Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

region 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 and within 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 ...

. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. It is located on the

Olympic Highway Olympic Highway is a rural road in the central western and south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway and provides part of an alterna ...

at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

and

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 ...

. Its railway station is on the Main Southern line, part of the Melbourne-to-Sydney line. Cootamundra is the birthplace of

Sir Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

, an Australian

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 ...

er universally regarded as the greatest

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

of all time. It is also known for being the site of

Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls The Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls, commonly known as "Bimbadeen" and Cootamundra Girls' Home, located at Cootamundra, New South Wales operated by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board from 1911 to 1968 to provi ...

, an institution housing Aboriginal girls who were forcibly taken from their families. It is also the home of the

Cootamundra wattle ''Acacia baileyana'' or Cootamundra wattle is a shrub or tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The scientific name of the species honours the botanist Frederick Manson Bailey. It is indigenous to a very small area in southern inland New S ...

. Every year there is a large "Wattle Time" Festival held at the time the wattle starts to bloom, with an art show and festivities.

History

The

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the area where present day Cootamundra exists are considered to be the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

people, with the name ""Cootamundra" probably deriving from the

Wiradjuri language Wiradjuri (; many other spellings, see Wiradjuri) is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It is the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people of Australia. A progressive revival is underway, with the language being taught ...

word ''guudhamang'' for "turtle". Cootamundra Parker Street 001

Cootamundra was incorporated as a township on 9 August 1861, and the first settlers bought their lots in early 1862. Like many other towns in the Riverina, it was originally populated by those attracted by the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

of the 1860s but became a quiet yet prosperous agricultural community after the local deposits were exhausted. However, the potential sale of a recently disused mine near Adelong may have piqued the curiosity of would-be prospectors. It is considered one of the oldest towns in Australia

List of towns and cities in Australia by year of settlement This is primarily a list of towns and cities in Australia by year of settlement. The article also contains information on permanent settlements established in Australia before British settlement commenced in 1788. Pre-European settlements ...

. The town's

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 rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team, the Cootamundra Bulldogs, competed in the

Maher Cup The Maher Cup was an Australian rugby league (originally rugby union) challenge cup contested between towns of the South West Slopes and northern Riverina areas of New South Wales between 1920 and 1971. The main teams involved were Cootamundra, Tum ...

Cootamundra Bradman's Birthplace Museum 003

Timeline

* 1847 – ''Cootamundra Run'', a large stock run, is the first colonist settlement in the area. * 1861 – The site of Cootamundra is published in the NSW Government Gazette * 1862 – Gold mining commences at the nearby 'Muttama Reef' mine. * 1864 – The first church (Anglican) and post office are established * 1874 — Convent for the Presentation Order of nuns opened by (Catholic) Bishop of Goulburn * 1875 – The first school in the district opens. * 1877 – Cootamundra's railway connection opens on 1 November. * 1878 – Christ Church (Anglican) of England opens * 1879 – St Columba's (Catholic) church opens * 1884 – Cootamundra is gazetted as a municipality. * 1885 —

Salt Clay Creek railway disaster The Salt Clay Creek railway disaster was one of Australia's first railway accidents involving multiple fatalities. It occurred on 25 January 1885, when a mail train from Albury to Sydney failed to negotiate the culvert over a flooded creek, around ...

- seven killed and dozens injured when culvert collapsed * 1896 – Cootamundra Cycling Club. It is probably the oldest continual club in NSW, although as was the case with most clubs it went into recess during the war years. * 1911–1968 –

forcibly taken from their families. * 1912–1974 – The former Cootamundra Hospital and Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Training Home were built upon a hill north east of Cootamundra. The property consists of a large parcel of land which had room for buildings as well as orchards and livestock such as dairy cows. * 1942 – On 3 December, the corvette , named for the town, is launched. * 1951 – Cootamundra Jazz Band is formed by John Ansell * 1952 – Name of Cootamundry officially changed to Cootamundra. * 1955 – The first

Cootamundra Annual Classic The Cootamundra Annual Classic, also known as the ''Coota Classic'' or ''Coota Annual'' is a bicycle handicap race starting and finishing in the New South Wales town of Cootamundra. First run in 1955, the race is traditionally held on the last we ...

cycling handicap race, one of the oldest open races in NSW. * 1956 – Cootamundra's

football club's Bill Marsh is first selected to play for the Australian national team. * 1960 – Cootamundra Blues

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

club is established. * 1982 – In November 1982, the aviation company Masling Industries is formed. This was restructured in June 1993 after the death of its owner. * 1986 – Popular Australian singer/songwriter/bush poet John R Williamson released his song 'Cootamundra Wattle'. * 1908 –

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

(later Sir Donald) is born in Cootamundra. * 1998 – Phase 1 of

Cricket Captains' Walk The Cricket Captains' Walk is a collection of specially commissioned bronze busts of Test captains of the Australian men’s national cricket team, arrayed on pedestals on the outside of a rectangular path set in a large public park in Cootamund ...

declared open; all busts the work of Harden–Murrumburrah sculptor Carl Valerius * 2000 – The first annual beach volleyball competition. Truckloads of sand are deposited in the main street for "Coota Beach" (punning reference to

Kuta Kuta is a tourist area, administratively an urban village (''kelurahan''), and the capital of Kuta District, Badung Regency, southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist de ...

Beach in Bali, Indonesia). * 2015 – Australian youth radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

featured the 'Cootamundra bonus weather rap'. * Australian rugby league Kangaroos player Les Boyd grew up representing the Group 9 Cootamundra Bulldogs local team.

Churches

The first churches in Cootamundra were: ;Primitive Methodist Rev. Smith was minister from around 1874, succeeded by J. Spalding, who was minister in 1877, and services were held on alternate Sunday afternoons. ;Wesleyan Methodist The church, seating 100 persons, was opened on 17 December 1876. Rev. G. Thompson was minister in 1878 and services were held regularly. In 1880 Rev. R. East was the only minister resident in the town. ;Anglican Christ Church opened on 12 July 1878; the vicar W. Cocks shared with Murrumburrah. In January 1880 Rev. S. B. Holt left Gundagai to take up the position. ;Roman Catholic Eighty confirmations were performed in 1875 in conjunction with a jubilee attended by Bishop Lanigan of Goulburn and Fathers Bermingham (Burrowa), Dunne and O'Dwyer (Gundagai), and Hanley (Goulburn). Mass was held fortnightly in the schoolroom by visiting priests from Gundagai. St Columba's church was consecrated on 30 November 1879. The first resident pastor was Rev. Richard Butler in 1881.

Military history

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Cootamundra was the location of RAAF No.3 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. It was located in an area of land near the intersection of Olympic Highway and Thompson Street. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).

Heritage listings

Cootamundra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Cootamundra-Griffith railway:

Cootamundra West railway station Cootamundra West railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Lake Cargelligo line at Cootamundra, Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The property was added to the New South Wales State Her ...

* Main Southern railway:

Cootamundra railway station Cootamundra railway station is located on the Main South line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Cootamundra. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. History Cootamundra statio ...

* 39 Rinkin Street:

* 219 Sutton Street:

Cootamundra World War II Fuel Depot Cootamundra World War II Fuel Depot is a heritage-listed former fuel depot and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) stores depot and now public park at 219 Sutton Street, Cootamundra, Cootamundra–Gundagai Regional Council, New South Wales, Aust ...

Description and attractions

Cootamundra is located in the

region of

, within the

region. It is within the

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 ...

of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. Abb McAlister was elected mayor of the newly-formed Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council on 21 September 2017. The town is known as the birthplace of the great cricketer

. Although he never lived in the town and his parents left

Yeo Yeo Yeo is a Chinese, English, and Korean surname. Origins As an English surname, Yeo is a toponymic surname meaning "river", either for people who lived near one of the Rivers Yeo, or any river in general. The word comes from Old English , via sou ...

(some 18km from Cootamundra) when he was two, the town celebrates this connection with the Sir Donald Bradman Birthplace Museum, the home where "The Don" was born, a fully restored visitors' site featuring cricketing memorabilia and artefacts. The Coota Ex-Services Club is an ex-servicemen's club that is open to the public as a restaurant.

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

, is a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

Cricket Captains' Walk

In 1998 a collection of 14 captains of the Australia International Test XI cricket team was unveiled in Jubilee Park, adjacent the Caravan Park. Specially commissioned, they were all the work of

Harden-Murrumburrah Harden–Murrumburrah is a township and community in the Hilltops Region and is located in the South West Slopes of New South Wales in Australia. Harden is adjacent to both the Canberra region of the Australian Capital Territory and the River ...

sculptor Carl Valerius. In 2008 a further 30 busts were installed on either side of a looping path, making a full set of Australian Test cricket captains, with three more added in 2020 to bring the list up to date. These are by various artists from the Tom Bass sculpture studio. The all-weather path, which starts and ends at Wallendoon Street is family, jogger, and wheelchair friendly, and approximately 250 metres long. A life-sized bronze statue of Bradman in action, also by Valerius, is nearby, as is a newly-installed barbecue and playground. Jubilee Park, the site of these attractions, is on land reclaimed from the original stock dam, memorialised by a plaque on the Morgan Arch on Wallendoon Street.

The Giant

The large effigy of a fairytale giant gesturing towards to his crotch was created by an unknown artist around 1975 in

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

as a mascot for "The Giant Supermarket" on the corner of Cooper and Wallendoon streets. :This location was in 1882 the site of Kibby's "Trade Palace" department store; and taken over by Solomon Cohen (c. 1848–1922) in 1886. In 1943 it became "Cohen's Corner", a name which endures to this day. "Hammond and Hanlon" were tenants in 1962 and "The Giant" in 1975, subsequently "U-Mark-it", "Half-case Warehouse", "Payless", and "Food World". It next became Mark Ward's hardware store, then "GV Bargains". When the statue was taken down it was purchased by Allan and Phuong Jenkins, who ran a florist shop nearby. In 1985 Allan participated in a Round-Australia marathon run by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

and the Australian Cancer Society as a fundraiser, and his support vehicle was surmounted by "The Giant". In 2014 the Jenkins couple donated the statue to the Cootamundra Heritage Centre. Local artist Jim Newman did its original paintwork back in 1975, and his brother Robert Newman was responsible for its restoration in 2015. The statue is located alongside the Heritage Centre on Hovell Street, near the railway station.

Population

According to the

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

, there were 6,782 people in Cootamundra. Of these: * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.6% of the population. * 85.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 2.1%. * 91.6% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 30.8%, Anglican 28.4% and No Religion 16.4%.

Transport

Cootamundra Railway Station from Footbridge

is located on the

Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...

, with passengers served in each direction by twice daily

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

XPT railway services between Sydney and Melbourne, and the weekly Xplorer railway services to Griffith. Interstate freight trains also pass through the town.

Regional Rail Logistics Regional Rail Logistics was a rail freight operator based in New South Wales, Australia. They operated containerised freight services three days a week between the Riverina towns of Junee and Cootamundra to Port Botany in Sydney, using rolling ...

previously operated a

containerised freight Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pr ...

service from Junee to Sydney stopping in the town,

TrainLink coaches

Cootamundra acts as a hub for coach services, run by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

, to other regional centres with departures and arrivals timed to connect with certain

New South Wales XPT The New South Wales ''XPT'' (short for eXpress Passenger Train) is a class of diesel-powered passenger trains built by Comeng and ABB Transportation. Based on the British Rail designed Intercity 125 High Speed Train, each XPT set is made up ...

train arrivals. The exception is Services 704/703 (coloured row), provided for those who have business in Canberra civic, the major hospitals, or to connect with the Canberra–Sydney rail service
three trains per day both directions
. Seats are allocated and must be booked ahead. must be consulted for conditions of travel and coach stop locations. On-line booking and more information

Airport

Cootamundra Airport Cootamundra Airport is a small airport in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. The airport is also the venue for the annual GTR Challenge and Drag Battle motorsport event. History With the implementation of an airmail service between Aust ...

, is one of the oldest country airports outside of Mascot to be continually licensed. From 1991 to 2002 local business Country Connection Airlines offered regional flights from Cootamundra to Sydney, as well as to many other regional locations such as West Wyalong, Cowra, Forbes and Young.

Notable residents

* Paul Beath (born 1968)- represented the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

and

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Les Boyd Les Boyd (born 17 November 1956) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales si ...

(born 17 November 1956) - former professional Rugby League Player, Represented Australia and New South Wales in the State of Origin. *

(27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), an Australian international

er, born in Cootamundra *

Bob Holder Bob Holder (born 1931) is a champion rodeo rider of Cootamundra, New South Wales, in 2019 reckoned as the world's oldest professional in the sport.(transcript of TV interview with Holder by Dominique Schwartz) for The 7.30 Report. History At the a ...

, rodeo champion(transcript of TV interview with Holder by Dominique Schwartz) for

The 7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into ''7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Report ...

. *

Philip Lowe Philip Lowe (born 1961) is an Australian economist who is the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, having succeeded Glenn Stevens on 18 September 2016. He was previously deputy governor under Stevens from February 2012 to Septe ...

(born 1961) - Governor of the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

, moved to Cootamundra aged 5. *

Billy Murdoch William Lloyd Murdoch (18 October 1854 – 18 February 1911) was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890. This included four tours of England, one of which, in 1882, gave ri ...

(18 October 1854 – 18 February 1911), an Australian

er who captained the Australian national side in sixteen

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

matches between 1880 and 1890 * Hubert Leslie Primrose (1880–1942) solicitor and politician * Isaac Smith (30 December 1988) -

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

footballer * Ethelbert Ambrook Southee (1890–1968) college principal *

Eric Weissel Eric Weissel (;) (1903–1972) was an Australian rugby league footballer, a state and national representative goal-kicking . He played his club career in country New South Wales and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the ...

(1903–1972) - former professional Rugby League Player

Climate

Cootamundra has a typical climate of the lower

region; long, hot, dry summers interspersed with severe thunderstorms, and cool winters with many rain days. Occasionally,

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

may fall during the winter months, with the most recent settled snowfall having occurred in August 2019. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

scheme, the town has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa''), receiving enough precipitation to avoid the

semi-arid 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 ...

(BSk) climate classification.

In popular culture

* In The Two Ronnies' sketch "The Australians", Cootamundra is the location of their travel agency. * Leonard Hubbard recorded the song "Cootamundra" in 1924. * The

Cootamundra Jazz Band The Cootamundra Jazz Band, based in the New South Wales town of Cootamundra, was one of Australia's foremost traditional jazz bands of the 1950s, and the fore-runner of the Riverina Jazz Band based in nearby Wagga Wagga. History The Cootamundra Ja ...

(1951–1960) was one of Australia's foremost

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

groups * John Williamson recorded the song "Cootamundra Wattle" in 1986.

Gallery

File:Coota town centre 1.jpg, Cootamundra looking NE; railway station at centre File:Coota town centre 2.jpg, Cootamundra looking SW, railway station at top

References

External links

Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council

Cootamundra – New Country Living
{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council Mining towns in New South Wales