Jerrawa () is a locality 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 ...

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 north side of the

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

about 30 km to the east of

Yass Yass may refer to: People * Catherine Yass (born 1963), painter * Yazz, a British pop singer from the 1980s and 1990s * Jeff Yass (born 1956), options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna I ...

and was served by

Jerrawa railway station Jerrawa was a small railway station, at the locality also known as Jerrawa, on the Main South railway line in New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales i ...

on the Main Southern line between

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

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 ...

between 1876 and 1975. At the , it had a population of 73. The area now known as Jerrawa lies on the traditional lands of the

Gandangara The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...

or the

Ngunnawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyungan ...

peoples. These two groups spoke a closely related, if not identical, language. The name Jerrawa is said to be a settler rendering of an aboriginal language word for 'iguana', probably referring to the

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...

. The railway station and siding were situated at a location where the railway line gradient was flat, after rising from the bridge over Jerrawa Creek and then rising again to the west. A small settlement, including an Anglican church (Christ Church), a hall, and a school, developed on the southern side of the railway line, near the railway station. Some of the houses in the settlement were for railway employees. It seems that the settlement was never proclaimed as a village. The school operated from 1877 to 1963. Jerrawa had a store that also served as its post office. There was no Methodist church at Jerrawa but its inhabitants used the isolated Greendale church and cemetery, which was already in existence from 1862 and predated the settlement at Jerrawa. In August 1938, Jerrawa was in the path of a violent

whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and ...

that left a trail of damage a mile and a half long and 500 yards wide, damaging some of the settlement's buildings, in less than a minute. The presence of an iron ore deposit at Jerrawa had been known since around 1879. During the Second World War, with a shortage of coastal shipping, local sources or iron ore were mined to feed the steelworks at

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. One of these wartime ore mines was at Jerrawa. Jerrawa's hall is falling into disrepair. Jerrawa has a showground and holds an annual

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...

, around Easter time, referred to as 'the Little Easter Show.' The old store still exists but is now a private residence. All that remains of the old railway station is its sign, which has been re-erected beside the railway line.

References

{{authority control Upper Lachlan Shire Localities in New South Wales Southern Tablelands