manganese, silver and high quality slate was also mined in the district. On 5 April 1878 Walcha was proclaimed a town, when it was gazetted, the boundaries defined and a courthouse was built. A rail link to Sydney and Uralla opened at Walcha Road in 1882. The town became a municipality in 1889. On 19 March 1890 the Walcha Pastoral & Agricultural Association was formed. This annual show has excellent exhibits of livestock, produce, vegetables, flowers, wool and handicrafts. Walcha Cottage Hospital founded in 1890 and was situated on the southern hill in South Street. The Shire of Apsley was constituted by proclamation on 7 March 1906. It is in the counties of Vernon, Hawes, and Inglis and comprises about 60 parishes. The area is . The Shire of Walcha was constituted by the Union of the Municipality and the Shire of Apsley as from on 1 June 1955. Other district villages are: Niangala, Nowendoc and part of Woolbrook with settlements at Brackendale, Glen Morrison, Ingalba, Tia and Yarrowitch. History was made at Walcha in 1950 when a Tiger Moth was the first aircraft used to spread superphosphate by air in Australia. The "super" was dropped on Mirani and other landholders soon followed suit to greatly increase the livestock carrying capacity of the district. In 1992 the Walcha Telecottage was established to become the first telecentre established in Australia. The Telecottage is a not for profit community with the latest information communication facilities, in order to activate interactions between the local communities and to create employment opportunities. This Telecottage carries out not only the fundamental types of work such as job training, remote education, secretarial service and data analysis, but also Internet access service for individuals and small companies. Walcha Telecottage produces a weekly community newsletter, the Apsley Advocate, which is free and delivered to over 1,600 commercial and private addresses. Heritage listings Walcha has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Ohio Homestead South Street: St Andrew's Anglican Church Thee Street: St Andrew's Rectory Main Northern railway: Walcha Road railway station During 2008 Walcha recorded one of the state's highest rises in property values at 20 per cent over the last 5 years, according to a report from Australian Property Monitors. The local buildings and objects of natural, indigenous and historic significance listed on the Register of the National Estate includes the following: Apsley Gorge National Park (1977 boundary), Oxley