Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in

Cabonne Shire Cabonne Council is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mitchell Highway and the Broken Hill railway line, partly surrounding the City of Orange. The administrati ...

History

The name Molong comes from the

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

word for 'all rocks'. William Lee of Kelso is said to have had cattle in the area by 1819. He later held property just north of present Molong, around Larras Lee. In 1826, a military and police outpost was established at Molong, on Governor Darling's orders, as a step in opening up the government stock reserve west of the Macquarie River for settlement. For its first twenty years the settlement was at a site approximately east of the current location. The present village of Molong was officially gazetted in March 1849. In 1845, Copper was discovered at Copper Hill, just north of the town. The Historical Museum is housed in a former hotel (1856), built by rubble-mason James Mortal, who sold it in 1861 to

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

of Gamboola. Smith let the building to a series of publicans and it later became the residence and surgery for a series of doctors. The Historical Society acquired it for use as a museum, in 1969, with help from the Molong Shire Council.

Heritage listings

Molong has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Main Western railway:

Molong railway station Molong railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station and now library on the Main Western railway line at Molong, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on ...

* SE of Molong Yuranigh Road:

Grave of Yuranigh Grave of Yuranigh is the heritage-listed grave of Yuranigh, a 19th-century Wiradjuri man. It is located 3 km south-east of Molong, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia and dates from 1852. It is also known as Yuranigh's grave. It was ...

Geography

Molong is located on the Mitchell Highway about west of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and about from the city of Orange, and an elevation of 529 metres above sea level. 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 ...

, Molong had a population of 1,674 people. Charles Sturt visited Molong in 1828. Molong was the site of an early copper mine in Australia, located at Copper Hill just outside Molong. The railway from Sydney reached Molong in 1886; it was later extended to Parkes. A branch railway to

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and G ...

was opened in 1925 and closed in 1987.

Climate

Despite Molong's elevation, it still manages to have a humid subtropical climate, bordering on an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

( Köppen: ''Cfa/Cfb,'' Trewartha: ''Cfbk/Cfak''), with warm to hot summers and cool winters.

Education

*Molong Central School *St Joseph's Catholic Schools

References

External links

Molong
on the Orange Town & Around website {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Cabonne Council Mining towns in New South Wales