History
In August 1901 there was a report of a “small gold rush” near Matakana, nine miles south of Mount Hope, after the discovery of a reef where “gold can be seen in the stone”. The discovery by prospectors Eldridge and Grogan caused a flurry of excitement at Mount Hope where “the Warden's clerk has been kept busy issuing miner's rights”. [2]
The Matakana to Mount Hope single-track branch railway line was opened in February 1919. [3]
In early July 1924 the train service between Matakana and Mount Hope was discontinued “because of the paucity of business”; there had been “so little hope of a mining revival in the district that the whole of the mining machinery at Mount Hope was dismantled and removed”. [4] [5]
In July 1929 “a site near the railway line at Matakana” was selected as the location of “an experimental farm within the area to serve prospective settlers”. The selection of the site was a part of the “preliminary investigations” by E. S. Clayton (Chief Experimentalist of the Department of Agriculture) “for the projected settlement of a large area of the south-western mallee lands in N.S.W.” . The area was expected to “be devoted chiefly to wheatgrowing, with a probable subsequent extension to sheep”. The water supply, "in addition to bores”, was proposed to be drawn from Wyangala dam. [6] In August 1930 Matakana was described as “the proposed Mallee wheatgrowing settlement”. [7]
In October 1941 “new trucking yards” were completed at Matakana and it was expected that “persons trucking stock there will find a great improvement”. [8]
In July 1952 a description was published of an overnight camp at Matakana, described as “that unexpected railway line break in the midst of miles and miles of thick high mallee”. Trains passed along the track during the night: “on a westward bound goods train we counted 54 trucks in the bright moonlight”. [9]
In December 1957 five separate bush fires “were raging out of control” between Condobolin and Hillston. The main Western railway line was cut and tracks destroyed. Fires around Euabalong and Mount Hope were “burning on a 100-mile front”. A fire “threatened to engulf” the “village of Matakana” and “20 women and children were driven through an arch of flames to escape the fire” and provided with accommodation at nearby Mount Hope. Fire fighters “managed to divert the flames” around Matakana. [10]
Morawa is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is located within the Shire of Morawa, approximately 370 kilometres (230 mi) north of the state capital Perth, on the railway line between Wongan Hills and Mullewa.
The Kidman Way is a state rural road in the western Riverina and western region of New South Wales, Australia. The 644-kilometre (400 mi) highway services the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and outback communities and links the Newell Highway with the Sturt, Mid-Western, Barrier, Mitchell and Kamilaroi highways. The road carries the State Route B87 shield for its entire route, with its northern terminus at Bourke and its southern terminus at a junction with the Newell Highway, situated 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Jerilderie. The Kidman Way is fully sealed and is accessible by two or four-wheel drive.
Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the 2016 census, Condobolin had a population of 3,486.
Mount Hope is a settlement in western New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Kidman Way, 95 kilometres north of Hillston and 160 km south of Cobar. A government township called 'Nombinnie' was surveyed in the mid-1880s but that name was rarely used.
Goolgowi is a small town located in western New South Wales, Australia, around 650 kilometres (400 mi) west of Sydney via the Mid-Western Highway and is the administrative centre of Carrathool Shire. At the 2016 census, Goolgowi had a population of 402.
Rankins Springs is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Carrathool Shire and on the Mid-Western Highway. At the 2011 census, Rankins Springs had a population of 299 residents living in 145 private dwellings. The settlement is strung out along the Mid-Western Highway and adjacent railway line. The main agricultural activities of the district around Rankins Springs are the growing of crops such as wheat and oats, and beef-cattle and wool-production.
Trida is a locality in Central Darling Shire in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia.
Merriwagga is a town in the northern part of the Riverina region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated by road, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north west of Goolgowi and 42 kilometres (26 mi) south of Hillston on the Kidman Way in NSW. At the 2011 census, it has a population of 169. The main industry is agriculture.
The Mount Hope railway briefly connected the Broken Hill railway line with Mount Hope, New South Wales, Australia. The copper mine for which this branch was constructed to service ceased full-time operations four months before the line was opened. After a bare five years, the branch itself was closed—possibly the first step of rationalisation to be practiced by the New South Wales Government Railways.
Ootha is a village in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is in the Forbes Shire local government area, 430 kilometres (270 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census, Ootha and the surrounding area had a population of 94. The place name is derived from an aboriginal word for 'ear'. Ootha is situated approximately 10 km from Mount Derriwong, which is recognised by surveyors as sporting the central Trig Station for NSW.
The Central NSW Mallee Important Bird Area is an irregularly shaped 2500 km2 tract of land in western New South Wales, Australia. It lies near the small town of Mount Hope and comprises the nature reserves of Yathong, Nombinnie and Round Hill, with some unreserved crown land, containing remnant mallee woodland and shrubland habitat. It was identified and classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports isolated key populations of the malleefowl and the red-lored whistler. It is also at the centre of distribution in New South Wales for other mallee bird species, including the shy heathwren, striated grasswren, southern scrub-robin and chestnut quail-thrush.
The Yathong Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is also a nationally and internationally recognized biosphere situated in the central-western region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 107,240-hectare (265,000-acre) reserve was listed by UNESCO in 1977 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). The reserve is significant for its biodiversity in both native plant and animal species. Cultural heritage and historical grazing activities add to the significance of this site as a conservation area.
The Hillston-Ivanhoe Spectator is a newspaper published in Hillston, New South Wales, Australia. It has previously been published as the Hillston Spectator, The Hillston Spectator and Lachlan River Advertiser, and The Hillston Spectator and Mount Hope, Willanthry, Cudgellico, Booligal, Euabalong, Ivanhoe, Mossgiel, Gunbar and Lachlan River Advertiser.
Euabalong West railway station is located on the Broken Hill line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Euabalong West.
Euabalong is a town in western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Cobar Shire local government area and on the Lachlan River, 531 kilometres (330 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney, and 27 kilometres from Lake Cargelligo. At the 2016 census, Euabalong had a population of 188.
The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The 86.4-hectare (213-acre) reserve is situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of West Wyalong and may be accessed via the Newell Highway and The Charcoal Tank Road. The reserve is an important refuge for native flora and fauna in a highly fragmented landscape, one in which the majority of the original vegetation has been removed.
Triodia scariosa, commonly known as porcupine grass, is a species of grass native to arid southern Australia.
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 locality and ghost town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a village of the same name associated with gold mining.
Irymple is a locality in Cobar Shire in New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 7. It is located 555 kilometres away from Sydney. The nearest airport is Cobar Airport, 117 kilometres away and the nearest railway station is Euabalong West, 135 kilometres away.
