Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia, situated at the junction of the New England and Bruxner highways, along the Northern Tablelands, within the New England region. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. The closest nearby large town is Stanthorpe, Queensland, being 56 km north via the New England Highway. Tenterfield is three hours from Brisbane, Queensland (276 km), three hours from Byron Bay, New South Wales (205 km), two hours from Armidale, New South Wales (188 km) and eight hours from Sydney (663 km). The town is on the north-western stretch of the Northern Tablelands plateau, a spur of the Great Dividing Range, and is nestled in a valley beneath Mount Mackenzie (1,287m elevation), one of the highest points along the Northern Tablelands.

History

Tenterfield's first inhabitants were the Jukembal people who travelled the area from near Glen Innes to Stanthorpe, Queensland.

thumb|left|Tenterfield in 1861

In 1841, Sir Stuart Donaldson was running 18,000 sheep on a property that he named Tenterfield Station, after a family home, Tenterfield House, in Haddington, Scotland. Donaldson was the first premier of NSW and made biannual trips to Tenterfield to inspect his holdings there, which covered of unfenced land.

Tenterfield Post Office opened on 1 January 1849 and the township was gazetted in 1851 with allotments being sold in 1854.

In 1858 gold was discovered at Drake (Fairfield) and shortly afterwards at Timbarra and Boonoo Boonoo. During 1859 an AJS Bank opened and an Anglican church was built the following year. In the 1860s the Tenterfield Chronicle was published, the district court was established; the building of a hospital commenced and a public school was opened. In 1870 the population was less than 900, but the town had five hotels, a school of arts and three churches. The existing Tenterfield Post Office was constructed in 1881.

On 1 February 1919, the presence of cases of Spanish flu in New South Wales resulted in Queensland closing its borders. Travellers bound for Queensland on the Main North railway line were forced to disembark at Tenterfield railway station, the last stop before the train would close the border. The Tenterfield showgrounds were turned in a temporary quarantine camp occupied by up to 700 people. Some people chose to return to Sydney while other spent a week in the camp after which they could enter Queensland.

During World War II, Tenterfield was earmarked as a key battleground if the Japanese should invade Australia. During 1942 thousands of soldiers were set up in emergency camps, unbeknown to the locals, to cope with such an event. Overgrown tank traps and gun emplacements can still be seen on the Travelling Stock Route near the New England Highway. The highway was until the early 1950s the only all-weather road from Sydney to Brisbane.

Heritage listings

Tenterfield has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

  • Railway Avenue: Tenterfield railway station
  • Manners Street: Tenterfield School of Arts
  • 225 Rouse Street: Tenterfield Post Office

The following buildings and sites are listed on the now defunct Register of the National Estate:. Also includes other buildings and sites as part of Tenterfield's history

  • Stannum House, 114 Rouse Street, built c. 1888 by John Holmes Reid – exhibits ex-Buckingham Palace carpets and antique furniture
  • Ayrdrie, Casino Road, country house built
  • Tenterfield Post Office, built 1881
  • Court House, Gaol and Police Buildings, Molesworth Street, 1874–1882
  • Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (Tenterfield Catholic Church), 73 Miles Street, oldest building in use in the Catholic Diocese of Armidale
  • Tenterfield Saddlery, , used as a private residence, bank and saddlery
  • Tenterfield School of Arts, 203 Rouse Street,
  • Bald Rock National Park, north of Tenterfield
  • Boonoo Boonoo National Park, north-east of Tenterfield
  • Tooloom Falls Area, south-west of Urbenville
  • Basket Swamp National Park, north-east of Tenterfield
  • Woolool Wooloolni/Wellington Rock Aboriginal Site, Basket Swamp National Park
  • Aldershot Cottage, built
  • Deloraine Cottage, built
  • 124 High Street, built
  • Flanagan's Men's Shop, oldest men's wear shop in Australia

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Railway – Main North Railway Line

The railway opened to Tenterfield on 28 October 1884 and in 1886 to nearby Wallangarra/Jennings on the Queensland border, connecting Sydney and Brisbane, with a break-of-gauge at Wallangarra. When the rail link to the Queensland border was completed, Sydney and Brisbane were linked by rail for the first time. The railway was subsequently bypassed by the fully standard gauge North Coast line between Sydney and Brisbane, which was completed in 1932. The Main North line is now closed north of Armidale through to Wallangarra/Jennings, and the Tenterfield railway station is now a museum.

There was considerable debate about whether the break of gauge should take place at the existing town of Tenterfield, or at a whole new town at the border, which respectively became Wallangarra (Queensland side) and Jennings (New South Wales side).

Tenterfield Oration

Sir Henry Parkes delivered his Federation Speech, commonly referred to as the "Tenterfield Oration", in the Tenterfield School of Arts on 24 October 1889.

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 4,066 people in Tenterfield.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.0% of the population.
  • 80.6% of people were born in Australia and 86.7% of people spoke only English at home.
  • The most common responses for religion were Anglican 24.7%, Catholic 24.3% and No Religion 19.1%.

Summers are moderately warm and stable, with most days during the summer months reaching or above, and generally not dropping below overnight. The majority of precipitation occurs as thunderstorms, which can be severe. Tenterfield's highest recorded temperature was , which was recorded on 12 February 2017. Its coldest recorded temperature was , which was recorded on 10 July 2006.<br />

Mount Mackenzie Road Fire

On 6 September 2019, a grass fire started near Mount Mackenzie Road, opposite the Tenterfield Cemetery, to the south west of Tenterfield. The fire was exacerbated by dry winds and unseasonable heat due to a weather front that was sweeping across New South Wales. Within an hour, the fire was upgraded to an emergency level threat and swept across the southern edge of the town, jumping across the New England Highway. All schools in Tenterfield were evacuated and power was cut to the town. The fire burned eastwards, within the vicinity of Billirimba road and Scrub road. 65 homes in the immediate area of the fire were saved. one home was destroyed and 4 other homes damaged severely. 2 car yards, a pistol club and 12 outbuildings were destroyed and another 8 outbuildings damaged He was stabilised at Tenterfield Hospital then airlifted to Brisbane in a stable but critical condition.

  • William Blakely, born in Tenterfield in 1875, a botanist and plant collector
  • Sir Harry Chauvel, born at nearby Tabulam, the first Australian to command a military Corps
  • Sir Clarence McKerihan, banker and president of the Rural Bank of New South Wales.
  • Billy Moore, NRL footballer
  • A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
  • Jenny Saville, professional golfer
  • Gary Shearston (1939–2013), singer and songwriter.
  • Dr. Leonard Smith, Aboriginal Artist, Writer, Professional Rugby League Player, Australian Army Veteran and Philanthropist. Attended Tenterfield High in 1959
  • Charlie Tapscott, two time paralympian silver medalist
  • Major J.F. Thomas, a solicitor known for his vigorous defence of Harry "Breaker" Morant, and once owned and operated the Tenterfield Star newspaper. Jack Thompson portrayed Thomas in the 1980 film Breaker Morant
  • Edward Reeves Whereat (1840–1894), an early community leader
  • George Woolnough, Allen's grandfather, a saddler, the third person to own the saddlery and the subject of Allen's song "Tenterfield Saddler"
  • Oliver Woodward, decorated First World War veteran and metallurgist

Sporting records

  • The first campdraft ever held (to rules) was held in Tenterfield in c.1885.
  • The Australian showjumping record was broken at Tenterfield in 1926 Mrs A. A. Laidlaw's "Lookout", ridden by A. McPhee jumped 7’10¼".

<gallery>

File:Tenterfield entrance sign.jpg|Entrance sign to Tenterfield

File:View of Tenterfield Joseph Backler p2 00036h.jpg|Tenterfield in 1861

File:StateLibQld 1 236927 View of Tenterfield, New South Wales, 1887.jpg|View of Tenterfield 1887

File:StateLibQld 2 236899 Main street through Tenterfield with Queensland's ranges in the background.jpg|Main Street 1887

File:Drovers, Roseneath sheep station, Tenterfield, 1942 - unknown photographer for Walkabout magazine (5038009366).jpg|Drovers, 1942

File:Tenterfield Post Office 009.JPG|Tenterfield Post Office

File:Tenterfield (2).JPG|Post Office, Rouse Street

File:Tenterfield Post Office 005.JPG|Plaque with postcode

File:Tenterfield (10).JPG|Railway Station, now a museum

File:Picking cherries at the Miller orchard "The Poplars" - Tenterfield, NSW, ca. 1900 - photographer A.B. Butler (5222268381).jpg|Cherry pickers 1900

File:Scrub School - Tenterfield area, NSW, 1923 - Billy Butter's Studio, Tenterfield (3523860399).jpg|Scrub school 1923

File:Tenterfield Rural Bank 002.JPG|Tenterfield Rural Bank

File:Polling booth at Mingoola Hall, Mingoola, Mole Crossing, Tenterfield. 1924 Buick on right - Tenterfield area, NSW, c. 1925 (9666083743).jpg|Polling booth c.1925

File:Tenterfield Telegraph Hotel 004.JPG|Telegraph Hotel

File:Weather Predicting Rock - panoramio.jpg|Weather predicting rock

File:Tenterfield Creek-1 (17300606016).jpg|Tenterfield Creek

File:Tenterfield Blue Belle Cafe.JPG|Blue Belle Café

File:Tenterfield Shops-1 (14009675628).jpg|Shops in Tenterfield

File:Tenterfield Countryside in Autumn-1 (8713175322).jpg|Autumn colours

File:Tenterfield rocks.jpg|Granite boulders on Kildare Road, Tenterfield

File:Three women spinning wool to knit socks for soldiers during World War I - Tenterfield, NSW, ca. 1915.jpg|Spinning wool to knit socks for soldiers during World War I 1915

File:Tenterfield Boer War Memorial 001.JPG|Boer War Memorial

File:Tenterfield Rail Bridge - panoramio.jpg|Rail bridge

File:Tenterfield Home-1 (13986027560).jpg|House in Tenterfield

File:Cork tree TenterfieldIMG 20230216 084535.jpg|Edward Parker's 1861 Cork Tree

</gallery>

See also

  • High Conservation Value Old Growth forest
  • Federation of Australia
  • Sir Henry Parkes
  • Tenterfield Saddler

References

Further reading

  • Local government site
  • Tenterfield Business & Tourism Gateway
  • Tenterfield Accommodation Directory
  • Tenterfield Attractions