Bingara

Bingara is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. In 2006, Bingara had a population of 1,207 people. and is currently the Administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. It has a culturally homogeneous population as residents are mostly of Anglo-Celtic background. Only 4.7% of the population is born overseas and 2.4% is of Indigenous background. It is a popular site for retirement and hence has an old population, with 49.9% aged 55 years and over. Bingara's socioeconomic status is comparatively lower than that of Australia. Bingara is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found. The Gwydir River being a main highlight of the town is a main catchment of the Murray-Darling System.

Location

Bingara is located 150 km north of Tamworth, 70 km west of Inverell, 604 km north of Sydney and 500 km south west of Brisbane. Bingara is located very close to Myall Creek, the site of the massacre of 27 to 30 Indigenous Australians.

History

In 1827 Allan Cunningham crossed the Gwydir River near Bingara. At the time he mistook the river to be the Peel River, but realised his mistake on his return journey. The discovery of gold in 1852 brought prospectors to the area. In the 1880s, copper and diamonds were discovered also, causing a rapid development of the town. Bingara is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found. In fact, Bingara was the largest producer of diamonds in Australia at that time. Bingara changed the spelling of its name from Bingera to Bingara in 1890. The first Bingera Post Office opened on 1 January 1853 and was renamed Upper Bingera in 1862 and closed in 1868. The second Bingera office opened in 1862 and was renamed Bingara in 1890.