Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the

North West Slopes The North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, refers generally to the area west of the Northern Tablelands, to the north of the Central West region and to the east of the Far West region. Despite its name, the region is in north- ...

region of

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, in

Liverpool Plains Shire Liverpool Plains Shire is a local government area located in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed on 17 March 2004 by the amalgamation of Quirindi Shire with parts of Parry, Murrurundi and Gunned ...

. At the , Quirindi had a population of 2,602. It is the nearest link to

Gunnedah Gunnedah () is a town in north-central New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 8,338. Gunnedah is situated within the Liver ...

to the northwest and Tamworth to the north. The local economy is based on agriculture, with

broadacre Broadacre in Australia is land suitable for farms practicing large-scale crop operations. The key crop segments in this category are as follows: * oilseeds - canola, sunflowers * winter and summer cereals - wheat, barley, oats, triticale, sorghum ...

farming dominant on the black soil plains to the west and livestock grazing in the hilly eastern part of the district. The town is on the

Kamilaroi Highway Kamilaroi Highway is a state highway located in the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia, and links via and to . The highway is named after the Kamilaroi Indigenous Australian people who live in the area. Route The highway b ...

northwest of its junction with the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

Willow Tree Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

History

The

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Gamilaroi The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

people lived in the area for many thousands of years. The name Quirindi comes from the

Gamilaraay language The Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi language () is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup found mostly in south-eastern Australia. It is the traditional language of the Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi), an Aboriginal Australian people. It has be ...

, with a number of meanings having been attributed it, which include "nest in the hills", "place where fish breed" and "dead tree on mountain top". Early spellings of the name included "Cuerindi" and "Kuwherindi". Quirindi Post Office opened on 1 January 1858. The town was gazetted on 19 February 1884.

Heritage listings

Quirindi has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Main Northern railway:

Quirindi railway station Quirindi railway station is a Heritage register, heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Northern railway line, Main Northern line in Quirindi of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves the town of Quirindi and opened on 13 A ...

Climate

Sport

Quirindi sporting facilities include several sporting ovals catering for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

(Falcons),

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

(Quirindi Grasshoppers),

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

(Quirindi Lions),

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(Quirindi FC),

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

. Other sporting complexes include the racecourse, polo grounds,

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

campdrafting Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport involving a horse and equestrianism, rider working cattle. The riding style is Australian stock saddle, Australian stock, somewhat akin to American Western riding and the event is similar to the Americ ...

, an 18-hole golf course, two

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

clubs, three

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

greens, gun club and swimming complex.

Local Teams/Events

* Quirindi Falcons Cricket Club * Quirindi Grasshoppers RLFC * Quirindi Lions RUFC * Quirindi FC One major issue faced by Quirindi's sporting scene was the demise of the local rugby league club, the Quirindi Grasshoppers, who were in recess from 2017 until 2024. This has left the town without a team in its most popular sport, and forced local players to either travel to play for

Murrurundi Murrurundi ( ) is a rural town located in the Upper Hunter Shire, in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. Murrurundi is situated northwest by road from Newcastle and north from Sydney. At the the town had a population of 8 ...

Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a ...

, or give up the game they love entirely. The team will return to the

Group 21 Rugby League Group 21 Rugby League is a local rugby league competition, run under the control of the Country Rugby League. It covers the Upper Hunter area of New South Wales, and has three divisions, first grade, reserves and Under 18s. For sponsorship reaso ...

competition in 2025, fielding reserve grade and women's tackle teams. The Grasshoppers have won premierships in 1929, 1947, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981. Quirindi Jockey Club plays host to seven race meetings each year including the Boxing Day Races which attracts thousands of people each year. A motorcycle club is located north-east of Quirindi on the Borah Creek Road, with a 1.2-kilometre motocross track named Stu Johnson Park.

Quirindi annual events

* Quirindi Rural Heritage Festival- 1st weekend in May * Quirindi Show- September * Boxing Day Races- December * Prime Stock Show / Hook and Hoof- August * Nick Tooth Memorial Rugby Tens Tournament * Sunflowers on the Plains - January

Surrounding towns

is north of Quirindi, following the path of the explorer Thomas Mitchell. Wallabadah is located east of Quirindi on the

. Spring Ridge is about west of Quirindi.

Transport

is located on the

Main North 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 in Sydney to Armidale. The 1980s saw the line closed progressively north of Armidale; passenger services ...

, from Sydney. The station opened in 1877, and continues to be served by daily rail services operated by a

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

Xplorer train to and from

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 ...

and

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

/ Moree. Quirindi Airport is the local airfield, though most commercial flights in the region use Tamworth Regional Airport.

Tamworth Buslines The Buslines Group is an Australian bus operator in New South Wales and is the third largest private bus operator in New South Wales. History John A Gilbert Group The John A Gilbert group was founded in March 1926 by John A Gilbert as Reo Moto ...

operates a bus service between Quirindi and Tamworth.

Notable people

* Ellen Savage, sole surviving nurse from the sinking of the ''AHS Centaur'', advocate for career nursing * Sir John Oscar Cramer, Australian politician and founding member of Liberal Party * Ben Smith, former Parramatta Eels NRL player * Andy Saunders, former NRL player for Canterbury Bulldogs *

Tony Windsor Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an Independent (politician), independent member for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of electoral district of Tamworth, Tamworth ...

, politician

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales North West Slopes Liverpool Plains Shire