Lockhart, New South Wales

Lockhart is a town in the Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of the Lockhart Shire Council offices. At the 2016 census, Lockhart had a population of 818 people.[1]

Lockhart
New South Wales
Looking east in the main street of Lockhart
Lockhart
Coordinates35°13′0″S 146°43′0″E
Population818 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2656
LGA(s)Lockhart Shire
CountyUrana
State electorate(s)Wagga Wagga
Federal Division(s)Riverina

History

Lockhart was named after C.G.N. Lockhart - a commissioner for Crown Lands in the Murrumbidgee River area in the 1850s. It was originally known as Greens Gunyah, and renamed Lockhart in 1897. Greens Gunyah was so named because a Mr Green was the earliest settler and had a grog shop on the Urana - Wagga Wagga stagecoach route.[2]

Ferriers Post Office opened on 16 May 1882 and was renamed Lockhart in 1898.[3]

Tim Fischer, National Party leader (1990–1999) and 11th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia was born here. A railway station served the town between 1901 and 1975, it has now been restored and converted into a New South Wales Rural Fire Service station. Seasonal grain trains service silos in the town.[4]

Water Tower Mural

In October 2018 a water tower mural was opened in a park in the main street of Lockhart.[5][6] It was created by artists Scott Nagy and Janne Birkner (Krimsone) in just three weeks and depicts a cascading waterfall surrounded by local flora and fauna. The mural covers a surface of over 600 square metres.[7] Since the tower was painted, visitor numbers are up by close to 37 per cent.[8]

Lockhart is home to the annual Spirit of the Land Festival, a celebration to the resilience of those who live and work on the land. The festival includes a competition for sculptures created from recycled farm materials. Many of the entries from past years are found in the park around the water tower mural and in other locations on the Lockhart Sculpture and Heritage trail.[9][10]

Notable Former Residents
  • Entrance sign for Lockhart, New South Wales, Australia
  • Greens Gunyah Museum

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Lockhart (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  2. "Lockhart". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  3. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  4. Lockhart station. NSWrail.net, accessed 6 January 2010.
  5. Ellicott, John (13 September 2018). "Stunning mural attracts worldwide focus on Lockhart". The Land. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  6. "Official Launch - Lockhart Water Tower Mural & Walk of Fame - Lockhart Tourism". visitlockhartshire.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. "Lockhart Water Tower Mural". www.visitnsw.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  8. Calver, Olivia (7 June 2019). "Water tower art trending in NSW". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  9. Lockhart Shire Council, Self Guided Sculpture and Heritage Walk brochure (2016). "Historic Lockhart: Sculpture and Heritage Trail" (PDF). Lockhart Shire Council. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. "Visit Lockhart Shire". visitlockhartshire.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
Preceding station   NSW Branch lines   Following station
Long Park
towards Oaklands
Oaklands Line
Napier
towards The Rock
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