Murrumbateman is a town in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and generally west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cl ...

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 ...

. It is on the Barton Highway, approximately 30 kilometres north-west of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, and is part of the Yass Valley Shire. At the , Murrumbateman had a population of 3,219 people.

History and economy

With the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century sheep farming, wheat growing and goldmining became major economic activities. The first government school opened in 1869. Winemaking began in Murrumbateman in the 1970s with some of the surrounding rural properties being developed as grape growing areas or as boutique wineries. In recent years much of the land has been subdivided into small hobby farm blocks ranging from . Similar subdivisions have occurred in other regions around Canberra including

Bungendore Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway near Lake George, New South Wales, Lake George, the Molonglo River Valle ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, Gundaroo and Burra. Residents tend to commute to Canberra for work rather than make a living off the small parcels of land. Other nearby towns are Yass, Gunning and Dalton. Murrumbateman has a pub and a handful of retail outlets. The Murrumbateman Market is held fortnightly at the Recreation Ground. The market focus is on local produce and local arts and crafts but there is always a range of products from the wider Yass Valley and beyond including fruit and vegetables, breads, cakes, jams, olives, chillies, sauces, biodynamic beef and a range of wines from the local area plus woollen and alpaca products and handmade goods of all types.Murrumbateman Village Market
Access date: 18 August 2016.

Annual events

* The Murrumbateman Pony Club hold an annual show jumping festival in June. The event is open for Pony Club Members. *The Murrumbateman Field Days is held in October each year and draws large crowds from

and Yass * The Australian Cool Climate Wine Show is held annually in September

Facilities and services

The trees around the grounds are heritage listed and parking underneath them is not recommended. Murrumbateman has the following Sporting and Social clubs: *Murrumbateman Pony Club *Murrumbateman Adult Riding Club
Murrumbateman Stormers - Little Athletics Club
*Murrumbateman Scouts *Murrumbateman Eagles AFL Club *Murrumbateman Cricket Club Murrumbateman has the following Community facilities and services: *Murrumbateman Mens Shed *Pre-school *Primary School *Library *Catholic Church *Uniting Church *Landcare group *Park *Public toilets * Rural Fire Service

Media

Murrumbateman receives five free-to-air television networks including all the digital free-to-air channels relayed from Canberra, and broadcast from Black Mountain. Networks available include ABC, SBS, Seven, WIN, and

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

. The town receives radio stations from Canberra such as ABC Radio Canberra, Hit 104.7, Mix 106.3, KIX Country, and 2CA. Community radio is provided by Yass FM which is broadcast from Yass. Local newspaper is served by the ''Yass Valley Times''.

New development

The Fairley Square includes a commercial and tourist precinct and future plans include a boutique brewery, bakery, childcare center, a cafe, a gym, medical practice. There is also a real estate agent and a law firm situated in Fairley Square.

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 3,607 people in Murrumbateman, of which 99 were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Straight Islander origin and 2,999 people were born in Australia. 616 of people in Murrumbateman conduct volunteer work. The next most common country of birth was England at 89 people followed by New Zealand (31 people).

Notable people

* Sir Walter Merriman – sheep breeder, knighted in 1954 for his contributions to the fine wool industry, and founder of the Merryville stud, MurrumbatemanMerryville Stud - History
Access date: 18 August 2016. * David Pereira - Australian cellist

References

External links

Murrumbateman
- general website on Murrumbateman
Murrumbateman Field Days

Murrumbateman Market

Australian Cool Climate Wine Show

Fairley Estate
* {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands Yass Valley Council