Quirindi

Quirindi
New South Wales
Quirindi; New South Wales
	View over Quirindi from a nearby lookout
	Quirindi Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	31°30′29″S 150°40′48″E / 31.50806°S 150.68000°E
Population	2,602 (UCL 2021)
Established	1856
Postcode(s)	2343
Elevation	390 m (1,280 ft)
Location	346 km (215 mi) NNW of Sydney ; 68 km (42 mi) SSW of Tamworth ; 35 km (22 mi) N of Murrurundi ;
LGA(s)	Liverpool Plains Shire
County	Buckland
State electorate(s)	Upper Hunter
Federal division(s)	New England

Quirindi (/kwəˈrɪndaɪ/ or /kəˈrɪndaɪ/)^[3] is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the 2021 census, Quirindi had a population of 2,602.^[4] It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the northwest and Tamworth to the north. The local economy is based on agriculture, with broadacre farming dominant on the black soil plains to the west and livestock grazing in the hilly eastern part of the district.

The town is on the Kamilaroi Highway 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of its junction with the New England Highway at Willow Tree.

History

The indigenous Gamilaroi people lived in the area for many thousands of years. The name Quirindi comes from the Gamilaraay language, with a number of meanings having been attributed it, which include "nest in the hills", "place where fish breed" and "dead tree on mountain top".^[2]^[5] Early spellings of the name included "Cuerindi" and "Kuwherindi".^[5]

Quirindi Post Office opened on 1 January 1858.^[6] The town was gazetted on 19 February 1884.^[5]

Heritage listings

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

Main Northern railway: Quirindi railway station^[7]

Climate

Climate data for Quirindi Post Office
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	42.9 (109.2)	43.4 (110.1)	39.3 (102.7)	36.0 (96.8)	27.8 (82.0)	26.4 (79.5)	24.0 (75.2)	28.0 (82.4)	33.3 (91.9)	37.4 (99.3)	42.2 (108.0)	41.8 (107.2)	43.4 (110.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	32.2 (90.0)	31.3 (88.3)	29.3 (84.7)	24.9 (76.8)	20.4 (68.7)	16.6 (61.9)	15.9 (60.6)	17.9 (64.2)	21.5 (70.7)	25.2 (77.4)	28.5 (83.3)	31.1 (88.0)	24.6 (76.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	16.4 (61.5)	16.1 (61.0)	13.5 (56.3)	8.9 (48.0)	5.0 (41.0)	2.8 (37.0)	1.6 (34.9)	2.4 (36.3)	5.0 (41.0)	8.7 (47.7)	12.0 (53.6)	14.7 (58.5)	8.9 (48.0)
Record low °C (°F)	5.0 (41.0)	7.2 (45.0)	2.2 (36.0)	−3.2 (26.2)	−5.0 (23.0)	−6.7 (19.9)	−6.7 (19.9)	−6.4 (20.5)	−2.6 (27.3)	−1.0 (30.2)	2.0 (35.6)	4.5 (40.1)	−6.7 (19.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	81.1 (3.19)	65.9 (2.59)	53.3 (2.10)	41.9 (1.65)	44.5 (1.75)	50.9 (2.00)	48.4 (1.91)	45.1 (1.78)	46.5 (1.83)	60.1 (2.37)	65.4 (2.57)	80.5 (3.17)	684.1 (26.93)
Source: Bureau of Meteorology^[8]

Sport

Quirindi sporting facilities include several sporting ovals catering for athletics, cricket (Falcons), Rugby League (Quirindi Grasshoppers), Rugby Union (Quirindi Lions), soccer (Qurindi Football Club- QFC formed in 2011), basketball and netball.^{[citation needed]} Other sporting complexes include the racecourse, polo grounds, rodeo, campdrafting, an 18-hole golf course, two tennis clubs, three bowling greens, gun club and swimming complex.

Local Teams/Events

Quirindi Falcons Cricket Club
Quirindi Lions RUFC
Quirindi Lions FC (Soccer)

One major issue faced by Quirindi's sporting scene was the demise of the local rugby league club, the Quirindi Grasshoppers, who have been in recess since 2017 after years of financial problems. This has left the town without a team in its most popular sport, and forces local players to either travel to play for Murrurundi or Werris Creek, or give up the game they love entirely.

Quirindi Jockey Club plays host to seven race meetings each year including the Boxing Day Races which attracts thousands of people each year.

A motorcycle club is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-east of Quirindi on the Borah Creek Road, with a 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) motorcross track named Stu Johnson Park.

Quirindi annual events

Quirindi Rural Heritage Festival- 1st weekend in May
Quirindi Show- September
Boxing Day Races- December
Prime Stock Show / Hook and Hoof- August
Nick Tooth Memorial Rugby Tens Tournament
Sunflowers on the Plains - January

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1921	2,231	—
1933	2,589	+16.0%
1947	2,628	+1.5%
1954	2,735	+4.1%
1961	2,790	+2.0%
1966	2,732	−2.1%
1971	2,877	+5.3%
1976	2,955	+2.7%
1981	2,851	−3.5%
1986	2,812	−1.4%
1991	2,830	+0.6%
1996	2,671	−5.6%
2001	2,537	−5.0%
2006	2,609	+2.8%
2011	2,580	−1.1%
2016	2,680	+3.9%
2021	2,602	−2.9%
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data.^[9]^[10]

Surrounding towns

Werris Creek is 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Quirindi, following the path of the explorer Thomas Mitchell.

Wallabadah is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of Quirindi on the New England Highway.

Spring Ridge is about 50 kilometres (30 mi) west of Quirindi.

Transport

Quirindi railway station is located on the Main North railway line, 392 kilometres (244 mi) from Sydney. The station opened in 1877,^[11] and continues to be served by daily rail services operated by a NSW TrainLink Xplorer train to and from Sydney and Armidale/Moree.

Quirindi Airport is the local airfield, though most commercial flights in the region use Tamworth Regional Airport.

Tamworth Buslines operates a bus service between Quirindi and Tamworth.^[12]

Notable people

Ellen Savage, sole surviving nurse from the sinking of the AHS Centaur, advocate for career nursing
Sir John Oscar Cramer, Australian politician and founding member of Liberal Party
Ben Smith, former Parramatta Eels NRL player
Andy Saunders, former NRL player for Canterbury Bulldogs
Tony Windsor, politician

References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Quirindi (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Quirindi". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
^ Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Quirindi (urban centre and locality)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Quirindi". Historical Towns Directory. Australian Heritage. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
^ "Quirindi Railway Station group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01227. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
^ "Quirindi Post Office". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
^ "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
^ "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
^ Quirindi Railway Station. NSWrail.net. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
^ "| transportnsw.info". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 18 February 2024.