The Cobar railway line is a railway line in

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 ...

. It branches west towards

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 ...

from the Main West Line at

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 ...

. The Main West once continued northwest to Bourke but is now closed beyond Nyngan. However, copper concentrates from mines near

Hermidale Hermidale is a village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 600km north-west of Sydney and the two closest towns are Nyngan (46 km to the east) and Cobar (51 km to the west). It lies on the Barrier Highway. At the 2021 Cens ...

and Cobar are still railed on this line to ports on the New South Wales coast. The Cobar line opened on 1 July 1892, and continues to carry wheat and ore. Passenger services ceased on 22 September 1975.

Cobar railway station Cobar railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Cobar railway line at Cobar, Cobar Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. History Pa ...

has been redeveloped into a community facility.

History

The early development of Cobar was directly associated with the discovery of copper in the area. Aborigine guides showed a low hill, with outcrops of reddish oxide of ochre, to a party of tank-sinkers in 1870. These three men noticed that the rocks had been streaked green and blue. Samples collected were found to contain carbonate of copper. An area of 16.2ha was secured under a Mineral Conditional Purchase. In the middle of 1871, two further blocks were secured and were known as the ''Great Cobar South'' and ''Great Cobar North'' mines. In January, 1876, the two southern mines were amalgamated under the name ''Great Cobar'' and the township of Cobar grew alongside the mine. Probably the earliest move for a railway from Nyngan to Cobar was when a petition was presented to the N.S.W. Parliament on 27 August 1884, for the construction of a railway from Nyngan to

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

via Cobar. Numerous deputations followed and on 8 October 1886, the construction of the line was approved by Parliament and formally assented to by the Governor on 11 November 1886. From October 1901 to September 1931, there was a short branch railway, The Peak branch. It ran from Cobar to the Occidental Mine, via the now-vanished mining village of Wrightville.

References

Regional railway lines in New South Wales Standard gauge railways in Australia Railway lines opened in 1892 Cobar {{NewSouthWales-rail-transport-stub

History

See also

References