New England (New South Wales) - New England and Its Boundaries

New England and Its Boundaries

New England has no clearly defined boundaries, and the term has several possible definitions. These boundaries also vary according to the units responsible for services and include, county councils, local government areas, electorates and the Pastures Protection Boards (now the Livestock Health and Pest Authority) etc. The New England region does not have a Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) forecast as such, but the whole of the Northern Tablelands and part of the North West Slopes and Plains forecasts cover this region.

The narrowest and most common definition of New England consists of the Northern Tablelands highland area which forms part of the Great Dividing Range, from the Moonbi Range in the south to the border of Queensland in the north. This tableland region is about 320 kilometres long by approximately 130 km wide. It includes substantial areas more than 900 metres above sea-level, with a distinctive cold climate and distinctive vegetation.

This highland region is often referred to as the New England Tableland, New England Plateau, or Northern Tablelands. There are widespread high points over 1,000 m and the highest point at Round Mountain is almost 1,600 m above sea level. This definition of "New England" includes the towns and districts of Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Guyra, Inverell, Armidale and Walcha.

A broader definition of the New England Region covering 98,574 km², includes areas beyond the highlands which can also be considered to be the North West Slopes region and the Liverpool Plains. This definition is frequently known as New England North West or less commonly the Northern Region or Northern Inland Region and includes the western valleys of the Gwydir River and Namoi River and their tributaries, and the foothills and spur ranges which generally form the western side of the central Northern Tablelands. Towns and districts such as Moree, Narrabri, Gunnedah, Tamworth, and Quirindi, are included in the New England region according to this basis. Smaller towns include, Manilla, Barraba, Bingara, Boggabri, Mungindi, Wee Waa and Werris Creek.

The two traditional centres of New England are Armidale and Tamworth. Armidale is a home to the University of New England and has many beautiful parks in the city and is the northern gateway to the spectacular Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and some of the gorge country. Tamworth is now best known as the centre of Australia's country music industry and the home of the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) and Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre (TREC).

At its broadest definition, during the New England New State Movement the New England Region included the northern coastal lowlands of New South Wales, known as the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers region, and including cities such as Lismore and Grafton. Several proposals were made for a new Australian state of New England and this included the North Coast region in the boundaries. Apart from this usage, the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers region are not considered to be part of New England.

Police stations in New England Local Area Command (LAC) are: Armidale, Ashford, Bundarra, Deepwater, Delungra, Emmaville, Glen Innes, Guyra, Inverell, Tenterfield, Tingha, Uralla and Yetman. Bendemeer, Nowendoc, Walcha and Walcha Road are in the Oxley LAC.