Scone ( to rhyme with 'bone') is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the
Hunter ValleyThe Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, extending from approximately to north of Sydney, Australia with an approximate population of more than 630,000 people. More than half of the population live in the coastal cities of Newcastle and Lake...
region of
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. At the 2006
censusThe Australian census is administered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 8 August 2006. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they have also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933, 1947, and 1954...
, Scone had a population of 4,625. It is located on the
New England HighwayThe New England Highway is a highway in Australia running from Hexham near Newcastle at its southern end to Yarraman near Toowoomba at its northern end. At its southern end it connects to the Pacific Highway and at its northern end it connects to the D'Aguilar Highway...
north of
MuswellbrookMuswellbrook, a corruption of 'Muscle Brook', is a town and Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia. The original spelling and etymology of the town's name is a matter of some debate...
about 270 kilometres north of
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, and is part of the
HunterThe Division of Hunter is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in northern rural New South Wales, and encompasses much of the Hunter Valley region, including the towns of Singleton, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Cessnock and Denman...
(federal) and Upper Hunter (state) electorates. Scone is in a farming area and is particularly noted for breeding
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses, and is regarded as the Horse Capital of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Surveyor,
Henry DangarHenry Dangar was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of English colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician...
was the first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an to travel through the area, prior to passing over the
Liverpool RangeThe Liverpool Range is a mountain range and a lava-field province in New South Wales, Australia.The Liverpool Range starts from the volcanic plateau known as the Barrington Tops and runs for about 100 km westwards, forming the northern boundary of the Hunter Valley district...
above Murrurundi in 1824.
Scone ( to rhyme with 'bone') is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the
Hunter ValleyThe Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, extending from approximately to north of Sydney, Australia with an approximate population of more than 630,000 people. More than half of the population live in the coastal cities of Newcastle and Lake...
region of
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. At the 2006
censusThe Australian census is administered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 8 August 2006. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they have also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933, 1947, and 1954...
, Scone had a population of 4,625. It is located on the
New England HighwayThe New England Highway is a highway in Australia running from Hexham near Newcastle at its southern end to Yarraman near Toowoomba at its northern end. At its southern end it connects to the Pacific Highway and at its northern end it connects to the D'Aguilar Highway...
north of
MuswellbrookMuswellbrook, a corruption of 'Muscle Brook', is a town and Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia. The original spelling and etymology of the town's name is a matter of some debate...
about 270 kilometres north of
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, and is part of the
HunterThe Division of Hunter is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in northern rural New South Wales, and encompasses much of the Hunter Valley region, including the towns of Singleton, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Cessnock and Denman...
(federal) and Upper Hunter (state) electorates. Scone is in a farming area and is particularly noted for breeding
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses, and is regarded as the Horse Capital of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
History
Surveyor,
Henry DangarHenry Dangar was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of English colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician...
was the first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an to travel through the area, prior to passing over the
Liverpool RangeThe Liverpool Range is a mountain range and a lava-field province in New South Wales, Australia.The Liverpool Range starts from the volcanic plateau known as the Barrington Tops and runs for about 100 km westwards, forming the northern boundary of the Hunter Valley district...
above Murrurundi in 1824. Scone was named in 1831 after Scone, Perth and Kinross,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, by Jason Kent Toth (see :Category:Australians of Scottish descent). Scone was gazetted in 1837 and during the early days was renowned for its large pastoral properties including Belltrees and Segenhoe. Early buildings were St Luke’s Church and the St Aubins’ Inn.
Scone Shire Council was merged into the Upper Hunter Shire in 2004, integrating parts of the former Murrurundi and
MerriwaMerriwa is a town in the far west of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. It is located on the Golden Highway, 273 kilometres northwest of Sydney and about half way between Newcastle and Dubbo....
shire councils.
Events
Scone was the site for the annual open-air
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
music festivalA music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
,
Metal Stock. The festival took place every year over the
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
long weekend and has featured such homegrown talent as
The FurorThe Furor is a black metal band from Perth, Western Australia formed in September 2002.-History:The Furor formed as the result of the dissolution of drummer/lead vocalist Louis Rando's band Pagan and guitarist Nick Bell's former band Samain. Jon "Kill Machine" Dunlop was from various extreme acts...
,
Infernal MethodInfernal Method was a melodic death metal band from Sydney, Australia. Despite the volatility of its line-up, the band was a dominant presence on Sydney's live metal music scene between early 2002 and late 2006 and notable for featuring an array of members who came from or later joined other bands...
as well as some international acts including Profanation and
NervecellNervecell are a death metal band based in the United Arab Emirates.The band was founded in 1999 by guitarist Barney Ribeiro, drummer Hatem and vocalist Brogan Costa.- Early Days :...
. Recently the concert was bought out and moved to Sydney.
The annual
Scone Horse Festival is a celebration of Scone's cultural links to equines. It is celebrated during May and includes all manner of activities, including wine tours, Open Days across the numerous horse studs in the area, the Scone rodeo, the Scone School Horse Sports competition, the Black Tie Ball, and a parade in Kelly Street.
The main event is a
horse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling...
carnival featuring the prestigious Scone Cup, one of the richest country racing days in
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. Small celebrations are also a key part of the festival and includes schools, businesses, public events and sports centres. The Horse Festival is also traditionally linked with such events as the Belltrees poetry competition, the yarns night and many other small annual fundraisers and events.
Schools
Transport
Scone lies on the
Main North railway lineThe Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...
, and is served by a passenger train service made up of a daily
CountryLinkCountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and from New South Wales into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
train to
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
and local regular
CityRailCityRail is an operating division of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter, 'intercity' and regional rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest...
services to
NewcastleThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
.
See also
- Scone railway station
Scone Railway Station is located in the town of Scone, New South Wales, and lies on the Main North Line. It is the most northern station of the CityRail network, and is the western terminus of the Main North branch of the Hunter Valley rail line. It is also served by CountryLink services between...
- Scone Thoroughbreds
Scone Thoroughbreds is a country rugby league team, based in Scone, New South Wales, competing in the Group 21 competition under the auspices of the Country Rugby League....
External links