[edit]
The traditional owners of the area where present day Cootamundra exists are considered to be the Wiradjuri people, with the name "Cootamundra" probably deriving from the Wiradjuri language word guudhamang for "turtle".
Ken Loiterton argues that the name, for many years spelled "Cootamundry", derives from "Coramandra", the name of a property owned by John Hurley and James Fitzpatrick in tribute to a ship Coromandel, which brought settlers to the area in the 1840s, and written "Cotamandra" by Fitzpatrick (c. 1797 – 27 July 1882) in 1844.
Parker St, the main street of Cootamundra
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.
It is one of the oldest towns in Australia.
The town's rugby league team, the Cootamundra Bulldogs, competed in the Maher Cup.[citation needed]
Birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman
Bradman statue in Jubilee Park
Timeline[edit]
1837 – John Hurley and Patrick Fennell licensed to stock Coramundra Run
1847 – Cootamundry Run, a large stock run, is the first colonist settlement in the area.
1860 – Plan of proposed village drawn up by surveyor Philip Francis Adams
1861 – The site of Cootamundry is published in the NSW Government Gazette
1862 – Gold mining commences at the nearby 'Muttama Reef' mine.
First town lots sold by auction at Gundagai
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 – First issue of Cootamundra Herald published by Frederick Pinkstone and Thomas Campbell Brown
Cootamundra's railway connection opens on 1 November.
Public school opens on Cooper Street
1878 – Christ Church (Anglican) of England opens
1879 – St Columba's (Catholic) church opens
1881 – Post Office (the current building) opened
1882 – First Show held at Albert Park
1884 – Cootamundra is gazetted as a municipality and John Frederick Barnes elected first mayor.
1885 — Salt Clay Creek railway disaster - seven killed and dozens injured when culvert collapsed
1886 – Solomon Cohen establishes his store, corner of Wallendoon and Parker streets
1889 – First hospital opens on hill north east of the town, became Bimbadeen Aboriginal Girls' Home in 1911.
1893 – Dam on Hardy's Folly Creek constructed as town's water supply, but never satisfactory
Bank of NSW building (the current Westpac) constructed
Farmers' and Settlers' Association founded
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.
1903 – Flood 23 April
1908 – Donald Bradman (later Sir Donald) is born in Cootamundra.
1911–1968 – Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls opens in former hospital.
1919 – Flood 6 December
1920 – 23 February arrival of Ross and Keith Smith after the first flight from England to Australia
1926 – 10 December "Black Friday" bushfires
1928 – Cootamundra is first town to receive Burrinjuck hydro-electric power.
1933 – Water from Burrinjuck replaces supply from bores and Hardy's Folly Dam.
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, 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 releases 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 a 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'.
Churches[edit]
The first churches in Cootamundra were:
Primitive Methodist
Rev. Smith was minister from around 1874, succeeded by J. Spalding, who was minister in 1877, and services were held on alternate Sunday afternoons.
Wesleyan Methodist
The 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.
Anglican
Christ 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 Catholic
Eighty 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.
Military history[edit]
During World War II, Cootamundra was the location of RAAF No.3 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. It was located in an area of land near the intersection of Olympic Highway and Thompson Street. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).
It was also home to the No 1 Air Observers School, commemorated by a plaque at Cootamundra Airfield.
A plane from the No. 31 Beaufighter Squadron, RAAF, from Wagga Wagga, crashed nearby on 21 September 1942 during training exercises, resulting in the death of Flt/Sgt J. E. Jenkins and Sgt V. Sutherst. A memorial alongside the main road to Young, dedicated on 28 April 1990, is regularly tended. See Gallery below.
Heritage listings[edit]
Aerial view of Cootamundra
Cootamundra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Cootamundra-Griffith railway: Cootamundra West railway station
Main Southern railway: Cootamundra railway station
39 Rinkin Street: Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls
219 Sutton Street: Cootamundra World War II Fuel Depot
