Burrinjuck is a village community in the far eastern part of 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 ...

. It is situated by road, about 15 kilometres southwest from

Woolgarlo Woolgarlo is a locality on the foreshores of the Yass River arm of Lake Burrinjuck, in the far eastern part of the Riverina in the Yass Valley Shire of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , ma ...

and 28 kilometres south from Bookham. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'mountain with a rugged top'. At the , the Burrinjuck area had a population of 19. The village is situated on the western side of

Burrinjuck Dam Burrinjuck Dam is a heritage-listed major gated concrete-walled gravity hydro-electric dam at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River located in the South West Slopes regi ...

which holds water from the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

and which was constructed between 1907 and 1928 (with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

interfering with the timing of the construction). During the construction of the dam and in the time during which it filled, there was a settlement known as 'Barren Jack City' facing the river at the base of the Burrinjuck mountain. Much of its site was later submerged as the dam water rose. The locality of Burrinjuck includes part of one of the proposed sites for Australia's national capital, which was known as Mahkoolma. It was to be located in the upper reaches of nearby Carrolls Creek, Barren Jack Post Office opened on 23 May 1907, was renamed Burrinjuck in 1911, and closed in 1979.

Heritage listings

Burrinjuck has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Barren Jack Creek Water Supply Dam *

* Greater Burrinjuck Dam Site

Climate

Located on the exposed western slopes of the

Brindabella Range The Brindabella Range, commonly called The Brindabellas or The Brindies, is a mountain range located in Australia, on a state and territory border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The range rises to the west of C ...

, rainfall peaks distinctly in winter.

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

is a rare occurrence at the bottom of the valley, but it does occur annually on the surrounding ranges and hilly country above 600 metres (such as at

Wee Jasper Wee Jasper is a hamlet in the Goodradigbee River, Goodradigbee valley at the western foot of the Brindabella Ranges, near Burrinjuck Dam in New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Council, Yass Valley Shire. It is located about 90 km nort ...

); nearby Black Andrew Mountain (935 metres) and Mount Barren Jack (972 metres) overlooking the lake, can be periodically snow-capped during the winter months.

References

{{authority control Yass Valley Council Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands