Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of

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 ...

. It lies on the

Castlereagh Highway Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The highway's northern terminus is at a junction with Carnarvon Highway, south of , Queensland. Its southern terminus is at a junction with Great West ...

north-west of

Gilgandra Gilgandra is a country town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia, and services the surrounding agricultural area where wheat is grown extensively together with other cereal crops, and sheep and beef cattle are raised. Sitting at t ...

. At the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and sheep and wool. The name for the town is taken from the Gamilaraay word ''guna'' (faeces) and ''-bil'' (having much). Brigidine nuns from Ireland established a school in 1883. Their architecturally distinguished convent was dismantled in 1990 and transported to Pokolbin, where it now houses The Convent resort. Although Coonamble had been a major sheep industry region in the 1980s to 2000, there has recently been an increasing interest in cattle rearing. The summers can have temperatures reaching up to and in winter, there are nights as cold as . Most recently Coonamble has gained media coverage due to their mass floods over Christmas 2009.

Bushrangers

Johnny Dunn Johnny Dunn (February 19, 1897 – August 20, 1937) was an American traditional jazz trumpeter and vaudeville performer, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is probably best known for his work during the 1920s with musicians such as Perry ...

the bushranger and last of the

Ben Hall gang Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ...

was captured near Coonamble after a gunbattle with police at Christmas 1865.

Population

* In the 2016 Census, there were 2,750 people in Coonamble. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 34.2% of the population. * 80.0% of people were born in Australia and 83.0% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Anglican 34.3% and Catholic 28.9%.

Schools and Churches

Coonamble has three schools
Coonamble Public School
St Brigids Catholic School an
Coonamble High School
It has
Catholic
and a

church.

Rodeo

Coonamble hosts an annual rodeo that is attended by around 1,000 competitors and 4,000 spectators.

Radio station

Coonamble has its own local radio station, 2MTM 91.9FM, which has a wide variety of music from country to modern. Outback Radio 2WEB broadcasts to the area on 91.1FM.

Sports

The

Coonamble Bears The Castlereagh League (also known as the Castlereagh Cup) is a rugby league competition in western New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. For all intents and purposes the competition is effectively the G ...

play in the

Castlereagh Cup The Castlereagh League (also known as the Castlereagh Cup) is a rugby league competition in western New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. For all intents and purposes the competition is effectively the ...

Rugby League competition. The

Coonamble Rams Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2016 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and ...

play in the Western Plains Rugby Union competition.

Climate

Coonamble has a hot

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(''BSh'') with long hot summers and short cool winters, with mild, albeit erratic, rainfall spread through the months.

Heritage listings

Coonamble has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Dubbo–Coonamble railway:

Coonamble railway station Coonamble railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Coonamble railway line at Coonamble, Coonamble Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. Histo ...

Notable people

Ron Boden Ronald James Boden (16 October 1936 – 24 August 2015) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for Parramatta as a centre and also played for Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Early life ...

, rugby league player *

Alex Cullen Alexander Shaun Cullen is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and a former member of Ottawa City Council, representing the Bay Ward in Ottawa's west end ...

, journalist *

Ned Hanigan Ned Hanigan (born 11 April 1995) is an Australian professional rugby union player who currently plays for the in the Super Rugby competition and the Australian Wallabies. His preferred positions are blindside flanker or lock. Early life and ...

, rugby player *

Lancelot Hansen Lancelot Hansen (1885–1928) was an Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a ...

, rugby league player *

Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...

, rugby league player, notable Aboriginal death in custody *

Mary Quirk Mary Lily May Quirk (7 December 1880 – 4 March 1952) was an Australian politician. Born in Coonamble, New South Wales, Coonamble in New South Wales to farmer Julius Deal and his wife Emma Margaretta White, she was educated at Rozelle, Ne ...

, politician *

Jesse Ramien Jesse Ramien (born 27 April 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has previously played for the Newcastle Knights as well as a previous spell at the Cronul ...

, rugby league player *

Thomas Tyrrell Sir Thomas Tyrrell (23 June 1594 – 8 March 1672) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660. He fought on the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War. Tyrrill was the son of Sir Edward Tyrrell ...

, trade unionist and politician *

Adriano Zumbo Adriano Zumbo (born 6 November 1981) is an Australian pâtissier and television presenter. He opened his first patisserie in 2007 before rising to prominence as a frequent guest on ''MasterChef Australia.'' Zumbo is the titular host of the Austra ...

, pâtissier and chef

References

External links

Coonamble Shire Council

Coonamble on the Castlereagh

(February 8, 2004)

(15 March 2003)
Aussie Towns Coonamble NSW
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales)

Bushrangers

Population

Schools and Churches

Rodeo

Radio station

Sports

Climate

Heritage listings

Notable people

See also

References

External links