Junee () is a medium-sized 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 ...
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. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in particular correctional services. In 2015 Junee's urban population was 4,762.
Place name
One theory is that word ''Junee'' which originates from the
Aboriginal word 'Junee' means "speak to me".
Another theory is that it is an
Aboriginal word "Choo-nee" meaning "frog".
History
The
Wiradjuri
The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...
people are the traditional owners of the local area prior to European settlement.
Leopold de Salis (1816-1898), pastoralist and later politician was one of the first squatters to open up the Riverina region to grazing. He established the 'Junee' pastoral run in 1845. Leopold held the licence for this run for a total of three years. Other run licencees followed until Thomas Hammond and Richard Gwynne bought the licence in 1857. The Junee run progressively reduced in area as selectors took up land but Hammond lived on it until his death in 1899, the remaining property having been named "Wyoming" in 1887.
A post office opened in 1862 and a village called 'Junee' was gazetted in 1863 on the wool road to Sydney. That same year,
Ben Hall and his bushranging gang raided the village.
[ Culture and History](_blank)
/ref>
In 1866 Junee's population was recorded as twelve but the discovery of reef and alluvial gold during the 1860s triggered a gold rush. The main sites- Junee Reefs (to the north), was mined on and off until after World War 1, as well as Wantiool and Eurongilly (to the east) until the 1880s.
By 1878 with the southward expansion of the Main South line
The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...
in New South Wales, the main railway line between Sydney 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 ...
passed 8 kilometres east of the Village. Junee's Post Office was renamed Old Junee in 1885 ( Junee railway station). Loftus was the original name of the locality being farm land and as the settlers moved in for the rail line it was renamed. Junee Railway Station Post Office opened on 6 July 1878, was renamed Junee Junction in 1881 and later still, Junee in 1893.
Rail and road
The Main South line between Sydney and Melbourne runs through Junee, as does 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 ...
, named for the route of the 1956 Summer Olympics Torch Relay.
The advent of rail transport in 1878 provided the impetus for an economic boom providing local agricultural producers with affordable direct access to markets in Sydney. In 1952 the largest wheat terminal in the Southern Hemisphere was constructed at Junee, adjacent to the South West Railway, providing both rail and road transport.
Rail transport makes an important contribution to the local economy with Regional Rail Logistics operating a containerised freight service that delivers various goods from Junee to Sydney, with interstate freight trains also passing through the town.
Local Government
On 1 January 1981, Junee Municipal Council amalgamated with the surrounding "Illabo Shire Council', creating Junee Shire Council.
Junee visitors and residents are served by NSW TrainLink XPT services on their way between Melbourne and Sydney. The local Council maintains an online tourism map includin
local places of interest
Ray Warren statue
On 6 August 2011, a bronze statue of rugby league commentator Ray Warren
Raymond Warren OAM (born 11 June 1943) is a retired Australian sports commentator, known for his coverage of televised professional rugby league matches on the Nine Network. He is known as the "Voice of Rugby League", and called 99 State of ...
was erected at Dobbyn Park.
Climate
Junee experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: ''Cfa'', Trewartha: ''Cfak''); with hot summers and cool winters; and experiences moderately low precipitation year-round. The highest temperature recorded at Junee was 46.1 °C (115.0 °F) on 31 January 1968; the lowest recorded was -5.0 °C (23.0 °F) on 1 July 1971 and 6 August 1974 . The average annual rainfall is 527.7 millimetres (20.78 in).
Heritage listings
Junee has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 119 Lorne Street: Junee Post Office
Junee Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 119 Lorne Street, Junee, New South Wales, Junee, Junee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Designed by the New South Wales Government Architect, Colonial Architect's Office ...
* Main Southern railway: Junee railway station
* The Broadway: Athenium Theatre
Athenium Theatre is a heritage-listed former theatre and cinema and now community hall at The Broadway, Junee, Junee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Kaberry and Chard and built in 1929 by J. Nyssen. It is also known as t ...
Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 4,762 people in Junee.
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 9.4% of the population.
* 81.5% of people were born in Australia and 70.9% of people spoke only English at home.
Notable people
* Laurie Daley
Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a and in the 1980s and 1990s.
He represented Au ...
, a professional 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 11 ...
footballer and 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 ...
and Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
captain
* Bill Heffernan, a Senator for New South Wales, representing the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
* Adam Commens
Adam David Commens (born 6 May 1976) is the brother of Scott Commens, is an Australian field hockey coach and former player. He was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
Commens was nicknamed ''Billy'' by his teammates, and earned ...
, an Olympian hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
player
* Lawrence Legend, a motorcycle stuntman
* Ray Warren
Raymond Warren OAM (born 11 June 1943) is a retired Australian sports commentator, known for his coverage of televised professional rugby league matches on the Nine Network. He is known as the "Voice of Rugby League", and called 99 State of ...
, sports commentator
* Bernie Fraser, former governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Communications
Junee is served by:
Junee Southern Cross
newspaper
* Radio 1RPH transmitter (99.5FM)
See also
* Jail Break Inn Fire
References
External links
Junee Shire Council
Junee -VisitNSW.com
{{authority control
Towns in the Riverina
Towns in New South Wales
Junee Shire
Junee, New South Wales