The Rock is a town with a population of 1,347, in the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

region of southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, in Lockhart Shire. It is south-west of

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

, on the

Olympic Highway Olympic Highway is a rural road in the Central West, New South Wales, central western and Riverina, south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. It services rural communities, links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway, and ...

. The town is named after the large rocky hill overlooking it, now called ''The Rock Hill'' but called ''Yerong'' in the local indigenous language. The reserve that includes The Rock Hill is an attraction for bush-walking, rock-climbing and the observation of wildlife. It is also an Aboriginal sacred site, called ''Kengal''.

History

The Rock Post Office opened on 1 September 1890. Prior to 1919, the town had been known as ''Kingston'', probably named after the King family, which had operated the local farming property known as "The Rock". The name ''Kingston'' is shown on a 1916 map of the Riverina district. The King name survives with the hotel on the Olympic Highway at the town still named ''The King's Own''.

Heritage listings

The Rock has a number of heritage-listed sites, including The Rock railway station on the Main Southern railway

Sport and Recreation

The Rock Football Club was an

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club that was established in 1900 after a meeting at the King's Own Hotel. The club has played in the following football competitions - * 1900: Wagga United Football Association. * 1901: McLaurin Football Competition: Runners Up * 1902–09: Club active, playing friendly matches against local clubs and towns, but no evidence of playing in an official competition. * 1910–12: The Rock Football Association: * 1913: Wagga United Football Association: Runners Up: 1913 * 1914: Nathan Cup Competition – Premiers: 1914 * 1915: Wagga Football Association. * 1916: Club active, but no official competition due to WW1. * 1917: The Culcairn Patriotic Football Association * 1918: Yerong Creek & District Football Association. The Rock played against Mangoplah and Yerong Creek. * 1919–1921: Wagga United Football Association. The Rock withdrew form the Wagga United FA in June & joined The Rock & District Football Association. * 1921: The Rock & District Football Association. * 1922: Riverina Main Line Football Association *1923–1925: Wagga United Football Association. Runners Up: 1925 * 1926–1927: The Rock Football Association. Runners Up: 1927 * 1928 – Wagga & District Football Association. Runners Up: 1928 As the minor premiers, Magoplah were entitled to challenge The Rock to another game and ultimately won the Grand Final replay. * 1929–1937: The Rock & District Football League: Premiers: 1932, 1936 Runners Up: 1934, 1937 * 1938–1940: Albury & District Football League: 1938–1940. * 1941–1944: Club in recess due to WW2. * 1945–1947: Milbrulong & District League: Premiers: 1945, 1947 (undefeated) *1948–1957: Albury & District Football League: Runners Up: 1948, 1956 & 1957. *1957–1961: Farrer Football League *1962 – Farrer Football League: The Rock FC & Yerong Creek FC merged in 1962 to form The Rock Yerong Creek FC. The Rock Cricket Club won the 1938/39 Henty & District Cricket Association premiership, defeating Henty. The Rock scored 7/441 in their second innings, with the three Taylor brothers all scoring centuries! The Rock also had a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team, which competed in the Group 13 Rugby League competition. The club wore maroon jerseys with a sky-blue V.

Transport

There is a railway junction at The Rock, being the place where the Boree Creek line branches from 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, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...

. The Rock railway station is served by the twice-daily

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

XPT service between

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

References

External links

1939 – Mangoplah FC & The Rock FC team photos1948 - Albury & DFL grand final teams: Mangoplah FC & The Rock FC team photos
{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales