Coleambally () is a small town in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

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, in Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. Coleambally is one of the newest towns in the state of

, officially opened in June 1968, with the Post Office opening on 1 April 1970. Designed to act as the centre for the surrounding Coleambally Irrigation Area, at the 2016 census, Coleambally had a population of 1331. Its name is Aboriginal, probably meaning a

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

in flight. The spine-tailed swift is one of the most powerful fliers known, wheeling and sweeping at high speed in search of flying insects. Coleambally can be accessed by road from Sydney and Canberra via the Hume Highway and

Burley Griffin Way Burley Griffin Way is a New South Wales state route, is located in south eastern Australia. Named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin, designer of the cities of Canberra and Griffith, the road links these two cities via Yass a ...

and from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

via the Hume Highway,

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At in length, the Newell is th ...

and the

Kidman Way Kidman Way is a state rural road in the western Riverina and western region of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and outback communities and links the Newell Highway with the Sturt, Mid-Wes ...

. Coleambally is home to some of the most endangered species in Australia, the Bittern, Southern Bell Frog and it has many other species of native flora and fauna. Coleambally has many kangaroos and birds, Galahs and Noisy Minors.

History

The Coleambally Irrigation Area scheme was started in the 1950s, with potential farmland being made available through a ballot system. Those who entered the ballot had to prove they had enough money to set up a farm in order to enter, as the land they acquired started off with no fencing or infrastructure whatsoever. The successful ballot winners were also required to give up any other primary interests they may have held. They were to give all or nothing to Coleambally. In 2008, following the Federal Government's proposals to buy large amounts of water from irrigators – ostensibly to "save" the Murray-Darling Basin — the Coleambally Irrigation Area offered the entire area, including the farms, water rights and the entire town, for sale at a price of $3.5 billion.

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 1,152 people in Coleambally. A total of 51.3% were males and 48.1% were female. The median age was 43. 86.7% of people were born in Australia and 89.3% of people spoke only English at home.

Commerce

Its main industry has been rice growing, with a major rice mill located one kilometre north of the town. However, the rice mill has been closed and converted to a ruminant feed mill in 2019. Other crops are also grown, such as wheat, cotton, maize, sorghum and soya beans. Grazing of sheep and cattle is also common. The quality of soil in the Coleambally Irrigation Area, combined with growing a water-intensive crop such as rice, has led to

soil salination Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

and high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

problems throughout the area. Efforts to alleviate the soil salination problem since 1995 have minimised the problem. The lack of water during the latest

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

has put the rice industry at risk, with severe water restrictions being imposed. Competition from highly subsidised US farmers also poses a large threat to this industry and the families involved in it. Rice production in 2006 will be much higher than recent years due to greater water allocations being available. Total rice production in 2006 in the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Valley and the

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river s ...

(MIA) and Coleambally Irrigation Area are expected to total , up from in 2005. In 2018, the Coleambally Solar Farm was commissioned a few kilometres north of the town. At the time of its commissioning, it was the largest solar farm in Australia.

Education

There are two schools in Coleambally: Coleambally Central School, a comprehensive government school catering for students from Kindergarten to Year 12, and St Peter's Primary School, a Roman Catholic school administered by the Diocese of

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

Churches

Coleambally is situated in the Anglican

Diocese of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

. The Anglican Church is dedicated to St Mark. The Roman Catholic Church is dedicated to St Peter. The church of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

was formerly a shearer's quarters before being moved to its present location.

Attractions

Coleambally's distinctive wine glass shaped water tower is located in the centre of town. A Bucyrus Class Erie

Dragline A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining. Draglines fall into two broad categories: those that are based on standard, lifting cranes, and the heavy units which have to be built on-site. ...

is located in the Lions Park at the entrance of the town. It is one of four machines imported from the United States in 1935 to excavate the main irrigation channels in the Murray Valley and the Coleambally Irrigation Area in the early 1960s. ColeamballyDredge

Sport

;Coleambally Football Netball Club The Coleambally FNC was established in 1965 and they have played in the following competitions - *1965 to 1971 - Barellan and District Football League *1972 to 1979 -

Coreen & District Football League The Coreen & District Football League was an Australian rules football competition in the Coreen district of the Riverina in New South Wales, initially formed in 1909. The netball competition commenced in 1972 in line with the football fixture ...

*1980 to 1983 -

Murray Football League The Murray Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

*1984 to 2007 -

*2008 to 2010 -

Hume Football League The Hume Australian Football Netball League (HFNL), often shortened to Hume Football League, is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing twelve clubs based in the South West Slopes and southern Riverina regions of New Sout ...

*2011 to 2021 -

Farrer Football League The Farrer Football Netball League (FFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footba ...

;Football Premierships *

**Seniors ***1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993, 2005 **Reserves ***1998, 1999, 2003, 2006 **Thirds / Under 16's ***1995, 2001 ;Darlington Point Coleambally Roosters

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Murrumbidgee Council