About the Area

The Liverpool Plains is generally regarded as the richest agricultural region in Australia owing to its rich black soils, which originally supported a mixed grassland vegetation containing both annual and perennial grasses, which early in the region's history were used to feed cattle and sheep.

The Liverpool Plains have a generally flat to undulating terrain formed from the remnants of old volcanoes such as that of the Liverpool Ranges to the southwest. To the south and east, it merges into the higher and cooler Northern Tablelands.

Wheat and cotton are the chief crops, although production fluctuates wildly according to rainfall and soil erosion is a major problem occurring both after droughts and floods. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter, and of moderate rainfall. The average is generally around 635 millimetres (25.0 in) with a slight summer maximum, but is quite erratic and can vary from 1,150 millimetres (45 in) in very wet years to as little as 370 millimetres (15 in). Temperatures in summer frequently exceed 35 °C (95 °F) and make cropping without irrigation risky without sophisticated meteorological forecasting techniques.

Heritage listings

The Liverpool Plains Shire has several heritage-listed sites, including:

• Pine Ridge, Windy Road: Windy Station Woolshed
• Quirindi, Main Northern railway: Quirindi railway station
• Warrah Creek, Merriwa-Murrurundi Road: East Warrah Woolshed
• Werris Creek, Main Northern railway: Werris Creek railway station