The original inhabitants of the land were Indigenous Australians of the Kamilaroi clan. The first European settlement was in 1834, with the establishment of a sheep station at a river crossing on what would become the McDonald River.[2] By 1851 a small village had grown around the station, which was known as McDonald River.[2]
In 1854 the village was renamed Bendemeer after a line in the 1817 poem Lalla-Rookh by Thomas Moore:
There's a bower of roses by Bendemeer's stream; And the nightingale sings round it all day long."[3]
Moore was referring to a stream that ran through the ruined city of Persepolis in modern-day Iran.[4] The word "bendemeer" is a loose translation of the Persian bund (embankment) and amir (a local ruler). It was proposed as the village name by Thomas Perry, a local farmer whose grandfather had maintained a friendship with both Moore and the first New South Wales Surveyor General, Thomas Mitchell.[3]
In 1864 the bushrangerCaptain Thunderbolt carried out one of his first armed robberies by holding up the northern mail as it passed through Bendemeer.[2]
The first bridge over the McDonald River was constructed in 1874, and the steel and timber truss bridge was opened on 29 September 1905. A historic engineering marker was erected near this bridge in 2005. The bridge now in use through the village is a low level concrete structure.
The Macdonald River Road Bridge and Bendemeer Public Cemetery, Bendemeer Watsons Creek Rd, have been placed on the Register of the National Estate.[5]
Demographics
The population of Bendemeer is overwhelmingly Christian (83%) and Australian-born (90%). The average age of 41 years is slightly older than the Australian average of 37. A third of Bendemeer residents are over the age of 55, compared to a national average of 24%.[1]
Industries and services
Bendemeer is principally a business hub for local sheep and cattle graziers. The town also hosts a range of arts festivals and craft markets,[2] as well as a triennial Tractor Muster.[6] Town services include a general shop, a hotel and restaurant, caravan park and camping ground, and Catholic and Presbyterian churches.[7]
On 10 September 2012, Bendemeer became one of the first Australian villages where National Broadband Network 12 Mbit/s dedicated wireless broadband services can be purchased.[9]
^"Bendemeer". Walkabout Australian Travel Guide. November 2007. Archived from the original on 23 April 2001. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
^"Bendemeer Public School". New South Wales Department of Education and Training. February 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
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