Visit, Live & Invest in Gunnedah Shire::
If you're thinking business, consider the possibilities that Gunnedah has to offer:
A well developed transport infrastructure linked to the rest of Australia by air, rail and road, and from the seaports and airports of Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane, a pathway to the world.
- A labour pool with ready access to training and education facilities.
- A well structured business incentive program with a supportive and forward thinking Council.
- An abundant supply of energy, raw materials and open space for manufacturing facilities.
- Ready access to the Internet, and technical support services.
With significant improvements in road, rail and air links and the new era of rapid communication systems, Gunnedah is strategically located relative to the major metropolitan and regional centres on the East Coast of Australia.
Gunnedah is within 1.5 hours by air from Sydney in the south and Brisbane to the north. Major roads and rail transport interchanges connect some of Australia's most important agriculture producers to the major international ports of Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle.
Gunnedah is the centre for a number of regional industries exporting to overseas markets. These include grain producing, cotton processing, brick and terracotta production, tannery and leather processing, timber milling and coal mining. The area has a skilled metal manufacturing and farm machinery production base.
Whether your firm is ready to expand or relocate, or you are considering a new enterprise, Gunnedah presents a very real opportunity to help you grow.
From a commercial and retail viewpoint, Gunnedah is self sufficient with residents having little need to travel to larger centres for goods and services. In 2006 there were over 102 retail establishments with a turnover being around $80 to $100 million, employing 480 employees.
A wide variety of businesses includes supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, printeries, bakers, fashion clothing and gift shops as well as real estate, stock and station agents, travel agents, motor dealerships and machinery service centres. These businesses offer a broad range of high quality goods and services at prices competitive with other major retail centres in the region.
Most of the commercial activity in the town is concentrated in two or three blocks either side of Conadilly Street and offers professional and retail services to the community both within and outside the Shire.
Professional services in the town include two medical, two dental and three veterinary practices. Also included are accountants, agricultural consultants, solicitors and surveyors plus several ancillary services including pathology, physiotherapy, chiropractic and podiatry practitioners.
Agriculture is a very important part of both Gunnedah's economy and community. Approximately 403,000 hectares of farming country provides an annual income approaching $125 million. Both family and corporate farming enterprises produce summer and winter crops including wheat, sorghum, barley, cotton, sunflowers, soybeans and some vegetables.
Cotton, a member of the hibiscus family, is an important agricultural commodity grown in the region. The quality of the cotton grown is equivalent to the best in the world, and this industry injects over $35 million into the local economy. The cotton growing season is from October to March. It is best appreciated as a picturesque crop prior to harvest between February and April, when the cotton bolls have emerged.
Expansive sunflower crops add a splash of gold to the landscape during January. Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the district. Prime hard bread wheats and Durum varieties for pasta production are both consistent high income earners.
The fertile soils of the region support a vast livestock industry. Cattle, sheep and pigs from Gunnedah are renowned for their high quality and are exported all over the world.
With 12 livestock agents selling each Tuesday, Gunnedah's livestock selling centre is the second largest beef cattle selling centre in the state. In 2010-2011, the Gunnedah Saleyards sold 132,807 beef cattle and turned over a massive $98 million. Visitors are welcome to absorb the atmosphere as the air buzzes with the auctioneer's call at the sales held every Tuesday. The Gunnedah saleyards are located on the north-western outskirts of town, beside the Kamilaroi Highway.
CROPPING TIMETABLE
Crop Sown Harvest
Wheat May to June November to December
Barley May to June November
Oats February to March November
Sorghum November March to April
Cotton October to November April
Sunflowers August to September
December to January & April to May
Mining & Gas
Gunnedah Shire is located on the Sydney - Gunnedah Coal Basin, one of the largest underground coal seams in New South Wales. In its entirety, it is 150 kilometres wide and stretches 500 kilometres from Wollongong to Narrabri. The local industry contributes millions of dollars annually to the Shire's economy and provides an important source of employment.
Within the Gunnedah Coal Basin, coal is won from both open cut and underground mines. The coal is high-volatile bituminous in rank, reasonably low in ash and sulphur and very low in phosphorous. Specific energy is high and the characteristics of ash fusion are favourable.
The Melville and Hoskisson seams have good coking and swelling properties, while the Gundawarra seam has low ash, sulphur and phosphorous levels and is non-coking.
There is one coal company operating in the Gunnedah Shire, Whitehaven Coal Mining Pty Ltd. It has interests and subsidiaries that operate the Sunnyside Mine about 15km west of Gunnedah, the Rocglen Mine 25km to Gunnedah's north, the Tarrawonga mine and the Mauls Creek Project 15km east of Baan Baa.
The company operates a Coal Handling & Preparation Plant and train loading facility a short distance from Gunnedah off the Quia Road, beside the north-west rail line. Coal is hauled by road from its mines to the loading facility.
Of interest is the anticipated expansion of coal mining in the Caroona and Watermark areas 40km to Gunnedah's south east. Both BHP Billiton and China's Shenhua Energy have acquired exploration licenses (ELs) and expect to commence construction, then mining around 2012 - 2015. Both EL areas have an estimated coal reserve of about 500 million tonnes each.
Other companies with interests or mining in the locality include the Bloomfield Group and Idemitsu Boggabri Coal Pty Ltd.
The coal produced is transported by rail to the shipping port of Newcastle. Trains operate on a regular basis with a current maximum of six trains per day out of the Gunnedah Basin. Independent studies rate the current capability of the rail link at ten million tonnes per annum. Significant rail upgrade work and planning is being conducted by ARTC to increase rail capacity towards 50 million tonnes per annum by 2020.
Exploration for Coal Seam Gas is currently being undertaken by Santos at a number of sites across the Gunnedah Coal Basin.
Gunnedah Shire
http://www.gunnedah.nsw.gov.au/