Coonamble
| Coonamble New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Castlereagh St, the main street of Coonamble | |||||||||
  Coonamble | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°57′0″S 148°24′0″E / 30.95000°S 148.40000°E | ||||||||
| Population | 2,750 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2829 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 180 m (591 ft) | ||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Coonamble | ||||||||
| Region | Orana | ||||||||
| County | Leichhardt | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Barwon | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Parkes | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2016 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,750.[1] It is the regional hub for wheat growing and sheep and wool. The name for the town is taken from the Gamilaraay word guna (faeces) and -bil (having much).[2]
Brigidine nuns from Ireland established a school in 1883.[3] Their architecturally distinguished convent was dismantled in 1990 and transported 600 km (373 mi) to Pokolbin, where it now houses The Convent resort.[4]
Although Coonamble had been a major sheep industry region in the 1980s to 2000, there has recently been an increasing interest in cattle rearing. The summers can have temperatures reaching up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter, there are nights as cold as 0 °C (32 °F). Most recently Coonamble has gained media coverage due to their mass floods over Christmas 2009.
Population[edit]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2,211 | — |
| 1933 | 2,717 | +22.9% |
| 1947 | 2,567 | −5.5% |
| 1954 | 2,910 | +13.4% |
| 1961 | 3,235 | +11.2% |
| 1966 | 3,410 | +5.4% |
| 1971 | 3,166 | −7.2% |
| 1976 | 3,054 | −3.5% |
| 1981 | 3,090 | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 3,058 | −1.0% |
| 1991 | 2,886 | −5.6% |
| 1996 | 2,754 | −4.6% |
| 2001 | 2,659 | −3.4% |
| 2006 | 2,549 | −4.1% |
| 2011 | 2,446 | −4.0% |
| 2016 | 2,409 | −1.5% |
| 2021 | 2,353 | −2.3% |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data.[5][6] | ||
- In the 2016 Census, there were 2,750 people in Coonamble.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 34.2% of the population.
- 80.0% of people were born in Australia and 83.0% of people only spoke English at home.
- The most common responses for religion were Anglican 34.3% and Catholic 28.9%.[1]
Schools and Churches[edit]
Coonamble has three schools: Coonamble Public School, St Brigids Catholic School and Coonamble High School.
It has a Catholic and an Anglican church.
Rodeo[edit]
Coonamble hosts an annual rodeo that is attended by around 1,000 competitors and 4,000 spectators.[7]
Radio station[edit]
Coonamble has its own local radio station, 2MTM 91.9FM, which has a wide variety of music from country to modern.
Outback Radio 2WEB broadcasts to the area on 91.1FM.
Sports[edit]
The Coonamble Bears play in the Castlereagh Cup Rugby League competition. The Coonamble Rams play in the Western Plains Rugby Union competition.
Climate[edit]
Coonamble has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) with long hot summers and short cool winters, with mild, albeit erratic, rainfall spread through the months.
| Climate data for Coonamble Airport AWS, New South Wales, Australia (1997–present normals and extremes); 181 m AMSL | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.6 (117.7) |
46.9 (116.4) |
42.0 (107.6) |
35.5 (95.9) |
30.1 (86.2) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.1 (77.2) |
30.2 (86.4) |
38.4 (101.1) |
39.4 (102.9) |
45.0 (113.0) |
44.3 (111.7) |
47.6 (117.7) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 40.1 (104.2) |
38.8 (101.8) |
35.7 (96.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
25.5 (77.9) |
21.5 (70.7) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.9 (75.0) |
29.6 (85.3) |
33.7 (92.7) |
37.1 (98.8) |
38.7 (101.7) |
40.1 (104.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 35.3 (95.5) |
33.8 (92.8) |
30.9 (87.6) |
26.4 (79.5) |
21.6 (70.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.3 (66.7) |
23.8 (74.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
30.9 (87.6) |
33.3 (91.9) |
26.5 (79.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.9 (82.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
23.9 (75.0) |
19.3 (66.7) |
14.5 (58.1) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.6 (67.3) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.7 (78.3) |
19.2 (66.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.1 (53.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
5.2 (41.4) |
3.6 (38.5) |
3.9 (39.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
15.6 (60.1) |
18.1 (64.6) |
11.8 (53.2) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
7.0 (44.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) |
7.9 (46.2) |
4.8 (40.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
1.0 (33.8) |
4.0 (39.2) |
6.8 (44.2) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 43.9 (1.73) |
55.6 (2.19) |
58.3 (2.30) |
36.9 (1.45) |
33.5 (1.32) |
48.6 (1.91) |
32.7 (1.29) |
23.2 (0.91) |
32.5 (1.28) |
42.1 (1.66) |
56.1 (2.21) |
65.2 (2.57) |
528.6 (20.82) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 49.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 39.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | 48.5 | 55.0 | 67.0 | 66.5 | 55.0 | 47.0 | 39.0 | 40.0 | 37.5 | 48.8 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 12.3 (54.1) |
13.4 (56.1) |
11.4 (52.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.2 (45.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
5.7 (42.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
6.3 (43.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
8.5 (47.4) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (1997–present normals and extremes)[8] | |||||||||||||
Heritage listings[edit]
Coonamble has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Dubbo–Coonamble railway: Coonamble railway station[9]
Notable people[edit]
- Ron Boden, rugby league player
- Alex Cullen, journalist
- Ned Hanigan, rugby player
- Lancelot Hansen, rugby league player
- Eddie Murray, rugby league player, notable Aboriginal death in custody[10]
- Mary Quirk, politician[11]
- Jesse Ramien, rugby league player
- Thomas Tyrrell, trade unionist and politician[12]
- Adriano Zumbo, pâtissier and chef
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Coonamble (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Giacon, John (26 March 2011). "Etymology of Yuwaalaraay Gamilaraay Bird Names". Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ Kerri Genovese. "The Brigidine new arrival story". Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ "The Convent Hunter Valley: Our history". Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Coonamble Rodeo and Campdraft - About the Rodeo". Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ^ "Coonammble Airport AWS, NSW Climate (1997–present normals and extremes)". Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Coonamble Railway Station and Yard Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01117. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
- ^ Peters-Little, Frances; Luckhurst, Simon (2012). "Edward James Murray". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 18. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Blackley, Leanne L. (2002). "Mary Lilly May Quirk". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 16. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Farrell, Frank (1990). "Thomas James (Jim) Tyrrell". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
External links[edit]
