Goolma is a tiny Hamlet community in the Central West of

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 ...

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. It is located on the Goolma road, which links the towns of

Mudgee Mudgee () is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gov ...

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West (New South Wales), Central West regions of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The town is situated within th ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. The name is also used for the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2021 census, the Goolma region had a population of 95 people. Inside the Hamlet, there are a few tennis courts, a roadhouse (closed), a used car dealership (closed),former Anglican and Roman Catholic churches (closed) and the Goolma Hotel also closed. Most of the surrounding area of Goolma is agricultural, with farmers producing cereals, wool, cattle and lambs. Near Goolma was the Belara Copper Mine (closed), which operated from 1880 to at least 1908. Goolma was intended to be served by a cross-country railway line running from Sandy Hollow to Mary Vale, but work was stopped in 1950 and the line was never completed. An abandoned tunnel and unfinished bridges and embankments are landmarks to the abandoned line. The small Goolma Public School which was founded in 1875 has nine (9) students and competes in the regional sports carnivals. Goolma had a rugby union team (non existing) up until the 1990s called the "Polar Bears", but with most of the village either moving or aging, the team eventually atrophied and is no longer competing. The Goolma Cricket Club has had a team since 1906 and currently competes in the Gulgong area. The Tennis club holds a weekly night competition during the summer months and no longer holds monthly tournaments for the rest of the year.

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

presenter, Tim Sheridan was raised outside Goolma, with his older brothers playing for the Polar Bears. Also, former

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

forward

Daniel Conn Daniel William Conn (born 14 February 1986) is an Australian model and former professional rugby league footballer. He played in the for several clubs in the NRL. Playing career Conn was a Wellington Cowboys & St Johns Dubbo junior. Conn ma ...

was raised near Goolma. After receiving a sports scholarship to

The King's School, Parramatta The King's School is an Education in Australia#Non-government schools, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary day and boarding school, bo ...

, Conn was contracted by the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

until he was offered a new contract with the Gold Coast Titans. He finished his NRL playing career at the Sydney Roosters.

References

External links

Goolma Public School web site
Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Mining towns in New South Wales {{CentralWestNSW-geo-stub