Hunter Valley Police District

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The Hunter Valley Local Area Command covers 18, 622 square kilometres with a population of nearly 62, 751. The two major population centres within the LAC are Singleton and Muswellbrook townships. The rest of the LAC is dotted with numerous small to medium side town /communities and rural properties. There are two major highways that pass through this LAC, New England and Golden. The New England passes through Branxton, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Aberdeen, Scone, Murrurundi and Willow Tree on it’s way north to the Queensland border. The Golden Highway branches off from the New England at Whittingham (between Branxton and Singleton) and passes through Jerry’s Plains, Denman, Merriwa and close to Cassilis, on it’s way to Dubbo. It also has a significant railway infrastructure, with both industrial (coal shipments and port cargo containers) and commuter (intrastate and Country Link) services. There are 2 airports at Singleton and Scone, with landing strips at Elderslie, Lemington and Warkworth.

The LAC “features a very successful blend of agriculture, commerce and industry. Power generation, coal mining, horse studs, wineries, dairying and agriculture all provide a sound economic base for the area, as well as the prospects for continued growth in the future”. Some of these major industries include: Liddell and Bayswater Power Stations, Dartbrook, Mt Arthur, and Mt Thorley mines, to name but a few. With localised Industrial estates at Muswellbrook & Singleton. There are over 200 licensed premises /wineries and approximately 80 prominent Horse Studs that have produced the country’s champion racehorses for over 100 years, with Woodlands Stud the home of Octagonal and the birthplace of Lohnro and Nielo. The area has become a Mecca for the world’s richest stables, with studs owned by Arab syndicates, American, Irish and Australia’s own Packer family. Most of these studs are privately owned affairs. Scone is also considered to be the Horse capital of Australia, with a week long festival held annually and a major racing complex just outside the township. Most towns within the LAC are filled with old colonial and Victorian buildings. These homes are surrounded by large gardens and filled by people with the typical country charm. There are only a few new estates, which are based at Singleton and Muswellbrook. The major centres of Singleton and Muswellbrook host large retails areas including major shopping complexes. There is a smaller shopping complex located at Scone.

Tourism within the LAC is quite high, due to the close proximity to Sydney, which is 3 hrs from Muswellbrook and the high number of wineries, bed and breakfast houses, eco-tourism, historic significance, equestrian events and marketing of local produce and crafts, to name but a few. The LAC incorporates a number of geographical features. The main features are the Hunter River, Wollemi National Park, Belford State Forest, Barrington Tops, Glenbawn Dam, Glennies Creek Dam, Yengo State Forest, Goulburn River National Park and aboriginal cave paintings at Widden Valley. The tourism authorities are very active in the promotion of the area and this has benefited the local economy.

The Corrective Services facility within the LAC has a significant impact on policing, which is mainly to do with court days. The minimum-security correctional centre at St Heiler’s, just outside Muswellbrook, has a capacity of 256, which is consistently full. St Helier’s is a working farm that has Heritage listed buildings and vast gardens, which require constant ongoing care and maintenance. This maintenance is performed by the detainees along with community projects such as, maintenance to the local cemetery, Hospital grounds, and the Veterans memorial wall outside Aberdeen. The work on the farm covers vegetable and beef processing, farm building maintenance and “Gencor” which is a furniture restoration facility repairing damaged furniture from government departments such as school desks. There are numerous courses that cover education, welfare, psychology, alcohol and other drugs. There appears to be a direct correlation between the detainees and their family’s relocation to this area for long term habitation, which intern allows for regular family visitation.

The Hunter Valley Lac is divided into 3 sectors: Northern, Southern and Central, which are made up of 13 stations. They comprise of Northern: Scone; Aberdeen; Murrurundi; Willow Tree; Merriwa; Moonan Flat; Cassilis, Southern: Singleton; Branxton; Bulga; Jerry’s Plains, Central: Muswellbrook; Denman. Muswellbrook is the only 24 hours station, with Singleton being 18 hours and Scone 16 hours. The rest are either 1 or 2 unit stations. There are 6 councils that cover the Lac either totally or partially, being Singleton Shire Council, Cessnock City Council, Maitland City Council, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Upper Hunter Shire Council and Quirindi Shire Council. The LAC’s sharing boundaries with Hunter Valley are Central Hunter, Manning Great Lakes, Oxley, Hawkesbury and Mudgee.