Coolamon ()is a town 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 south-west

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Coolamon is north-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 ...

and south-west of

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 ...

via the Hume and

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route. Initiall ...

s. The town is situated on the railway line between

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

and

Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

. Coolamon had a population of 2,275 at the 2021 census and is above sea level. It is the administrative and service centre for the local government area which bears its name—

Coolamon Shire Coolamon Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Shire comprises and is located adjacent to the Newell Highway and the Burley Griffin Way. The Shire includes the towns of Coolam ...

History

The name of Coolamon comes from the Aboriginal word for a basin-shaped wooden dish made and used by Australian

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. In the area around the town are thousands of naturally occurring indentations in the ground called Coolamon Holes which fill with water. The original land where Coolamon now stands, prior to European settlement, was occupied by the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

Aboriginal peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. A property "Coleman" was first settled there by a Mr J. Atkinson in 1848. The town was surveyed prior to the coming of the railway in 1881. Cowabbie Post Office opened on 1 May 1881 and was renamed Ganmain on 1 July and Coolamon on 1 November of that year. At the outbreak of World War 1 Coolamon was hosting the then opposition leader The Right Hon. Andrew Fisher MP. who shortly before addressing a meeting in the Odd Fellow's hall received a telegram from the Prime Minister Joseph Cook advising him that the UK Government had declared war on Germany. He announced to the meeting that Australia would support Britain "to the last man and the last shilling" a line that he would repeat frequently throughout the war, but which was first used in Coolamon. Fisher became Prime Minister following an election held a month later.

Heritage listings

Coolamon has a number of heritage listed sites, including the Up-To-Date Store which is listed in the NSW State Heritage Register, indicating a place or object that has significance for all of NSW. Among the locally recognised heritage sites are: *Shire Offices *Court House and Police Station *historic Post Office *former Fire Station *Railway Station and Station Master's Cottage *Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Church Precincts *RSL Building (now a museum) *Coolamon Hotel

Modern Coolamon

Coolamon is in the

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

belt of New South Wales and is a leading state producer of wheat and

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

. Wheat was first grown in the area in the 1850s. In addition,

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

s and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

are produced and the area is noted for the quality and plumpness of its lambs. A major industry in the town is Coolamon Steelworks, fabricators of

chaser bin A chaser bin, also called grain cart, bank out wagon or (grain) auger wagon, is a trailer (vehicle), trailer towed by a tractor with a built-in auger conveyor system, usually with a large capacity (from several hundred to over 1000 bushels; a ...

s. The town's broad main street, which has been restored, retains much of its old world charm with its wrought-iron verandahs and awnings. Various bric-a-brac, antique shops, tourist coffee lounge, and a modern bread bakery and cafe invite passing tourists to stop and explore the town. The Up-to-Date store, designed by architect

William Monks William John Monks, also known as Bill or Billy, (1869 – 2 July 1943) was an Australian architect active in the last decade of the 19th century and first third of the 20th century. Monks "had one of the most successful and extensive architec ...

, has what is probably the only cash ball cash railway still in situ. In 2017 a boutique cheese factory was opened on the main street, as a working tourist attraction, and selling various hard and soft cheeses made on the premises. Coolamon is home to active Rotary and

Lions Clubs Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

and a sub-Branch of RSL NSW. Kindra State Forest is located at Coolamon.

Sport

The most popular sport in Coolamon is

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 ...

, as it lies on the Canola Way, a geographical pocket stretching from the

Grong Grong Grong Grong is a small town that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on the Newell Highway, east of Narrandera in the Narrandera Shire, Shire of Narrandera. The name ''Grong Grong'' is an Indi ...

and Marrar, in which Australian football retains a strong following in the

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 ...

supporting state of

. The town's team, the Coolamon Rovers Football and Netball Club, known as the Coolamon Grasshoppers, which competes in the

Riverina Football League The Riverina Football Netball League (RFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footba ...

. The club also has a rugby league club known as the Coolamon Raiders. These days the club only fields junior teams, who compete in the Group 9 Junior Rugby League competition. They formerly completed in the Wagga Wagga Second Division competition, known as the Kennedy Shield, until the mid 1990s. Coolamon is home to an 18-hole sand green golf course, 10 rink synthetic

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

green, four synthetic tennis courts and four touch football fields operated by the Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club.

Railway station

Coolamon railway station opened in 1881 as Cowabbie Road. The station name was quickly changed to Coleman and finally the name Coolamon was settled on in 1895. The coming of the railway allowed greater ease in transporting the area's products to distant markets. Coolamon is a served by the twice weekly

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 ...

Xplorer service operating between

and

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

. NSW TrainLink also operate a road coach service from

to Griffith via Coolamon.

References

External links

Riverina Redevelopment Board WebsiteCoolamon Shire CouncilCoolamon Sport and Recreation ClubCoolamon Lions Club
{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales 1881 establishments in Australia Coolamon Shire