Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains 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. It lies on the
Castlereagh Highway
Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The highway's northern terminus is at a junction with Carnarvon Highway, south of , Queensland. Its southern terminus is at a junction with Great West ...
north-west of
Gilgandra
Gilgandra is a country town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia, and services the surrounding agricultural area where wheat is grown extensively together with other cereal crops, and sheep and beef cattle are raised. Sitting at ...
. At the
2016 census, 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).
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
The Castlereagh League (also known as the Castlereagh Cup) is a rugby league competition in western New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. For all intents and purposes the competition is effectively the ...
Rugby League competition. The Coonamble Rams play in the Western Plains Rugby Union competition.
Climate
Coonamble has a hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(''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.
Hist ...
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
Alexander Shaun Cullen is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and a former member of Ottawa City Council, representing the Bay Ward in Ottawa's west end. ...
, journalist
* Ned Hanigan
Ned Hanigan (born 11 April 1995) is an Australian professional rugby union player who currently plays for the in the Super Rugby competition and the Australian Wallabies. His preferred positions are blindside flanker or lock.
Early life and ...
, 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 r ...
, rugby league player
* Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
, rugby league player, notable Aboriginal death in custody
* Mary Quirk
Mary Lily May Quirk (7 December 1880 – 4 March 1952) was an Australian politician.
Born in Coonamble in New South Wales to farmer Julius Deal and his wife Emma Margaretta White, she was educated at Rozelle before commencing work as a dom ...
, 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 Cronu ...
, rugby league player
* Thomas Tyrrell
Sir Thomas Tyrrell (23 June 1594 – 8 March 1672) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660. He fought on the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War.
Tyrrill was the son of Sir Edward Tyrre ...
, trade unionist and politicianAdriano 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
See also
* Coonamble railway
* Coonamble airport
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)