History
The area now known as Wongarbon lies on the traditional lands of Wiradjuri people. [2]
After settler colonisation, the area lay within the County of Lincoln, and the Parish of Murrumbidgerie. [3] There was a large landholding known as 'Murrumbidgerie' in the area, which was a well-established sheep and cattle run by the early 1850s. [4] By 1866, there was an inn on the road to Dubbo, known as the Murrumbidgerie Inn; there was an attempted murder there in 1873. [5] [6]
The former railway station predates the village, opening in February 1881. [7] In 1883 a village site was reserved, [8] with the land excised from a landholding named 'Murrumbidgerie', [9] which also became the original name of the village. The village's school opened, in January 1887. [10]
On 20 October 1888, the Village of Murrumbidgerie was proclaimed, [11] and land was reserved for a common [12] and for water supply purposes [13] The latter land is the site of the dam on Eulamoga Creek, known as Wongarbon Tank, which for many years was the village's water supply. [9] [14]
In 1908, the name of the village was changed from Murrumbidgerie to Wongarbon, [15] and the names of the railway station and school also changed in that year. [10] It seems that the old name was causing confusion, perhaps with Murrumbidgee. [16] The name 'Murrumbidgerie' is still used in connection with an area closer to the Macquarie River, south of Wolgarbon and west of Geurie. [17]
The name 'Wongarbon' may refer to Wongaibon people, [18] whose country begins further west, around and beyond the Bogan River. [2] If so, it is seemingly misapplied, as Wongarbon is in Wiradjuri country; [2] the old name, 'Murrumbidgerie', is almost certainly derived from the Wiradjuri language, perhaps from the word 'Marrmabidya'. [19] An alternative etymology is that Wongarbon is not an Aboriginal word, but the result of a landholder's suggestion of a new name for the village, and is actually 'no brag now' spelled backwards; there are at least two stories of the reason behind that derivation, which involve rivalry between two local landholders, named Bragg and Rutherford (James Rutherford, the son of prominent American-Australian pioneer and businessman, James Rutherford [20] ), [16] [21] and a third which relates to Bragg alone. [22]
Following the end of the First World War, the remainder of the old 'Murrumbidgerie' landholding, near to the village, was broken up, under the policy of closer settlement, as soldier settler blocks. [23] Wheat growing became important in the area, and the village's railway siding was used to dispatch the crop by train. [24]
The village had a Uniting (formerly Methodist) church, now a privately owned building. [25] The former Catholic church exists, in an abandoned state, in Boberah Street. [26] [27]
The Wongarbon Nature Reserve is an area to the north of the village that was set aside in 1897, as 'temporary' common land for the village's use. The area became a remnant of less disturbed native habitat, as the surrounding area was cleared for agriculture, and a refuge for threatened species. [28] [29] In 2022, it was placed under the management of the local Aboriginal group, Pathways Together. [30]
At the 2006 census, Wongarbon had a population of 449. [31]
The Wiradjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, and many still use knowledge of hunting and gathering techniques as part of their customary life.
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.
Narromine (/næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. The 2016 census recorded a population of 3,528. Narromine holds strong historical ties to the Australian Military, as it was the location of RAAF No.19 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD) during World War II. The base contributed to the preparation of troops through a training organisation known as the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). The town was one of twelve locations for the No.5 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF in 1940.
The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.
Wellington is a town in the Central Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, located at the junction of the Wambuul Macquarie and Bell Rivers. It is within the local government area of Dubbo Regional Council. The town is 362 kilometres (225 mi) northwest of Sydney on the Mitchell Highway and Main Western Railway, and 50 km southeast of Dubbo, the main centre of the Central Western Slopes region.
Dubbo is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Dugald Saunders of the National Party.
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.
The City of Dubbo was a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The former area is located adjacent to the Mitchell, Newell, and the Golden highways, the Main Western railway line, and the Macquarie River.
Jugiong is a locality and town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near its confluence with Jugiong Creek. in the Hilltops Council Local Government area, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated just off the Hume Highway, by road, about 30 kilometres southwest from Bookham and 40 kilometres northeast from Gundagai.
Girilambone is a small village in western New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Nyngan and 666 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.
Ballimore is a small village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The name also refers to the surrounding rural locality. In the 2021 census, it recorded a population of 240 people.
Hoskinstown is a locality in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The locality, and what remains of the cluster of settlement of the same name, is 38 km southeast of Canberra the Capital city of Australia, and 299 km southwest of Sydney. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 191.
Trewilga is a bounded rural locality in Parkes Shire, within the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. There was once a village and railway station of the same name. Prior to 1913, the village was known as Mingelo.
The Dubbo Regional Council is a local government area located in the Central West and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a merger of the City of Dubbo and Wellington Council as part of a widespread council amalgamation program. It was initially named Western Plains Regional Council for almost four months, and its name was changed to Dubbo Regional Council on 7 September 2016.
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 Blacks Camp is a heritage-listed former post-contact Aboriginal Australian occupation site and now residence, agricultural land and vacant land located at University Road, Wellington in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Black's Camp and The Spring Flats. The property is owned by New South Wales Land and Property Information (LPI), an agency of the Government of New South Wales. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 2011.
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.
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.
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.
North Yalgogrin is a locality in the Bland Shire local government area of New South Wales. There once was a village there, named Yalgogrin, but better known as Yalgogrin North.
