Mendooran (pronunciation: ''men-door-an'') is a small town adjacent to the

Castlereagh River The Castlereagh River is located in the central–western district of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Macquarie-Castlereagh catchment within the Murray–Darling basin and is an unregulated river, meaning no dams or storage have b ...

in the

Warrumbungle Shire The Warrumbungle Shire is a local government area in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is traversed by the Newell Highway. The Warrumbungle mountain range and Warrumbungles National Park are major tourist attra ...

of central western

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 ...

. The town lies at an altitude of 271 metres above sea level, 348 kilometres west 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 ...

, 75 kilometres from

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

and 71 kilometres southeast of

Coonabarabran Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, the town had a population of 2,537, Material was copied from this s ...

. At the 2011 census, Mendooran had a population of 302 people. 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 ...

also runs through the town, changing its name to Bandulla Street in the centre.

History

The district was inhabited by 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: , ...

tribe before white settlement. The first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

to visit the area was surveyor John Evans who came as close as 10 kilometres from Mendooran in 1815. Two years later it was

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

's group that passed through the area while conducting one of the first inland expeditions. It is believed that the name derived from that of a local

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

tribal leader named either "Mundo" or "Mundoo".

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

, wheat and sheep were established on the station in later years. The small village grew in the 1860s on the old station near the bridge which passed over the Castlereagh River. As at 1866 there were 24 residents recorded in the area. The village was called Mundooran until the arrival of the railway around 1915 when the name was changed to Mendooran. The John Bull Inn was erected to serve the passing traffic of the 1860s. A bridge was erected over the Castlereagh River in 1869 which increased the road traffic and contributed to local development. The town was laid out in 1881 with a school, police station and courthouse being built. The

Robertson Land Act The Crown Lands Acts 1861 (NSW) (or Robertson Land Acts) were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings in New South Wales and in particular to break the Squattocracy's domination of land tenure. ...

of 1893 broke up the larger squatting runs and closer settlement then came about. Mendooran hosts an annual agricultural show. It also hosts an annual Raceday Festival in September that sees the town population swell to above 400 as race-goers from around the world visit. In February 2019 Mendooran was experiencing severe shortages of water and had been placed on level six

water restrictions An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect: *irrigation of lawns * car washing * recreation ...

, the highest level of restrictions mandated in NSW. Mendooran formerly had a rugby league team, the Mendooran Tigers, who competed in the

Group 14 Rugby League 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 ...

competition.

Notable People

Notable people from Mendooran include- Ron Quinton - Successful Jockey and Horse trainer Katrina Gibbs - Commonwealth Games High Jump Champion 1978, Australian National High Jump Champion 1978 and 1982 Gail Neall - Gold Medal Winning Medley Swimmer 1972 Olympics in Record Time - Taught at Mendooran Central School (Primary) in the 1970s. Emeritus Professor Stephen Dinham OAM - international education expert - taught at Mendooran Central School 1976-1981.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Warrumbungle Shire