Walgett 5.18

Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2011, it had a population of 2,267 including 1,004 Indigenous persons and 1,073 non-Indigenous Australian-born persons. The balance of the population was born overseas.Walgett takes its name from an Aboriginal word meaning 'the meeting place of two rivers'.It is a regional hub for wool, wheat and cotton industries. It is the gateway to the New South Wales opal fields at Lightning Ridge to the north and The Grawin to the west. The main crop farmed in the district is wheat; however, the drought has caused an increase in the farming of lucerne and other good hay crops.The town, like many other remote communities, has problems with crime linked to the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. As a result, many businesses have metal shutters to protect their premises from street crime. The town was listed as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in the State according to the 2015 Dropping Off The Edge report.HistoryThe area was inhabited by the Gamilaroi (also spelt Kamilaroi) Nation of Indigenous peoples before white settlement. A post office was gazetted for "Wallgett on the Barwin River" in 1851 and the town sites were surveyed in 1859. The district would have been occupied prior to this by squatters and their livestock. The town of Walgett was proclaimed on 20 March 1885. The surveyor Arthur Dewhurst mapped the town, naming three streets after British Prime Ministers: Fox (main street—Castlereagh Highway), Pitt and Peel. Arthur Street was named after another surveyor. Walgett Courthouse was built in 1865.