New England Online > Geography > Administrative Divisions > Municipalities > Grafton
Grafton
| City of Grafton | |
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| Motto: Et Decus Et Pretium Recti | |
| Geography | |
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| Status: | City |
| Proclaimed: | 1885 |
| County: | Clarence |
| Demographics | |
| Population : - Total |
Ranked 10th 89,437 |
| Ethnicity: | 96% European 2% Asian 2% Indigenous |
Grafton is the tenth largest city in New England. The city is the county town of the county of Clarence. Situated on the Clarence River, Grafton is located approximately 200 kilometres north-east of the capital, Armidale.
Grafton is also known as the Jacaranda City, in reference to its tree lined streets. The Jacaranda Festival, which started in the 1930's, is held every October. Established in 1840 as The Settlement on the north bank and Woolport on the south, the town was officially named Grafton in 1851 after the Duke of Grafton. The town was proclaimed a city in 1885, and enjoyed steady growth until leveling out at 16,000 in the 1950's where it stayed until independence.
Area
Grafton is a singular urban area, consisting of just the City of Grafton. The city is divided into six Boroughs, which are paired to create the local electoral ridings for the county of Clarence. These Boroughs are: Clarenza, Grafton Central, Junction Hill, South Grafton, Swan Creek and Waterview.
Geography & Climate
Grafton is a river city, and is located fifty kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Clarence River. The majority of the town is built on the floodplain and adjacent hills of the river. Like many river cities, Grafton is prone to flood damage, and has suffered considerable damage in the past. Today, a sophisticated drainage and levee system keeps the floods at bay.
Grafton has a subtropical climate with hot, moist summers and mild, dry winters. The city is subject to high humidity, mainly from November through to April. Summer thunderstorms are common with heavy rain and occasionally hail and strong winds being a fact of life. January is generally the hottest month with temperatures averaging 30.1°C, while July is the coldest with temperatures averaging 20.4°C. Grafton has an average annual rainfall of 1051 mm, with February usually the wettest month with a mean rainfall of 146.2 mm. August and September are the driest months, averaging less than 35 mm per year.
Culture
Grafton is home to the nations beef and sugar industries and is generally renowned as being a city where agricultural and country pursuits are the most popular. The pinnacle agricultural event in the city is the Royal Grafton Agricultural Show which is held in May every year. The show is the second largest and most prestigious of the agricultural shows after the Royal Agricultural & Grazing Society Exhibition held in Armidale.
The last surviving urban horse racing track is in Grafton. The course is home to the annual Grafton Cup, which is held in July. It remains the richest individual sporting event in New England. In most team sporting events, teams based in Grafton use the colours of purple and white, based on the Jacaranda tree.
Despite it's agrarian image, the city boats a local museum and art gallery, both of which are well known for depictions of rural life in the clarence valley.
| Twenty Largest Urban Centres of New England |
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| Armidale · Bingara · Coffs Harbour · Dangarsleigh · Dumaresq · Glen Innes · Grafton · Guyra · Inverell · Kempsey Laurieton · Macksville · Port Macquarie · Puddledock · Tenterfield · Thalgarrah · Uralla · Walcha · Wauchope · Woolgoolga |
