Baan Baa, pronounced "barn-bar", is a village located in northern inland

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Narrabri Shire Narrabri Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Namoi River and the Newell and Kamilaroi Highways. It was formed on 1 January 1981 from the amalgamat ...

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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

and

Pottinger County Pottinger County is one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It is located to the south west of the Namoi River and Mooki River, near Gunnedah. Pottinger County was named in honour of the first Governor of Hong Kong Sir Henry Pott ...

. It is approximately 38 kilometres south-east of Narrabri and 58 km north-west of Gunnedah on the

Kamilaroi Highway Kamilaroi Highway is a state highway located in the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia, and links via and to . The highway is named after the Kamilaroi Indigenous Australian people who live in the area. Route The highway be ...

. In the , Baan Baa had a population of 211.

History

Baan Baa is named after a local property of the same name, and is aboriginal for "swim away". The railway line between Boggabri and Narrabri South Junction (which included the future township of Baan Baa) was opened on 1 October 1882. The railway station at Baan Baa opened in 1883. The Baan Baa Post Office opened on 9 February 1885 and closed on 19 March 1988. The Baan Baa Literary Institute building which constructed of local cypress pine timber, was erected in 1923, and is now the local community hall. Baan Baa was once a bustling railway village, which once had its own bakery, butchery and service station. The village now serves primarily a

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

rail terminal. Baan Baa once had the longest railway platform in country New South Wales.Narrabri Shire - Big Sky Country, Narrabri Shire Tourism, 2006.

Industry

It is a central delivery point for

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

grown in the surrounding districts including Harparary, Maules Creek, and Turrawan. Beef

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and prime lamb raising together with

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

growing are other important agricultural products of the district.

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mining is becoming a major industry in the Baan Baa area, with gas exploration also expanding in the nearby Pilliga Scrub.

Recreation

The town has a strong tradition of sport, fielding a strong combined team with Maules Creek in the

Boggabri Boggabri ( ) is a small town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Narrabri Shire and lies between Gunnedah and Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. At the , the town had a population of 856 people. The original town site w ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Competition and also

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

competitions. A focal point of the community is the Railway Hotel, particularly during the harvest period in November and December each year. Church services are regularly conducted in the local church.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Narrabri Shire