Junee () is a medium-sized 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. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in particular correctional services. In 2021 Junee's urban population was .

Place name

One theory is that word ''Junee'' which originates from the Aboriginal word 'Junee' means "speak to me". Another theory is that it is an Aboriginal word "Choo-nee" meaning "frog".

History

The

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

people are the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the local area prior to European settlement. Leopold de Salis (1816–1898), pastoralist and later politician was one of the first squatters to open up the Riverina region to grazing. He established the 'Junee' pastoral run in 1845. Leopold held the licence for this run for a total of three years. Other run licencees followed until Thomas Hammond and Richard Gwynne bought the licence in 1857. The Junee run progressively reduced in area as selectors took up land but Hammond lived on it until his death in 1899, the remaining property having been named "Wyoming" in 1887. A post office opened in 1862 and a village called 'Junee' was gazetted in 1863 on the wool road to Sydney. That same year, Ben Hall and his bushranging gang raided the village. CountryLink XPT 2018 at Junee 01

In 1866 Junee's population was recorded as twelve but the discovery of reef and alluvial gold during the 1860s triggered a gold rush. The main sites- Junee Reefs (to the north), was mined on and off until after

World War 1 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 ...

, as well as Wantiool and Eurongilly (to the east) until the 1880s. By 1878 with the southward expansion of the

Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...

in New South Wales, the main railway line between Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

passed 8 kilometres east of the village. Junee's Post Office was renamed Old Junee in 1885 (

Junee railway station Junee railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Southern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Junee in the Junee Shire. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 Apri ...

). Loftus was the original name of the locality being farm land and as the settlers moved in for the rail line it was renamed. Junee Railway Station Post Office opened on 6 July 1878, was renamed Junee Junction in 1881 and later still, Junee in 1893.

Rail and road

The Main South line between Sydney and Melbourne runs through Junee, as does the

Olympic Highway Olympic Highway is a rural road in the Central West, New South Wales, central western and Riverina, south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. It services rural communities, links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway, and ...

, named for the route of the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Torch Relay. The advent of rail transport in 1878 provided the impetus for an economic boom providing local agricultural producers with affordable direct access to markets in Sydney. In 1952 the largest wheat terminal in the Southern Hemisphere was constructed at Junee, adjacent to the South West Railway, providing both rail and road transport. Rail transport makes an important contribution to the local economy with

Regional Rail Logistics Regional Rail Logistics was a rail freight operator based in New South Wales, Australia. They operated containerised freight services three days a week between the Riverina towns of Junee and Cootamundra to Port Botany in Sydney, using rolling s ...

operating a containerised freight service that delivers various goods from Junee to Sydney, with interstate freight trains also passing through the town.

Local Government

On 1 January 1981, Junee Municipal Council amalgamated with the surrounding "Illabo Shire Council', creating Junee Shire Council.

Climate

Junee has as a rather dry

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa''), lying about above

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

classification. It features hot and dry summers and cool, moderately cloudy winters. The highest temperature recorded at Junee was on 31 January 1968; the lowest recorded was on 1 July 1971 and 6 August 1974. The average annual rainfall is spread across 88 days (with the majority in winter). It can snow on rare occasions, with the last snowfall in August 2019.

Heritage listings

Junee Post Office on Lorne Street in Junee

Junee has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 119 Lorne Street: Junee Post Office * Main Southern railway:

* The Broadway: Athenium Theatre

Other attractions

*Statue of rugby league commentator

Ray Warren Raymond Warren (born 11 June 1943) is an Australian retired sports commentator, known for his coverage of televised professional rugby league matches on the Nine Network. He is known as the "Voice of Rugby League", and called 99 State of Ori ...

at Dobbyn Park, erected 6 August 2011 *

Monte Cristo Homestead Monte Cristo Homestead is a historic homestead located in the town of Junee, New South Wales, Australia. Constructed by local pioneer Christopher William Crawley in 1885, it is a double-storey late- Victorian-style manor standing on a hill ov ...

, for many years owned by the Ryan family, who did much restoration work. * Junee Licorice Factory and restaurant, confectionery manufacturer and tourism drawcard.

Demographics

According to the , there were people in Junee. *

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 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 British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, w ...

made up 9.4% of the population. * 81.5% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(excluding Special Administrative Regions (SARs) and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) 1.9%,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

1.3%,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

1.0%,

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

0.8%, and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

0.8%. 70.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages spoken at home included

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

2.1%, Fijian 0.7%, Malay 0.6%, Chinese, not further defined 0.3%, and

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

0.2%. * 25.2% of respondents in this area identified a religious connection with

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, followed by No Religion at 23.8%,

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

at 17.4%, and Prebysterian and Reformed 2.6%; a further 22.3% of respondents for this area elected not to disclose their religious status.

Sport

The most popular sport in Junee is

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

. The town's team, the Junee Diesels, compete in the

Group 9 Rugby League Group 9 is a rugby league competition based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, and surrounding areas. The competition is played in six grades, with these being Under 16s, Under 18s, Women's Tackle, Women's League tag, League-Tag, Reser ...

competition, in which they have won two premierships. The club is notable for having produced

and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

captain

Laurie Daley Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a and in the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. ...

. The town had now defunct Australian rules and rugby union teams, known as the Bulldogs and Rams.

Notable people

footballer and

and

captain * Bernie Fraser, former governor of the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

Bill Heffernan William Daniel Heffernan (born 3 March 1943), is an Australian former politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Senate representing the state of New South Wales from September 1996 to May 2016. Early life and background Heffernan was bo ...

, former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for New South Wales, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

* Lawrence Legend, motorcycle stuntman *

, sports commentator * James Harrison, blood donor

Communications

Junee is served by: * Junee Independent newspaper * Radio 1RPH transmitter (99.5FM)

Gallery

File:Ray Warren.jpg, Ray Warren statue File:Junee Roundhouse Museum.jpg, Roundhouse File:Junee Liquorice Factory.JPG, Licorice Factory File:Monte Cristo Homestead.jpg, Monte Cristo

References

External links

Junee Shire Council

Junee -VisitNSW.com
{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Junee Shire Junee, New South Wales