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Orange is a city in New South Wales, Australia.
It is located on the Mitchell Highway, 260
kilometres (160 mi) west of Sydney at an altitude of
862 metres (2,828 ft). Orange presently has a
population of 31,544 and the city is a major
provincial centre.
Key industries include agriculture, mining, health
services and education. A significant nearby
landmark is Mount Canobolas; at an altitude of 1,395
metres (4,577 ft) it gives commanding views of the
district.
Orange is the birthplace of poets Banjo Paterson and
Kenneth Slessor, although Paterson lived in Orange
for only a very short time as an infant.
The first Australian Touring Car Championship, known
today as V8 Supercar Championship Series, was held
at the Gnoo Blas circuit in 1960.
Orange is a well-known fruit growing district, and
produces apples, pears, and many stone fruits such
as cherries, peaches, apricots and plums. Somewhat
ironically, oranges are not grown in the area, as
the climate is too cool. In recent years, a large
number of vineyards have been planted in the area
for a rapidly expanding wine production industry.
The growth of this wine industry, coupled with the
further development of Orange as a gourmet food
capital, has ensured Orange's status as something of
a tourism capital.
Other large industries include the Cadia gold mine
and an Electrolux white goods factory. Orange is
also the location of the New South Wales Department
of Industry and Investment (formerly New South Wales
Department of Primary Industries) head office.
Orange has a temperate climate, with rainfall
distributed fairly evenly throughout the year.
Compared with most population centres in Australia
it has colder winters, especially in terms of its
daytime maximum temperatures, and in summer the
average (and absolute) maximum temperatures are also
lower than in most inland centres, on account of its
elevation. The climate has enabled the area to be a
major apple and pear producer, and more recently a
centre for cool-weather wine production.
Orange is situated on the Mitchell Highway, linking
the city to Bathurst to the East, and through to
Molong, Wellington, Dubbo and Bourke to the north
west. Due west are Parkes (100 km/62 mi) and Forbes
(125 km/78 mi), which is midway along the Newell
Highway, running from Brisbane to Melbourne. In 2007
a bypass road, known as the northern distributor
road, was opened for use after decades of planning.
Orange is also serviced by a regional-class airport,
Orange Airport.
Orange has two railway stations. The main station,
on the Main Western Line to Bourke, was opened in
1877 and is served by the daily Countrylink XPT
service between Sydney and Dubbo and the weekly
Xplorer service between Sydney and Broken Hill. A
smaller station, opened in 1970, known as Orange
East Fork, lies on the branch line to Broken Hill
and is served by the twice-weekly Indian Pacific
service to Perth.
Orange is a sister city to:
Orange, California, United States, since 1963
Ushiku, Japan, since 1986
Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, since ca.1989
Timaru, New Zealand, since 1990
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