Nymagee is a small town in the north west 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 ...

, north 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 ...

, south west of

Nyngan Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on the ...

and south of

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Hig ...

. It is in the Shire of Cobar, The State Government area of Barwon and the Federal Government area of

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

. At the 2016 census, Nymagee had a population of 101. An area, COP4, of around Nymagee has also been designated as an

IBRA The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was devel ...

biogeographic subregion of the

Cobar Peneplain Cobar Peneplain, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in New South Wales,IBRA Versio ...

biogeographic region.

History

Indigenous origins dit sourceThe Cobar area is part of the traditional territory of the Wongaibon people (within the Ngiyampaa language group associated with the arid plains and rocky hill country of the Central West area of NSW bordered by the Lachlan, Darling-Barwon and Bogan rivers). The name ‘Cobar’ is derived from a Ngiyampaa word – variously transcribed as kubbur, kuparr, gubarr or cuburra – for a water-hole and quarry where pigments of ochre, kaolin and blue and green copper minerals were mined for ceremonial use. 5] Other sources claim the Aboriginal word means ‘red earth’ or ‘burnt earth’ (the ochre used for ceremonial body paint). 7] The Mount Grenfell Historic Site located north-west of Cobar is an important traditional meeting place with ceremonial significance. Extensive rock art at the site contains ochre and kaolin paintings of human and animal figures as well as hand stencils. Nymagee was originally a copper mining town and in its peak supported a population of over 2200, half of those being

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

migrants. However, when the mine closed in 1917 most of the residents left. By 1949, the inhabitants were thinking of Nymagee as a 'ghost town', even though it still possessed a hall, racecourse and social and sports clubs. In 1999 local residents started an outback music festival to increase tourism and residents in the town. The first festival was visited by 600 tourists and the festival has since increased Nymagee's tourism by 60% and significantly increased the number of permanent residents Nymagee is also home to "

Clancy of the Overflow "Clancy of the Overflow" is a poem by Banjo Paterson, first published in '' The Bulletin'', an Australian news magazine, on 21 December 1889. The poem is typical of Paterson, offering a romantic view of rural life, and is one of his best-known w ...

" a poem written by the famous bush poet

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...

. The sheep station, "The Overflow" featured in the poem is situated about south east of Nymagee.

References

External links

Cobar Shire Mining towns in New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub