By the early 1800s railways only existed around the Sydney region and the hunter valley, oxen, horse and cart were the predominant form of transport, which was slow, ineffective and inefficient for the transportation of goods and passengers. The towns and regions that hadn't been affected by the railway were small and mainly lived off self-sustaining local production. This production consisted of cordials, wheat, wool, flour, chaff and cattle, and many other goods. By the time the Great Northern Line opened in Armidale in 1883 (the 1st February), most of the local industries closed down, and opened the way for efficient surpluses of food, beer, metals, domestic transportation, raw and building materials, (i.e. bricks and roofing tiles, and other items such as crockery and household items that were imported from Sydney).