Holbrook, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Holbrook
state = nsw

---

caption =
lga = Greater Hume Shire Council
postcode = 2644
pop = 1,267 (2001 census)
est = 1836
elevation= 289
dist1 = 96 | location1 = Wagga Wagga
dist2 = 64 | location2 = Albury
county = Goulburn
stategov = Wagga Wagga
fedgov = Farrer Holbrook is a town in the Greater Hume Shire Council in New South Wales, Australia. The district around Holbrook produces wool, wheat and other grains, lucerne, fat cattle and sheep. A softwood timber mill opened in 1998 which has subsequently closed.

The town was serviced by the Holbrook branch railway line until it was closed over 20 years ago.

Location

Holbrook is located on the Hume Highway, 356km North-East of Melbourne and 491km south-west of Sydney [ [http://www.nowwhereroute.com/travelmate/ Travelmate Map Pages] ] between Tarcutta and Albury. The town is located in the Greater Hume Shire Council which was created in May 2004 from the merger of Culcairn Shire with the majority of Holbrook Shire and part of the Hume Shire.

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people.

The explorers Hume and Hovell were the first known Europeans in the area. They travelled through in 1824 when looking for new grazing country in the south of the colony of New South Wales.

The town was originally called Ten Mile Creek and the first buildings erected in 1836. A German immigrant, John Christopher Pabst, became the publican of the Woolpack Hotel on 29 July 1840 and the area became known as "the Germans". By 1858 the name had evolved in to the official name of Germanton, though the postal area retained the name Ten Mile Creek. In 1876 the name Germanton was gazetted and the old name Ten Mile Creek consigned to history.

The town was a stop on Old Sydney Road - the road between Sydney and Melbourne. The railway arrived in Germanton in 1902.

During World War I, the town name was deemed unpatriotic and on 24 August, 1915 the town was renamed Holbrook in honour of Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook, a decorated wartime submarine captain and winner of the Victoria Cross. Lt. Holbrook commanded the submarine HMS B11. [ cite web
publisher = Walkabout, John Fairfax
title=Holbrook
url = http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/NSWHolbrook.shtml
accessdate = 2007-01-25 ] [ cite web
first=Geoffrey
last=Webby
publisher = IFHAA
work=Local History Library
title=Holbrook, New South Wales, Musings on Holbrook (or Germanton)
url = http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/ifhaa/towns/holbrook.htm
accessdate = 2007-01-25 ]

Local landmarks

To honor Lt. Holbrook the town's namesake, the Holbrook council acquired a portion of the hull of HMAS Otway, a decommissioned Oberon class submarine when it was decommissioned by the Royal Australian Navy in 1995. The Navy gifted the fin from the submarine to the town. This resulted in a drive by the town and district to bid on the whole submarine. This drive for the purchase of the submarine, was successful in raising $100,000, almost all a gift from Lt Holbrook's widow Gundula Holbrook. However, this amount was insufficient to purchase all of the Otway. Through negotiations with the scrap yard in Sydney, the town did succeed in purchasing all of the outside skin of the Otway above the waterline. This part of the Otway is now displayed in Germanton Park in the heart of Holbrook, having being dedicated on 7-8 June 1997. [ cite web
first=Brett
last=Green
publisher = Hyper Scale
title=HMAS Otway, of Holbrook)
url = http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/hmasotwaybg_1.htm
accessdate = 2007-01-25 ] [ cite web
first=Geoff
last=Webby
publisher = brandis.com.au
title=Why are we called Holbrook
url = http://www.brandis.com.au/readers/geoff001.html
accessdate = 2007-01-25 ]

After the city of Albury / Wodonga was bypassed in March 2007, Holbrook became famous not only for a submarine - But also having the only set of traffic lights between Sydney and Melbourne, which is a pedestrian crossing. Holbrook will not be bypassed until 2012, the bypass will be west of the town [http://www.wesellrealestate.com.au/news/2006818228211.htm] as planned since 1991.

Demographics

The population of the town was 1,267 people at the 2001 census. [Census 2001 AUS|id=UCL140000|name=Holbrook (Urban Centre/Locality)|accessdate=2007-06-30] The population of the former Holbrook Shire was 2343 people. The population had declined by 7.4% (186 people) from 1996 and by 10.3% (269 people) since 1991. In 2001 the population of Australia increased by 6% from the 1996 census and 12.6% since the 1991 census.

Less than 1% of the population identified themselves as being of indigenous origin (compared with 2.2% for the whole of Australia).

The median age of people in Holbrook in the 2001 Census was 40 years. In the 1996 Census the median age of people was 37 years, while in the 1991 Census the median age of people was 34 years. The median age for the whole of Australia in 2001 was 35 years.

In the 2001 Census, 2104 people (90.0%) stated that they were Australian-born. This compares with 93% in the 1996 Census and 92% in the 1991 Census. In the 2001 Census, the three most common ancestries identified with were: Australian: 1184 people (50.7%); English: 810 people (34.7%) and; Irish: 247 people (10.6%). In 2001 73% of all Australians were Australian born. Across Australia the three most common ancestries identified with were similar to Holbrook but with a reduced percentage identifying Australian ancestry: Australian: 36%; English: 34% and; Irish: 10%.English was the only language spoken at home by 95.3% of those in the Holbrook local statistical area compared with 80% of Australians.

In the week preceding the 2001 Census, 807 people (34.5%) had used a personal computer at home. The total number of persons who had used the Internet in the week preceding the 2001 Census was 541 (23%). 42% of Australians had used a personal computer at home in the preceding week and 37% of Australians had used the internet.

In the 2001 Census, there were 1078 married people (60%), 53 separated people (3%), 98 divorced people (6%), 165 widowed people (9%) and 397 people who had never been married (22%). 51% of Australians were married at the time of the census.

In the 2001 Census, 22 (1.2%) people held a postgraduate degree, graduate diploma or graduate certificate. This compares with 3% of the Australian population. 106 (6%) people held a bachelor degree, compared with 10% of the Australian population. There were 385 (21%) people with an advanced diploma, diploma or certificate in the 2001 Census, compared with 22% of the Australian population. 1289 (72%) people did not have a qualification, did not state a qualification or stated a qualification outside of the scope of the standard classification; this compares with 65% of the Australian population.

During the week prior to Census Night 2001, 1021 people in Holbrook statistical local area were employed, representing 96% of the labour force. Of these, 658 (64.4%) people (485 males and 173 females) were working full-time and 321 (31.4%) people (93 males and 228 females) were working part-time. This compares with 92% of people who were employed in the 1996 Census and 90% of people who were employed in the 1991 Census. 93% of the Australian labour force were employed on census night.

In the 2001 Census, 39 people were unemployed, representing 3.7% of the labour force. In the 1996 Census, there were 93 (8.4%) unemployed people and 115 (9.7%) unemployed people in the 1991 Census. 7.4% of the Australian labour force were unemployed on census night.

In the 2001 Census, 274 (26.8%) people were employed as Managers and Administrators. There were 102 (10.0%) people employed as Associate Professionals and there were 101 (9.9%) people employed as Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers. Across Australia 9% of people were employed as Managers and Administrators; 12% as Associate Professionals and 17% as Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers.

In the 2001 Census, 95 (9.2%) people were employed in the Manufacturing industry, which compares with 3.6% of people in the 1996 Census and 5.6% of people in the 1991 Census. There were 126 (12.2%) people employed in the Retail Trade industry and there were 30 (2.9%) people (0 males and 30 females) employed in the Education industry. Across Australia 12% were employed in the Manufacturing industry, 15% in the Retail Trade industry and 7% in the Education industry.

The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 Census was $300-$399. This was the same as for Australia.

In the 2001 Census, there were 291 couple families with children (which comprised 44.7% of all families in occupied private dwellings), 283 couple families without children (43.5%), 70 one parent families (10.8%) and 7 other families (1.1%). There were 42 people (1.9%) in group households and 238 people (10.7%) in lone person households in the 2001 Census. Across Australia 47% of all families in occupied private dwellings were couple families with children, 36% couple families without children, 16% one parent families and 2% other families. There were 3% of people in group households and 9% in lone person households.

In the 2001 Census, there were 865 separate houses (92.7%), 37 flats, units or apartments (4.0%) and 31 other dwellings (3.3%). Of all occupied private dwellings in the 2001 Census, 670 were either fully owned or being purchased, which represents (71.6%) of all occupied private dwellings, while 177 (18.9%) were being rented. 75% of Australian dwellings are separate houses and 66% of all Australian dwellings were either fully owned or being purchased.

References

External links

* [http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/ifhaa/towns/holbrook.htm Detail on the relationship between Norman Douglas Holbrook VC and the town of Holbrook]
* [http://www.greaterhume.nsw.gov.au/ Greater Hume Shire Council]
* [http://holbrook.nsw.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=36 Things to see and do in Holbrook]