Kurri Kurri

Postcode: 2327

Kurri Kurri is a town in Cessnock City Council, in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. Together with nearby Weston and Pelaw Main, it had a population of 12,326 in 2001.

Kurri Kurri's name is Aboriginal and in the local Awabakal language it meant "the beginning, the first".

The town's economy is based on its aluminium smelter and the surrounding wineries. The Kurri Kurri Hotel (1904) is one of several pubs built during the era of mining prosperity in the early 20th century. It is an impressive three storey building featuring prominent verandahs with cast iron lacework. The Empire Tavern was built during this period. Kurri Kurri has numerous small miners' cottages from the early 20th century.

Kurri Kurri was founded in 1902 to service the local Stanford Merthyr and Pelaw Main mining communities. The town was named by District Surveyor T. Smith who chose the name because he believed it meant 'hurry along' in a local dialect.The town and suburban land of Kurri was proclaimed on October 25th, 1902 and the first lots in the new development were sold on June 10, 1903.

Kurri Kurri grew to house a population of 5885 residents by 1911. The Richmond Main mine, also in the Kurri Kurri vicinity, was once the Southern Hemisphere's largest and deepest shaft mine. Coal mining declined after the mid-1920s and the Stanford Main mine closed in 1957, Pelaw Main in 1962 and Richmond Main shut down in 1967.

Until the creation of the local government area known as the City of Cessnock, Kurri Kurri was the centre of the Shire of Kearsley, which included most of the rural areas and villages around the township of Cessnock and part of the western suburbs of Maitland. From 1946 to 1949 the Shire was unique in Australia in having a majority of the councillors who were members of the Communist Party of Australia.

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