Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural district. Situated on a floodplain by the Manning River, it is 16 km from the Tasman Sea coast, and 317 km north of Sydney.
Taree is within the local government area of Mid-Coast Council, the state electorate of Myall Lakes and the Federal electorate of Lyne.
Name
The name Taree is derived from "tareebit", a Biripi word meaning tree by the river, or more specifically, the Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata).
History
The Biripi were the indigenous people of what is now known as Taree. The Aboriginal population of the Manning River was relatively dense before colonisation by Europeans.
In 1826, Assistant Surveyor Henry Dangar was instructed by John Oxley as Surveyor General (and a shareholder in the Australian Agricultural Company) to survey the land between Port Stephens and the Hastings River. During this expedition, Dangar identified that Harrington Lake was a river with two entrances to the sea. Later in 1826, the river was named the Manning River by Robert Dawson for the Deputy Governor of the Australian Agricultural Company, William Manning.
In 1829, Governor Darling proclaimed the division of the settlement of the colony of New South Wales into Nineteen Counties. The northern limit of the settlement was declared to be the Manning River.
Taree was laid out as a private town in 1854 by Henry Flett, the son-in-law of William Wynter who had originally settled the area in 1831. had been set aside for the private township and 40 lots were initially sold. Taree was declared a municipality on 26 March 1885 and the first municipal council was elected by the residents. In the early 1800s the road from Newcastle to Port Macquarie came via Gloucester and forded the river near Wingham. Boats could not go further upstream than this due to narrowing of the river and rapids. Hence a town formed at Wingham, about a day's ride from Gloucester. Timber getting, especially cedar, ensured goods were brought to Wingham and then shipped to Newcastle and beyond by boat. Coopernook similarly formed a local shipping hub. In 1844, the government of New South Wales had established Wingham as its administrative centre. When the North Coast railway line came through in 1913, it initially terminated at Taree. Even before the rest of the line was completed it became apparent that it was safer to send goods by rail to Newcastle and Sydney rather than hazarding the bar at the outlet to the river at Harrington where many ships had been lost. Although connected to the railway, sea transport continued to dominate along the North Coast until the 1930s. This changed when the Martin Bridge replaced the ferry across the Manning River in 1940. River traffic significantly reduced after this, ensuring Taree's place as the centre of business.
The oldest surviving building in Taree is the old St Paul's Presbyterian Church, built-in 1869 in the Victorian Gothic Revival style, next door to the current building, in Albert Street.
A record breaking rain event in March 2021 lead to flooding in the town, sweeping debris such as a water tank and shipping container into the Manning River which struck the Martin Bridge. The river peaked at 5.7 metres, inundating properties in Taree South and Glenthorne and falling just short of the historical high of 6 metres in 1929.
In the 24 hours to 9am on 7 July 2022, a record 305mm of rain was recorded in town. Since records began in 1881, this was the wettest day in the history of Taree.
Heritage listings
Taree has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: North Coast railway: Taree railway station
Climate
Taree experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfal/Cfbl); with warm to hot, humid summers and mild to cool, short winters; and with a moderately high precipitation amount of 1,149.7 millimetres (45.25 in), with moderate precipitation even during its drier months. The highest temperature recorded at Taree was 45.7 °C (114.3 °F) on the 12th of February 2017; the lowest recorded was -4.0 °C (24.8 °F) on the 14th of June 2004, the 14th of July 2002, and the 29th of August 2003. The area features 102.5 clear days and 120.9 cloudy days annually.