Muswellbrook is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New England region. The area is predominantly known for coal mining and horse breeding, but has also developed a reputation for gourmet food and wine production. As at June 2018 Muswellbrook has a population of 12,364. Located to the south of the Muswellbrook township are two coal fuelled power stations, Liddell and Bayswater. They were commissioned in 1973 and mid 1980s respectively and employ approximately 500 people from the area.
History
Before European settlement of the region the Wonnarua and Gamilaroi peoples occupied the land. The first European to explore the area was Chief Constable John Howe in 1819, with the first white settlement occurring in the 1820s. The township of Muswellbrook was gazetted on 23 October 1833. To the south, "Forbestown" was established by the sons of Francis Forbes in 1842; the name was changed in 1848 to "South Muswellbrook" to prevent confusion with the town of Forbes.
Heritage listings
Muswellbrook has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
"Mussel Creek" was first named by a party of surveyors who found mussels in the small stream while camping along its banks in the early 19th century. The present spelling of Muswellbrook has a disputed etymology. Historians largely subscribe to one of two theories:
that the name derives from the Muswell Hill area of London, due to the influence of Sir Francis Forbes whose wife, Amelia, was born and schooled in that town; or
that the name is a gradual corruption of the original gazetted name "Musclebrook", eventually adopted as the official spelling due to common use.
Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 12,075 people in Muswellbrook.
84.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 1.4%, England 1.2% and Philippines 0.9%.
87.7% of people only spoke English at home.
The most common responses for religion were Anglican 27.8%, Catholic 24.5% and No Religion 23.5%.
Transport
The New England Highway currently passes through the town. A route was selected for a bypass in 2006 but the Australian Government suspended the project in August 2008. Denman Road provides a connection to the Golden Highway. The Muswellbrook railway station, is serviced by local and long-distance rail services, interstate coaches and local bus services.
Rail
Muswellbrook lies at the junction of the Main Northern railway line and the Merriwa line, part of a cross country rail line to Gulgong. As such, it formed an important junction, as well as serving the numerous coal mining sidings found within a short distance from the main station building.
Popular culture
The Steely Dan song "Black Friday" from the 1975 album Katy Lied contains the lyrics:
"When Black Friday comes, I'll fly down to Muswellbrook, gonna strike all the big red words from my little black book. Gonna do just what I please, gonna wear no socks and shoes, with nothing to do but feed all the kangaroos."
Songwriter Donald Fagen explained the lyrics in an interview with Paul Cashmere of Undercover Music; "I think we had a map and put our finger down at the place that we thought would be the furthest away from New York or wherever we were at the time". Muswellbrook is also mentioned in Thomas Keneally's book The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
During World War 2, Muswellbrook was the location of RAAF No.5 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot, completed in 1942 and closed on 29 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000.
Donald Horne , an author and journalist, was raised in Muswellbrook. Much of one of Horne's memoirs, The education of young Donald, published in 1967, was based on his educative years in Muswellbook
