Crookwell is a small town located in the Southern Tablelands 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, in the

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 ...

. At the , Crookwell had a population of 2,641. The town is at a relatively high altitude of 887 metres and there are several snowfalls during the winter months. The nearest major centre is the city of Goulburn which is about a half-hour drive to the south-east of the town. Crookwell is easily accessible to the state capital of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and also the

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

capital 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 ...

. Most employment is based on rural industries, and the district is renowned for potato farming. Crookwell is also home to what was

NSW ) , 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 ...

's first

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

, which consists of 8 turbines, and is located a few kilometres out of town on the road towards Goulburn. A

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

once connected Goulburn and Crookwell, which opened in 1902, but passenger services to Crookwell station ceased in 1974, and the last goods train ran in 1985. The line is technically not closed, but has been listed as out of use, and in some locations is now impassable.

History

The area now known as Crookwell lies within the traditional lands of the Gundangurra people. These people spoke a similar if not identical language to the neighbouring Ngunnawal people to their south. The first Europeans known to be in the area were the exploratory party of surveyor James Meehan which camped 1 km south of present-day Grabben Gullen (12 km south-west of Crookwell). John Oxley passed to the north and east later that same year. Crookwell was originally known as "Kiama". The area around Crookwell was first settled in the 1820s, and had received its current name by the 1860s. After this, selection of blocks occurred; and the population of was over 100 by midway through that decade. The first allotments were sold at the end of the decade. By the mid-1870s the population had already reached 1000 people. From 1941 to 1945, 508,500 tons of iron ore was mined—about six miles by road from the town—and railed to Port Kembla for wartime steel production.

Heritage listings

Crookwell has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Goulburn-Crookwell railway:

Crookwell railway station The Crookwell railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorpor ...

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,641 people in Crookwell. 85.8% of people were born in Australia and 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 34.9%, Anglican 30.1%, No Religion 14.3% and Uniting Church 7.8%.

Governance

Crookwell is the seat of the

Upper Lachlan Shire Council 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 ...

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 ...

(LGA) of

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 ...

, formed in 2004.

Transport

Crookwell is approximately 2.5 hours drive from

via Goulburn, and 1.5 hours from

. Other than the main road to Goulburn, minor roads link Crookwell with Bathurst, Boorowa,

Grabben Gullen Grabben Gullen is a small village in Upper Lachlan Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the , it had a population of 253. It is located between Crookwell and Gunning, situated at an elevation of 898 metres above sea level; several snowfalls occ ...

, Laggan, and

Taralga Taralga is the traditional land of the Gundungurra people. Today it is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located at the intersection of the Goulburn-Oberon Road and the Lagga ...

is the terminus of the now disused

Crookwell railway line The Crookwell railway line is a disused branch railway line in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It has never officially been closed. It branched from the Main South line at and passed north through the localities of and to the town of ...

. Crookwell has a small unpaved airstrip approximately 5 km south of the town.

Climate

Owing to its exposed western location on the upwind side of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

and rather southern latitude,

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 ...

is not uncommon during the winter months, with occasional heavy falls. Summers are warm and dry, with occasional severe thunderstorms. Winters are cold and wet; when the prevailing westerly cloud is persistent, daily maximum temperatures can struggle to exceed .

Media

Radio stations

Radio stations with transmitters located in Crookwell include: * Crookwell FM 88.0 FM *

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 ...

91.7 FM (2JJJ) * 93.5 Eagle FM 103.9 FM ''(commercial)'' (2SNO) * GNFM 106.1 FM ''(commercial)'' (2GBN) *

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

106.9 FM (2ABCRR) *

ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

107.7 FM (2ABCRN) Depending on location some Goulburn, Illawarra, and/or Canberra based radio stations can also be heard. Eagle FM and GNFM (formerly 2GN) are Goulburn based but licensed to serve towns in the Southern Tablelands including Crookwell. In order to reach Crookwell, both have transmitters which relay the Goulburn broadcast but on different frequencies to Goulburn.

Television

Crookwell has a low powered transmitter broadcasting

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

. Residents wishing to receive a wider range of channels and in digital can attempt to receive signals from either

( Black Mountain), or Orange (

Mount Canobolas Mount Canobolas, a mountain on a spur of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. With an elevation of above sea level, Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano, is the highest mountain i ...

), although Crookwell is located in the fringe area of both transmitters. Another option is to use the VAST free-to-view satellite service, which offers a similar range of channels.

Newspaper

The local newspaper, the ''

Crookwell Gazette The ''Crookwell Gazette'' is an English language newspaper published in Crookwell, New South Wales, Australia. It was first published in 1885 and was also known as ''"The Crookwell Gazette and Binda, Golspie, Cullen, Laggan, Peelwool, Taralga, ...

'' has been published since 1885.

Notable people

Notable people include Kellie White and

Emily Smith Emily Smith may refer to: *Emily Smith (author), English children's author *Emily Smith (gymnast) (born 1986), Canadian trampolinist *Emily Smith (singer) (born 1981), Scottish folk singer *Emily Smith (field hockey) (born 1992), Australian field h ...

(Hockeyroos Captain), who both played for the Hockeyroos in international competition, Mary Douven, a notable community volunteer who gave her time to help the local sporting communities and church groups, who unfortunately died in 2020 one year to the day after her husband Theo Douven, who was a long term employee of the local Upper Lachlan Shire Council.

Photo gallery

File:Crookwell Town Entry West.jpg, Town entry sign File:Crookwell Scout Hall.jpg, Scout Hall File:Crookwell Bluestone.jpg, Bluestone building File:Crookwell Railway Station.jpg, Disused railway station File:Crookwell Sunburst.jpg, Sunburst façade File:Crookwell Trompe l'oeil.jpg, ''Trompe l'oeil'' on shop wall

References

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