Angledool is a locality in upper western New South Wales near the southern border of
Queensland, one kilometre east of the
Castlereagh Highway and approximately 45 kilometres north of
Lightning Ridge. At the , Angledool had a population of 58 people.
History
Yuwaalaraay
The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales.
Name and language
The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...
(also known as ''Yuwalyai, Euahlayi, Yuwaaliyaay, Gamilaraay, Kamilaroi, Yuwaaliyaayi'') is an
Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
spoken on Yuwaalaraay country. The Yuwaalaraay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Shire of Balonne, including the town of
Dirranbandi as well as the border town of
Hebel extending to
Walgett and
Collarenebri in
New South Wales.'
Angledool was previously known as New Angledool when it was established in the 1870s.
In 1873 Robert Moore, the manager of the pastoral property, Muggarie Station, later known as Angledool Station, discovered
opals. Charlie Dunstan in 1908 found two large opals the "Fire Queen" and "Queen of the Earth", at the Angledool diggings.
The nearby
Narran River
Narran River, a watercourse of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Southern Downs district of Queensland and Orana district of New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises south west of Dirranbandi, as a ...
has led to flooding of the Angledool area in 1890, 1956, 1990, 1996 and again in March 2010. The 1956 flood was the biggest one that has been recorded. In March 2010 the Narran River at Angledool flooded the nearby, Angledool Lake, which covers an area of around 1,100 hectares when full.
The lake then spilled into Weetalabah Creek that crosses the
Castlereagh Highway, thus filling the Coocoran Lake, near Lightning Ridge.
Prior to
World War II Angledool had a bakery, several hotels, a post office, court house and a general store. The village now has an old cemetery, a church, a few houses and several buildings that are over 120 years old. The town hall made from locally made mud bricks is a classic example of early local architecture.
References
External links
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Brewarrina Shire
Walgett Shire