Collarenebri ( ) is a town in north western

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The town is in the

Walgett Shire Walgett Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Orana, New South Wales, Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Qu ...

Local Government Area and is situated on the Barwon River approximately northeast of

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2021, Walgett had a population of 1,377. In the ...

and south west of

Mungindi Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne (the western part) ...

on the Gwydir Highway. It is from Pokataroo which was the nearest

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated, or was expanded, as a result of a railway line being constructed there. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, ...

prior to closure of the rail service there. The town is above sea level. Collarenebri is one of three towns ending in 'BRI' in Northern New South Wales. In the 2021 census, Collarenebri had a population of 638. ''Collarenebri'' is an indigenous word of the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

''galariinbaraay'', meaning 'place of flowers' or 'eucalyptus blossoms'. Collarenebri is well known for its flowers

History

Yuwaalaraay (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 The Shire of Balonne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in South West Queensland, Australia, over from the state capital, Brisbane. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1879. It is hea ...

, including the town of Dirranbandi as well as the border town of Hebel extending to

and Collarenebri in

.'''' Originally spelt "Collarindabri", Collarenebri is located near a shallow rocky ford on the Barwon River, which provided a hard bottomed shallow river crossing for stock and pioneering travellers. The Gamilaroi Nation of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

resided in this region prior to white settlement. In 1860 William Earl settled near the Collarenebri crossing and established "The Squatters Arms" to capitalise on the increasing traffic through the area. Earl and his pub later became famous for having been held up by bushranger

Captain Thunderbolt Frederick Wordsworth Ward (c. 1835 – 25 May 1870), better known by the Style (manner of address)#Self-styled, self-styled pseudonym of Captain Thunderbolt, was an Australian bushranger renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island, New South Wal ...

. Earl is credited with having established present day Collarenebri, with a prominent street and aged housing carrying his name. A number of his descendants still reside in the town. By the end of 1865, Collarenebri is described as having "two stores, a public house, with another nearly finished: the timber is also lying at Collarenebri for a Government punt; several small houses and a population of about 50 people stationary." The town of Collarenebri was later gazetted on 12 July 1867. By 1890 Collarenebri had become a growing town with a hospital, police station, school and a number of businesses. The cemetery at Collarenebri dates back to 1906. Collarenebri has long been recorded as a significant site for Aboriginal people living in the area. There are many artifacts and significant sites along the Barwon River. On Collymongle Station there are some very old aboriginal carved trees. There is a well maintained Aboriginal cemetery just outside the town which is unique to the area, with graves covered in crushed and melted glass and decorated with items that represent that person. Collarenebri continues to be a significant community for Aboriginal people. Many of the buildings in Collarenebri today date back to . Collarenebri was among the last places in Australia to be converted from a manual switchboard to an automatic

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

exchange (in 1986). Volunteers run Collarenebri's live, local radio station YAAMA-FM 95.9 specialising in indigenous programming. Industries in the area include

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

farming, sheep and beef

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

breeding. Other activities include fossicking for gemstones such as

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...

agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...

and

petrified wood Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...

. The Barwon River area is regarded as one of the best inland fishing locations in Australia.

Sport

Collarenebri has a rugby league team, the Collarenebri Bulldogs, who compete in the Barwon Darling Rugby League competition.

Heritage listings

Collarenebri has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Gundabloui Road: Collarenebri Aboriginal Cemetery

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 650 people in Collarenebri. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 42.1% of the population. * 90.4% of people were born in Australia and 89.9% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 31.1%, No Religion 26.3% and Catholic 17.3%.

References

External links