Alstonville, New South Wales
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Alstonville New South Wales |
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Main Street
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 Alstonville
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| Coordinates | 28°51′S 153°26′E / 28.850°S 153.433°ECoordinates: 28°51′S 153°26′E / 28.850°S 153.433°E | ||||||||
| Population | 5,648 (2011 census) | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2477 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 140 m (459 ft) | ||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) | ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Ballina Shire | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ballina | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Page | ||||||||
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Alstonville (2011 population: 5,648) is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, part of the region known as the Northern Rivers. Alstonville is on the Bruxner Highway between the town of Ballina (13 km to the east) and city of Lismore (19 km to the west). The village of Wollongbar is 4 km to the west of Alstonville. Alstonville is the service centre of the area known as the Alstonville Plateau.
Europeans were first attracted to the area, known as the Big Scrub, in the 1840s by the plentiful supply of Red Cedar. It was not until 1865 that the first settlers selected land in the area, then known as the parish of Tuckombil. Some notable selections in the first five years include that of the Freeborn, Roberston, Graham, Newborn, Crawford, Mellis, and Newton families. By 1883 Alstonville boasted two pubs, six stores, two black-smiths, nine sugar mills, and four saw mills.
Sugar cane was an important industry to the early settlers, with many small mills operating across the district. These were later replaced by larger more efficient steam mills such as those erected in 1882 at Alstonville (owned by the Melbourne Sugar Company) adjacent to Maguires Creek and at Rous Mill adjacent to Youngman Creek. By 1896 the Rous mill boasted a light rail line to transport cane from Alstonville. From the 1890s ownward, dairies became common across the area, later becoming the dominant industry for the first half of the 20th century. Due to lack of refrigeration, cream, not milk, was the product of interest, which was transported to local factories to be made into butter. The first butter factories were located at Wollongbah (1889), Rous (1889) and Teven Road (1890). In 1900 the NSW Creamery Butter Company built the Alstonville factory near Maguires Creek, which was sometime later acquired by NORCO. After closing this building became a caravan factory, peanut factory, and finally a furniture factory, which is still open today.
One notable former resident of Alstonville is Patrick Joseph Bugden who was awarded a Victoria Cross (the highest military decoration which can be awarded to a member of the armed forces of the Commonwealth). "Paddy" served as a member of the 31st Battalion AIF during the First World War. The annual Anzac day parade starts at the Paddy Bugden Memorial, which is situated on the Bruxner Highway.
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