Emmaville, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place
type = town
name = Emmaville
state = nsw


caption = View of Emmaville, NSW
lga = Glen Innes Severn Council
county = Gough
postcode = 2371
est =
pop = 247
elevation= 890
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Northern Tablelands
fedgov = New England
dist1 = 662
dir1 = NNE
location1= Sydney
dist2 = 271
dir2 = SW
location2= Brisbane
dist3 = 45
dir3 = NW
location3= Glen Innes

Emmaville is a village on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the Glen Innes Severn Council district.

Emmaville is at an elevation of 890 metres AHD. At the 2006 census, the Emmaville "urban centre/locality" had a population of 247 (in the 2001 census it was 303Census 2001 AUS
id=UCL129200
name=Emmaville (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2007-11-08
quick=on] ) and there were 535 persons usually resident in the Emmaville region. [ [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?locationLastSearchTerm=Emmaville+&locationSearchTerm=Emmaville+&newarea=SSC17109&submitbutton=View+QuickStats+%3E&mapdisplay=on&collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC17109&geography=&method=Place+of+Usual+Residence&productlabel=&producttype=QuickStats&topic=&navmapdisplayed=true&javascript=true&breadcrumb=PL&topholder=0&leftholder=0&currentaction=104&action=401&textversion=false&subaction=1 2006 Census QuickStats : Emmaville (State Suburb) ] ]

Census 2006 AUS
id=UCL129200
name=Emmaville (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2007-11-08
quick=on]

History

Tin was first discovered on Strathbogie Station in 1872 and the settlement was called "Vegetable Creek" after the Chinese market gardens which developed to service the mining population. Being a private township it was never notified or proclaimed as a town or village. The population of the area in the early 1900s was about 7,000 and included 2,000 Chinese people. [cite web| url=http://www.miningmuseum.emmaville.net/
title=Emmaville Mining Museum | accessdate=2007-11-11] It was renamed in 1882 after the wife of the then state Governor Lord Augustus Loftus. [Donald, J.Kay, Exploring the North Coast and New England, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1987.] The name "Vegetable Creek" is preserved in the name of the local 17-bed hospital.

A school was established in 1875 and it had 70-80 pupils in its first year.cite web | url=http://www.emmaville-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/ | title=Emmaville Central School| accessdate=2007-11-11] In 1927 the school moved to its present site.

Emmaville established the first medical fund in New South Wales, with aim of keeping a doctor in town and to build a hospital. In 1891 lectures were given at the hospital and the St John Ambulande Brigade was formed as a result of this. [Readers Digest Guide to Australian Places, Readers Digest, Sydney]

Tin and arsenic were mined at the Ottery Mine, Tent Hill not far from Emmaville, from 1882 when a huge tin lode was found by Alexander Ottery. The site has now been rehabilitated by the NSW Department of Mineral Resources and is open to tourists.

Emmaville Panther

This is described as "one of Australia's most famous manifestations of a cryptic animal". [cite web | url=http://www.thylacoleo.com/desertcats/emmaville/TH_EMMA.html | title = The Emmaville Panther | accessdate=2007-11-07] It is variously said to be a large black panther or a marsupial lion, and was sighted in February 1958cite web | url=http://www.strangenation.com.au/Articles/emmavillepanther.htm | title=The Big Cat files: the Emmaville Panther | accessdate=2007-11-08] and on various occasions in the later 1950s and 1960s. There are no native big cats in Australia. One suggestion is that this beast escaped from a travelling circus whose owner chose not to report the escape.

Emmaville today

Emmaville's industries are tourism, agriculture, and mining. There is a Mining Museum which includes a collection of mineral specimens and photographs of the town's history. Fossicking is a local tourist activity.

This neat and tidy village has a post office, general store, two craft shops, a swimming pool, a caravan site and two hotels. Emmaville also has a pre-school and a public school with 60 primary and 28 secondary pupils, plus a hospital with 17 beds.

References

External links

* [http://www.miningmuseum.emmaville.net/ Emmaville Mining Museum]
* [http://walkabout.com.au/locations/NSWEmmaville.shtml Emmaville on Walkabout site]
* [http://www.nnsw.com.au/emmaville/index.html Emmaville community website]