. A police station opened the following year and a school in
1858. Goulburn was proclaimed a town with municipal government in
1859.
Royal Letters Patent issued by
Queen Victoria on 14 March 1863 established the
Diocese of Goulburn giving Goulburn city status and making it the first inland city. The existing St Saviour's Church became the Cathedral.
The arrival of the railway in
1869, which was opened on May 27th by the
Governor Lord Belmore (an event commemorated by Belmore Park in the centre of the city), along with the completion of the line from
Sydney to
Albury in
1893, was a boon to the city. Later branchlines were constructed to
Cooma (opened in 1889) and later extended further to
Nimmitabel and then to
Bombala, and to Crookwell and Taralga. Goulburn became a major railway centre with a roundhouse and engine servicing facilities and a factory which made pre-fabricated concrete components for signal boxes and station buildings.
Goulburn was proclaimed a city (by the last use of letters patent for that purpose in the British Empire) on the creation of the Anglican Diocese of Goulburn in 1863. It developed as a regional centre with an impressive court house (completed in
1887) and other public buildings, as a centre for wool selling, and as an industrial town.
Goulburn is a cathedral city. St Saviour's Cathedral, designed by
Edmund Thomas Blacket, was completed in
1884 with the tower being added in
1988 to commemorate the
Bicentenary of Australia. Though completed in 1884, some earlier burials are in the graveyard adjacent to the Cathedral. St Saviour's is the seat of the
Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn. The Church of SS Peter and Paul is the former cathedral for the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.
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The toilets at St Brigid's |
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St Brigid's school, Goulburn, now closed; the scene of an education strike in 1962 |
In
1962, Goulburn was the focus of the fight for State Aid to non-Government schools. An education strike was called in response to a demand for the installation of three extra toilets to be installed at a local
Catholic Primary School, St Brigid's. The local community closed down all local Catholic primary schools and sent the children to the Government schools. The Catholic church declared they had no money to install the extra toilets. Nearly 1,000 children turned up to be enrolled locally and the state schools were unable to accommodate them. The strike lasted only a week but generated national debate. In 1963,
Prime Minister Menzies made State aid for science blocks part of his
party's platform.
As a major settlement of southern New South Wales, Goulburn was the administrative centre for the region and was the location for important buildings of the district.
While the first town plan was drawn up by Assistant Surveyor Dixon in 1828, the site was moved as it was subject to flooding. The town plan drawn up by Surveyor Hoddle was gazetted in 1833.
The first lock-up was built in 1830.
In 1832 a postal service commenced in Goulburn, four years after the service was adopted in New South Wales.
Goulburn's second court house was built in 1847. It was designed by
Mortimer Lewis, the
Colonial Architect.
Image:GoulburnRiversdale.jpg|'Riversdale' a residence built around 1840Image:Goulburn2ndCourtHouse.jpg|Goulburn's second court house designed by Mortimer Lewis and operational from 1849-85Image:GoulburnRailwayStation.jpg|Goulburn railway station opened 1869James Barnet, the colonial architect from 1862-1890 built a number of buildings in Goulburn. These included Goulburn Gaol opened 1884, a replacement court house opened in 1887, and a post office in 1881.
Image:GoulburnPostOffice.jpg|Goulburn Post Office designed by James Barnet 1880/81Image:GoulburnGaol.jpg|Goulburn Gaol - main buildings designed by James Barnet 1884Image:GoulburnOldPoliceStation.jpg|Former police station on Sloane Street, designed by Barnet and opened 1885Image:GoulburnCourtHouse.JPG|The court house ; Italianate style designed by Barnet; opened 1887Barnet's successor,
Walter Liberty Vernon, was responsible for the first buildings of Kenmore Hospital completed in 1894. St Saviour's Anglican Cathedral and Hall were designed by
Edmund Blacket. Building started in 1874 and it was dedicated in 1884. It was finally consecrated in 1916. A tower was added in 1988 as part of a Bicentennial project but Blacket's plans included a spire which is yet to be added.
Image:GoulburnKenmoreHospital.jpg|Kenmore Hospital, main buildings designed by Walter Liberty Vernon and completed 1894Image:GoulburnStSaviour'sCathedral.jpg|St Saviour's Cathedral designed by Edmund Blacket; building commenced in 1874Image:GoulburnCoolavinHotelSloaneSt.jpg|The Coolavin Hotel in Sloane Street; the hotel was built in 1850 but the present facade dates from the 1880sE C Manfred was a prominent local architect responsible for many of the buildings in the city, including the first public swimming baths opened in 1892; the old Town Hall constructed 1888; the Goulburn Base Hospital designed in 1886; the old Fire Station built in 1890; the Masonic Temple built in 1928, he also designed the earlier building of 1890 it replaced.
Image:GoulburnOldFireStation.jpg|Goulburn's first permanent fire station built 1890 and designed by local architect EC ManfredImage:GoulburnMasonicTemple.jpg|Masonic Temple built in 1928 by local architect EC Manfred. It replaced an earlier building from 1890, also designed by Manfred.Image:GoulburnWarMemorial.jpg|War memorial tower opened 1925Image:GoulburnElmsleaChambers 001.jpg|Elmslea Chambers built in 1933 in the art deco style for a welathy pastoralistGoulburn Gaol
Goulburn is home to
Goulburn Correctional Centre, more generically known as Goulburn Gaol. It is a maximum-security male prison and is the highest security prison in Australia and is home to some of the most dangerous, and famous, prisoners.
New South Wales Police College
The
New South Wales Police College relocated to the city in
1984. At this time it was known as the New South Wales Police Academy however the name has subsequently changed. Prior to the relocation the college had previously been located in the
Sydney inner city suburb of
Redfern. The college has relocated to the former campus of the
Goulburn College of Advanced Education located on the banks of the
Wollondilly River. The New South Wales Police College is now the largest education institution for law enforcement officers in the southern hemisphere. Since its relocation there has been significant expansion of the facilities including a new site on the
Taralga Road which houses the
New South Wales Police School of Traffic and Mobile Policing.
*1368 2GN AM (commercial)
*Eagle FM 93.5 (commercial)
*JJJ 88.7/101.5/98.9 FM
*ABC Canberra 666 AM/90.3 FM
*Radio National 1098 AM
*Classic FM 89.5/102.3/95.7 FM
*103.3 FM (community)
*Raw FM 87.6 (narrowcast)
*NewsRadio 99.9 (proposed)
*Racing Radio 94.3 FM
In some areas, Canberra stations can also be received.
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Goulburn Airport*
Pejar Dam*
Railway station*
Goulburn Mulwaree Council*
Goulburn District Tourism*
St Joseph's Primary School, Goulburn
