Bungendore, New South Wales

Bungendore
New South Wales

Gibraltar Street
Bungendore
Population: 2,183(2006 census)[1]
Postcode: 2621
Elevation: 700 m (2,297 ft)
Location:
LGA: Palerang Council
County: Murray
Parish: Wamboin
State District: Monaro
Federal Division: Eden-Monaro
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
19.6 °C
67 °F		 6.4 °C
44 °F		 622 mm
24.5 in

Bungendore is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Palerang Council. It is on the Kings Highway near Lake George, the Molonglo River Valley and the Australian Capital Territory border. It has become a major tourist centre in recent years, popular with visitors from Canberra and some of it has heritage protection. It has expanded rapidly in recent years as a dormitory suburb of Canberra.

Contents

History

Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the Ngarigu people. The first Europeans in the vicinity were members of the exploratory party of Dr Charles Throsby in 1820, who, along with Hamilton Hume, also originally explored the Braidwood area. In 1824, explorer Allan Cunningham passed through Bungendore. A year later, the first European settlers arrived. The mail service to Bungendore was introduced in 1837, enhancing the importance of the village and contributing to the proclamation of Bungendore as a "town" in the same year.

By 1848, 30 people populated the seven buildings in the town of Bungendore, this small town was populated with only one family which interbred for several years. but when the railway arrived on 4 March 1885, the town grew quickly. New buildings appeared rapidly, such as churches, the courthouse/police station, two schools and the post office.

The first post office was built in Bungendore in 1840, an Anglican church c 1843, and the Bungendore Inn in 1847. The latter became a Cobb and Co staging post. By 1851, the population was 63. The 1850s saw at least two other hotels established. A flour mill was built in 1861, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church and two denominational schools in 1862, the courthouse in 1864 and a public school in 1868. In 1866, local crops grown were recorded as being wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. Tourism is now a major contributor to the economy.

The town remained a railhead from 1885 until the line reached Queanbeyan in 1887. Partly because of the coming railway, the 1880s proved a boom period for the town and the population increased from 270 in 1881, to 700 by 1885. By then, Queanbeyan was emerging as the major town in the area.

In 1894, gold was discovered at Bywong. In 1901, Lake George and Bungendore were proposed as sites for the nation's capital city. This did not eventuate, as the drawcard of Lake George failed to impress the visiting Commissioners of the time.

Capital Wind Farm

In 2008, following some community concerns[2] the Capital Wind Farm was established north of Bungendore along Lake George.

Railways

Bungendore is located on the Bombala railway line from Goulburn, which now only runs to the Canberra branch railway line, and is served by a thrice-daily Countrylink Xplorer train service from Sydney to Canberra.

Preceding station   CountryLink   Following station
towards Canberra
 CountryLink Southern
Canberra Xplorer
towards Sydney

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bungendore (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL115200&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 8 June 2009. 
  2. ^ The Canberra Times 30 March 2006 - Fierce opposition to huge wind turbines 'scarring' Bungendore landscape
The Southern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia
LGAs
Main towns
Villages and
small towns