Cootamundra

Cootamundra is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina.

Cootamundra is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council.At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. It is located on the Olympic Highway at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and Cowra.Cootamundra is not on the Hume Highway, but its railway station is on the Main Southern line, part of the Melbourne-to-Sydney line. Abb McAlister was elected mayor of the newly-formed Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council on 21 September 2017. The current mayor of Cootamundra Shire is Jim Slattery.

Cootamundra is the birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman , an Australian cricketer universally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time.Although he never lived in the town and his parents left Yeo Yeo (some 18 km from Cootamundra) when he was two, the town celebrates this connection with the Sir Donald Bradman Birthplace Museum, the home where "The Don" was born, a fully restored visitors' site featuring cricketing memorabilia and artifacts.Cootamundra is the home of the Cootamundra wattle.Every year there is a large 'Wattle Time' Festival held at the time the wattle starts to bloom, with an art show and festivities.

The earliest people to live in the area where present day Cootamundra exists are considered to be the tribe of Wiradjuri, with the name probably deriving from their word guudhamang for "turtle".

Cootamundra was incorporated as a township on 9 August 1861, and the first settlers bought their lots in early 1862. Like many other towns in the Riverina, it was originally populated by those attracted by the gold rush of the 1860s but became a quiet yet prosperous agricultural community after the local deposits were exhausted. However, the potential sale of a recently disused mine near Adelong may have piqued the curiosity of would-be prospectors.The town's rugby league team competed in the Maher Cup.

1847 – Cootamundra Run, a large stock run, is the first colonist settlement in the area.

1861 – The site of Cootamundra is published in the NSW Government Gazette

1862 – Gold mining commences at the nearby 'Muttama Reef' mine.

1864 – The first church (Anglican) and post office are established

1874 — Convent for the Presentation Order of nuns opened by (Catholic) Bishop of Goulburn

1875 – The first school in the district opens.

1877 – Cootamundra's railway connection opens on 1 November.

1878 – Christ Church (Anglican) of England opens

1879 – St Columba's (Catholic) church opens

1884 – Cootamundra is gazetted as a municipality.

1885 — Salt Clay Creek railway disaster - seven killed and dozens injured when culvert collapsed

1896 – Cootamundra Cycling Club. It is probably the oldest continual club in NSW, although as was the case with most clubs it went into recess during the war years.

1908 – Donald Bradman (later Sir Donald) is born in Cootamundra.

1911–1968 – Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls forcibly taken from their families.

1912–1974 – The former Cootamundra Hospital and Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Training Home were built upon a hill north east of Cootamundra. The property consists of a large parcel of land which had room for buildings as well as orchards and livestock such as dairy cows.

1942 – On 3 December, the corvette HMAS Cootamundra, named for the town, is launched.

1951 – Cootamundra Jazz Band is formed by John Ansell

1952 – Name of Cootamundry officially changed to Cootamundra.

1955 – The first Cootamundra Annual Classic cycling handicap race, one of the oldest open races in NSW.

1956 – Cootamundra's rugby league football club's Bill Marsh is first selected to play for the Australian national team.

1960 – Cootamundra Blues Australian rules football club is established.

1982 – In November 1982, the aviation company Masling Industries is formed.This was restructured in June 1993 after the death of its owner.

1986 – Popular Australian singer/songwriter/bush poet John R Williamson released his song 'Cootamundra Wattle'.

1998 – Phase 1 of Cricket Captains' Walk declared open; all busts the work of Harden–Murrumburrah sculptor Carl Valerius

2000 – The first annual beach volleyball competition. Truckloads of sand are deposited in the main street for "Coota Beach" (punning reference to Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia).

2015 – Australian youth radio station Triple J featured the 'Cootamundra bonus weather rap'.

Australian rugby league Kangaroos player Les Boyd grew up representing the Group 9 Cootamundra Bulldogs local team.

The first churches in Cootamundra were:

Primitive MethodistRev. Smith was minister from around 1874, succeeded by J. Spalding, who was minister in 1877, and services were held on alternate Sunday afternoons.

Wesleyan MethodistThe church, seating 100 persons, was opened on 17 December 1876. Rev. G. Thompson was minister in 1878 and services were held regularly. In 1880 Rev. R. East was the only minister resident in the town.

AnglicanChrist Church opened on 12 July 1878; the vicar W. Cocks shared with Murrumburrah. In January 1880 Rev. S. B. Holt left Gundagai to take up the position.

Roman CatholicEighty confirmations were performed in 1875 in conjunction with a jubilee attended by Bishop Lanigan of Goulburn and Fathers Bermingham (Burrowa), Dunne and O'Dwyer (Gundagai), and Hanley (Goulburn).

Mass was held fortnightly in the schoolroom by visiting priests from Gundagai.

St Columba's church was consecrated on 30 November 1879.

The first resident pastor was Rev. Richard Butler in 1881.

Cootamundra yields a typical climate of the lower South West Slopes region; hot, dry summers with severe thunderstorms, and cool winters with many rain days. Occasionally, snow may fall during the winter months, with the most recent settled snowfall having occurred in August 2019 (alongside Tumut). Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, the town has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), receiving enough precipitation to avoid the semi-arid (BSk) climate classification.