Denman, on the rim of the Upper Hunter Valley, is a small, quiet and picturesque country town situated 276 km north-west of Sydney, 24 km south-west of Muswellbrook and 107 m above sea-level.
Surveyor Henry Dangar camped alongside the Hunter, north-east of the present townsite during his investigations of the upper Hunter in 1824. The following year William Ogilvie and naval surgeon Peter Cunningham travelled to Australia together. They investigated the Hunter Valley and chose land at the confluence of the Hunter and Goulburn Rivers. Ogilvie named his grant ‘Merton’ after the village in Surrey from which the family originated and Cunningham called his property ‘Dalswinton’ after his family’s English estate.
Cunningham, who wrote Two Years in New South Wales about his experiences, soon returned to England leaving Ogilvie to manage both properties. Merton became the centre of a designated police district (called Merton) and Ogilvie was appointed a magistrate.
A private village named Merton emerged on his property. It was isolated but largely self-sufficient. Aside from cattle and sheep, dairying and viticulture were practiced. In 1841 the population was recorded at 137.
The Wanaruah Aboriginal people were in the area until the 1860s, although it is known that the Kamilaroi were also present in this region. The Wanaruah favoured goannas as a food source, covering larger animals in hot ashes and stuffing them with grass. They also adopted burning off practices as the new shoots which emerged after fire attracted kangaroos which they surrounded and killed with clubs and spears (du-rane) barbed with sharp stones.
The Ogilvie family were reputedly on good terms with the local tribe and when 200 of their number besieged the village demanding the release of two tribesmen falsely accused of murdering a white man it is said that Mary Ogilvie saved the family by going out to talk with the tribal leader.
The present townsite developed on government surveyed land on the riverbank opposite Merton. Denman, named in honour of Lord Denman, was gazetted in 1853. The new township became a cattle-buying centre in the 1860s as it was located on the major stock route from the Upper Goulburn. The railway did not arrive from Muswellbrook until 1915. Much of the town was destroyed by fire in 1928 but was rebuilt.
The population of Denman (currently 1600) has increased in recent years due to the possibilities presented by open-cut coalmining in the area, the presence of Bayswater Power Station and the proximity of Muswellbrook and Singleton, both expanding centres. What was once an area known for its horse and cattle studs has seen a veritable explosion of vineyards opening in the area of late. The cement factory, once important to the local economy, has now closed down but the town continues to function as a service centre to the dairy farms, vineyards, horse studs and beef cattle studs in the district.
