Bunyan is a locality in the Snowy Monaro Region,

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. It lies on the eastern side of the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

and on both sides of the

Monaro Highway Monaro Highway is a highway in Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia, linking in Victoria to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) via the Monaro region. From its southern terminus, it foll ...

about 110 km south of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and about 10 km north of

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

. At the , it had a population of 152. The area now known as Bunyan lies on the traditional lands of the

Ngarigo The Ngarigo People (also spelt Garego, Ngarego, Ngarago, Ngaragu, Ngarigu, Ngarrugu or Ngarroogoo) are Aboriginal Australian people of southeast New South Wales, whose traditional lands also extend around the present border with Victoria. Langu ...

people. The name is said to be from an Aboriginal language word, ''Boonyan'', meaning "Place where pigeons stay". Lying on the direct route from Queanbeyan to the Monaro hinterland and with flats suited to grazing, it was a suitable site for colonial settlement. The first settler there was Dr Reid, in the early 1830s, and the area was known as Reid's Flats until 1858. There was an inn there from around 1832. The area was also known locally as 'Jews' Flats'. From the 1830s until at least the mid-1850s, there were businesses there run by Jewish families named Solomon, Moses and Shannon. The last hotel there, 'the Squatters' Arms' was last run by John Cullen, after which it became a private residence. The settlement became known as Bunyan in 1858. Lying close to Cooma, Bunyan was eclipsed by the growing town, and it is now a very small settlement consisting of a few old buildings and some ruins. The area is predominantly rural. Bunyan had a school from 1895 to 1901 and from 1910 to 1936. Bunyan railway station opened with the extension of the

Bombala railway line The Bombala railway line is a branch railway line in the south of New South Wales, Australia. The northern part of it forms part of the main line from Sydney to Canberra, but the southern part is closed. It branches off the Main South line at Jo ...

on 31 May 1889 and was closed on 8 February 1976. The

Cooma Monaro Railway The Cooma Monaro Railway is a heritage railway museum that is actively restoring the Cooma Railway Precinct while working on the restoration of tourist trains along the section of track on the Bombala railway line, Bombala line between Cooma and ...

operated rail motors on the line from Chakola to Cooma from 1998 to 2014, but this operation is currently suspended due to the condition of the track.

References

Snowy Monaro Regional Council Localities in New South Wales Bombala railway line {{SouthernTablelands-geo-stub