Wollombi

"Wollombi" is an Aboriginal word for "meeting place". The north and south arms of Wollombi Brook converge here. There area has a rich Aboriginal history, and was the meeting place for several tribes.

Wollombi developed as a township through its key location on the Great North Road, where the two northern branches diverge. It became the centre of a very productive agricultural area, initially relying on wheat and cereals, although settlers diversified into other industries such as timber-getting and collecting wattle bark for use in tanning leather. In 1862 over 200 people lived in the Wollombi township, with almost 2000 in the Wollombi Valley. (At that time less than a dozen people lived in Cessnock).

Many of the buildings in Wollombi are heritage classified. The beautiful Blackett-designed St John's Anglican church was built in the 1840s. The foundation stone of St Michael's Catholic church was laid in 1840, but following damage caused by the great flood of 1893 the church was re-built at its present site beside the two storey heritage- listed former post office.

Other heritage buildings in Wollombi include the stone school building (c1881), the timber general store which is over 100 years old, and the former courthouse (c1866), now the Endeavour Museum. The museum contains many local relics of interest, including a number of items relating to the Great North Road. The cemetery is another interesting site worth visiting.

The Great North Road branches at Wollombi, with one branch leading through Broke to Jerrys Plains, Muswellbrook and the upper Hunter Valley, while the other branch leads to Maitland and Newcastle in the Lower Hunter Valley.