Oaklands

Postcode: 2646

Oaklands is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town is located 615 kilometres south west of the state capital, Sydney and 105 kilometres north west of Albury. Oaklands is in the Urana Shire Local government area and has a population of approximately 250.

The major industry in the Oaklands region is agriculture, including the production of wheat and rice and is a major grain handling area. It is the home of the Oaklands Diuris, a threatened native orchid that is currently only found in the Oaklands region.[1]

A standard gauge branch line from the New South Wales Government Railways Main Southern railway line at The Rock was extended from Lockhart to Oaklands in 1912.[2] A broad gauge branch line from the Victorian Railways Melbourne-Albury railway line was extended from Yarrawonga to Oaklands in 1938, creating a break-of-gauge until the New South Wales Government Railways line was closed south of Boree Creek.

Way down south near the Victorian border, about 60km north-east of Berrigan, Oaklands is a farming area where sheep and cattle graze contentedly alongside the predominant crops of wheat and rice. It’s pretty peaceful in these parts, but they didn’t think so in 1879 when the Ned Kelly gang rode into the nearby town of Jerilderie and held the townsfolk at gunpoint for two days, taking over the police station, cutting the power lines, and robbing the bank.

Another of Australia's notorious bushrangers, Dan (Mad Dog) Morgan was also active in the district. In fact Morgan was fascinated to learn that the man he bailed up just outside nearby Urana in August 1863 was none other than Wagga Wagga police magistrate Henry Bayliss. After he'd relieved Bayliss of his purse and cash, Morgan had the effrontery to seek a guarantee of leniency should be ever face Bayliss in a court room. The two never met again.

Oaklands lies just to the north of the Riverina Highway and is only a comfortable drive from a range of hot tourist spots on the Murray River.

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