The Brindabella Valley is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

situated below the western ridge-line of the

Brindabella Range The Brindabella Range, commonly called The Brindabellas or The Brindies, is a mountain range located in Australia, on a state and territory border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The range rises to the west of ...

, located midway along the Goodradigbee River, in the south of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia.

Location and features

The valley is framed by the Brindabella Range and the Fiery Mountain Range, most notably by Mount Bramina and Bulls Head in the north and Black Bottle Mountain and Mount Franklin in the south. The valley is largely gentle, undulating farmland rising from

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

in the north to above sea level in the south. Most of the native vegetation in the valley has been removed in favour of pasture, fruit trees and other exotic species, however the surrounding mountains are largely

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

s, populated entirely with native flora. The traditional custodians of the area now known as the Brindabella Valley are the

Ngunawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyun ...

, Walgalu and Djimantan

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. The valley was first settled by Europeans as a stock outstation for the '' Yarralumla'' station in the 1830s, with the first land grant made in 1849. Gold was found in 1860 and mined from the 1880s. In 1887 the Brindabella Gold Mining Company was formed and mining continued until 1910. The valley is now an agricultural area and consists of a number of small cattle farms including the heritage-listed

Brindabella Station Brindabella Station, sometimes referred to as the Brindabella Homestead, is located within the Brindabella Ranges in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was the childhood home of the Australian author Miles Franklin. Brindabella was first ...

, the childhood home of

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel '' My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While ...

, an early 20th-century Australian author. Access to the Brindabella Valley is via dirt roads from Canberra or

Tumut Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgal ...

. A private road runs through Long Plain toward Rules Point and , and access is rarely permitted. All roads are subject to frequent closures during heavy snow in winter. The Goodbradigbee River is a popular trout fishing location for Canberra anglers and camp sites were once provided on the east bank of the river within the valley, but since 2017 this area has been rezoned as a travelling stock route and camping is now no longer permitted anywhere in the valley. Much of the river is difficult to reach without crossing private property and anglers should be aware that certain landowners are unlikely to grant access. In 1968 the

National Capital Development Commission The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of ...

considered daming the Brindabella Valley for the purpose of sending water from the Goodbradigbee River into the

Cotter River The Cotter River, a perennial river of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The Cotter River, together with the Queanbeyan River, is one of two rivers that pr ...

via a tunnel. The plan was abandoned. A notable feature of the valley are the transmission lines running from the

Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

to Canberra.

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://theaustralianalps.wordpress.com/the-alps-partnership/the-parks/brindabella-national-park/ , title=Brindabella National Park , work=Australian Alps National Parks , publisher=Australian Government , date=2013 Brindabella Ranges

Location and features

See also

References

External links