Jindabyne | |
|---|---|
 Jindabyne, as viewed from acrossLake Jindabyne | |
  Jindabyne | |
| Coordinates:36°24′0″S148°37′0″E / 36.40000°S 148.61667°E /-36.40000; 148.61667 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 915 m (3,002 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,986 (2021 census)[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+11 (AEDT) |
| Postcode | 2627 |
| Mean max temp | 18.1 °C (64.6 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 4.0 °C (39.2 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 539.5 mm (21.24 in) |
Jindabyne (/ˈdʒɪndəbaɪn/) is a town in south-eastNew South Wales,Australia that overlooksLake Jindabyne near theSnowy Mountains, inSnowy Monaro Regional Council. It is a popular holiday destination year round, especially in winter. This is due to its proximity to major ski resort developments within theKosciuszko National Park, includingThredbo,Perisher andCharlotte Pass.
Originally situated on land that is now under Lake Jindabyne, the township was transferred to its present location in the 1960s due to the construction ofJindabyne Dam, on theSnowy River, as part of theSnowy Mountains Scheme. At the2021 census, Jindabyne had a population of 2,986.[2] The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning "valley".[3]
Jindabyne is one of the highest settlements of its size in Australia, at 918 metres above sea level.[4] Snowfalls regularly occur during winter. Jindabyne is connected to the surrounding area byKosciuszko Road East to Cooma then North to Canberra, theAlpine Way West to the Riverina and Wodonga and theBarry Way to the South and Gippsland.
Originally situated on a site that is now under the waters ofLake Jindabyne, the township was relocated to its present position in the 1960s before thedamming of theSnowy River as part of theSnowy Mountains Scheme. The Scheme was developed from the 1940s as a way of increasing the flow of inland rivers in order to encourage the development of primary industries based on irrigation, and to createhydroelectricity.[5]
Completed in 1967, Jindabyne Dam is a major dam, located approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south south-east of the relocated township. Parts of Old Jindabyne can be seen when the levels of Lake Jindabyne are low particularly the foundations of the old St Columbkille Roman Catholic Church.[6] The settlement ofEast Jindabyne is located above what was Old Jindabyne.[7] The dam's main purpose is for the generation ofhydropower and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity andirrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run bySnowy Hydro.[8]
Jindabyne celebrated the new town's 50th anniversary on 19 December 2014[9] with a long lunch, parade through the town centre, and speech by Peter Hendy MP.[10] The celebrations were attended by GeneralDavid Hurley, Governor of New South Wales, Member for Monaro, MrJohn Barilaro, Mayor of Snowy River Shire, Mr John Cahill.
Jindabyne is a service town for Australia's highest ski resorts:Perisher,Thredbo andCharlotte Pass. Thredbo and Perisher are approximately 30 minutes' drive into theKosciuszko National Park, although require the payment of park entry fees (AU$29 per vehicle per day[11]) and the compulsory carrying ofsnow chains in winter for cars without4WD. However, Jindabyne also attracts tourists in summer with Lake Jindabyne popular for activities such asfishing,water skiing andwakeboarding. Since the late 2000s mountain biking has become a popular summer activity and as of 2016, is assisting in turning the Snowy Mountains into a year-round adventure-tourist destination.
The town is heavily tourist-oriented with a large range of snow-sport rental outlets and accommodation facilities. Prices can be heavily increased during the peak winter season, although they generally remain lower than those of outlets within the national park and ski resorts.[12]
Lake Jindabyne is a sailing, walking and fishing destination. The body of water is one of the largest fresh water reservoirs in New South Wales, and has a resident population ofAtlantic Salmon,Brook Trout,Brown Trout andRainbow Trout. Lake Jindabyne also has a reputation as one of the best places to catchtrout in Australia.[13] The Gaden Trout Hatchery, located about 10 kilometres north-west of Jindabyne, on the route leading to Perisher Ski Resort, holds tours of the hatchery's trout ponds, and is one of Australia's main centres involved in the breeding and rearing of cold water sport fish.[14]
Access to information regarding current tourist activities, business listings can be found using the area's freemobile app, the "Jindy Guide".[15]
Every year during the Easter holidays, the Lake Light Sculpture exhibition is hosted on Lake Jindabyne. The Lake has many sculptures on display including the Count Paul Strzelecki in the Banjo Paterson Park and an Irish harp.[16]
In the2021 census, there were 2,986 people in Jindabyne. 80.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.5%, and New Zealand 1.8%. 88.6% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 58.4%, Catholic 14.4%, and Anglican 11.0%.[2]
Jindabyne has anoceanic climate (Cfb). Diurnal range is high across the year owing to its sheltered valley location. Rainfall is low, with a slight peak in spring–summer and a notable drop in winter. Snowfalls are common in the region through winter and spring, but are generally light owing to its position on theleeward side of the ranges. In mid-July in 2004 and 2005, snow fell up to half a metre or 2 ft following freak snowfalls over a large area of New South Wales.
| Climate data for Cooma Airport AWS (1991–2022); 930 m AMSL; 36.29° S, 148.97° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 39.1 (102.4) | 38.0 (100.4) | 36.0 (96.8) | 30.0 (86.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 21.9 (71.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 25.4 (77.7) | 27.7 (81.9) | 29.3 (84.7) | 35.9 (96.6) | 37.7 (99.9) | 39.1 (102.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) | 24.9 (76.8) | 22.2 (72.0) | 18.2 (64.8) | 14.1 (57.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 10.2 (50.4) | 11.9 (53.4) | 15.1 (59.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 21.2 (70.2) | 24.1 (75.4) | 18.1 (64.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.9 (51.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.9 (39.0) | 0.6 (33.1) | −1.1 (30.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | −1.5 (29.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | 6.5 (43.7) | 8.6 (47.5) | 4.0 (39.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) | −1.2 (29.8) | −2.7 (27.1) | −8.4 (16.9) | −9.7 (14.5) | −11.0 (12.2) | −10.8 (12.6) | −11.0 (12.2) | −9.4 (15.1) | −9.2 (15.4) | −5.6 (21.9) | −3.5 (25.7) | −11.0 (12.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 53.9 (2.12) | 51.4 (2.02) | 50.6 (1.99) | 39.4 (1.55) | 29.1 (1.15) | 39.9 (1.57) | 29.5 (1.16) | 32.2 (1.27) | 37.7 (1.48) | 47.2 (1.86) | 69.0 (2.72) | 54.3 (2.14) | 539.5 (21.24) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 8.9 | 9.4 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 11.2 | 12.4 | 12.1 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 11.8 | 9.8 | 129.7 |
| Average afternoonrelative humidity (%) | 39 | 43 | 43 | 46 | 54 | 60 | 57 | 48 | 46 | 43 | 43 | 39 | 47 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.1 (46.6) | 6.3 (43.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 3.1 (37.6) | 1.6 (34.9) | 0.2 (32.4) | −0.8 (30.6) | 0.7 (33.3) | 2.1 (35.8) | 4.2 (39.6) | 5.2 (41.4) | 3.5 (38.3) |
| Source:Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Cooma Airport AWS | |||||||||||||
Jindabyne Public School,[17] Jindabyne High School[18] (public) and Snowy Mountains Grammar School[19] (private) serve as the town's educational facilities.
Jindabyne receives five free-to-air television networks including all the digital free-to-air channels relayed from Canberra, and broadcast from Jindabyne Hill.
Networks available includeABC,SBS,Seven,WIN, andNetwork 10.
Snowy Mountains Television is also broadcast from the same location, and operates in addition to the other broadcasters under an open narrowcasting licence.
Radio stations in Jindabyne include:
Jindabyne has two major local sporting teams, theJindabyne Bushpigs Rugby Union Club and the Snowy River Bears Rugby League club. The Bears play in theGroup 16 competition, having previously played in the oldGroup 19 competition.
