Harden | |
|---|---|
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  Harden | |
| Coordinates:34°33′11″S148°21′46″E / 34.55306°S 148.36278°E /-34.55306; 148.36278 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 431 m (1,414 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,900 (SAL2021)[2] |
| Postcode | 2587 |
| Mean max temp | 21.7 °C (71.1 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 7.4 °C (45.3 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 609.1 mm (23.98 in) |
Harden–Murrumburrah is a town and community in theHilltops Region and is located in theSouth West Slopes ofNew South Wales inAustralia. Harden is adjacent to both theCanberra region of theAustralian Capital Territory and theRiverina Region in the southwest area of NSW. The town is a twin town between Harden andMurrumburrah (which is noted as one of the earliest European immigrant settlements in the southwest ofNew South Wales).
The town is traversed by theBurley Griffin Way, the major link from and between the Riverina and the Hume Highway nearYass, and ultimatelySydney,Canberra and the coast. Cunningham Creek runs along the edge of the town.
TheOlympic Highway traverses the western end of the shire and is the major link through the central west to theBlue Mountains and from there to the Sydney region.
Harden is 3½ hours away by road from Sydney, and 1½ hours fromCanberra andWagga Wagga.
Before European settlement the Harden area was inhabited by theWiradjuri people.Hume and Hovell passed nearby in 1824. In the late 1820s, the 'Murrumburra' was established. Its superintendent, James Kennedy, established an inn on the townsite in the late 1840s. Gold was found in the area in the 1850s.[3]
Harden railway station was opened one km east of Murrumburrah on theMain Southern line in 1877 as Murrumburrah, but changed its name to Harden a year after the opening of a new station in Murrumburrah in 1879. Harden has remained as the main station and, as a result, became the main town.[4]
A post office at Harden was opened on 1 January 1870,[5] and in 1926 £2000 of funding was secured to provide extensive improvements to the ageing facility.[6]
The first Australian Lighthorse was also founded in Harden–Murrumburrah, with the Lighthorse festival occurring annually.
From 1906 until 2016 Harden–Murrumburrah was the seat of its ownlocal council, but was amalgamated in 2016 to formHilltops Council.The town'srugby league team, the Harden-Murrumburrah Hawks, competed for theMaher Cup, and continue to compete in senior football today in theGeorge Tooke Shield.
In 1996, a trust was formed through the lastwill and testament of Geoffrey Kruger, a retired dental surgeon who had lived in the town for much of his life, the Kruger Trust was intended to fund improvements to the town itself.[7] The trust has funded key infrastructure in the town, such as a medical centre and a community country club.[8]
Harden is also home to Murrumburrah High School, which was established in 1977 and is currently the only secondary education facility for the town.[9]
Harden boasts a variety of facilities servicing residents from both Harden, Murrumburrah and surrounds.
Harden experiences a climate typical of theSouth West Slopes, with a large seasonal variation throughout the year. Under Koppen it is classified as ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa) with warm to hot summers and cool, cloudy winters. On rare occasions it may snow.
Temperature data were collected from 1967 until 1980, and rainfall from 1886 until 2006.
| Climate data for Harden (East St, 1967–1980, rainfall 1886–2006); 430 m AMSL; 34.56° S, 148.37° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 41.8 (107.2) | 41.7 (107.1) | 36.5 (97.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 26.1 (79.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 19.5 (67.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 34.6 (94.3) | 36.1 (97.0) | 40.0 (104.0) | 41.8 (107.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.4 (86.7) | 27.4 (81.3) | 22.2 (72.0) | 17.0 (62.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 13.0 (55.4) | 14.6 (58.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 25.0 (77.0) | 29.1 (84.4) | 21.8 (71.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 15.0 (59.0) | 12.3 (54.1) | 7.7 (45.9) | 4.4 (39.9) | 1.9 (35.4) | 1.0 (33.8) | 2.2 (36.0) | 3.7 (38.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 9.1 (48.4) | 11.9 (53.4) | 7.5 (45.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.0 (35.6) | −3.0 (26.6) | −5.0 (23.0) | −5.0 (23.0) | −6.9 (19.6) | −7.5 (18.5) | −3.5 (25.7) | −1.5 (29.3) | 1.0 (33.8) | 2.5 (36.5) | −7.5 (18.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 50.7 (2.00) | 42.2 (1.66) | 50.0 (1.97) | 45.7 (1.80) | 46.3 (1.82) | 58.1 (2.29) | 53.1 (2.09) | 53.4 (2.10) | 53.1 (2.09) | 58.4 (2.30) | 47.1 (1.85) | 49.6 (1.95) | 607.7 (23.92) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 7.1 | 9.6 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 6.4 | 5.3 | 86.5 |
| Source:Australian Bureau of Meteorology[15] | |||||||||||||
Harden has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
According to the2016 census of population, there were 2,030 people in Harden.[17] At the2021 census, this had dropped to 1,900 people.[18]
TheMain Southern railway line passes through Harden. It became an importantrailway town with theline to Blayney branching off a few kilometres beyond Harden atDemondrille.Harden railway station is served by two dailyNSW TrainLinkXPT services betweenMelbourne andSydney in each direction and the twice weeklyXplorer service betweenGriffith and Sydney.[19] NSW TrainLink trial road coach services 703 and 704 betweenWagga Wagga andCanberra viaCootamundra pass through Harden, but as at September 2019 do not pick up or drop off passengers there.[20]Busabout Wagga Wagga have a depot in the town.[21]
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Media related toHarden, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceding station |  NSW TrainLink | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cootamundra | NSW TrainLink Southern Line Griffith Xplorer Melbourne XPT | Yass Junction towardsSydney | ||
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |