Monga is a locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang Region,

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and generally west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cl ...

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. It lies on the Kings Highway at the top of the

Clyde Mountain Clyde Mountain, at an elevation of , is a mountain in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features Clyde Mountain is located in the Great Dividing Range within the Monga National Park. The mountain is ap ...

, about 110 km east of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and 22 km southeast of Braidwood. A large part of the locality forms part of the

Monga National Park The Monga National Park is a national park located south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The closest town nearby is Braidwood. Monga features outstanding high altitude eucalyptus forest and temperate rainforest. It contains the C ...

. At the , it had a population of 14. Monga lies near the watershed of the

Shoalhaven The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is about south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes through the area, and the South Coast railway line traverses the norther ...

and Clyde River catchments; the

Mongarlowe River The Mongarlowe River is a perennial river of the Shoalhaven catchment located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It was also known as Little River, during the 19th century. Location and features The river rises on ...

flows to the Shoalhaven and the Buckenbowra River—flowing to the Clyde—has its source within the locality. The area, now known as Monga, lies on the traditional lands of

Walbanga The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga, Walbunga and Wulbunja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation. Language The Walbunja language may be a dialect of Dhurga. Country The Walbunja people are a subgroup o ...

people, a group of

Yuin The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, ...

. An early bridle track to the Buckenbowra Valley, known, as the Corn Trail by early settlers, follows the general route of a Walbanga footpath. There was once a small village of the same name, which lay near the right bank of the Mongalowe River, on the Clyde Road near the junction with the road from Reidsdale and Majors Creek (the modern day River Forest Road). The road to Major's Creek is still called Monga Lane. It was the location of a tollbar on the Clyde Road—from 1860 to 1865—and a village site was officially reserved there in 1881. The first sawmill was established in 1880 and was powered by large waterwheel, using water from the river. It operated until 1914. By the mid 20th-century, a timber village had been established at Monga, several kilometres south of the site on the Clyde Road, with a large

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

nearby. The village had 18 houses in 1948—more were being built to house timber industry employees—and a 'bachelors' quarters' housing 12 single men. A new village hall was built in 1954. Monga had a provisional school from 1947 to 1955 and a public school from 1955 to 1971. The sawmill closed in 1966, when the supply of high-quality timber was depleted. The operator, Monga Sawmill Pty Limited, was wound up in the same year. However, it was reopened by new owners and worked until at least 1975. Without employment and a school, the village faded away and there is little sign of it now. Nearby Mongarlowe, which in the 19th century was a much bigger settlement, was called Monga until 1891.Information sign at Mongarlowe

References

{{authority control Queanbeyan–Palerang Regional Council Localities in New South Wales Southern Tablelands Ghost towns in New South Wales