Blayney Post Office (1882)

Blayney (including Newbridge)
Farming and industrial service centre
Blayney is a farming town and administrative centre of about 3000 people with avenues of deciduous trees that are especially attractive in autumn. It is located in a pleasant valley 243 km west of Sydney, 37 km west of Bathurst and 863 m above sea-level. Blayney Shire has a strong agricultural and mining base.

Prior to European settlement the area is thought to have been occupied by the Wiradjuri or Gundungura Aborigines. The first European to travel through what is now Blayney Shire was surveyor George Evans, in 1815. Unofficial occupation of the district began in 1821. The first land grant in the general area was issued to Thomas Icely in 1829. A mill was operating on the future town site of Blayney by 1837, along with an inn and several houses.

Governor Gipps proposed the creation of a village named 'Blayney' in 1842, to be located 9 km north-east of the present site at Kings Plains which had been surveyed in 1828. However, that spot proved unsuitable and the village was established on its present site in 1843.

The district was given over to farming, although it received a push along when gold was found at Carcoar, Browns Creek and Kings Plains. Gold mines were established although copper and iron were also extracted. Samuel Marsden's copper mine operated until 1900.

The arrival of the railway in 1874 spurred on development and Blayney replaced Carcoar as the major service centre to local farmlands. It became a municipality in 1882. By the turn of the century a butter factory and freezing works were major employers in the town. An abattoir opened in 1957 and it was later supplemented with tanneries and a pet food plant. A container terminal and several mines provided further employment in the 1990s. Blayney's agricultural show is held in March.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Blayney Shire Council, Adelaide St, tel: (02) 6368 2104.

Museum
The Viv Kable Museum is located in the town library in Adelaide St (between Martin and Charles Sts). It is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m., Fridays from 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.

Christ Church Anglican Church

Historic Buildings
Blayney has a few historic buildings of interest in Adelaide St. These include the post office (c.1880) and courthouse (1880), both Victorian Classical designs (between Martin and Burns St). The Presbyterian Church (1885) is situated between Burns and Church Sts. The church hall is the original church (1861). The Anglican Church (pre-1890) is located at the corner of Adelaide and Church Sts.

Lookout
When entering Blayney from Bathurst turn left at the outskirts of town into Marshalls Lane, drive to its end and turn left again.

Parks
Heritage Park in Adelaide St and Carrington Park in Church St are both pleasant recreation reserves.

Newbridge
The village of Newbridge developed around the railway line and a station, built in 1876. The station was called 'Back Creek' although the post office, which opened two months later, was called 'Duramana'. As there was another Duramana in existence, the name of the site was changed to Newbridge in 1878. This name may derive from a pedestrian overhead bridge built at the station or from Newbridge in Ireland, owing to the numbers of Irish settlers.

The Gladstone Hotel dates from the early 1870s, the public school from 1877, the old police station from the 1890s, the convent in 1900, the post office from 1904 and the Catholic Church from 1919.

Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Blayney's Windfarm
Vital Statistics
Overall size - 10 Megawatts

Number of Turbines - 15
Capacity of each Turbine - 660 Kilowatts
Height of Hub from Ground - 45 metres
Blade diameter - 47 metres
Rotational speed of blades - 28.5 rpm
Start up wind speed of turbine - 14 kph
Maximum power production wind speed - 61 kph
Cut-out (shutdown) windspeed of turbine - 90kph

Electricity Produced
Energy generated at 690 volts and stepped up to 11,000 volts then 66,000 for supply into Advanced Energy's transmission grid as green power. The capacity of the windfarm (10 MV) is enough to supply the annual electricity needs of 3, 500 average Australian homes.

General
Cost of project approx $18 million. Each wind turbine is monitored at a remote location through a communications link.

Wind for the Environment
The wind farm delivers green power in a rural environment while co-existing with the traditional pastoral land use. Great care has been taken in the design, construction and operation of this windfarm. The engineering and environmental planning include detailed consideration of potential impacts related to noise, visual impact, archaeology, aerial and terrestrial fauna. This will ensure there is no significant disturbance to the natural environment.

The wind farm produces clean energy without any greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to conventional coal-fired generated electricity, this windfarm saves 8,000 tonnes/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This reduces the need for fossil fuel generation that produces greenhouse gases.

Sophisticated computer modelling of the wind patterns on the site, allowed the turbines to be located to provide the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing layout.

Cobb & Co Heritage Trail
The historic inland coaching company, Cobb & Co, celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first journey in 2004 (and the 80th anniversary of its last, owing to the emergence of motorised transport). The trailblazing company's contribution to Australia's development is celebrated with the establishment of a heritage trail which explores the terrain covered on one of its old routes: between Bathurst and Bourke.

Cobb & Co's origins lay in the growing human traffic prompted by the goldrushes of the early 1850s. As the Heritage Trail website states: 'The company was enormously successful and had branches or franchises throughout much of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan. At its peak, Cobb & Co operated along a network of tracks that extended further than those of any other coach system in the world ­ its coaches travelled 28,000 miles (44,800km) per week and 6000 (out of their 30,000) horses were harnessed every day. Cobb & Co created a web of tracks from Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port Douglas on the Coral Sea down to the furthest reaches of Victoria and South Australia ­ in all, a continuous line of 2000 miles (3200km) of track over eastern Australia from south to north, with a total of 7000 miles (11,200km) of regular routes' (see www.cobbandco.net.au).

The trail includes Blayney's Royal Hotel as the original (built around the 1850s) was a changing station for Cobb & Co and the publican, Jacob Russart, was both a driver and a mayor of Blayney.

	Motels
	Blayney Central Motel 107 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 3355 Facsimile: (02) 6368 2844 Rating: ***
	Blayney Gold Fields Motor Inn 48 Martha St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2000 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Club House Hotel 63 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2186
	Exchange Hotel 121 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2124
	Royal Hotel 59 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2210
	Tattersalls Hotel 47 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2145
	Caravan Parks
	Blayney Caravan Park Quamby Pl. Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2799 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Blayney Gold Fields Motor Inn Restaurant 48 Martha St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2000
	Hang Sing's Chinese Restaurant 56 Adelaide St Blayney NSW 2799 Telephone: (02) 6368 2063