Dartbrook is a locality in the upper

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia.

Geography

Dartbrook is located on a creek of the same name (Dart Brook) which flows south-east from the

Liverpool Range The Liverpool Range is a mountain range and a lava-field province in New South Wales, Australia. The eastern peaks of the range were the traditional territory of the Wonnarua people. Geography The Liverpool Range starts from the volcanic plat ...

to its confluence with the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

a few kilometres downstream from the Dartbrook locality.

History

Dartbrook is in the country of the Geawegal people who, before colonisation, resided across the Upper Hunter from Dartbrook to the Liverpool Range. British colonisation began in October 1824 when surveyor Henry Dangar mapped the region for the colonial

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

. Dangar named the Dart Brook rivulet and followed it north. He encountered a group of Geawegal living along Dart Brook who appeared confident toward the white men. Dangar described the land as a rich and eligible tract for colonisation. At the headwaters of the brook, Dangar's group had a three-hour battle with another party of 150 Aborigines and were forced to retreat when one of them was speared in the head. Dangar later allotted the best lands along Dart Brook for himself and his brother William, but legal proceedings taken against him resulted in his suspension from the surveying department and the transfer of these lands to the prominent colonist Peter MacIntyre. Land grants at Dart Brook were also issued to other colonists, notably George Hall and his sons, who each received large parcels of land around where the modern day locality of Dartbrook is now situated. George Hall was a pioneer landowner of the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

region and his son, Thomas Simpson Hall, became a well known frontier pastoralist squatter. The Halls took up the property in 1825 and named it Dartbrook. They built a family mansion there called 'Dartbrook House'. The Halls also had a neighbouring estate called 'Nandowra'. Other colonists that received grants along Dart Brook were John Bingle, Peter MacIntyre, Donald MacIntyre, Stephen Coxen, Francis Little and William Dangar who respectively established the properties 'Puen Buen', 'Blairmore', 'Kayuga', 'Yarrandi', 'Invermein' and 'Turanville'. By the early 1830s most of the land along Dart Brook had been taken up by pastoralists. A

New South Wales Mounted Police The New South Wales Mounted Police Unit is a mounted section of the New South Wales Police Force. Founded by Governor of New South Wales, Governor Thomas Brisbane, Sir Thomas Brisbane on 7 September 1825, the Mounted Police were recruited from ...

station was established there to protect them from Aboriginal reprisals and

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

s. In 1831 explorer,

Sir Thomas Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), often called Major Mitchell, was a Scottish surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia. He was born in Scotland and served in the British Army during the Peninsular War. I ...

, found the Dart Brook clan of Geawegal people had been pushed out of their country and were suffering from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in exile upon the

Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...

. The pastoral estates along Dartbrook were not further subdivided to any great degree until after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when soldier settlement schemes saw the land parcelled off into smaller acreages.

Economy

The economy of Dartbrook is mostly agriculturally based. The Dartbrook coal mine opened in July 1995 with a

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

rail connection to the

Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield railway station, Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale railway station, Armidale. The 1980s saw the line clo ...

but closed in 2006. It is scheduled to reopen in late 2023.Australian Pacific Coal in equity raise to restart Dartbrook mine
''

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' 29 August 2023

Demographics

In 2021, the population of Dartbrook was 110 people.

References

{{Suburbs of Upper Hunter Shire, state=collapsed Towns in the Hunter Region