Ganmain is a town in 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 ...

region of

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Ganmain is located around north west of

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

, and east of

Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

. Ganmain is in the

Coolamon Shire Coolamon Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Shire comprises and is located adjacent to the Newell Highway and the Burley Griffin Way. The Shire includes the towns of Coolam ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

and at the 2021 census had a population of 793.

History

The town name is said to be an Aboriginal word meaning "Crown scenes on the Moon for tribal reasons" or "native decorated with scars". Ganmain takes its name from Ganmain Run, a cattle station established in 1838, by settler James Devlin. Boggy Creek Post Office opened on 10 December 1888, was renamed Derry in 1894 and Ganmain later the same year. In 1973, the Ganmain Historical Society was opened by six local families.

Today

Ganmain is the self-proclaimed "Sheaf Hay centre of Australia"Sheaf Hay Centre
Ganmain and has produced

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

for many leading racehorse trainers in Australia. The Big Haystack in Pioneer Park reflects this background. The town has two primary schools, Ganmain Public School and St. Brendan's Catholic Primary School.

Sport

The most popular sport in Ganmain is

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

, as it lies on the Canola Way, a geographical pocket stretching from Grong Grong and Marrar, in which Australian football retains a strong following, despite

being a largely rugby league supporting state. The local team, Ganmain-

Grong Grong Grong Grong is a small town that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on the Newell Highway, east of Narrandera in the Narrandera Shire, Shire of Narrandera. The name ''Grong Grong'' is an Indi ...

- Matong, plays in the

Riverina Football Netball League The Riverina Football Netball League (RFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footba ...

Notable people from Ganmain

Russell Campbell Russell Campbell (born 11 June 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia op ...

– Australian rules footballer *

Francis Carroll Francis Patrick Carroll (9 September 1930 – 14 March 2024) was an Australian archbishop, the fifth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn, serving between 1983 until his retirement in 2006. Prior to his election as archbishop, Ca ...

– Former Catholic

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn The Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the Australian Capital Territory, and the South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Monaro (New South Wales), Mon ...

. *

Dennis Carroll Dennis Carroll (born 7 November 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the last South Melbourne player to retire for Sydney. Career From Ganmain, a small ...

– Australian rules footballer *

Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of the same title ...

– Australian rules footballer *

Laurie Carroll Lawrence Patrick 'Dooley' Carroll (25 March 1926 – 10 August 2015) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Originally from Ganmain, his brother Tom Carroll played for Carlton and ...

– Australian rules footballer * Tom Carroll – Australian rules footballer * Wayne Carroll – Australian rules footballer * Frank Gumbleton – Australian rules footballer

External links

Travelmate
– Ganmain. Tourist information site.

– Official website. Ganmain page.

References

{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Coolamon Shire