Bombala, New South Wales

Bombala
New South Wales

Bombala, looking towards the town centre. The footbridge passes over the Bombala railway line. The right most building is the station building, the centre building the goods shed and above that is the bridge over the Bombala River.
Bombala
Coordinates 36°55′0″S 149°14′0″E / 36.91667°S 149.23333°E / -36.91667; 149.23333Coordinates: 36°55′0″S 149°14′0″E / 36.91667°S 149.23333°E / -36.91667; 149.23333
Population 1,211 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 2632
Elevation 705 m (2,313 ft)[2]
Location
  • 485 km (301 mi) S of Sydney
  • 202 km (126 mi) S of Canberra
  • 87 km (54 mi) S of Cooma
  • 77 km (48 mi) WSW of Bega
LGA(s) Bombala Council
State electorate(s) Monaro
Federal Division(s) Eden-Monaro
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
18.4 °C
65 °F		 4.8 °C
41 °F		 644.1 mm
25.4 in

Bombala is a town in the Monaro region of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Bombala Council. It is approximately 485 kilometres (301 mi) south of the state capital, Sydney, and 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of the town of Cooma. The name derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "Meeting of the waters".[3] The town lies on the banks of the Bombala River. At the 2011 census, Bombala had a population of 1,211 people.[1]

History

Bombala was proposed in 1903 by King O'Malley as the site of the parliamentary seat of Australia. It was considered as a location because it was half way between the two cities of Sydney and Melbourne. The proposal was ultimately rejected in favour of Canberra. The town lies on the banks of the Bombala River.

Principal industries of the area include grazing and timber. Tourism is also growing in importance to the local economy. There is also a small amount of specialty producers with meat rabbits, lavender and many herbs being grown in the district. Delegate situated 36 km west of Bombala is the next largest town in the Bombala Shire. The Snowy River March which commenced from Delegate in 1916 went via Bombala to Goulburn.

The timber industry has slowly begun to overtake many of the historic properties surrounding Bombala, such as the more-than-150-year-old property of Aston, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of the township.

The area is known for possibly the largest population of Platypus in New South Wales and is promoted as Platypus Country.

The Holy Transfiguration Monastery is a male monastic community of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Founded in 1982, the monastic community presided over by Abbott Hieromonk Sergius, abides in the pristine and rugged valley of the MacLaughlin River situated between Cooma and Bombala.[4]

Geography and Climate

Typical Bombala street full of back-parked cars

Situated at 705 metres above sea level on the eastern edge of the Monaro Tablelands, Bombala is known for its cold winters with frequent frost and occasional snow. Just a few kilometres to the east, the land slopes downwards to the South Coast, a flat coastal plain where summers are much warmer and winter temperatures are milder. Examples of this are towns such as Bega and Merimbula, both located about 80 kilometres east of Bombala, however their climates are vastly different to Bombala's.

Most rain in the area falls as either thunderstorms in summer, or with cold fronts in winter that are usually accompanied by cold temperatures, meaning that the rain often turns to snow once night falls. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 40.7 °C (105.6 °F) to −10.0 °C (14.0 °F).


Climate data for Bombala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.0
(104)		 40.7
(105.3)		 36.4
(97.5)		 30.9
(87.6)		 26.7
(80.1)		 22.1
(71.8)		 18.8
(65.8)		 24.5
(76.1)		 29.0
(84.2)		 31.5
(88.7)		 36.9
(98.4)		 38.5
(101.3)		 40.7
(105.3)
Average high °C (°F) 25.5
(77.9)		 25.0
(77)		 22.6
(72.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 14.7
(58.5)		 11.5
(52.7)		 11.0
(51.8)		 12.7
(54.9)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.8
(65.8)		 21.2
(70.2)		 23.8
(74.8)		 18.4
(65.1)
Average low °C (°F) 10.3
(50.5)		 10.5
(50.9)		 8.6
(47.5)		 5.2
(41.4)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 2.2
(36)		 4.7
(40.5)		 6.9
(44.4)		 8.8
(47.8)		 4.8
(40.6)
Record low °C (°F) 0.4
(32.7)		 1.3
(34.3)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 −5.0
(23)		 −7.1
(19.2)		 −10.0
(14)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −4.7
(23.5)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 −10.0
(14)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 63.2
(2.488)		 59.1
(2.327)		 60.3
(2.374)		 45.0
(1.772)		 43.6
(1.717)		 59.4
(2.339)		 46.1
(1.815)		 40.2
(1.583)		 44.1
(1.736)		 55.2
(2.173)		 64.3
(2.531)		 63.6
(2.504)		 644.1
(25.359)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) 8.0 7.6 8.2 8.0 9.1 10.2 9.3 9.9 10.2 10.2 9.7 9.0 109.4
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[5]

Transport

Bombala Railway Station.

The railway reached Bombala in 1921 and closed in 1986.[6] being an extension of the line from Queanbeyan to Cooma. The line was and still is known as the Goulburn to Bombala line. During the 1970s, service was provided by a small rail bus, taking 4 hours to cover the 100 km (62 miles) between Cooma and Bombala.

The Monaro Highway (now route B23) which runs from Canberra to Cann River (Victoria) passes through Bombala. Other major roads include Mt Darragh Rd which connects to Pambula and Merimbula on the NSW South Coast.

The nearest airport with regular air services is at Merimbula, 85 km to the east.

Notable Residents

Mars

The name Bombala is used as a name for a crater on the planet Mars, without specifically commemorating the town.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "2011 Census QuickStats - Bombala (Urban Centre)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Climate statistics for Australian locations - Bombala (Therry Street)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bombala". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  4. ↑ http://www.holytransfigurationmonastery.org.au/display/HTM/Home
  5. ↑ "BOMBALA (THERRY STREET)". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "NSWrail.net". Rolfe Bozier, NSWrail.net. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Souter, Gavin. "Whyte, William Farmer (1877-1958)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  8. ↑ Burke, Keast. "Kerry, Charles Henry (1857-1928)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  9. ↑ Carron, L. T. "de Beuzeville, Wilfred Alexander (1884-1954)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  10. ↑ Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, USGS Astrogeology Science Center, NASA

External links

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