Khancoban () is a small town in Snowy Valleys Council,

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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The town is located from the state capital,

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 Mounta ...

and from the state border with

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, in the foothills of the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...

, near the upper reaches of the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

. At the , Khancoban had a population of 304. Khancoban Post Office opened on 7 November 1876.

Tourism

The town is a popular launching place for tourists exploring the Snowy Mountains area including

Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilde ...

. Khancoban is linked to Jindabyne and

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a ...

by the

Alpine Way The Alpine Way is a rural road located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The road connects in the east to the New South Wales / Victorian border in the west, crossing the Murray River, near Bringenbrong / Upper ...

, a scenic route that takes travellers past the ski resort of

Thredbo Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, situated in a part of the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, and has been operated by Event Hospitality and Entertainment since 1987. It is approximately ...

. The closest regional centre is

Corryong Corryong is a small town in Victoria, Australia east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and close to the New South Wales border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348. The post office opened on 1 February 1 ...

, to the west in Victoria.

Economy

Khancoban was constructed to house workers involved in the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

, Australia's largest engineering project, designed to provide hydro-electric power and water for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

to vast areas of the nation. The town is still mainly populated by workers employed by

Snowy Hydro Limited Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

working in places such as Murray 1 and Murray 2

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

Climate

Khancoban has a typical climate of the

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

, with four distinct seasons. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

scheme, the town has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') with strong oceanic influence. It is characterised by its inland location and likewise

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

position (west of the

); with the summers having a high diurnal range, and relatively low humidity and rainfall amount—although

thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are somet ...

usually increase humidity in summer somewhat. Winters are cool, overcast and very rainy, with occasional

snowfalls 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 ...

, and a much narrower diurnal range due to frequent cloud cover. Autumns are mild and dry, with crisp nights. Springs are mild, albeit tepid by November, and damp with a high frequency of thunderstorms.

Khancoban SMHEA (1961–1994)

Khancoban AWS (1996–2020)

Gallery

File:Khancoban aerial.jpg, Aerial photo File:KhancobanHotel.JPG, Khancoban Hotel File:KhancobanCommunityHall.JPG, Community hall

References

External links

Tumbarumba Shire Council
– Official Site {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Snowy Mountains Scheme Snowy Valleys Council