From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran
New South Wales
Town centre
Location of Coonabarabran in New South Wales (red)
History and description
Lewis Gordon first proposed a town plan survey for Coon-
abarabran in 1859 although the area had been opened
up by a Government-sponsored expedition in 1817. John
Oxley found Aboriginal people living here the following
year 1818 — later identified as the western language
reach of the Kamilaroi clans (Gamilaraay is the spelling
used by linguists). Kamilaroi people are still well repre-
sented in the region, having occupied Coonabarabran for
approximately 7,500 years.
The meaning of the word Coonabarabran is said to
probably derive from Kamilaroi language ’gunbaraaybaa’
Coonabarabran meaning ’shit’. A meaning recorded earlier, ’peculiar
odour’, is thought to be a bowdlerisation. Another mean-
Population: 2,609 [1]
ing has been said to be that it is the Aboriginal for ’Inquis-
Postcode:
Postcode: 2357
Elevation:
Elevation: 505 m (1,657 ft)
itive person’. ’Coolabarabran’ was the name of a station
Location: • 451 km (280 mi) NW of Sydney owned by James Weston in 1848.[3]
• 161 km (100 mi) NE of Dubbo Coonabarabran Post Office opened on 1 January
• 182 km (113 mi) W of Tamworth 1850.[4]
• 120 km (75 mi) SW of Narrabri The township is located on the Newell Highway and
LGA:
LGA: Warrumbungle Shire the Oxley Highway, approximately halfway between Mel-
District:
State District: Barwon bourne and Brisbane and can be reached in about six
Division:
Federal Division : Parkes hours by car from Sydney. There are numerous motels,
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall hotels, and caravan parks for travellers.
23.7 °C 7.4 °C 748.4 mm Coonabarabran is the gateway to the Warrumbungle
75 °F 45 °F 29.5 in National Park and the Pilliga Forest. A central feature of
the town is the Town Clock which is situated in the mid-
Coonabarabran /kuːnəˈbærəbrən/[2] is a town in War- dle of town at the intersection of John Street and Dalgar-
rumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales, Aus- no Street.
tralia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of Coonabarabran is the closest town to the 3.9-metre
2,609.[1] Anglo-Australian Telescope, the largest optical telescope
in Australia, situated on Siding Spring Mountain. A num-
ber of other telescopes are in use on the mountain with
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coonabarabran, New South Wales
a number of them operated by the Research School of
Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National
University. There are a total of 12 telescopes currently
on Siding Spring, with a thirteenth currently being built.
This is the Skymapper Survey Telescope of the ANU. Sid-
ing Spring is also home to the Uppsala Telescope where
Dr Rob McNaught discovered his now famous daylight
comet C2006 P1 McNaught in August 2006. A recent ad-
dition to the town was the construction of the World’s
Largest Virtual Solar System Drive on the roads leading
to the observatory.
There are aged care facilities in the town, providing
hostel, lodge and nursing home facilities. There are also
War memorial at Coonabarabran
village self-care units.
There are a number of doctors, a dentist and a hospi-
tal.
Coonabarabran is on a main inland truck route be-
tween Queensland and Victoria.
Media
Independently owned and operated, the Coonabarabran
Times newspaper circulates throughout the Warrumbun-
gle Shire area. Approximately 2700 copies are printed
each Thursday and distributed across the townships of
Coonabarabran, Binnaway, Baradine, Coolah, Dunedoo,
Mendooran and Mullaley. The Coonabarabran Times was
Castlereagh River
founded in 1927 as an amalgamation of The Bligh Watch-
man (1877–1927) and The Clarion (1910–1927). It contin-
ues to be a solid publication, consisting of local news and Coonabarabran Public School
issues facing the community, sport, advertisements and Coonabarabran Public School is a Government-funded
events. school, located on John Street, on the Oxley highway. It
The area is currently served by a small community ra- has approximately 350 students, and its educational facil-
dio station, 2WCR FM. This station broadcasts on 99.5 FM, ities range from Kindergarten to Year 6. Its Principal is
it has a good broadcasting range but it can be a bit Mr Noel Willoughby.
scratchy due to the hill-like terrain.
Coonabarabran High School
Coonabarabran High School is located on the Oxley high-
way, is also Government-funded, has approximately 400
students. It has a range of academic and sporting facili-
ties, an Ag-plot, two computer labs, a gym, and a hall. The
principal is Mr Kevin Sharp, and the deputy is Mr Graham
Enks.
St Lawrence’s Catholic School
St Lawrence’s Catholic School is located on Dalgarno
Street. It caters for Kindergarten to Year Ten and has
Old Coonabarabran Court House approximately 150 students. It is not Government-fund-
ed[citation needed], and education is based around a Catholic
lifestyle. It has an ag-plot, a computer lab, recently re-
Schools newed basketball courts and is across the road from St
The town of Coonabarabran is home to three schools: Lawrence’s Catholic Church. The high school part of the
school closed at the end of 2009.[5]
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Preceding station NSW Closed lines Following station
Yearinan Gwabegar Line Ulamambri
towards Gwabegar towards Wallerawang
Shops and Services LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL12
Retrieved 2007-06-28.
Being a small country town, Coonabarabran has limited [2] Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005).
shops. There are two major chain shopping centres, Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN
Woolworths and Foodworks (formerly Coles, Bi-lo, 1-876429-14-3
Tuckerbag, Payless and many others over the years), plus [3] "Geographical Names Register Extract for
the fast food stores Subway and Eagle Boys Pizza , it also Coonabarabran". Geographical Names Board of
has other small cafe restaurants. Until 2007 there was New South Wales. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/
an IGA store, run by the Woo family, that supplied most name_search/extract?id=JPckWyKmuj. Retrieved
of the town. There is a newsagency, local bakery, cater- 2008-08-26. The GNB quotes Place Names of NSW
ing service, three Chinese restaurants and several ho- their origins & Meanings by A.W. Reed and also
tels. It also has two variety clothing stores ADRA and a Appleton 1992 which presumably refers to the
St Vincent DePaul. Coonabarabran has many churches, Cambridge Dictionary of Australian Places, Richard &
the Parish of St Lawrences Catholic Church, the Anglican Barbara Appleton, 1992.
Church, Presbyterian Church, Uniting Church and the [4] Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier
Seventh Day Adventist Church. Postal Auctions. https://www.premierpostal.com/
cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/
See also Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&country=.
Retrieved 2011-05-26.
• Coonabarabran Airport [5] ABC Online. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/
2009/05/15/2571188.htm
References
[1] ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). External links
"Coonabarabran (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 • http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/index.html
Census QuickStats. • http://www.aao.gov.au/
http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ Coordinates: 31°15′S 149°16′E / 31.25°S 149.267°E / -31.25;
ABSNavigation/prenav/ 149.267
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coonabarabran,_New_South_Wales&oldid=460231950"
Categories:
• Towns in New South Wales
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