Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and sheep and wool. The name for the town is taken from the Gamilaraay word ''guna'' (faeces) and ''-bil'' (having much). Brigidine nuns from Ireland established a school in 1883. Their architecturally distinguished convent was dismantled in 1990 and transported to Pokolbin, where it now houses The Convent resort. Although Coonamble had been a major sheep industry region in the 1980s to 2000, there has recently been an increasing interest in cattle rearing. The summers can have temperatures reaching up to and in winter, there are nights as cold as . Most recently Coonamble has gained media coverage due to their mass floods over Christmas 2009.

Bushrangers

Johnny Dunn Johnny Dunn (February 19, 1897 – August 20, 1937) was an American traditional jazz trumpeter and vaudeville performer, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is probably best known for his work during the 1920s with musicians such as ...

the bushranger and last of the Ben Hall gang was captured near Coonamble after a gunbattle with police at Christmas 1865.

Population

* In the 2016 Census, there were 2,750 people in Coonamble. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 34.2% of the population. * 80.0% of people were born in Australia and 83.0% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 34.3% and Catholic 28.9%.

Schools and Churches

Coonamble has three schools
Coonamble Public School
St Brigids Catholic School an
Coonamble High School
It has
Catholic
and a

church.

Rodeo

Coonamble hosts an annual rodeo that is attended by around 1,000 competitors and 4,000 spectators.

Radio station

Coonamble has its own local radio station, 2MTM 91.9FM, which has a wide variety of music from country to modern. Outback Radio 2WEB broadcasts to the area on 91.1FM.

Sports

The Coonamble Bears play in the Castlereagh Cup Rugby League competition. The Coonamble Rams play in the Western Plains Rugby Union competition.

Climate

Coonamble has a hot semi-arid climate (''BSh'') with long hot summers and short cool winters, with mild, albeit erratic, rainfall spread through the months.

Heritage listings

Coonamble has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Dubbo–Coonamble railway:

Coonamble railway station Coonamble railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Coonamble railway line at Coonamble, Coonamble Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. Histo ...

Notable people

Ron Boden Ronald James Boden (16 October 1936 – 24 August 2015) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for Parramatta as a centre and also played for Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Early life ...

, rugby league player * Alex Cullen, journalist * Ned Hanigan, rugby player *

Lancelot Hansen Lancelot Hansen (1885–1928) was an Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a ...

, rugby league player * Eddie Murray, rugby league player, notable Aboriginal death in custody * Mary Quirk, politician *

Jesse Ramien Jesse Ramien (born 27 April 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has previously played for the Newcastle Knights as well as a previous spell at the Cronul ...

, rugby league player * Thomas Tyrrell, trade unionist and politician *

Adriano Zumbo Adriano Zumbo (born 6 November 1981) is an Australian pâtissier and television presenter. He opened his first patisserie in 2007 before rising to prominence as a frequent guest on ''MasterChef Australia.'' Zumbo is the titular host of the Austra ...

, pâtissier and chef

References

External links

Coonamble Shire Council

Coonamble on the Castlereagh

(February 8, 2004)

(15 March 2003)
Aussie Towns Coonamble NSW
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales)