Welcome to the Coonamble Shire where you can enjoy clear starry nights, country hospitality and a range of activities and events.

In area, the Coonamble Shire is one of the largest in New South Wales, covering 9 955 square kilometres. The shire has a population of 5 000 of which 3 000 live in the township of Coonamble.

The rich and diverse agricultural economy is the backbone of the Shire. Farming practices include sheep, wheat, cattle, crayfish and tourism. The Shire also boasts an operational orchard, furniture making, cottage industry, abattoir and other associated secondary industries.

Coonamble is central to three of the State’s best natural environs - the Warrumbungles, the Pilliga Forest and the Macquarie Marshes - and a short day trip from Lightning Ridge, home of the black opal. Dubbo is only a step away as is the cotton capital of Warren.

Each year a large number of people come to Coonamble seeking information regarding their forebears. The Coonamble and District Archives Centre and Family History records are available at the Coonamble Library. Members of the Family History Society are happy to lend assistance.

More details of Coonamble Shire and the area are available from your receptionist, the Shire Council, Zobel’s Art Gallery (Historical Museum) or Riverside Caravan Park. Tune into Tourist Radio FM88 for information as you go.

Very little is known about the Aboriginal inhabitants of the Coonamble area. Although there is no written evidence of their association with the area other than European records, we can glean some information from ancient middens, burial grounds, fish traps, carvings, artefacts and paintings.

According to Norman B Tindale, the Coonamble district incorporated three tribes - the Kawambarai, the Weilwan and the Kamilaroi. Tribal boundaries were determined by natural features such as rivers and mountain ranges. Crossing of the boundaries was tolerated in times of drought and welcomed if the visitors brought tools, weapons or stories.

Explorers came to this area in search of possible grazing land for sheep and cattle, however it was George Evans who in 1818 discovered the flooded Castlereagh River near the present town of Coonamble.

In 1840 James Walker was the first to lease land in this district - his Koonamble Run. From the beginning the ‘Koonamble’ Run became the natural centre of the surrounding plains. It was used as a convenient camping ground and watering place on their way to and from the interior.

Official recognition of the needs of the district was proclaimed on July 5 1855 by reserving land on the Eastern side of the Castlereagh for a future township. Development of Coonamble soon followed.

Local government was introduced to the township on May 3 1880 with the formation of the Coonamble Municipal District. The railway was soon to follow and was opened between Dubbo and Coonamble in February 1903. This gave graziers a reliable and cheap method of transporting wool.

The town and District owes its survival to the discovery of Artesian water in the area in the 1890s.

On the evening of the 6th February 1929 a fire swept through Castlereagh Street and destroyed most of the buildings in just 4 hours. As a result more than 200 people were homeless, 38 of the main buildings had been destroyed and many buildings were badly damaged. Historical photographs and documents were gone forever. Buildings such as hotels, banks, the picture theatre, the Shire Chambers and private homes were lost. It is reported that the glow from the fire could be seen from Gilgandra.

Court House and Lock up. Aberford Street. A combined court house and lock up was built of slabs in 1862 near where the Brigidine Convent stood in Tooloon Street. In 1877 a new brick court house/watch house was built in Aberford Street. This was the first government building to be constructed of brick in the town.

The first Council meeting was held in the Court House on July 15 1880. From 1882 when not in use the Court House was used as a gaol and also the police station until a new one was built in 1886.

The present court house was built in 1972 and was the first fully air conditioned court building in the state of NSW.

Coonamble Museum. Aberford Street. This is the former police station and has been converted to Coonamble Historical Museum. The museum displays artefacts, photographs, implements and household utensils used in Coonamble’s early history. The ‘trooper’ brick horse stables have been retained in original form with stalls, feed boxes and saddlery and is one of only two of its kind left in NSW. The museum is open every weekday from 10.00am to 4.00pm or by request. Contact the Shire Office on 68 221 333 for more information.

St Barnabas’ Anglican Church. cnr Aberford and Namoi Streets. This church was built at the turn of the century and features timber joinery work of outstanding quality. Inspections may be made by contacting the Rectory at the rear of the church (Aberford Street).

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Catholic Church. Tooloon Street. This large Church is made of concrete and features Spanish architecture.
The church was built in 1939 and the marble was imported from Italy. The church is a copy of the plans of the Roman Catholic Church in Pymble, only larger.

The Brigidine Order was formed in Australia at Coonamble in 1883. The Convent, built in 1910, was moved to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley during 1990.

First Post Office A bark hut was used as a Post Office in 1859 in Namoi Street. The present Post Office was built in 1881 with many additions throughout the years. Mrs Sarah Burtt was the first post mistress and was on a salary of 12 pound ($24) a year. Two guarantors were required should she abscond with 2 pound ($4) in postage stamps.

Davey Brown (c1867 - 1977) claimed he was the last ‘full blood’ Aboriginal in the Coonamble district. He also explained the Aboriginal meaning of the word "Coonamble".

Johnny Dunn Last member of the Ben Hall’s bushranger gang to be captured was arrested near Quambone by Coonamble Police and held in the Coonamble cells. He was held there until he could be transported for trial and subsequent hanging.

AB (Banjo) Paterson has strong links with the Coonamble district and a number of Paterson family connections still live in the District.

Spelling of Coonamble There were many European attempts at spelling the Aboriginal word being … KANAMBLE, KOONAMBIL, COONAMBRIL. It is pronounced CANAMBLE OR KOONAMBLE and was eventually gazetted COONAMBLE. Incidentally, the name Coonamble means ‘lot of dirt’.

Water flows naturally from many of the bores on the artesian, which are sunk from 300m to 1080m below the surface of the earth. Two such bores can be seen from the road. One is 4.8 km from Coonamble on the back Combara Road and the other is 17.6 km from Coonamble on the Castlereagh Highway to Walgett. The Coonamble town water supply comes from four bores that have been equipped with pumps to increase the supply. Bore water has a natural fluoride content.

Sub-artesian bores (where the water does not rise naturally to the surface) are also in the area. Some bores are equipped with pumps driven by windmills or motors to increase the flow and to raise the water the additional distance to the surface.

The water is distributed by pipes. This water is only suitable for stock because of its hardness. The quality of water varies between bores and some have a strong smell of sulphur.

The Great Artesian Basin underlies an area of over 21 million hectares in north western NSW. The Basin is, believed to be, fed with water from rivers and rain entering porous rock at the edge of the basin.

The district covers the western slopes of the Warrumbungle Ranges and the alluvial plains of the Castlereagh River. Much of the storm run-off from the mountains to the plains and the Castlereagh River evaporates before reaching the Macquarie or Barwon River; other water soaks into the recharge beds of ground water aquifers of the great artesian basin.

Soils are derived from the basalt materials, with grey self mulching clays and red brown earths being the dominant soil type. There are 9 soil types recorded within the Coonamble Shire and this causes a great variety of vegetation.

There is a magnificent variety of native grassland, shrubland, swampland and woodland within the Shire. The woodlands can change in dominant species and density with up to 10 major types: Grey Box, Red Box, River Red Gum along creeks and the river, Silverleaf Ironbark, Coolabah, Mulga, Cypress Pine, Myall, Wilga and Belah communities. Shrublands occur with scattered Black Box or Myall trees with Bladder Saltbush and Mitchell grass. Grasslands feature Mitchell grass and Plains grass. Emus, kangaroos, cockatoos, galahs, twelve apostles and water birds are common throughout the shire.

The average rainfall is 500 millimetres and it falls throughout the year with a dominance of summer rain. This summer rainfall is generally storm rains and is not very effective for crops because of the heat and high evaporation consequently summer cropping is not a regular feature of the area. Winter cropping is gradually becoming more extensive as cropping machinery and farming techniques improve. Moisture retention and timeliness are the limiting factors. Drought periods are a fact of life and moderate droughts occur one year in five and severe droughts one year in twelve, but extensive flooding of the plains can be expected to occur some time within each decade.

Summers are warm to hot for about four months of the year averaging over 31 degrees. May to September can be ideal, beautiful days averaging 19 degrees with cool nights and lovely clear sunny days.

The Coonamble district’s 350 farms produce more than $100 million worth of produce annually. Agriculture is based on extensive grazing and dryland farming with wheat, sheep and cattle being the mainstays. Most of the area’s commercial farms are in the vicinity of 2 000 - 2 500 hectares.

Sheep have historically been the major industry in the shire but this has changed over the years as people have diversified. There are still between 600-800 000 sheep within the Coonamble Rural Lands Board area. Many famous stud farms are in the area; Haddon Rig, Mumblebone and Egelabra are three historically important parent studs. Visible from the road are some mighty old shearing sheds that used to employ 30 -40 shearers, plus 40 or more shedhands, handling the wool from 70 - 100 000 sheep over the season. Originally they used blade shears, then steam engines and now electricity. Sheds can be seen at Sandy Camp, Gulargambone, Nebea.

The Coonamble shire Merinos produce medium, 22-23 micron (clothing wool), and growers are either of two types - pure merinos woolgrowers or growers crossing merino with Border Leicesters to meet the prime lamb breeding ewe market. The general stocking rate is one dry sheep equivalent per hectare. Breeding sales are held twice a year (autumn and spring) at the sale yards in Coonamble.

The Coonamble district is renowned for its pasture and grasses that can fatten stock all year round. Beef cattle sales are held every week on Friday mornings and store cattle sales once a month on Wednesday mornings. Herefords and Hereford Santa Gertrudis Cross are the main breeds with some purebred Shorthorns and Angus cattle also present. Some growers are selling direct to feedlotters or feedlotting themselves and the district is in the process of establishing a cooperative owned feedlot. The local family owned abattoir processes a significant number of cattle locally. The general stocking rate is one steer per six hectares.

Wheat is the main winter cereal. Yields average 1.4 -1.6 tonnes per hectare with most of the crop graded as prime hard. Barley is a common alternative crop and oats, canola, faba beans, lupins and cowpeas are all being grown in increasing amounts. The large areas and the variable rainfall have made Coonamble an important area for big machinery and new types of machinery as the importance of timing and moisture retention are critical to yield results. It is quite possible to see newly designed and very large equipment around some of the cultivation country. Cotton growing is becoming more common with nearby farms at Warren, Carinda and around Quambone.

Pastures and summer growing perennials such as lucerne, Rhodes grass, buffell, purple pigeon, lovegrass and bambatsi panic transform the paddocks in summer and clovers, lucerne, medics and vetches in the winter. All enhance Coonamble’s reputation as all year grazing and fattening country.

Other rural enterprises in the shire include a significant horse industry with breeding, racing, trotting training, polocrosse, pony club and rodeo weekends. Horses are an important part of the Coonamble lifestyle. Farm stays, farm cottage industries, piggeries, emu farming, fish farming, goats and yabbies are all important enterprises as the community grows and diversifies.

Imported weeds are a problem to the farmers and the spring panorama of yellow fields of wild mustard/turnip and purple paddocks of Paddison’s curse are aesthetically pleasing but for most farmers most of the time they are weeds. In summer be careful about transporting seeds in your socks or shoes because there are some real nasties such as Bathurst burr, Noogoora burr, Galvanised burr, Spiny burr as well as Karki weed and Catheads. All are spreading and costing money to control and destroying productive country.