Welcome.

This web site tells the continuing story of the fight for self government, for home rule,  for the area known variously as Northern New South Wales or New England.

In the lead-up to the grant of self government in 1859 to the territory now known as Queensland,  there were fights between locals and the Sydney merchants over the location of the boundary. As part of this, a number of squatters in Northern NSW argued for either inclusion in Queensland or the creation a separate colony.

Sydney won, with the boundaries moved north. The  irascible Scottish clergyman John Dunmore Lang then threw himself into the fight.

Lang had a vision of a federated Australia made up of many states. Having previously argued for self government first for Victoria and then the Moreton Bay colony, he now argued for a separate colony in Northern New South Wales.

 In the one hundred and fifty years since, our fight for home rule has waxed and waned, but never gone away. Those who are interested can find the full story in the history section of the web site.

Today, a new push has  begun to achieve our dream. We seek your support to help us achieve our goal.

The stakes are high.

Sixty years ago, the North was larger in population and wealth than West Australia, not far behind Queensland. Since then we have experienced significant structural decline.  A once prominent  area has become unknown, neglected, relegated to the back-blocks of Australian life.

With self government we have a chance to turn this around. Please join us in our fight!

Finally, a note on names.

On this site, you will see the names Northern and New England used interchangeably.

The Movement began by using the name Northern. In 1932, the name New England was adopted for the whole self-government area. Today, both names are used.