Hermidale is a village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia.[2][3] It is 600km north-west of Sydney and the two closest towns are Nyngan (46 km to the east) and Cobar (51 km to the west). It lies on the Barrier Highway. At the 2021 Census, the population of Hermidale was 127.[1]
The area now known as Hermidale is part of the traditional lands of Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of Ngiyampaa people. After settler colonisation, the site of Hermidale lay partly within the County of Canbelego (Parish of Hermitage) and partly within the County of Flinders (Parish of Boree).[4]
The area was originally known to settlers as Hermitage Plains but postal authorities substituted the name Hermidale, in 1892,[5] initially leading to some confusion with distant Armidale.[6] What would become the village site lay astride the route of the Cobar railway line and a station was opened there in 1892.[7] The village of Hermidale was proclaimed on 18 July 1896.[4] Sales of land took place in mid-1897.[8] The public school opened in 1901.[9][10]
There were many mines near Hermidale,[11] the most important of which was the Budgery Copper Mine (north-west of the village).[12][13][14] There were also some small gold mines in the far west of the modern-day locality, around Muriel Tank.[15] Hermidale was initially the rail connection location for the mines at Nymagee but the opening of the Budgery Copper Mine brought some prosperity to the village from around 1906.[16] In 1923, mining became uneconomic due to low copper prices and the Budgery Mining Co. went into liquidation. By 1924, all levels of the mine were flooded; the mine water contained dissolved copper salts and copper was extracted from it.[17][18] There was also a village of Budgery—planned in 1908[19]—but its design was cancelled in 1927,[20] leaving Hermidale as the established community in the area.
Unlike other former mining villages in the region, such as the ghost towns of Bobadah and Canbelego, Hermidale has considerable passing traffic, bringing potential customers to the village, due to its location on the Barrier Highway. The village retains a sports ground, tennis courts, post office, public school[9] and one hotel, and it has a small cemetery.[22]
In 2018, it was announced that Hermidale is the site of a new multi-user rail siding that will accommodate trains up to 1,200 metres long. It will enable trains to be loaded more efficiently, while other trains pass on the rail line. The new siding will result in 33,000 tonnes of freight each year being switched from road transport to rail. [23]
Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is 712 km (442 mi) by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highway. The town and the local government area, the Cobar Shire, are on the eastern edge of the outback. At the 2016 census, the town of Cobar had a population of 3,990. The Shire has a population of approximately 4,700 and an area of 44,065 square kilometres (17,014 sq mi).
Nyngan is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on the Bogan River between Narromine and Bourke, on the junction of the Mitchell Highway and Barrier Highway, 656 km (408 mi) south of Charleville and 576 km (358 mi) north-west of Sydney by road. The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan, and runs west to Cobar and on through Wilcannia and Broken Hill into South Australia.
Bogan River, a perennial river that is part of the Macquarie–Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central west and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia.
The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions. It is 825 kilometres (513 mi) with 484 kilometres (301 mi) operational & 341 kilometres (212 mi) under construction & repairs.
Cobar was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales which was named after the town of Cobar. It was first created in 1894 and abolished in 1920. Cobar was recreated in 1930 and abolished in 1968.
The Bogan was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1859 and named after the Bogan River. It elected two members between 1880 and 1889 and three members between 1889 and 1894. It was abolished in 1894 and partly replaced by Cobar, Dubbo and Coonamble.
The Cobar railway line is a railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It branches west towards Cobar from the Main West Line at Nyngan. The Main West once continued northwest to Bourke but is now closed beyond Nyngan. However, copper concentrates from mines near Hermidale and Cobar are still railed on this line to ports on the New South Wales coast.
Nymagee is a small town in the north west of New South Wales, 618 kilometres (384 mi) north west of Sydney, 130 kilometres (81 mi) south west of Nyngan and 89 kilometres (55 mi) south of Cobar. It is in the Shire of Cobar, The State Government area of Barwon and the Federal Government area of Parkes. At the 2016 census, Nymagee had a population of 101.
Girilambone is a small village in western New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Nyngan and 610 km north-west of Sydney. The name is also applied to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2016 census, the population of the village and its surrounding area was only 107, but it had fallen to just 86 in 2021. The village was originally associated with copper mining.
Shuttleton is an Australian ghost town located in the Parish of Hume, County of Mouramba, New South Wales. The former village site is 29 km west-south-west of Nymagee. The area in which it lies is treated as part of Nymagee for postal and statistical purposes.
Canbelego is a village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It is now virtually a ghost town but was once a much larger settlement associated with the Mount Boppy Gold Mine. The name also refers to the surrounding rural locality identified for postal and statistical purposes. At the 2021 census, the population of Canbelego, including its surrounding area, was 54, up from 39 in 2016, but the village itself had only four residents in early 2020. Between 1907 and 1917, the population was around 2,000.
Canonba is a locality in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. There was also a village of the same name, which is now a ghost town. It lay on Duck Creek, a tributary of the Bogan River, approximately 30 km north-east of Nyngan. Since 1983, the old village site has been known officially as Old Canonba.
Bobadah was a mining village, now a locality, in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It was also known as Carpina, its official name, although that name was rarely used. It is now a ghost town, with its community hall being its last remaining building. Its population in 2016, including the surrounding area, was 10. It was once a larger settlement associated with the nearby Overflow Mine.
Gilgunnia is a locality and ghost town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia, within the Parish of South Peak in Blaxland County and Cobar Shire. It was once a settlement associated with gold mining, but in 2016 its population was zero. The nearest settlements are Mount Hope and Nymagee.
Mount Allen is a ghost town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a village of the same name associated with gold mining. For statistical purposes, it is considered part of Mount Hope.
Mount Drysdale is a ghost town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It was once a village associated with gold mining. It lies within the locality of Tindarey, named after the original pastoral holding from which the village site was excised.
Illewong was a mining village, now a ghost town, in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to 1906, it was known as Bee Mountain. The area, in which Illewong once lay, is now part of Cobar, for postal and statistical purposes.
Mount Boppy Gold Mine was a gold mine at Canbelego, New South Wales, Australia. The original Mount Boppy Gold Mine operated from 1901 to 1922. It was, at the time, regarded as being the largest gold producer in New South Wales.
Wrightville was a mining village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. Once it was a significant settlement, with its own municipal government, public school, convent school, post office, police station, four hotels, and railway connection. At its peak, around 1907, its population probably reached 2,000 people. Its site and that of the adjacent former village of Dapville are now an uninhabited part of Cobar.
Miandetta is a locality in the Bogan Shire, within the Orana region, of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a small settlement, also known as Miandetta. The locality had a population of 23, in 2021.
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