Warialda

Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire.

Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. Situated on the banks of Warialda Creek, the town's name means "Place of Wild Honey" in local aboriginal language. At the 2011 census, Warialda had a population of 1,120.

The original inhabitants of the region were the Weraerai Aboriginals and the first whites in the area were probably escaped convicts. Allan Cunningham was the first official European visitor in 1827.

The first settlement was established in 1837 with a Border Police outstation erected in 1840. The town site was gazetted in 1847 and was the first in the Northwest Slopes region. Warialda was the headquarters of the Yallaroi Shire, until its merger with neighbouring Bingara Shire to form Gwydir Shire. Warialda Post Office opened on 1 January 1848. The town's first newspaper was the Warialda Standard, which was first published in 1896 and remains in publication.Warialda is the birthplace of Elizabeth Kenny, world-renowned pioneer in the treatment of poliomyelitis. The baptismal font used for Sister Kenny's baptism is still in use and housed in the Church of England located in Stewart Avenue.

Warialda is also the birthplace of Olive Rose Fitzhardinge (1881–1956) who became famous in the 1930s as a rose breeder in Warrawee, the name of her best known rose.