Ben Lomond, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Ben Lomond
state = nsw


caption = Ben Lomond Church with The Brothers Mountain to the right.
lga = Guyra Shire Council
county = Hardinge
postcode = 2365
est =
pop = 389
elevation= 1400
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Northern Tablelands
fedgov = New England
dist1 = 571
dir1 = N
location1= Sydney
dist2 = 402
dir2 = S
location2= Brisbane
dist3 = 62
dir3 = N
location3= Armidale
dist4 = 37
dir4 = S
location4= Glen Innes

Ben Lomond is a village on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is situated 6km off the New England Highway between Armidale and Glen Innes. It is located in Guyra Shire with part of the surrounding district in Glen Innes Severn Shire and Inverell Shire.

Ben Lomond Village is at 1370m elevation, the highest village in northern NSW. As such, even though located only a few hours drive from the NSW/Queensland border, it receives occasional falls of snow in winter. Overlooking the village are The Two Brothers with a peak elevation of 1508m.

History

The name Ben Lomond originated from Ben Lomond in Scotland.

In 1848 the Manooan run of 17,000 acres had the Ben Lomond Range as its southern boundary. In the 1860s there was a station named Ben Lomond which had been robbed by Captain Thunderbolt, who frequented the region. The slow climb and timber on the Ben Lomond Range proved an ideal place for the robbery of coaches and travellers. [Donald, J.Kay, Exploring the North Coast and New England, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1987.] During the construction of the railway line (opened in 1888), Ben Lomond was a vibrant community boasting modest local industry, several schools (although only one was a state school), and several sporting teams. With the closure of the railway line and the bypassing of the town by the New England Highway, the population has dwindled in recent years.

Present Day

Ben Lomond was serviced by a general store providing the majority of day to day needs as well as farming supplies until November, 2007. It also has three Churches representing the (Catholic, Anglican, and Presbyterian) denominations.

Ben Lomond Public School, located on Inn Road, has been reduced in recent years from thirty students in the mid nineties to a current enrolment of around twelve students. The lack of jobs in the immediate area, drought, as well as the proximity to Glen Innes and Guyra has been a factor in this change in school size.

At the 2006 census, the Census area containing Ben Lomond village and district, but also containing a considerable area to the east, had a recorded population of 389. Census 2006 AUS
id=SSC16219
name=Ben Lomond (State Suburb)
accessdate=2007-07-13
quick=on] A more accurate though anecdotal estimate of population is about 30 persons in the village, and approximately a further 70 persons in the surrounding district of mostly farming families that identify themselves as part of the Ben Lomond area. The district’s primary industries are agriculture and tourism.

Ben Lomond community has traditionally been active through several groups and local initiatives to maintain and progress the village and district.

In recent years the village has formed something of a local rivalry with neighbouring Glen Innes in the form of an annual inter-town friendly cricket match. Whilst at a substantial size disadvantage, Ben Lomond have won four of the games so far, and drawn the other. Games are played on the Ben Lomond Recreational Ground, which once played host to regular games but is seldom used outside of the fixture.

Ben Lomond is home to several tourist attractions; including home stays, the longest hand cut railway cutting in Australia, the highest passenger railway station in the southern hemisphere (at the time of the construction of the railway), and a scattering of old and historical relics of past times in and around the village.

The highland areas that include the Ben Lomond district are the focus areas for possible development of large scale windfarms.

References

ee also

Ben Lomond Catholic Cemetery: http://cemindex.arkangles.com/cemetery.php?id=140

Ben Lomond General Cemetery: http://cemindex.arkangles.com/cemetery.php?id=139