With the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century sheep farming, wheat growing and goldmining became major economic activities. Winemaking began in Murrumbateman in the 1970s with some of the surrounding rural properties being developed as grape growing areas or as boutique wineries. In recent years much of the land has been subdivided into small hobby farm blocks ranging from. Similar subdivisions have occurred in other regions around Canberra including Bungendore, Sutton, Gundaroo and Burra. Residents tend to commute to Canberra for work rather than make a living off the small parcels of land. Other nearby towns are Yass, Gunning and Dalton. Murrumbateman has a pub and a handful of retail outlets. The Murrumbateman Market is held fortnightly at the Recreation Ground. The market focus is on local produce and local arts and crafts but there is always a range of products from the wider Yass Valley and beyond including fruit and vegetables, breads, cakes, jams, olives, chillies, sauces, biodynamic beef and a range of wines from the local area plus woollen and alpaca products and handmade goods of all types.
Annual events
The Murrumbateman Pony Club hold an annual show jumping festival in June. The event is open for Pony Club Members.
The Murrumbateman Field Day is held in October each year and draws large crowds from Canberra and Yass
The Australian Cool Climate Wine Show is held annually in September
Facilities and services
The trees around the grounds are heritage listed and parking underneath them is not recommended. Murrumbateman has the following Sporting clubs:
The Fairley Estate, a new 100 home subdivision at Murrumbateman, will add 60 per cent more housing to Murrumbateman and trigger other infrastructure and commercial developments. Consisting of an adjoining 19 hectares, the new subdivision is named Fairley after a Murrumbateman teacher of the early 1900s. It will include a commercial and tourist precinct with an international hotel chain as a tenant, boutique brewery, bakery, childcare, visitors' centre and cafe and children's park, medical services and post office.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 3,219 people in Murrumbateman. 82.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.6%. 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 34.2%, Catholic 25.5% and Anglican 18.5%.
Notable people
Sir Walter Merriman – sheep breeder, knighted in 1954 for his contributions to the fine wool industry, and founder of the Merryville stud, Murrumbateman
