I ask the question: do you think the location of Armidale is wrong?

If that same question was asked today, after almost 200 years of European occupation and exploitation of the landscape, most would answer the affirmative. Why? Because when one looks at the site where the city of Armidale is located, water supply and water quality becomes a major problem for the city of Armidale and its community.

However, in the 1830s water from Dumaresq Creek would have been a good enough supply to a small village like the one that was later to become Armidale. Very little attention was given to the environment of the area at the time, as the main concern of the colonial government of Australia was the high demand for Australian wool by the rapidly growing wool mills in England. This led to the opening up new country to the north of the Hunter region of New South Wales.

Settlement of the Area | Development of the Town