Burrinjuck is a village community in the far eastern part of the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

, in the

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

of New South Wales. By road it is about southwest of Woolgarlo and south from Bookham. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'mountain with a rugged top'. At the , the Burrinjuck area had a population of 19. The village is on the western side of

Burrinjuck Dam Burrinjuck Dam is a gated, concrete-walled hydro-electric gravity dam at Burrinjuck, in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River and forms an impounded reservoir called La ...

which holds water from the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

and which was constructed between 1907 and 1928 (with

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

interfering with the timing of the construction). During the construction of the dam and in the time during which it filled, there was a settlement known as 'Barren Jack City' facing the river at the base of the Burrinjuck mountain. Much of its site was later submerged as the dam water rose. Burrinjuck includes part of one of the proposed sites for Australia's national capital, which was known as Mahkoolma. The capital was to be located in the upper reaches of nearby Carrolls Creek, Barren Jack Post Office opened on 23 May 1907, was renamed Burrinjuck in 1911, and closed in 1979.

Heritage listings

Burrinjuck has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *

Barren Jack Creek Water Supply Dam Barren Jack Creek Water Supply Dam is a heritage-listed dam at Burrinjuck, in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1908 by the New South Wales Department of Public Works. The property is owned by Depar ...

Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site is a heritage-listed dam surrounds at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Burrinjuck Dam Site and Barren Jack or Barrenjack. The property is owned by Department of Plannin ...

Climate

Located on the exposed western slopes 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 C ...

, rainfall peaks distinctly in winter. While snow is a rare occurrence at the bottom of the valley, it does occur annually on the surrounding ranges and hilly country above 700 metres (such as at

Wee Jasper Wee Jasper is a locality and former village in the Yass Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, about 90 km north-west of Canberra and 60 km south-west of Yass. It is in the Goodradigbee valley at the western foot of the Brindabe ...

); nearby Black Andrew Mountain (935 metres) and Mount Barren Jack (972 metres) overlooking the lake, can be periodically snow-capped during the winter months.

References

{{authority control Yass Valley Council Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands