The Hunter Valley is a region of New South Wales, approximately 160 kilometres north of Sydney, Australia with an approximate population of 700,000 people, most of which live in the Newcastle metropolitan area. There are also numerous other towns and villages scattered across the valley. The valley is most commonly known for its wineries and coal industry.

It is the valley of the Hunter River, one of the major eastwards-flowing rivers of South-Eastern Australia.

View across the Hunter Valley.

Industries

The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's most famous wine growing regions, known for both its red and white wine varieties. The most important economic activity in the valley is coal mining, mostly for export. Other major industries include power generation, dairy farming and beef cattle farming. The port at Newcastle is the world's largest export facility for coal, most of which is brought to port via the railways into the valley.

Tourism

The Hunter Valley is a major tourist destination in New South Wales. The Pokolbin area has a large number of vineyards, restaurants, shops, golf courses and country guesthouses. Other parts of the valley are also well known for wine. The Upper Hunter area around Scone is one of the largest horse breeding areas in the world.

There are regular events held in the Hunter for visitors, including the Hunter Valley Steam Trains running the first three Sundays of each month and regular scenic cruises on the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie.

Towns and cities

Newcastle, situated at the mouth of the Hunter River, is the largest city in the region. Its immediate metropolitan area includes Lake Macquarie, though its statistical division also includes Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens areas. Other major centres of the Hunter Valley are Port Stephens, Maitland, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Singleton, Scone and Muswellbrook.

Growth

The Hunter Valley is growing both economically and culturally. New residential areas are being developed throughout the region to accommodate people attracted to the area by employment opportunities, the family-friendly environment and affordable housing prices. The state government is working with local government to plan for further growth which is expected to continue for several decades. There is even a proposal for a new town of 50,000 to be built near Branxton.

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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hunter Valley".