Taree

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Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Australian place

Taree (Template:IPAc-en) is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. It and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter.<ref name="The Age">Template:Cite news</ref> Since then it has grown to a population of 26,381,<ref name=ABS2021/> and commands a significant agricultural district. Situated on a floodplain by the Manning River, it is 16 km from the Tasman Sea coast, and 317 km north of Sydney.<ref name="The Age"/>

Taree is within the local government area of Mid-Coast Council, the state electorate of Myall Lakes and the federal electorate of Lyne.

Name

The name Taree is derived from "tareebit", a Biripi word meaning tree by the river, or more specifically, the Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata).<ref name="The Age"/>

History

The Biripi were the indigenous people of what is now known as Taree. The Aboriginal population of the Manning River was relatively dense before colonisation by Europeans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1826, Assistant Surveyor Henry Dangar was instructed by John Oxley as Surveyor General (and a shareholder in the Australian Agricultural Company) to survey the land between Port Stephens and the Hastings River. During this expedition, Dangar identified that Harrington Lake was a river with two entrances to the sea. Later in 1826, the river was named the Manning River by Robert Dawson for the Deputy Governor of the Australian Agricultural Company, William Manning.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1829, Governor Darling proclaimed the division of the settlement of the colony of New South Wales into Nineteen Counties. The northern limit of the settlement was declared to be the Manning River.

Taree was laid out as a private town in 1854 by Henry Flett, the son-in-law of William Wynter who had originally settled the area in 1831. Template:Convert had been set aside for the private township and 40 lots were initially sold. Taree was declared a municipality on 26 March 1885 and the first municipal council was elected by the residents.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the early 1800s the road from Newcastle to Port Macquarie came via Gloucester and forded the river near Wingham. Boats could not go further upstream than this due to narrowing of the river and rapids. Hence a town formed at Wingham, about a day's ride from Gloucester.

Timber getting, especially cedar, ensured goods were brought to Wingham and then shipped to Newcastle and beyond by boat. Coopernook similarly formed a local shipping hub. In 1844, the government of New South Wales had established Wingham as its administrative centre. When the North Coast railway line came through in 1913,<ref name="The Age"/> it initially terminated at Taree.

Even before the rest of the line was completed it became apparent that it was safer to send goods by rail to Newcastle and Sydney rather than hazarding the bar at the outlet to the river at Harrington where many ships had been lost. Although connected to the railway, sea transport continued to dominate along the North Coast until the 1930s. This changed when the Martin Bridge replaced the ferry across the Manning River in 1940.<ref name="The Age"/> River traffic significantly reduced after this, ensuring Taree's place as the centre of business.

The oldest surviving building in Taree is the old St Paul's Presbyterian Church, built-in 1869 in the Victorian Gothic Revival style, next door to the current building, in Albert Street.<ref name="The Age"/>

A record breaking rain event in March 2021 led to flooding in the town, sweeping debris such as a water tank and shipping container into the Manning River which struck the Martin Bridge.<ref name="man-riv-times-mart-bridge-21-mar-'21">Template:Cite news</ref> The river peaked at Template:Convert, inundating properties in Taree South and Glenthorne and falling just short of the historical high of Template:Convert in 1929.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 24 hours to 9 am on 7 July 2022, a record Template:Convert of rain was recorded in town. Since records began in 1881, this was the wettest day in the history of Taree.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 21 May 2025, the Manning River at Taree surpassed its 1929 record during a major flood.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Heritage listings

Taree has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Climate

Taree experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfal/Cfbl); with warm to hot, humid summers and mild to cool, short winters;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and with a moderately high precipitation amount of Template:Convert, with moderate precipitation even during its drier months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The highest temperature recorded at Taree was Template:Convert on 12 February 2017; the lowest recorded was –4.0 °C (24.8 °F) on 14 June 2004, 14 July 2002, and 29 August 2003. The area features 102.5 clear days and 120.9 cloudy days annually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Demographics

Template:Historical populations

In the Template:CensusAU, there were 16,715 people in Taree.<ref name=ABS2021/>

Age

The median age in Taree is 45, compared to the national median of 38. Taree has a higher proportion of older people, with 28.3% of people over 65 compared to a national average of 17.2%, and 4.6% of residents aged over 85, more than the national average of 2.1%.<ref name=ABS2021/>

Indigenous status

12.7% of the population identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, with the median age amongst this group being 20.<ref name=ABS2021/>

Country of birth

82.1% of people were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.9%. The next most common countries of birth were England (2%), India (0.8%), the Philippines (0.8%), New Zealand (0.7%) and the Netherlands (0.3%).<ref name=ABS2021/>

Language used at home

86.8% of people spoke only English at home. Languages other than English included Malayalam (0.6%), Mandarin (0.3%), Filipino (0.3%), Punjabi (0.2%) and Nepali (0.2%)

Religious affiliation

The most common response for religious affiliation was No Religion (36.1%), followed by Anglican (20.5%), Catholic (15.2%) and Uniting Church (4.1%).<ref name=ABS2021/>

Employment status

Among the residents of Taree, 46.9% worked full-time, 37.4% worked part-time. The unemployment rate is 9.3%, more than the national rate of 5.1%.<ref name=ABS2021/>

Industry of employment

The most common industries of employment were hospitals (6.8%), aged care residential services (6.1%), other social assistance services (5%), supermarket and grocery stores (4.4%), and takeaway food services (3.6%).<ref name=ABS2021/>

Household income

The median weekly household income is $968. This compares with a national average of $1,746. 30.3% of households had a gross weekly income of less than $650, which is higher than the national average of 16.5%.<ref name=ABS2021/>

File:Taree-courthouse.jpg
Taree Courthouse
File:St-pauls-church-taree.jpg
The old St Paul's Presbyterian Church.

Transport

Taree is located on the Pacific Highway. Taree railway station on the North Coast line is served by NSW TrainLink services from Sydney to Grafton, Casino and Roma Street.<ref>North Coast timetable NSW TrainLink</ref>

Taree Airport was served by FlyPelican services to Sydney until July 2022.<ref>Change to Taree Airport Services MidCoast Council 28 July 2022</ref>

Education

There are several public schools in the Taree area including Taree Public School, Taree High School, Taree West Public School, Manning Gardens Public School, Chatham Public School, Chatham High School, and Cundletown Public School.

Private schools in and around Taree include Manning District Adventist School, Tinonee, Manning Valley Anglican College, Cundletown, Midcoast Christian College, Kolodong, St Joseph's Primary School, and St Clare's High School.

Several post-secondary education and training facilities have a presence in Taree: the North Coast Institute of TAFE, Taree Community College, the Australian Technical College – Manning Valley Campus.

Media

File:Peters Ice Cream Factory Taree.jpg
Abandoned Peters Ice Cream Factory

Newspapers

The Manning River Times<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is based in Taree.

Television

All major digital-only television channels are available in Taree. The networks and the channels they broadcast are listed as follows:

Of the three main commercial networks:

  • The Seven Network airs a half-hour local Seven News bulletin for the North Coast at 6 pm each weeknight. It is broadcast from studios in Canberra with reporters based at a local newsroom in the city.
  • Nine airs NBN News, a regional hour-long program including opt-outs for the Mid North Coast, every night at 6 pm. It is broadcast from studios in Newcastle with reporters based at a local newsroom in the city.
  • Network 10 airs short local news updates throughout the day, broadcast from its Hobart studios.

Radio

There are four local radio stations, commercial stations 2RE and Max FM and community stations 2BOB and 2TLP.

The ABC broadcasts Triple J (96.3FM), ABC Classic FM (98.7FM), Radio National (97.1FM) and ABC Mid North Coast (95.5FM and 756AM)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> into Taree.

Rhema FM Manning Great Lakes broadcasts from studios in nearby Wingham and Racing Radio is also broadcast to Taree.

Sport

The most popular sport in Taree is rugby league. The city has one team competing in the Group 3 Rugby League Premiership, the Taree City Bulls. The Old Bar Pirates and Wingham Tigers are based just outside the city in Wingham and Old Bar. The town has produced many NRL-calibre stars, most notably Latrell Mitchell and Danny Buderus.

Other sports played in the town include soccer, rugby union, tennis and cricket.

Rugby League Teams in Taree and Surrounds

Senior Teams

  • Taree City Bulls
  • Wingham District Tigers
  • Old Bar Pirates

Junior Only Teams

  • Taree Red Rovers (feeder club of Taree City Bulls)
  • Taree Panthers (feeder club of Taree City Bulls)
  • Old Bar Pirates
  • Wingham District Tigers

Tourism

File:Big Oyster Taree 2007.jpg
The Big Oyster

A local tourist attraction is a building called "The World's Largest Oyster", also called "The Big Oyster".<ref name="The Age"/> Big Things are a common form of tourist attraction in Australia. Like the Big Merino and Big Banana, the 'Oyster' is an artifact based on local produce; the Manning River produced 1,752,000 oysters during 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Big Oyster was an unsuccessful business venture, known to the locals as a 'Big Mistake', and is now home to a motor dealership.

The Manning Entertainment Centre was built in the 1980s as the cultural centre of the district. It seats 505 people<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has previously presented artists such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Australian Ballet<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Dame Joan Sutherland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Local performers, including the district eisteddfod and local amateur dramatic societies, use it to provide cultural opportunities for the local community.

Located next to the Entertainment Centre and the Visitor Information Centre at the northern entrance to Taree is the Manning Aquatic and Leisure Centre. This facility includes a 25-metre indoor heated pool with slippery dip and a 50-metre outdoor pool and soon after the time of opening had the second most expensive pool entrance fee in Australia, the most expensive being a pool in Perth, Western Australia. The Aquatic Centre was built in the late 1990s – early 2000s to replace the Taree Pool, which has been redeveloped into a public park with outdoor stage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Manning Regional Art Gallery is located in a cottage-style building next to Taree Public School. The art gallery hosts a changing selection of works by local artists and visiting exhibitions.

Nearby towns include historic Wingham, Tinonee, and the beachside town of Old Bar.

Annual events

January

Events in the NSW Rowing Association Annual Pointscore Rowing Regatta are held at Endeavour Place in Taree during the third week of January. This Regatta runs over three days (Friday to Sunday) and consists of over 200 races with more than 500 competitors travelling from many parts of New South Wales to compete.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Manning River Summer Festival runs throughout the month of January, incorporating the town's New Year's celebrations, a "Family Fun Day" in Queen Elizabeth Park on Australia Day, and also vide variety of cultural events.

March / April

The Easter Powerboat Classic is held on the Manning River near Queen Elizabeth Park during the Easter Long Weekend.

August

The Taree Gold Cup is a prestigious horse racing event held at the Bushland Drive Racecourse.

October

The Taree Annual Show is held the second weekend in October. It consists of a sideshow, precision driving team, rodeo events, and cattle and livestock judging.

Notable people

File:Torch bearer.jpg
Fred Atkins carrying the Olympic Torch through Taree for the Sydney Olympic Games 2000.
Academic
Arts, entertainment and media
Politics and public service
Sport

References

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Notes

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