Duns Creek (also known as Dunns Creek) is a rural residential suburb in the

Hunter Region 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 (New Sout ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located near the historic village of

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

in the north-western corner of the

Port Stephens Council Port Stephens Council (also known simply as Port Stephens) is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is just north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

Geography

The suburb is bordered in the west by the

Paterson River Paterson River, a perennial river that is part of the Hunter River catchment, is located in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Paterson River rises in the Barrington Tops National Park, w ...

where the land is only approximately

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

(AMSL) and undulating with a few small hills. This continues to the eastern extent of the suburb where the a

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of hills begins, just before the border with Glen Oak. Heading north the land becomes progressively more hilly, with elevations ranging from common and with heights peaking at AMSL. The area is typically subdivided into residential lot sizes of with a number of larger properties fronting the Paterson River up to . Other properties at the top of Duns Creek Road have sweeping views of the Paterson and Hunter valleys and out to the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

approximately away. The area consistently receives good, reliable rainfall and the countryside is largely green and lush throughout the year. In 2016, Duns Creek has a population of 546 people with the Median age being 41. 3.8% of population identify has Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. 92.5% were born in Australia with 2.4 in England, 1.1% New Zealand, 0.6% in Scotland and 0.6% in Greece. 28.2% No Religion, 25.6% Catholic, 23.4% Anglican, 8.5% Not Stated and 4.6% United Church. 0.7% speak Greek and 0.3% speak Spanish.

History

Duns Creek's history is closely intertwined with the nearby village of

, which was first surveyed in 1801. In December 1821 a grant of land to the south-west of the town was made to Captain Willian Dun, after whom ''Duns Creek'' is named. Captain Dun started a successful

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

which he called ''Duninald''. It remained in family hands until 2005 when it was sold. The homestead on the farm is listed as a heritage item of both

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

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significance. The suburb has seen subdivision of larger rural blocks since the 1980s and increasingly attracted a growing " treechange" population since the late 1990s. Most smaller rural holdings operate as

hobby farm A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block, acreage living, or rural residential) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held simply to bring homeowners closer to n ...

s used for horse riding, olive and wine growing as well as other outdoor pursuits.

Mahogany Ridge Resort development proposal

On 30 June 2000 a development proposal for a A$45 million tourist resort at Mahogany Ridge in Duns Creek was lodged with Port Stephens Council. The proposal would have, at various times, increased the population of the area by up to 1,500 people, approximately five times the permanent population, and was strongly opposed by the local community and Port Stephens Council. After continued opposition for almost seven years the matter resulted in court action by both Port Stephens Council and the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...

in the

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hearing (law), hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court's jurisdiction, confined ...

and the proposal was finally defeated on 19 April 2007. The development has been replaced by a much smaller scale, upmarket rural residential subdivision.

Transport

Hunter Valley Buses Hunter Valley Buses is an Australian bus operator who operates bus, coach and charter services in the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales. Previously known as Blue Ribbon, it was one of the first companies to be bought by Comf ...

operates one bus route through Duns Creek: * 185: Maitland to Gresford via Bolwarra, Largs and Paterson

Location and amenities

Duns Creek has good links to major Hunter urban centres. Maitland is less than 15 minutes drive and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

can be reached within 50 minutes via

Raymond Terrace Raymond Terrace, locally known as "Raymo” or "The Terrace", is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle on the Pacific Highway, Australia, Pacific Highway. Establi ...

. Other lifestyle attractions include

Nelson Bay Nelson Bay may refer to: *Nelson Bay, New South Wales Nelson Bay is a significant township of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on a bay of the same name on the southern ...

/ Port Stephens (55-minute drive) and the Hunter Valley Wine Country centred on Pokolbin (55 minutes drive). It is in close proximity to the Tocal Agricultural College (5 minutes drive) which hosts its annual small farm fields days in May each year. Regular train services at Paterson railway station on the North Coast railway line provide direct access to Maitland,

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Newcastle Airport which has direct flights to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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, the Gold Coast and

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, is located 40 minutes drive to the east at Williamtown. Paterson, which is less than 5 minutes away by car, has all the facilities of a normal country town as well as a number of hotels, cafes and a golf course. The Woodville store, which is slightly further away, operates as a general store and post office. Both Paterson and Woodville each have long standing primary schools and other facilities including historic community halls. The privately owned sandstone 'All Saints' Church at Woodville is regularly used for wedding ceremonies and receptions. In 2006 the area was provided with

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over Copper wire, copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem ...

internet connections and residents can now access the NBN. A daily mail service is provided to residents with parcels able to be picked up from the Woodville Store. Duns Creek also has a weekly garbage and recycling service provided by Port Stephens Council.

Notes

References

External links

* (Examples of lot sizes and current pricing)
Tocal Agricultural College web site

{{Suburbs of Port Stephens Suburbs of Port Stephens Council