Condobolin, New South Wales

Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,185.

History

Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri people.

Australian Heritage magazine suggested that Condobolin evolved from the "Aboriginal" word Cundabullen – shallow crossing. The magazine stated that the crossing was located a short distance below the junction of the Lachlan River and the Goobang Creek. Others suggest that the town's name from the Wiradjuri word for 'hop bush', or 'hop brush'.

The area was explored by John Oxley in 1817 and Thomas Mitchell in 1836. The 'Condoublin' run was established by 1844. There had been squatters in the district since Mitchell's 1836 exploration. Closer settlement of the area began in 1880 when the large runs were broken up into smaller holdings.

The town of Condobolin was proclaimed in 1859. The railway arrived in 1898, and the town's population boomed, assisted by finds in 1885 of copper north of the town and in 1896 of gold in the district, north-west of the town. A major copper and gold mine was in operation at Condobolin from 1898 until around 1910. Agriculture is still a major influence on the town, production having expanded with the damming of the Lachlan River in 1935 by the Wyangala Dam. Wheat, barley, canola, wool, sheep and cattle are produced in the district. In more recent years irrigation has brought horticulture and cotton to the Lachlan River area.
The Lachlan River saw paddle steamer traffic from the 1860s up until the 1920s.

The video clip for Shannon Noll's first single '' What About Me?'' was filmed in Condobolin.

Heritage listings

Condobolin has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* McDonnell Street: All Saints' Anglican Church, Condobolin
* Various monuments and war memorials.

Geography

Condobolin is very close to Mount Tilga, which is said by some to be the geographical centre of New South Wales. Geosciences Australia's Bicentennial project however suggests near the Five Ways, 33 km west north west of Tottenham as one possible centre and makes no reference to Mount Tilga.

Condobolin is located at the junction of Lachlan River and Goobang Creek. It is west of Australia's largest city, Sydney.

Close to Condobolin is the Overflow Station, the setting of the poem '' Clancy of the Overflow'' by Banjo Paterson. The poem is about a Queensland drover and a sheep shearer responsible for herding large mobs of sheep long distances to market.

Climate

Condobolin features a borderline hot semi-arid / cold semi-arid climate ( ''BSh / BSk'') with very hot summers and cool winters. Seasonal range is considerable: the average minimum / maximum temperature in January is / , while the average minimum / maximum in July is / . Rainfall is spread evenly throughout the year in scant amounts. The town is very sunny, receiving 156.6 clear days annually. There was at least one occurrence of snowfall in the district, on 5 July 1900, while the Melrose Plains nearer Tullamore saw a fall of snow some 26 years prior to that.

Demographics

At the , Condobolin recorded a population of 3,486; a fall from the 3,743 recorded in 2011. The median age was 38. 22.1% of residents reported being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; the median age among this group was 21.

85.0% of respondents reported being born in Australia; substantially higher than the national average of 66.7%. 79.8% of residents reported having both parents born in Australia, compared to the national average of 47.3%. 88.8% of respondents spoke only English at home.

Christianity was the largest religious group in Condobolin at 78.6% of stated responses on religion. This included the denominations of Catholic (27.0%), Anglican (23.6%) and Presbyterian and Reformed (6.4%). 17.8% reported having no religion, lower than the national average of 29.6%. 10.8% of residents did not state a response to the optional question on religion.

Sport

The most popular sport in Condobolin is rugby league. The local club, the Condobolin Rams, play in the Woodbridge Cup competition, in which the club won the 2021 Premiership. Historically, the club is part of the Group 11 Rugby League district.

Condobolin formerly had an Australian rules team in the Northern Riverina League.

Events

Condobolin is home to a two-day cross country navigational rally, known as the "Condo 750". The Condo 750 runs over a variety of private and public roads and tracks and attracts competitors from all over Australia. It is a CAMS and MA sanctioned event. The course is made up of competitive sections known as selective sections which are timed over private tracks around the various sheep and cattle stations, these range in length from . Non-competitive road sections on public roads join the sections, these range from . The total length of the course is over .

Each year, the local show society runs the annual Condobolin Show in late August over two days. The event features livestock, showjumping, cookery competitions, entertainment, fireworks, and car-boot picnics around the main arena.

Transport

Condobolin railway station opened in 1898 and lies on the Broken Hill railway line. The station is served by the twice-weekly Indian Pacific train, as well as NSW TrainLink's Broken Hill Outback Xplorer train. This train heads to Broken Hill on Mondays (Stopping at 2:01pm) and to Sydney on Tuesdays (Stopping at 1:41pm).

Notable residents

* Don Athaldo (born in Condobolin), strongman
* William Beech, inventor periscope rifle holder WW1.
* Kevin Gilbert, poet, author, playwright, activist
* Percy Knight, Former NSWRL Player for Balmain Tigers and Canberra Raiders
* Bill Leak, cartoonist
* Eris O'Brien, archbishop
* Shannon Noll, singer

References

External links

Condoblin – VisitNSW

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Towns in New South Wales
Towns in the Central West (New South Wales)
Lachlan Shire
Populated places established in 1859
Mining towns in New South Wales