Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Coonabarabran k
is a town in Warrumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales
, Australia
. At the 2006 census
, the town had a population of 2,609.
found Aboriginal people living here the following year 1818 — later identified as the western language reach of the Kamilaroi
clans (Gamilaraay is the spelling used by linguists). Kamilaroi people are still well represented in the region, having occupied Coonabarabran for approximately 7,500 years.
The meaning of the word Coonabarabran is said to probably derive from Kamilaroi language
'gunbaraaybaa' meaning 'shit'. A meaning recorded earlier, 'peculiar odour', is thought to be a bowdlerisation
. Another meaning has been said to be
that it is the Aboriginal for 'Inquisitive person'. 'Coolabarabran' was the name of a station owned by James Weston in 1848.
Coonabarabran Post Office opened on 1 January 1850.
The township is located on the Newell Highway
and the Oxley Highway
, approximately halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane and can be reached in about six hours by car from Sydney
. There are numerous motels, hotels, and caravan parks for travellers.
Coonabarabran is the gateway to the Warrumbungle National Park
and the Pilliga Forest
. A central feature of the town is the Town Clock which is situated in the middle of town at the intersection of John Street and Dalgarno Street.
Coonabarabran is the closest town to the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope
, the largest optical telescope in Australia, situated on Siding Spring Mountain. A number of other telescopes are in use on the mountain with a number of them operated by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University
. There are a total of 12 telescopes currently on Siding Spring, with a thirteenth currently being built. This is the Skymapper Survey Telescope of the ANU. Siding Spring is also home to the Uppsala Telescope where Dr Rob McNaught discovered his now famous daylight comet C2006 P1 McNaught in August 2006. A recent addition to the town was the construction of the World's Largest Virtual Solar System Drive on the roads leading to the observatory.
There are aged care facilities in the town, providing hostel, lodge and nursing home facilities. There are also village self-care units.
There are a number of doctors, a dentist and a hospital.
Coonabarabran is on a main inland truck route between Queensland
and Victoria
.
The area is currently served by a small community radio station, 2WCR FM. This station broadcasts on 99.5 FM, it has a good broadcasting range but it can be a bit scratchy due to the hill-like terrain.
(formerly Coles, Bi-lo, Tuckerbag, Payless and many others over the years), plus the fast food stores Subway
and Eagle Boys Pizza , it also has other small cafe restaurants. Until 2007 there was an IGA store, run by the Woo family, that supplied most of the town. There is a newsagency, local bakery, catering service, three Chinese restaurants and several hotels. It also has two variety clothing stores ADRA
and a St Vincent DePaul
. Coonabarabran has many churches, the Parish of St Lawrences Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church, Uniting Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
is a town in Warrumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, the town had a population of 2,609.
History and description
Lewis Gordon first proposed a town plan survey for Coonabarabran in 1859 although the area had been opened up by a Government-sponsored expedition in 1817. John OxleyJohn Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of English colonisation.October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to Western Port in 1804-05...
found Aboriginal people living here the following year 1818 — later identified as the western language reach of the Kamilaroi
Kamilaroi
The Kamilaroi or Gamilaraay are an Indigenous Australian people who are from the area between Tamworth and Goondiwindi, and west to Narrabri, Walgett and Lightning Ridge, in northern New South Wales...
clans (Gamilaraay is the spelling used by linguists). Kamilaroi people are still well represented in the region, having occupied Coonabarabran for approximately 7,500 years.
The meaning of the word Coonabarabran is said to probably derive from Kamilaroi language
Gamilaraay language
The Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi language is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup found mostly in South East Australia. It was the traditional language of the Kamilaroi people, but is now moribund—according to Ethnologue, there were only 3 speakers left in 1997...
'gunbaraaybaa' meaning 'shit'. A meaning recorded earlier, 'peculiar odour', is thought to be a bowdlerisation
Expurgation
Expurgation is a form of censorship which involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive, usually from an artistic work.This has also been called bowdlerization, especially for books, after Thomas Bowdler, who in 1818 published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work that he...
. Another meaning has been said to be
that it is the Aboriginal for 'Inquisitive person'. 'Coolabarabran' was the name of a station owned by James Weston in 1848.
Coonabarabran Post Office opened on 1 January 1850.
The township is located on the Newell Highway
Newell Highway
The Newell Highway is the longest highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs parallel to the eastern coast about 400 kilometres inland, and is the main inland direct road link from Victoria to Queensland, bypassing the more congested coastal areas of New South Wales...
and the Oxley Highway
Oxley Highway
The Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia. It starts at Nevertire where it joins the Mitchell Highway. It links Warren, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah, Carroll, Tamworth, Bendemeer, Walcha, Yarrowitch, Ellenborough, Long Flat, Wauchope and ends at Port Macquarie on the...
, approximately halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane and can be reached in about six hours by car from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. There are numerous motels, hotels, and caravan parks for travellers.
Coonabarabran is the gateway to the Warrumbungle National Park
Warrumbungle National Park
Warrumbungle National Park is located in central northern New South Wales, Australia, 550 km northwest of Sydney. Outside of the Sydney metropolitan area parks, it is the most-visited national park in New South Wales....
and the Pilliga Forest
Pilliga forest
The State Forests of The Pilliga, commonly known as the Pilliga Scrub , constitute some 3000 km2 of semi-arid woodland in temperate north-central New South Wales, Australia...
. A central feature of the town is the Town Clock which is situated in the middle of town at the intersection of John Street and Dalgarno Street.
Coonabarabran is the closest town to the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope
Anglo-Australian Telescope
The Anglo-Australian Telescope is a 3.9 m equatorially mounted telescope operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory and situated at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia at an altitude of a little over 1100 m...
, the largest optical telescope in Australia, situated on Siding Spring Mountain. A number of other telescopes are in use on the mountain with a number of them operated by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. There are a total of 12 telescopes currently on Siding Spring, with a thirteenth currently being built. This is the Skymapper Survey Telescope of the ANU. Siding Spring is also home to the Uppsala Telescope where Dr Rob McNaught discovered his now famous daylight comet C2006 P1 McNaught in August 2006. A recent addition to the town was the construction of the World's Largest Virtual Solar System Drive on the roads leading to the observatory.
There are aged care facilities in the town, providing hostel, lodge and nursing home facilities. There are also village self-care units.
There are a number of doctors, a dentist and a hospital.
Coonabarabran is on a main inland truck route between Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Media
Independently owned and operated, the Coonabarabran Times newspaper circulates throughout the Warrumbungle Shire area. Approximately 2700 copies are printed each Thursday and distributed across the townships of Coonabarabran, Binnaway, Baradine, Coolah, Dunedoo, Mendooran and Mullaley. The Coonabarabran Times was founded in 1927 as an amalgamation of The Bligh Watchman (1877–1927) and The Clarion (1910–1927). It continues to be a solid publication, consisting of local news and issues facing the community, sport, advertisements and events.The area is currently served by a small community radio station, 2WCR FM. This station broadcasts on 99.5 FM, it has a good broadcasting range but it can be a bit scratchy due to the hill-like terrain.
Coonabarabran Public School
Coonabarabran Public School is a Government-funded school, located on John Street, on the Oxley highway. It has approximately 350 students, and its educational facilities range from Kindergarten to Year 6. Its Principal is Mr Noel Willoughby.Coonabarabran High School
Coonabarabran High School is located on the Oxley highway, is also Government-funded, has approximately 400 students. It has a range of academic and sporting facilities, an Ag-plot, two computer labs, a gym, and a hall. The principal is Mr Kevin Sharp, and the deputy is Mr Graham Enks.St Lawrence's Catholic School
St Lawrence's Catholic School is located on Dalgarno Street. It caters for Kindergarten to Year Ten and has approximately 150 students. It is not Government-funded, and education is based around a Catholic lifestyle. It has an ag-plot, a computer lab, recently renewed basketball courts and is across the road from St Lawrence's Catholic Church. The high school part of the school closed at the end of 2009.Shops and Services
Being a small country town, Coonabarabran has limited shops. There are two major chain shopping centres, Woolworths and FoodworksFoodworks (Australia)
FoodWorks is the brand the Australian independent retail supermarket group Australian United Retailers Limited trade under. The AURL was created in November 2004 from the Merger of the FoodWorks Supermarket Group Ltd and Australian United Retailers . Its main competitors are Woolworths, Coles,...
(formerly Coles, Bi-lo, Tuckerbag, Payless and many others over the years), plus the fast food stores Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
and Eagle Boys Pizza , it also has other small cafe restaurants. Until 2007 there was an IGA store, run by the Woo family, that supplied most of the town. There is a newsagency, local bakery, catering service, three Chinese restaurants and several hotels. It also has two variety clothing stores ADRA
Adra
Adra may refer to:places:*Adra, Spain – municipality in Almería , Andalusia*Adra, Purulia – town in the state of West Bengal, India*Adra, Syria – town approximately 40 km north of Damascus...
and a St Vincent DePaul
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an international Roman Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Active in England & Wales since 1844, today it continues to address social and material need in all...
. Coonabarabran has many churches, the Parish of St Lawrences Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church, Uniting Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
External links
- http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/index.html
- http://www.aao.gov.au/