Coonabarabran

The origin of the name Coonabarabran is unconfirmed. It may derive from a person's name or from the Kamilaroi language word 'gunbaraaybaa' meaning 'excrement', translated earlier as meaning, 'peculiar odour', this is possibly a bowdlerisation.

Another possible meaning is derived from the Wiradjuri word for an inquisitive person, ‘gunabaraburan’. 'Coolabarabran' was the name of a station owned by James Weston in 1848.{{NSW GNR|id = JPckWyKmuj|title = Coonabarabran|access-date = 3 August 2013}} The GNB quotes Place Names of NSW their origins & Meanings by A.W. Reed, and also Appleton 1992 which presumably refers to the Cambridge Dictionary of Australian Places, Richard & Barbara Appleton, 1992.

The area around Coonabarabran and the Warrumbungles has been occupied by the Kamilaroi people for approximately 7,500 years. In 1818, the area was opened up for European settlement, when the surveyor-general for the Colony of New South Wales, John Oxley, made an expedition through the north-west areas of the colony. Oxley surveyed the area around the Warrumbungles mountain range, which he named the "Arbuthnot Range".{{cite news |first=M.V.|last=Sheehan|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166102435 |title=Along the King's Highway: Coonabarabran and the Warrumbungles |newspaper=The Sydney Mail|location=Sydney, New South Wales |date=28 February 1934 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=42 |via=National Library of Australia}}

The former convict, James Weston (1800–1883), who was assigned to the Cassilis area in the Upper Hunter Region before being granted his freedom in 1843, acquired the agricultural area known as "Coolabarbyan" in the district in 1843. Weston was among the first permanent settlers in the district, cultivating 20 acres of wheat and constructing a water-powered mill to make flour from his crops on the southern bank of the Castlereagh River (now Neilson Park), being appointed postmaster in 1849, and establishing the first inn, the "Castlereagh Inn" in the early 1850s.{{cite web |last1=Christison |first1=Ray |title=Thematic history of the former Coonabarabran Shire |url=https://www.higround.com.au/docs/THCoona.pdf |publisher=Warrumbungle Shire Council |access-date=20 August 2023 |date=2006}} In 1859, the town was first surveyed by Lewis Gordon, with the first sale of land recorded in 1859. European settlement continued to grow from the 1860s, as the wheat industry moved from coastal areas to further inland, encouraged by the Robertson Land Acts. A Police watch house was completed in 1857, and the first Court House was completed in 1861. The Village of Coonabarabran was gazetted on 2 May 1860. In 1870, the Public School was opened.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18747305 |title=COONABARABRAN. |newspaper=The Maitland Mercury And Hunter River General Advertiser |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=9 August 1870 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} After construction of a new stone courthouse in 1878 the original courthouse was demolished and a post and telegraph office constructed on its site in 1879.

The Coonabarabran Shire was proclaimed on 7 March 1906, with the enactment of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226474400 |title=PROCLAMATION |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=121 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=7 March 1906 |access-date=10 March 2019 |page=1606 |via=National Library of Australia}} With incorporation, the town continued to grow with the construction of the railway line through Binnaway to Coonabarabran in 1917 (extended to Baradine and Gwabegar in 1923) and the establishment of the Forestry Commission in 1916, both of which facilitated the growth of agriculture and forestry as the primary industries of the region.{{cite web |last1=Christison |first1=Ray |title=Report on the Community Based Heritage Study of the former Coonabarabran Shire |url=http://www.warrumbungle.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/684/CoonabarabranShireHeritageStudyFinalReport.pdf.aspx |publisher=Warrumbungle Shire Council |access-date=10 March 2019 |date=2006}}

In 1926–1928, a local committee organised the development of the town memorial to the First World War in the form of the Coonabarabran Memorial Clock Tower at the central town intersection of John Street and Dalgarno Street. Built from local sandstone by Edmund Pye of Gunnedah at a cost of £1,300, the clock tower was officially dedicated on 23 August 1928 by Major General Charles Frederick Cox.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155916814 |title=LOCAL NEWS |newspaper=Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative |location=Mudgee, New South Wales |date=16 February 1928 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=23 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16488989 |title=COONABARABRAN SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=Sydney, New South Wales|date=24 August 1928 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Coonabarabran has a number of heritage-listed sites, including those listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register (SHR), [https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Heritage/aboutheritage/registers.htm State Government Agency Section 170 Registers] (s.170), and the [https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/epi-2013-0670 Warrumbungle Local Environmental Plan] (LEP). The first heritage listings occurred under the now-defunct national Register of the National Estate in 1978, and the Coonabarabran Local Environmental Plan 1990, but no further local level studies have been undertaken since.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231886584 |title=ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT ACT 1979 – Coonabarabran Local Environmental Plan 1990 |newspaper=Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales |issue=18 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 January 1991 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=752 |via=National Library of Australia}}

• Coonabarabran Railway Precinct (s.170){{cite web |title=Coonabarabran Railway Precinct |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=3150079 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• Dalgarno Street: Coonabarabran General Cemetery (LEP){{cite web |title=Coonabarabran General Cemetery |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391161 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}{{cite web |title=General Cemetery |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391028 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• John and Dalgarno streets: Coonabarabran Clock Tower (LEP){{cite web |title=Coonabarabran Clock Tower |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391003 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• John and Dalgarno streets: Coonabarabran Courthouse (LEP & s.170){{cite web |title=Coonabarabran Courthouse |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=3080045 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}{{cite web |title=Courthouse |url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391029 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• Main Road, 55: Flags Inn Site (LEP; Archaeological){{cite web |title=Flags Inn Site|url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391005 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• Oxley Highway: Burra Bee Dee Mission and Cemetery (SHR & LEP){{cite NSW SHR|5054965|Burra Bee Dee Mission|hr=01688|access-date=18 May 2018}}{{cite web |title=Burra Bee Dee Aboriginal Mission Cemetery|url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391001 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}{{cite web |title=Burra Bee Dee Cemetery|url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391147 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}{{cite web |title=Burra Bee Dee Mission|url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391053 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}
• 4 km west of Bulgaldie: Chalk Mountain Area (LEP){{cite web |title=Chalk Mountain Area|url=https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1391006 |website=NSW State Heritage Inventory |publisher=Heritage NSW |access-date=20 August 2023}}

{{Historical populations

|type= Australia

|1954|2210

|1961|2547

|1966|2793

|1971|3055

|1976|3068

|1981|3001

|1986|3033

|1991|2959

|1996|3012

|2001|2736

|2006|2609

|2011|2576

|2016|2537

|2021|2387

|source=Australian Bureau of Statistics data.{{cite web |title=Statistics by Catalogue Number |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ViewContent?readform&view=ProductsbyCatalogue&Action=Expand&Num=2.2 |access-date=22 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Search Census data |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/search-by-area |access-date=22 January 2024}}

}}

According to the 2021 Census, there were 2,387 people in Coonabarabran.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 15.8% of the population.
• 77.9% of people were born in Australia and 80.2% of people spoke only English at home.
• The most common responses for religion were No Religion 27.1%, Catholic 20.8% and Anglican 20.0%.

Coonabarabran is the closest town to the Siding Spring Observatory, which is home to the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope, the largest optical telescope in Australia. It is operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory (formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory). A dozen other telescopes are on Siding Spring Mountain, a number of which are operated by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University. Siding Spring is also home to the Uppsala Telescope where Robert H. McNaught discovered his now famous daylight comet C/2006 P1 in August 2006. The Mopra Observatory, which is home to a 22-metre radio telescope owned and operated by the CSIRO is also near the Siding Spring Observatory, but is operated remotely from Narrabri. A recent addition to the town was the construction of the world's largest virtual Solar System drive{{cite web|url=http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/|title=World's Largest Virtual Solar System Drive|access-date=13 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113135244/http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/|archive-date=13 November 2013|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} on the roads leading to the observatory. Coonabarabran markets itself as the "astronomy capital of Australia", many of the businesses and government buildings in the town feature astronomically themed information plaques.

File:Coonabarabran post office exterior.jpg

Coonabarabran Unicorns rugby league team play in the Castlereagh Cup.

The Anglican Christ Church at 94 Dalgarno Street was opened in 1939 by Bishop Arnold Wylde to a design by Lindsay Gordon Scott.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263568562 |title=C. of E. Notes |newspaper=The North-western Watchman |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 March 1937 |accessdate=8 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263495292 |title=Christ Church |newspaper=The North-western Watchman |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 September 1939 |accessdate=6 November 2021 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263494397 |title=New Church Overcrowded |newspaper=The North-western Watchman |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=24 August 1939 |accessdate=6 November 2021 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Other Churches include St. Lawrence's Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church, Uniting Church and Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Coonabarabran has a subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot summers and cool winters. On average, 56.6 mornings (including 16.3 in July) fall below {{convert|0|C|F|disp=or}}; and in July 2002 the monthly mean minimum was as low as {{convert|−3.5|C|F|disp=or}}. Rainfall is greatest from December to February with summer thunderstorms. Temperature extremes have historically ranged from {{convert|44.0|°C|°F|disp=or}} to {{convert|−9.0|°C|°F|disp=or}}.

{{Weather box

|location = Coonabarabran (Showgrounds, 1991–2020, extremes to 1957); 520 m AMSL; 31.28° S, 149.28° E

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|humidity colour = green

|Jan record high C = 44.0

|Feb record high C = 42.9

|Mar record high C = 37.5

|Apr record high C = 32.7

|May record high C = 26.7

|Jun record high C = 24.6

|Jul record high C = 24.2

|Aug record high C = 29.0

|Sep record high C = 33.6

|Oct record high C = 36.2

|Nov record high C = 41.6

|Dec record high C = 41.5

|Jan high C = 32.0

|Feb high C = 30.6

|Mar high C = 28.0

|Apr high C = 24.1

|May high C = 19.6

|Jun high C = 16.1

|Jul high C = 15.5

|Aug high C = 17.4

|Sep high C = 21.0

|Oct high C = 24.5

|Nov high C = 27.6

|Dec high C = 30.1

|year high C =

|Jan low C = 15.8

|Feb low C = 15.2

|Mar low C = 11.7

|Apr low C = 6.9

|May low C = 3.3

|Jun low C = 1.4

|Jul low C = 0.3

|Aug low C = 0.4

|Sep low C = 3.7

|Oct low C = 7.2

|Nov low C = 11.0

|Dec low C = 13.5

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = 3.6

|Feb record low C = 3.6

|Mar record low C = 0.6

|Apr record low C = −3.6

|May record low C = −6.1

|Jun record low C = −7.2

|Jul record low C = -9.0

|Aug record low C = −7.6

|Sep record low C = -5.0

|Oct record low C = −2.2

|Nov record low C = −0.8

|Dec record low C = 2.7

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 91.4

|Feb rain mm = 83.2

|Mar rain mm = 64.6

|Apr rain mm = 38.7

|May rain mm = 44.3

|Jun rain mm = 55.9

|Jul rain mm = 56.0

|Aug rain mm = 42.6

|Sep rain mm = 56.3

|Oct rain mm = 58.2

|Nov rain mm = 79.1

|Dec rain mm = 95.6

|year rain mm = 765.0

|Jan rain days = 8.3

|Feb rain days = 6.7

|Mar rain days = 6.7

|Apr rain days = 4.2

|May rain days = 5.8

|Jun rain days = 8.2

|Jul rain days = 8.5

|Aug rain days = 6.8

|Sep rain days = 7.0

|Oct rain days = 7.7

|Nov rain days = 9.2

|Dec rain days = 8.6

|unit rain days = 0.2 mm

| Jan afthumidity = 40

| Feb afthumidity = 44

| Mar afthumidity = 41

| Apr afthumidity = 41

| May afthumidity = 48

| Jun afthumidity = 55

| Jul afthumidity = 52

| Aug afthumidity = 44

| Sep afthumidity = 42

| Oct afthumidity = 39

| Nov afthumidity = 39

| Dec afthumidity = 39

|source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/cvg/av?p_stn_num=064008&p_prim_element_index=0&p_comp_element_index=0&redraw=null&p_display_type=full_statistics_table&normals_years=1991-2020&tablesizebutt=normal

| title = COONABARABRAN (SHOWGROUNDS)

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology

| access-date = March 5, 2021

}}

}}

Independently owned and operated, the Coonabarabran Times newspaper circulates throughout the Warrumbungle Shire area. Approximately 2700 copies are distributed each Thursday 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, events and advertisements.

Coonabarabran registered Coonabarabran.com in 1999 and creating a website in 2001.{{cite web|url=http://coonabarabran.com/ |title=Coonabarabran.com |access-date=20 September 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010422000551/http://coonabarabran.com/ |archive-date=22 April 2001 |df=dmy }} Coonabarabran.org began in 2013 and it hosts Coonabarabran News,{{cite web|url=http://www.coonabarabrannews.com | title=Coonabarabran News|access-date=20 September 2016}} an online curation of local news and interest stories.

Coonabarabran also has a Facebook page and Twitter account under the Coonabarabran name.

Coonabarabran can receive television from both Northern NSW and Southern NSW television markets via Mount Dowe (Northern NSW) and Mount Cenn Cruaich (Southern NSW).

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.

File:CountryTown0001.jpg

File:CoonabarabranWarMemorial.JPG

File:Castlereagh River at Coonabarabran.jpg]]

In Coonabarabran are three schools:

Coonabarabran Public School (established 1870) is on John Street, on the Oxley Highway and is Government funded. It has approximately 330 students from kindergarten to Year 6.{{cite web |title=Coonabarabran Public School |url=https://coonabarab-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ |publisher=NSW Department of Education |access-date=20 August 2023}}

Coonabarabran High School (established 1962) is on the Oxley Highway and is Government funded providing secondary education to the surrounding area. It has approximately 380 students.{{cite web |title=Coonabarabran High School |url=https://coonabarab-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/ |publisher=NSW Department of Education |access-date=20 August 2023}}

St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School is on Dalgarno Street, founded in 1888 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. It caters for kindergarten to Year Six and has approximately 110 students. Education is based around the Catholic faith and is across the road from St Lawrence's Catholic Church.{{cite web |title=St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School Coonabarabran |url=https://www.stlawriescoona.catholic.edu.au/ |publisher=Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst |access-date=20 August 2023}} The high school part of the school closed at the end of 2009.{{cite web |title=Parents lose battle to save Coonabarabran high school |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/15/2571188.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802224423/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/15/2571188.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2012 |website=ABC News |access-date=9 September 2018 |language=en-AU |date=15 May 2009}}

• Ros Bower (1923–1980), was a TV producer and a leader in community arts. She was born here.{{Citation |last=Hull |first=Andrea |title=Helen Rosalie (Ros) Bower (1923–1980) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bower-helen-rosalie-ros-9554 |access-date=2024-09-12 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}
• Elizabeth Bryan, chair of Insurance Australia Group
• Mary Jane Cain, indigenous Australian who was instrumental in the 1912 establishment of the "Burra Bee Dee" Aboriginal Reserve
• Gerard Sutton, rugby league referee
• Kylea Tink, politician
• Kyle Turner, rugby league player 2014 premiership winner with South Sydney
• Will Robinson, rugby league player

The township is 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. It is on the main inland truck route between Queensland and Victoria.

The Gwabegar railway line passes through the town. Passenger rail services were replaced by coaches in the 1970s. The section of the Gwabegar line between Binnaway and Gwabegar is booked out of use, from 28 October 2005 for safety reasons.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-25/gulgong-kandos-rail-line-to-be-suspended-from-use/2558060|title=Gulgong-Kandos rail line to be suspended from use|work=ABC News|date=2007-05-25|access-date=2017-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029023239/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-25/gulgong-kandos-rail-line-to-be-suspended-from-use/2558060|archive-date=29 October 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Coonabarabran Airport is 12 km south of the town.

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Coonabarabran, New South Wales}}
• [http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/index.html Strap on your seatbelts and launch into Coonabarabran, The Astronomy Capital of Australia. Experience a scaled model of our Solar System that's 38 million times smaller than outer space!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075801/http://solarsystemdrive.com/index.html |date=6 July 2018 }}
• [http://www.coonabarabran.org Coonabarabran Astronomy Capital of Australia]
• [http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/mopra/ Australia Telescope National Facility]

{{Wikivoyage inline|Coonabarabran}}

{{Adjacent stations

|system1=State Rail Authority

|line3=Gwabegar|left3=Yearinan|right3=Ulamambri

}}

{{Towns and Villages in Warrumbungle Shire}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in New South Wales

Category:Newell Highway

Category:Warrumbungle Shire

Category:Coonabarabran, New South Wales