u3a Mudgee District

Mudgee is an Aboriginal word meaning "Nest in the Hills".

"It is where the history of graziers, pastoralists, agronomists and artists meets modern rural industry, new found crafts and a delightful lifestyle". (Mark Coulton, Federal MP, July 2009)

Mudgee is on the eastern edge of the Murray-Darling catchment area in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales.

The mountains of the Great Dividing Range affect the climate, economy and travel for all those living on the west of the Divide. Driving from Sydney to Mudgee involves crossing the Blue Mountains, which are a part of the Dividing Range. Mudgee is encirled on all but the northern side by the wonderful hills of the Ranges. Once you head north and north west, going towards Dubbo or Dunedoo and Gilgandra you drop onto the flat western plains, where the sun burns hotter and the frost bites colder.

Mudgee's climate is influenced by the mountains. Statistics show that its weather is ameliorated by its height and the effect of the hills. Average summer temperatures are between 14°C and 32°C, and winter ones between 2°C and 14°C. The average annual rainfall is around 605mm.

According to the latest statistics from the Australian Government Weather Bureau, January 2006 was the hottest on record. On 2nd February 2006, mid afternoon temperatures in Mudgee reached 44°C.

The Cudgegong District, as the area is often called, is that of the Mid-Western Regional Council area. The District is located approximately 240 kilometres from Sydney. Described as the land of wine and honey, it boasts tourist attractions such as wineries, olive groves, arts, crafts, bushwalking, gold fossicking, fishing and horse riding. The area is steeped in history from local explorers and bush rangers.

Covering an area of 9595 sq kms, the predominant land in the north of the shire is the open and lightly undulating cattle grazing and moderate cropping land. To the south and west of the shire the land becomes steep and mountainous in places exceeding a 1 in 4 ratio. The east of the shire is open land that has been developed into large amounts of small acreages, in poor soiled heavily timbered country being a mixture of open areas and rolling hills extending into the wilderness of National Parks.

The regional shire has a fragmented population of approximately 23,000 people and comprises Mudgee, Gulgong, Kandos and Rylstone with 10 other villages: Hargraves, Windeyer, Lue, Wollar, Charbon, Clandulla, Bylong, Ilford, Running Stream and Goolma. Other rural residential, and hobby farms are located throughout the combined districts.