Mendooran

Last updated

Mendooran
New South Wales
Mendooran Bandulla St 002.JPG
Bandulla Street, the main street of Mendooran, 2017
Australia New South Wales location map blank.svg
Red pog.svg
Mendooran
Coordinates 31°48′S149°07′E / 31.800°S 149.117°E / -31.800; 149.117
Population275 (2021 census) [1]
Established1834
Postcode(s) 2842
Location75 km (47 mi) from Dubbo
LGA(s) Warrumbungle Shire
Federal division(s) Parkes

Mendooran (pronunciation: men-door-an) is a small town adjacent to the Castlereagh River in the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies at an altitude of 271 metres above sea level, 348 kilometres west of Sydney, 75 kilometres from Dubbo and 71 kilometres southeast of Coonabarabran. At the 2021 census, Mendooran had a population of 275 people. [1] The Castlereagh Highway also runs through the town, changing its name to Bandulla Street in the centre.

Contents

History

The district was inhabited by the Wiradjuri tribe before white settlement. The first European to visit the area was surveyor John Evans who came as close as 10 kilometres from Mendooran in 1815. Two years later it was John Oxley's group that passed through the area while conducting one of the first inland expeditions. It is believed that the name derived from that of a local Aboriginal tribal leader named either "Mundo" or "Mundoo". Lucerne, wheat and sheep were established on the station in later years.

The small village grew in the 1860s on the old station near the bridge which passed over the Castlereagh River. As at 1866 there were 24 residents recorded in the area. The village was called Mundooran until the arrival of the railway around 1915 when the name was changed to Mendooran.

The John Bull Inn was erected to serve the passing traffic of the 1860s. A bridge was erected over the Castlereagh River in 1869 which increased the road traffic and contributed to local development. The town was laid out in 1881 with a school, police station and courthouse being built.

The Robertson Land Act of 1893 broke up the larger squatting runs and closer settlement then came about.

Mendooran hosts an annual agricultural show. It also hosts an annual Raceday Festival in September that sees the town population swell to above 300 as race-goers from around the world visit.

In February 2019 Mendooran was experiencing severe shortages of water and had been placed on level six water restrictions, the highest level of restrictions mandated in NSW. [2]

Mendooran formerly had a rugby league team, the Mendooran Tigers, who competed in the Group 14 Rugby League competition.

The town is mentioned in Banjo Paterson's poem 'The Travelling Post Office' (1894):

The roving breezes come and go, the reed beds sweep and sway,
The sleepy river murmurs low, and loiters on its way,
It is the land of lots o' time along the Castlereagh.
The old man's son had left the farm, he found it dull and slow,
He drifted to the great north-west where all the rovers go.
"He's gone so long," the old man said, "he's dropped right out of mind,
But if you'd write a line to him I'd take it very kind
He's shearing here and fencing there, a kind of waif and stray,
He's droving now with Conroy's sheep along the Castlereagh.
The sheep are travelling for the grass, and travelling very slow:
They may be at Mundooran now, or past the Overflow.

Today Mendooran (the spelling has changed since Paterson wrote the poem) is small and sleepy. It is a convenient stopover for people heading towards the Warrumbungles.

Things to see and do / Places to Stay

Since 2022, the Central West Bike Trail has become a popular activity that includes Mendooran as one of many local towns on the route.

The Central West Cycle trail links the major towns of Mudgee, Dubbo and Wellington and a handful of smaller ones including Gulgong, Dunedoo, Mendooran and Ballimore. The 400 kilometre loop has rapidly become an iconic, must-do ride!

https://centralwestcycletrail.com.au/trail-description/

Accommodation in Mendooran is available but limited.

The Royal Hotel is the hub of the town and offers clean rooms and simple country food typical of a pub in a small country town. The people are welcoming, the beer is cold and the showers are hot.

Next to The Castlereagh and behind the old police station is a free council-run campsite. There is no electricity but there are basic toilets. There are no cabins on site so it is strictly byo camping gear. This site is popular during holiday periods.

The Cosy Comfort Cottage is popular with cyclists and offers 5/5 facilities for up to 10 people. https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/s/5WuqVZFZvhZ4TSAcA

Notable People

Notable people from Mendooran include-

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubbo</span> City in New South Wales, Australia

Dubbo is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coonabarabran</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 2,387, and as of 2021, the population of Coonabarabran and its surrounding area is 3,477. Local and district residents refer to the town as 'Coona'. Coonabarabran is the gateway to the Warrumbungle National Park, Siding Spring Observatory and the Pilliga Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Warren is a town in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located off the Mitchell Highway, 120 kilometres north west of Dubbo, and is the seat of the Warren Shire local government area. At the 2016 census, Warren had a population of 1,530. Warren is included in the Central West Slopes and Plains division of the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolah, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Coolah is a town in the central western part of New South Wales, Australia in Warrumbungle Shire. At the 2016 census, Coolah had a population of 1,290. The name Coolah is derived from the Port Jackson Pidgin English word meaning "angry".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedoo</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Dunedoo is a village of 1,021 inhabitants situated within the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. Dunedoo is well known to Australian travellers due to its distinctive name. The name is actually derived from a local Aboriginal word meaning "swan", which are commonly found in the area's lagoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgandra, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Gilgandra is a country town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia, and services the surrounding agricultural area where wheat is grown extensively together with other cereal crops, and sheep and beef cattle are raised. Sitting at the junction of the Newell, Oxley and Castlereagh highways, the town is located in a wide bend of the Castlereagh River downstream from its source near Coonabarabran, directly downstream from Mendooran, and upstream from Gulargambone and Coonamble. It is 432 km north-west of Sydney, and is located approximately halfway on the inland route from Melbourne to Brisbane. The town is the administrative seat of the Gilgandra Shire. It is known as the town of windmills and the home of the 'Coo-ees', and is a gateway to the Warrumbungles National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castlereagh Highway</span> Highway in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia

Castlereagh Highway is a 790-kilometre (490 mi) state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. From north to south the highway traverses South West Queensland and the North West Slopes, Orana, and Central West regions of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coonamble</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2016 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and sheep and wool. The name for the town is taken from the Gamilaraay word guna (faeces) and -bil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulargambone</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Gulargambone is a small town in the central-west plains of New South Wales, Australia, on the banks of the Castlereagh River, in Coonamble Shire. It is 382 km north-west of Sydney. At the 2016 census, Gulargambone had a population of 400.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Evans (explorer)</span>

George William Evans was a surveyor and early explorer in the Colony of New South Wales. Evans was born in Warwick, England, migrating to Australia in October 1802.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binnaway, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Binnaway is a small town located on the Castlereagh River in central western New South Wales near the larger centre of Coonabarabran, which is about 35 kilometres to the north. In 2021, the town had a population of 399 people. The road linking these two towns closely follows the meandering Castlereagh River. There are many pleasant areas to stop beside the road and on the river banks to have a picnic. Binnaway is also located near the similarly sized small town of Mendooran. Following local government amalgamation, the town is now located in the Warrumbungle Shire Council area which is headquartered at Coonabarabran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castlereagh River</span> River in New South Wales, Australia

The Castlereagh River is located in the central–western district of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Macquarie-Castlereagh catchment within the Murray–Darling basin and is an unregulated river, meaning no dams or storage have been built on it to control flows. On a map of NSW, the Castlereagh has a distinctive appearance among the north-western rivers for its fish-hook-like shape: from upstream in the north at its confluence with the Macquarie River it extends southwards to a hook-shape, flattened-out at the base, which curves to the right through to the tip of the hook in the Warrumbungle Mountains at the river's source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paterson, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Paterson is a small township in the lower Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located within Dungog Shire and City of Maitland, it is situated on the Paterson River. It is in the middle of what was once dairy, timber and citrus country and is now more significantly a feeder town for the nearby mining industry in the Upper Hunter and the city of Newcastle. It was named after one of the first known Europeans in the area was Colonel William Paterson in 1801 surveyed the area beside the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condobolin</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the 2021 census, Condobolin had a population of 3,185.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central West (New South Wales)</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Central West is a region in central New South Wales, Australia. The region is situated west of Sydney, which stretches from Lithgow in the east and to as far west as Lake Cargelligo, on the Lachlan River. The Central West is known for its attractions such as the Jenolan Caves, near Oberon and also wineries, as well as rural farmland and natural landscapes. The region includes major towns like, Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Lithgow, Parkes and Cowra. It has an area of 63,262 square kilometres (24,426 sq mi). The region also includes the sub-region known as the Central Tablelands, located in the eastern part of the region. The region known as the Orana, which includes the area surrounding Dubbo is typically classed as being a part of the Central West also.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Town, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Stuart Town, formerly known as Ironbark, is a small town on the Central Western Slopes of New South Wales, Australia within Dubbo Regional Council. It is located 317 kilometres (197 mi) north-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2011 census, Stuart Town had a population of 487. The area around the town is rich in cattle farming and orchards, so the town serves as a service centre to that area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orana (New South Wales)</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

Orana is a vast region in central-northern New South Wales, Australia. As of June 2015 it had an estimated population of 113,824 people. It has an area of 198,561 square kilometres (76,665 sq mi) and is the largest region in New South Wales, comprising approximately 25% of that state. The major localities include Dubbo and Cobar. This region corresponds approximately with the Australian Bureau of Statistics North Western Statistical Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baradine</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Baradine is a small town in north western New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, Baradine had a population of 593.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendooran Parish, New South Wales</span>

Mendooran Parish, New South Wales is a civil parish of Napier County, New South Wales.

Corduroy Road Ruin Historic Site is a heritage-listed former stagecoach route and now disused road at East Coonamble Road, Curban, Gilgandra Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by n/a and built from 1850 to 1923. It is also known as Cobb & Co route. The property is owned by Gilgandra Shire Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 October 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mendooran (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 June 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. ↑ Browning, Jennifer; Davies, Jessie. "Mendooran, where families survive on two loads of washing a week and three minute showers". ABC Western Plains. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Gaye Chapman, 2003". National Portrait Gallery collection. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Gaye Chapman - Speakers Ink". www.speakers-ink.com.au. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Mendooran at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.