Muswellbrook (pop: 9,000) in the Upper Hunter region of NSW, was first settled by Europeans in the 1820s. The area was previously and is still the home of the Wonnarua and Kamilaroi peoples. The town was officially laid out and gazetted as "Musclebrook" in 1833, a name derived from the many mussel shells found in a local creek by explorer Henry Dangar. The spelling was later changed, a whole history of mis-spellings! Mike lived in Muswellbrook for a period while at Primary School, and we were primarily here to chase up on some details of that period, and, of course, to enjoy the country air.
Muswellbrook is the hub for the Upper Hunter`s coal industry, with a number of rather ugly large-scale open-cut coal mines located on its doorstep. The town is effectively surrounded by these operations with expansive open-cut pits, huge coal stockpiles, and infrastructure for processing and transport scattered around the town and along the highway to Singleton. The most prominent visual impact is extensive tailings dumps, not a pretty sight, but clearly attractive to the locals whose dependence on this industry is manifest. The coal is washed on-site and then transported by rail, and we noted countless long goods trains bearing coal heading towards the port at Newcastle, and coming back empty.
The town is pleasant enough in appearance, the main street being called Bridge Street. There are some significant historical buildings. We had coffee in the street one morning and sadly rued the lack of a town by-pass, so its the New England Highway too, and the din of the heavy transports climbing a slight hill to the north made it most unpleasant.
Chasing Family...
We were here to follow up some family history, and discovered that the visitors centre in Weidmann Cottage had been closed by earthquake damage, last year, and was temporarily located in the University of Newcastle's Donald Horne Building next door which also houses the Uni`s STEM Innovation Lab designed to encourage students. A Local & Family History collection in the next-door library was cheerfully opened up for us by a staff-member. We found some good information in there especially about where graves could be found in the cemetery, but nothing about Mike`s paternal grandfather in his role as one-time councillor and mayor of Muswellbrook.