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The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the
Clarence River Valley. Established in 1855, Grafton
features many historic buildings and tree-lined
streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north
of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and
the Clarence Valley can be reached by road, rail or
air. At the 2006 census, Grafton had a population of
17,501 people.
Before European settlement, the Clarence River
marked the border between the Bundjalung and
Gumbainggir nations, and so descendants of both
language groups can now be found in the Grafton
region.
Grafton, like many other settlements in the area,
was first opened up to white settlement by the
cedar-getters. An escaped convict, Richard Craig,
'discovered' the district in 1831. With the wealth
of 'red gold' cedar just waiting for exploitation,
he was given a pardon and one hundred pounds to
bring a party of cedar-getters on the cutter 'Prince
George' to the region. Word of such wealth to be had
did not take long to spread and one of the arrivals
was pioneer John Small on the 'Susan' in 1838, and
he first occupied land on Woodford Island. 'The
Settlement' (as the embryonic Grafton was then
imaginatively named) was established shortly after.
In 1851, Governor FitzRoy officially named the town
"Grafton", after his grandfather, the Duke of
Grafton, a former Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom. Grafton was proclaimed a city in 1885.
Local industries include, logging, beef cattle,
fishing/prawning, sugar, manufacturing and tourism
is a growing part of the local economy.
The town is also known for its double-decker
road/railway bridge, opened in 1932, completing the
standard gauge rail connection between Sydney and
Brisbane, and also forming a vital link for the
Pacific Highway. This bridge is a one of a kind and
is a major feature on the Clarence River in Grafton.
Grafton is also known as the Jacaranda City, in
reference to its tree-lined streets and annual
Jacaranda Festival, held in October/November.
Grafton is also well known for the Grafton Cup
horserace, held on the second Thursday in July. A
half day holiday is observed in Grafton for the Cup
day.
Grafton is the birthplace of several renowned
country music players. Local artist, Troy
Cassar-Daley received four Golden Guitar awards in
the 2006 Tamworth Country Music Awards – the largest
and most prestigious country music awards in
Australia. At the same awards event Samantha
McClymont, the 2005/2006 Grafton Jacaranda Queen and
sister of Brooke McClymont, also received an award
for her country music talent.
A vision of Grafton with its numerous
brilliantly-flowered trees in bloom, is immortalised
in Australian music culture in Cold Chisel's song
Flame Trees.
Christ Church Cathedral, designed by John Horbury
Hunt was opened in 1884 and is the seat of the
Anglican Diocese of Grafton.
Schaeffer House is a historic 1900 Federation house
and contains the collection of the Clarence River
Historical Society which was formed in 1931.
The Murwillumbah – Byron Bay – Lismore railway
(opened in 1894) was extended to Grafton in 1905;
for details, see Murwillumbah railway line. The
North Coast Line reached South Grafton from Sydney
in 1915. Pending the opening of the combined road
and rail bascule bridge in 1932, Grafton had a train
ferry to connect the two railways. Clarence Valley
Regional Airport is the airport that services
Grafton.
Grafton also lies on the Pacific Highway, the main
North-South road route through Eastern Australia,
and links it to the Gwydir Highway, one of the
primary East-West routes through Eastern Australia.
Harwood Mill is the oldest working sugar mill in New
South Wales. The daily newspaper of Grafton is The
Daily Examiner, owned by media conglomerate
Australian Provincial Newspapers (APN), part of the
media empire controlled by Irish magnate Tony
O'Reilly. |
