Georges Plains

Georges Plains is a locality in the Bathurst Region of New South Wales, Australia.^[2] It had a population of 248 people as of the 2016 census.^[1]

Georges Plains New South Wales
Georges Plains
Coordinates	33°31′00″S 149°31′00″E
Population	248 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	2795
Location	15 km (9 mi) SW of Bathurst
LGA(s)	Bathurst Region
State electorate(s)	Bathurst
Federal division(s)	Calare

Georges Plains is located approximately 12 km south of Bathurst, via Perthville. Within the land of the Wiradjuri people the village of Georges Plains, named by European settlers in honour of King George III, was one of at least three Government stock stations established when the western side of the Macquarie was reserved for Government use.^[3]

European settlement in this area originally consisted of large pastoral grants and the village of Georges Plains was once a fully functioning township servicing the needs of the rural area. It is still possible to see the remnants of the shop and post office in the main street, the disused railway station still stands, and the old hotel is now a private residence.^[3]

Georges Plains Public School opened in April 1889 and closed in December 1973. It was half-time with Wimbledon from August 1894 to August 1899. The one-room school building burned down in 1973, and the school master's house is now a private home.^[4][3]

The long-closed gothic stone St John's Anglican Church, designed by Edward Gell and funded by local pastoralist Joseph Smith, dates from 1867.^[5][3] The Georges Plains Cemetery was originally the Anglican church cemetery; it was subdivided from the church in 1996 and is now maintained by the local council.^[6] The Georges Plains Hotel closed in 1999 and had its license transferred to a nightclub in Darling Harbour, Sydney.^[7]

It shares a Rural Fire Brigade station with nearby Perthville.^[8]

Television personality Grant Denyer lives on a property overlooking the village.^[9]

Heritage listings

Georges Plains has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Main Western railway: Georges Plains railway station^[3]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Georges Plains (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
2. "Extract". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
3. "Georges Plains Railway Station group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01147. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
4. "School history database search". NSW Department of Education. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
5. "Step back in time to Bathurst circa 1867". Western Advocate. 5 March 2015.
6. "Cemetery 300 - Georges Plains". Australian Cemetery Index. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
7. "Former Georges Plains Hotel". gdaypubs.com.au. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
8. "NSW Rural Fire Service captain retires from role". Western Advocate. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
9. "Time for tough decisions after a dry run". Oberon Review. 5 March 2018.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material from Georges Plains Railway Station group, entry number 01147 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.