Bigga is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...

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 ...

, in

Upper Lachlan Shire Upper Lachlan Shire is a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in February 2004 from Crookwell Shire and parts of Mulwaree, Gunning and Yass Shires. The mayor of Upper Lachl ...

. It is in the Parish of Bigga, County of Georgiana. The name Bigga is thought to originate as a shortened version of the Biggs Grant. Bigga is on the western side of the Abercrombie Mountains. It is 91 km northwest of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

and 52 km southeast of

Cowra Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

. Nearby towns are:

Abercrombie River Abercrombie River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. Course The river rises to the east of the village of Mount Werong and generally flows westward tow ...

, Binda, Greenmantle, Grabine, Reids Flat, and Tuena. Nearby places are: Blanket Flat and Crooked Corner. These places were once towns. Bigga is noted for producing some of the world's finest superfine

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

. The earliest explorer into the Bigga area was James Meehan who passed through in April 1820, travelling from Mount McDonald to Bathurst, via what was then called the Fish River, but today is known as the

Lachlan River The Lachlan River is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The Lachlan River ...

. The first official land sale in the region was of at ''Sandy Creek'' to Samuel A. Blackman in 1835. ''Sandy Creek'' was one of the first fine wool farms in the district. During the 1850s there was a land boom and numerous families added to the three original families of the area: the McGuinesses, Blackmans and the Hearnes. On Christmas day 1861 bushranger John Peisley shot local innkeeper William Benyon who would die from his wounds seven days later. Peisley was arrested four weeks later and hanged at Bathurst in April 1862. Peisley was a founding member of

Frank Gardiner Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1882) was an Australian bushranger who gained infamy for his lead role in the a robbery of a gold escort at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. It is considered the largest gold heist in Australian history. Gard ...

's gang. After this the area again did not attract new settlers until the 1880s. Bigga village was proclaimed in 1892. In May 1896 a ''Bigga and Blanket Flat'' progress association was formed.

Population

At the , Bigga and the surrounding area had a population of 245, while at the 2021 census, the population had increased to 268.

External links

Bigga Public School

References

{{authority control Upper Lachlan Shire Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands