Hay, New South Wales
| Hay New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Looking south down Lachlan Street, the main street of Hay | |||||||||
  Hay | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°30′0″S 144°51′0″E / 34.50000°S 144.85000°E | ||||||||
| Population | 2,882 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1859 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2711 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 93.3 m (306 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Hay Shire | ||||||||
| County | Waradgery | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Murray | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Farrer | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Hay is a town in the western Riverina area of south-west New South Wales, Australia. It is the main town for the local government area called Hay Shire. The town is in a rich farming region on the wide Hay Plains.
Hay is about halfway between Sydney and Adelaide. It is located where three highways meet: the Sturt, Cobb, and Mid-Western Highways. This makes Hay an important place for travel and transport in the region and the country. The town is built next to the Murrumbidgee River, which is part of Australia’s largest river system, the Murray–Darling. The main shops and businesses in Hay are on the north side of the river.
History
Aboriginal people in the western Riverina lived mostly near the rivers and reedbeds, where the land was easier to live on. Around the area of Hay, there were at least three different Aboriginal groups when European settlers arrived. The land near the town was a meeting place between the Nari-Nari people from the Lower Murrumbidgee and the Wiradjuri people, who lived in a large area in central-west New South Wales.
In late 1829, Charles Sturt and his team traveled along the Murrumbidgee River on horses and carts. They put their boat in the water near where the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Rivers meet and traveled by boat to the Murray River and then to the sea at Lake Alexandrina. They returned the same way. In the late 1830s, people moved cattle and sheep overland to South Australia using the Lower Murrumbidgee route. At the same time, farmers were moving west along the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Billabong, and Murray Rivers. By 1839, all the river areas near today’s Hay were taken by squatters (people who settled on land without owning it). By the mid-1850s, farms in the western Riverina were well set up and doing well. The gold rushes in nearby Victoria created a big market for livestock. The Riverina became an important place to raise animals to send to Victoria when needed. One popular route in the mid-1850s crossed the Murrumbidgee River at Lang's Crossing-place.
Lang’s Crossing-place
The area where the town of Hay grew was first called Lang’s Crossing-place. It was named after three Lang brothers who rented land on the south side of the river. This place was a crossing on the Murrumbidgee River along a busy stock route called "the Great North Road," which led to markets in Victoria.
In 1856–57, Captain Francis Cadell, who was a pioneer of steam boats on the Murray River, sent a manager to Lang’s Crossing-place to start a store, which was first set up in a tent. In December 1857, Thomas Simpson moved from Deniliquin to open a blacksmith shop and home there. Six months later, Henry Leonard, a shipbuilder from Canada, arrived. He started building a hotel and a house near Simpson’s place and launched a small ferry (punt) on the river.
In August 1858, steam boats owned by rivals Francis Cadell and William Randell traveled up the Murrumbidgee River to Lang’s Crossing-place. Cadell’s boat, called "Albury", went further up to Gundagai.
Henry Jeffries, who rented a nearby station called "Illilawa" that included Lang’s Crossing-place, did not like Henry Leonard’s business. He threatened Leonard’s ferry, so Leonard kept a loaded gun for protection. Jeffries even tried to tear down Leonard’s hotel while it was being built. This caused people who wanted a town there to complain. Because of this, the New South Wales Government sent a surveyor to plan a new town. Henry Leonard finished his hotel and opened it on October 30, 1858. The Murrumbidgee Punt Hotel was a large wooden building with a wooden tiles on the roof and a verandah in front.
By mid-1859, the government set aside land on both sides of the river at Lang’s Crossing-place. Henry Shiell became the Police Magistrate. In October 1859, the town was officially named "Hay" after John Hay, a rich squatter and politician. Later that month, land was sold to settlers in Hay.
The town’s first years: 1859 to 1880
The post office called "Lang’s Crossing Place" opened on April 16, 1859. In 1861, its name was changed to "Hay" to match the town’s name.[2] In early 1860, a brick court-house and gaol were built in Hay where the current post office now stands.
In April 1861, a census showed that 172 people lived in Hay. There were 115 men (25 were 15 years old or younger) and 57 women (23 were 15 or younger). Of the 90 men aged 16 or older, only 38% were married or widowed. Of the 34 women aged 16 or older, 76% were married or widowed. The town had four brick buildings, 17 buildings made of wood or other simple materials, and 14 tents.[3]
In April 1861, two new hotels opened in Hay: the "Caledonian Hotel" (run by Thomas E. Blewett and George Dorward) and the "Argyle Hotel" (run by Thomas Simpson). These hotels were next to each other on Lachlan Street. The Argyle Hotel closed in 1862 and was put up for sale. In September 1865, George Maiden reopened it as the "Royal Mail Hotel" for a short time. In February 1866, Christopher Ledwidge, who owned the "Caledonian Hotel", bought the "Royal Mail" and combined the two hotels into one.[4] The "Caledonian Hotel" was badly damaged by fire in 2006 and was torn down the next year.
The 1871 census showed that 664 people lived in Hay: 388 men and 276 women. The number of children under 16 had grown from 28% in 1861 to 38% in 1871.
In November 1871, the people of Hay asked for their town to become a municipality (a town with its own local government). Elections for town leaders were held in August 1872. At the first meeting, local businessman Frank Johns was chosen as mayor.
The first bridge over the Murrumbidgee River at Hay was built in 1872 and cost £20,000. It had a turntable that could open to let steam boats pass. The Hay Bridge opening was delayed while the roads leading to it were built. It finally opened on August 31, 1874, by Henry Parkes, the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. The old bridge was replaced by a new one in June 1973 and then torn down. The turntable, last used in 1946, was placed in the river near where the old bridge had been.[4]
As Hay grew, it became an important center for the area. Farms nearby were the main employers. With its shops, hotels, hospital, post office, banks, court-house, and police station, Hay became a key place for workers and landowners. Carriers, contractors, wool buyers, and livestock dealers worked in Hay. The town was a busy port for steam boats on the rivers. Goods for the town and farms were unloaded at Hay’s wharves, and wool bales were loaded onto boats to be sent back, usually to Echuca, which had a rail link to Melbourne by 1864.
The writer Joseph Furphy lived in Hay in the 1870s while working as a carrier with a team of bullocks. He later used the area around Hay as the setting for his novel "Such is Life," published in 1903.[5]
Between 1879 and 1880, a local building company called Witcombe Brothers built a new gaol in Hay to replace the old one on Lachlan Street (where the current post office is). The new Hay Gaol opened in December 1880.
Consolidation: 1881 to 1914
In 1881–82, the railway was extended from Narrandera to Hay, and a new railway station was built in Hay. This new railway line, which connected Hay directly to Sydney, opened in July 1882.[6] Because of the railway, fewer people used river boats to transport wool, and the local economy started to focus more on Sydney instead of Melbourne. The railway offered cheaper prices for wool transport, so many farmers in the Riverina area preferred to use the train.
In 1883, the large Anglican church area of Goulburn was split. The western part became the new Diocese of Riverina, with Hay as its main center. Bishop Sydney Linton was made bishop on May 1, 1884, in London. He and his family traveled to Sydney and then to Hay, where he officially started his role on March 18, 1885, in the old St Paul's church. The new St Paul's church, which was the main church of the new diocese, was finished by the end of 1885. In 1889, a house called the "Bishop’s Lodge" was built for Bishop Linton in South Hay. It covered with corrugated iron to handle Hay’s hot and cold weather. Hay stayed the main church center for the Diocese of Riverina until 1953, when it moved to Narrandera, New South Wales.[7]
The Great War and afterwards
During World War I, 641 men from Hay and nearby areas joined the army. This was one of the highest rates of enlistment in Australia. Sadly, one out of every six men who joined died in the war, which was very hard for the close communities in the Hay area.
In 1919, it was decided to build a High School in Hay as a memorial for those who died in the war. The Hay War Memorial High School opened on ANZAC Day in 1923. Mr. L. E. Penman was the first headmaster.[4]
Internees and Prisoners of War (POWs)
During World War II, Hay was chosen for internment and POW camps because it was in a remote area. In 1940, three high-security camps were built there. The first people to arrive were over two thousand refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria, many of them Jewish, aged between 16 and 60. They were taken from Britain during fears of invasion and sent to Australia on a ship called the HMT Dunera. They arrived in Hay on September 7, 1940, in four trains from Sydney. They were kept in Camps 7 and 8 near the Hay showground, guarded by the Australian Army.
These refugees became known as the "Dunera Boys." Their time in Hay is an important part of Australia’s history. About 800 of them chose to stay in Australia. Many of these men later helped shape Australia’s culture, science, and business.[8] The "Dunera Boys" are still remembered warmly in Hay. Every year, the town holds a "Dunera Day," when many of the surviving internees come back to the site where they were held.
In November 1940, Camp 6 near Hay Hospital was used for Italian civilian internees. Camps 7 and 8 were emptied in May 1941 when the Dunera Boys left Hay. Some went to Orange in New South Wales, others to Tatura in Victoria, and some joined the Australian Army’s Pioneer Corps. After they left, Italian POWs were put in Camps 7 and 8.
In December 1941, Japanese internees from Broome and nearby islands were brought to Hay and placed in Camp 6. In April 1942, the River Farm started on the east side of town, where Italian internees and POWs worked in gardening and farming.
In August 1944, after a Cowra POW break-out at Cowra, 600 Japanese POWs were moved to Hay and put in Camps 7 and 8. The last Japanese POWs left Hay on March 1, 1946. During 1946, the remaining Italians were slowly released or moved to other camps. The Hay camps were taken apart, and their building materials were sold by June 1947.[9]
Heritage sites
Hay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Geography and climate
The Riverine Plain is a flat area made of soil, like silt, clay, and fine sand. These were left by old rivers a long time ago. Under this soil are older rocks and sediments. The Murrumbidgee River, which gets water from snow, flows west across this plain. To the north, its main smaller river, the Lachlan, flows in a big curve until it meets the Murrumbidgee in a wet area with many reeds and channels between Hay and Balranald. South of the Murrumbidgee, Billabong Creek gets water from many streams and flows into the Edward River, which is a branch of the Murray River. Near Hay, the plants along the rivers are mostly forests with river red gum trees. Black Box trees grow farther from the river and in low, wet areas.
Away from the river, Hay is surrounded by flat plains with few trees. The soil there is mostly grey clay and red earth. Before Europeans arrived, saltbush shrubs with grasses and small plants grew there. But many saltbush plants have been lost because of too many animals grazing, damage by rabbits, and farming in recent years, especially near the river and irrigation canals. The plains around Hay have many shallow dry creek beds and lakes, with sand ridges made by wind. Cypress-pine trees often grow on these ridges.[14]
Climate
Hay has a cold semi-arid climate. Summers are hot and dry with clear skies, while winters are cool and partly cloudy. Weather records have been kept since 1877, but extreme temperatures have only been recorded since 1957. The temperature changes a lot during the year. Summers often go above 40 °C (104 °F), and winters can be below 10 °C (50 °F) during the day. The hottest temperature recorded in Hay was 47.7 °C (117.9 °F) on January 5, 2013. The coldest was −3.8 °C (25.2 °F) on August 3, 2014. Hay gets about 368.3 millimeters (14.5 inches) of rain each year. It is very sunny, with about 144 clear days every year.[15]
On July 24, 1936, a small amount of snow was reported in Hay. If true, this would be the lowest snowfall ever seen in New South Wales, since Hay is only 90 meters (300 feet) above sea level.[16] However, the snow did not stay on the ground.
| Climate data for Hay (Miller Street, 1877–2015, extremes 1957–2015); 93 m AMSL; 34.52° S, 144.85° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.7 (117.9) |
47.5 (117.5) |
42.0 (107.6) |
37.3 (99.1) |
30.0 (86.0) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
36.4 (97.5) |
39.2 (102.6) |
44.9 (112.8) |
45.4 (113.7) |
47.7 (117.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 33.0 (91.4) |
32.5 (90.5) |
29.2 (84.6) |
24.1 (75.4) |
19.3 (66.7) |
15.8 (60.4) |
15.1 (59.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
20.7 (69.3) |
24.5 (76.1) |
28.4 (83.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
24.3 (75.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
13.7 (56.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
4.5 (40.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
4.6 (40.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.0 (50.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
5.3 (41.5) |
4.5 (40.1) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
0.0 (32.0) |
2.8 (37.0) |
5.7 (42.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 27.6 (1.09) |
29.7 (1.17) |
30.2 (1.19) |
27.9 (1.10) |
34.7 (1.37) |
35.5 (1.40) |
31.3 (1.23) |
32.2 (1.27) |
31.4 (1.24) |
35.0 (1.38) |
26.0 (1.02) |
26.9 (1.06) |
368.3 (14.50) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 6.3 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 68.4 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 29 | 31 | 35 | 42 | 53 | 61 | 59 | 52 | 44 | 37 | 32 | 30 | 42 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[15] | |||||||||||||
The people
At the 2021 census, the town of Hay had 2,882 people living there. About 8.3% of them were Indigenous Australians. Most people in Hay, 80%, were born in Australia, which is higher than the national average of 66.9%. About 84% of people spoke only English at home. Also, 41.4% of the people were aged 55 or older, which is more than the 29.1% for all of Australia.[1]
The most common religions in Hay were Catholic (27.6%), No Religion (24.3%), Anglican (21.7%), and 12.3% of people did not say their religion.[1]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2,572 | — |
| 1933 | 3,156 | +22.7% |
| 1947 | 2,963 | −6.1% |
| 1954 | 3,009 | +1.6% |
| 1961 | 3,134 | +4.2% |
| 1966 | 2,959 | −5.6% |
| 1971 | 3,208 | +8.4% |
| 1976 | 2,872 | −10.5% |
| 1981 | 2,958 | +3.0% |
| 1986 | 2,961 | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 2,817 | −4.9% |
| 1996 | 2,896 | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 2,692 | −7.0% |
| 2006 | 2,636 | −2.1% |
| 2011 | 2,298 | −12.8% |
| 2016 | 2,316 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 2,208 | −4.7% |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data.[17][18] | ||
Transportation
Hay’s railway station is the last stop on the Hay branch from the Main South Line through Yanco. But the station is now closed. The last passenger train ran in 1983 after 101 years of service. The goods train service stopped in November 1984. The old Hay Railway Station, built around 1882 and listed as a heritage site, was fixed up in 2005 for $1 million. It is even shown on an Australian stamp.
The Dunera Museum is inside the Hay Railway Station in air-conditioned train carriages. Between 2002 and 2014, over 31,000 people visited it. The museum’s Hay Internment and POW Camps Interpretive Centre tells the stories of more than 6,600 people who were held there during World War II. These included German, Italian, Japanese, and Australian civilian internees, as well as Italian and Japanese prisoners of war. They were kept in three camps (6, 7, and 8), each holding about 1,000 men, from 1940 to 1946.
You can reach Hay by the Cobb Highway, the Mid Western Highway, and the Sturt Highway. There are coach (bus) services to Cootamundra, where you can catch trains to Sydney or Melbourne, and also to Mildura. The Hay Bridge carries the Cobb Highway over the Murrumbidgee River in the town.
Hay Station pano
Hay Station Platform
Farming
Hay is one of Australia’s top areas for growing wool and producing sheep meat. There are about 26 parent sheep farms in the area. Cattle are also raised for meat, either sold for slaughter or sent to feedlots to be fattened. In places with irrigation, farmers grow crops like lettuce, pumpkins, tomatoes, garlic, corn, rockmelons, watermelons, and broccoli. Hay is the main producer of safflower, lettuce, and broccoli in the Riverina region.[19]
In recent years, Hay has also grown rice and cotton. Cotton farming has faced challenges due to colder growing seasons, but rice farming has grown a lot—from over 400 hectares in 1991–92 to more than 7,000 hectares in 1997–98. In 2002, the Hay area produced about 75,375 tonnes of rice. There is a rice storage and drying center near town that can dry up to 32,000 tonnes of rice before sending it to a mill in Deniliquin.[19]
Sport
Hay supports many sports, including all major types of football.
The Hay Magpies are the local rugby league team. They play in Group 20, a competition with teams from towns in the South Western Riverina. The Magpies won 12 championships in Group 17, more than any other team. In 2007, after Group 17 ended, the Magpies joined Group 20. Hay was the only town from the old group to keep its team. Although Group 17 started again later, Hay stayed in Group 20.[20]
The Hay Cutters are the local rugby union team. They play in the Southern Inland Rugby Union, competing against teams from towns as far as Tumut and Albury.
The Hay Lions are the local Australian Rules football team. They started on May 19, 1876.[21] They now play in the Golden Rivers Football League, which includes small towns in northern Victoria and western Riverina.
The Hay Jockey Club holds a popular horse race event every November. It is called "the biggest day in the year." The event is professional and supported by the TAB (betting agency), but it still feels like a fun picnic day.[22]
Media
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) offers many TV and radio stations to people in the Hay area. These include ABC TV, digital TV channels, ABC, ABC Family, ABC Entertains, ABC News, national radio stations, ABC Riverina, ABC Radio National.[23] Local commercial TV stations in Hay are Seven Network, WIN Television, and Network 10.Seven Network, WIN Television and Network 10 are the commercial television stations available in Hay.[24] Network 10 is only available through digital signals.
The Riverine Grazier is the local weekly newspaper. It started in 1873 and has about 5,000 readers. It serves Hay, Booligal, and Ivanhoe. The paper is published every Wednesday.[25] People in Hay can also get daily newspapers from Griffith, Sydney, and Melbourne.
2HayFM is Hay’s community radio station. It broadcasts to the town and nearby areas.[24] The station plays music, news, and local information. It is run by paid staff and volunteers.[26] 2HayFM broadcasts on 92.1 FM and can be heard about 100 km (62 mi) around Hay.[24]
Movies
In May 2022, the movie "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" was filmed in Hay.[27]
Notable people
- Ernest Anderson
- George Challis, rugby league player
- Jodie Hicks, Australian rules footballer
- Tom Ledwidge, Australian rules footballer
- Geoff Milliken, cricketer
- Air Marshal Warren George McDonald, senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.
- Rachael Pearson, Rugby league footballer
References
- 1 2 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hay (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. - ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ↑ ’Census of New South Wales’, NSW Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1862, Vol. 3 [p. 98(66)]
- 1 2 3 Caroline Merrylees, Derek Woolcott (1993). The Witcombe Heritage: A History of the Buildings of Hay. Hay Historical Society. ISBN 0-646-16222-5.
- ↑ McGirr, Michael (26 July 2003). "Celebrating the original larrikin". The Age. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
- ↑ "Hay Branch". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
- ↑ In a Strange Land: A History of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina by Laurel Clyde (Hawthorn Press, Melbourne: 1979).
- ↑ Life Matters ABC Radio National 30 August 2002, retrieved 19 October 2006.
- ↑ Haywire: The Wartime Camps at Hay, Hay Historical Society, 2006.
- ↑ "Hay Gaol". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment & Heritage. H01782. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ↑ "Hay Post Office". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment & Heritage. H01441. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ↑ "Bishops Lodge". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment & Heritage. H00482. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ↑ "Hay Railway Station and yard group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment & Heritage. H01167. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ↑ A Geomorphic Map of the Riverine Plain of South-eastern Australia by B.E. Butler, G. Blackburn, J.M. Bowler, C.R. Lawrence, J.W. Newell, and S. Pels (Australian National University Press, Canberra: 1973).
- 1 2 "Hay (Miller Street) climate averages". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ↑ "Report of snow in Hay (1936)". trove. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ↑ "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ↑ "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- 1 2 "Agriculture in the Hay district". Archived from the original on 2006-08-20. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
- ↑ Area News: Gilroy, Will, ‘Hay wins vote’ Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 8 November 2006; ‘Majority of clubs welcome Magpies’ Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 10 November 2006.
- ↑ "1876 - Hay Football Club". Trove Newspapers. The Riverine Grazier Newspaper.
- ↑ "Hay Jockey Club Races". Hay Tourism and Development Inc. Archived from the original on 2006-08-20. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
- ↑ "Frequency Information - Hay, NSW". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
- 1 2 3 "Hay" (PDF). C Change Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
- ↑ "The Riverine Grazier". Victorian Country Press Association. Archived from the original on 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
- ↑ Hicks, Sharon. "Staff & Presenters". hayfm.org. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
- ↑ Mad Max: Furiosa filming drives economic recovery in Hay after COVID-19 and drought ABC News 20 May 2022