Collector, New South Wales

Collector is a small village on the Federal Highway in New South Wales, Australia halfway between Goulburn and the Australian Capital Territory.^[2] It is seven kilometres north of Lake George. The name is also applied to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2021 census, Collector and the surrounding district had a population of 376 people.^[1]

Collector New South Wales
The War Memorial at Collector
Collector
Coordinates	34°55′S 149°26′E
Population	376 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	2581
Elevation	697 m (2,287 ft)
Location	35 km (22 mi) SW of Goulburn 231 km (144 mi) SW of Sydney 56 km (35 mi) NE of Canberra
LGA(s)	Upper Lachlan Queanbeyan–Palerang Yass Valley
County	Argyle
Parish	Collector
State electorate(s)	Goulburn
Federal division(s)	Hume
Localities around Collector: Cullerin Breadalbane Wollogorang Lerida Collector Currawang Gundaroo Lake George Currawang

History

The area was first settled by Europeans in 1829 when Terence Aubrey Murray was granted an area of land in the area in 1829, originally called Old Collector. Murray acquired further land in the area and renamed his property Winderradeen where he built a 12-room house on the land in 1837. At about the same time he also acquired the property of Yarralumla on the Limestone Plains, now Government House.^[3] A post office opened at Collector in 1848. The village reportedly is named after the Aboriginal name for the region, colegdar.^[4][5] The town was bypassed in June 1988 as part of upgrade works on the Federal Highway, including the construction of a bridge across the Collector Creek floodplain providing all weather access to Canberra.^[6] The village has struggled to remain viable, once a convenient stopover for travellers between Sydney and Canberra most of the businesses in town had relied on the passing trade.

The Bushranger Hotel in Collector was the site of a shooting of a Constable Samuel Nelson on 26 Jan 1865, by John Dunn, a member of Ben Hall's gang. A memorial was placed to mark the site of Nelson's grave a century later on 26 January 1965.^[5]

Heritage listings

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

• 24 Church Street (Federal Highway): Bushranger Hotel^[7]

Present day

Collector is situated in the Lake George wine region, and several wineries have been established near the village, including Lerida Estate, Lake George Winery and the award-winning Collector Wines.^[8] The Collector Village Pumpkin Festival has been held annually since 2003. This traditional harvest festival offers market stalls, live music and entertainment, local produce as well as vintage car and farming machinery displays.^[9] Collector is increasing in popularity as a commuter town due to its proximity to the larger centres of Goulburn and Canberra, with new residents attracted by the country lifestyle and village atmosphere. There is a small public primary school located in the village, with 28 students enrolled in 2007.^[10] Collector Public School is a combined Primary school, serving years K-6. The uniform is compulsory and enforced.^[11]

Dreamer's Gate

Dreamer's Gate
Artist	Tony Phantastes
Year	1993 - 1997
Type	Concrete on a chicken wire and wooden frame
Location	Collector, New South Wales, Australia

Collector is also famous for the controversial sculpture Dreamer by Tony Phantastes, built between 1993 and 1997 to commemorate, among other things, his father and son's life. His artistic vision was to create a wonderland to document the history of Australian land-use practices. A Gothic structure of cement and chicken wire, the artist and the Gunning Shire Council are in constant battle regarding the structure since 1999.^[12] The plot in which the sculpture stands was for sale and the sculpture itself under demolition orders^[13] but still stands as of May 2021.^[14] Unfortunately, the piece has started to rust and has become structurally unstable.^[15]

• 
  front view
• 
  detail

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Collector". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
2. "Collector". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
3. Wilson, Gwendoline (1967). "Murray, Sir Terence Aubrey (1810 - 1873)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
4. "Collector". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
5. "Collector". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
6. "National Highway 23". Ozroads website. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
7. "The Ben Hall Sites - Bushranger Hotel". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01827. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
8. "Wineries". Canberra District Wine Industry Association. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
9. "Collector Village Pumpkin Festival". Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
10. "Collector Public School". Department of Education and Communities (New South Wales). 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
11. "Collector Public School | Good Schools Guide". www.goodschools.com.au. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
12. "Dreamers Gate, Church St, Collector (Place ID 102138)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
13. "Costly fight to keep CollectorChr(39)s dreamy sculpture". The Canberra Times. 7 February 2001. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
14. "What's the story behind the strange gate in Collector?". 27 November 2016.
15. "Dreamer's Gate". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 7 May 2021.

Further reading

• Exploring the ACT and Southeast New South Wales, J. Kay McDonald, Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1985 ISBN 0-86417-049-1