Mandurama is a village in the

Blayney Shire Blayney Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railwa ...

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 ...

. At the , Mandurama and the surrounding area had a population of 355 people.

Geography

Mandurama is situated 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 ...

, southwest of Bathurst, and northeast of

Cowra Cowra () is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 8,254. Cowra is located approximate ...

on the

Mid-Western Highway Mid-Western Highway, sometimes Mid Western Highway, is a state highway located in the central western and northern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links the Great Western, Mitchell, ...

History

The site of the village and surrounding areas was home to 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 ...

people prior to settlement, and the name "Mandurama" is derived from their word for 'water holes'. A prominent pastoralist,

Thomas Icely Thomas Icely (3 November 179713 February 1874) was an early colonial New South Wales landholder and stockbreeder. As a nominee Legislative Councillor from 1843, to 1853, and from 1855, until the establishment of responsible government in 1856, h ...

, came to the colony in 1820 as a trader. In 1823 he received a land grant of at Saltram, in the Bathurst area. By 1831 Icely owned Coombing Park, and went on building up his acreage by purchase and further grant. By 1836 there were thirty convicts assigned to Icely's property and in September 1836 he asked the authorities for three more. Within a year he had 62 convicts at work at Coombing, assisting in the cultivation of and running sheep and cattle under two free overseers and was seeking five more convicts, but in 1839 the number had declined to fourteen in post, with a request for nine new assignees. Later Icely received a land grant of which he called Mandurama. About 1870 part of Coombing Park (under the management of Thomas Icely's eldest son, Thomas Rothery Icely) was sold to John Fagan who named his station Sunny Ridge. The 60,000 Sunny Ridge property originally included the Mandurama town site. Mandurama was established in 1876 as a privately owned village for the workers of

's Coombing Park. A Post Office opened in 1876, followed by a school in 1877. Mandurama has since developed, along with nearby Lyndhurst into a modest service centre for the surrounding localities and farmland. The Royal Hotel was established 1899.

Heritage listings

Mandurama has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 1521 Belubula Way: Cliefden * Cliefden Caves Mandurama was also the central subject of the group of photographs known as the

Mandurama Collection The Mandurama Collection contains 3,444 photographs taken by Estonian-born photographer Evan Lumme, who lived from 1865 to 1935. Lumme arrived in Australia in 1881 and set up business in Ashfield, New South Wales, as a photographer. In 1900, he m ...

, now housed at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Amenities

Mandurama has a general store and cafe; service station; a

New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting government agency, agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the la ...

station; primary school; number of churches; golf club; tennis court; hall, and hotel.

Attractions

Mandurama retains a number of historic buildings, including two former bank premises, a former primary school, the Lincoln Theatre, and the Belubula Lodge.

References

External links

Towns in New South Wales Blayney Shire Blayney–Demondrille railway line {{CentralWestNSW-geo-stub