Coolac | |
|---|---|
 Coolac Hotel, 2006 | |
  Coolac | |
| Coordinates:34°55′0″S148°09′0″E / 34.91667°S 148.15000°E /-34.91667; 148.15000 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Established | 1824 |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 308 m (1,010 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 244 (2021 census)[3] |
| Postcode | 2727 |
| County | Harden |
| Mean max temp | 22.5 °C (72.5 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 9.1 °C (48.4 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 636.2 mm (25.05 in)[4] |
Coolac is a village in theRiverina region ofNew South Wales,Australia inGundagai Council. At the2021 census, Coolac had a population of 244.[3]
The nameCoolac is derived from the localAboriginal name for a plant which was abundant in the area, and also from the Aboriginal word meaning "native bear".[5]
Coolac post office was opened on 1 June 1870.[6] Coolac railway station was opened in June 1886, with the construction of a branch line fromCootamundra, which was eventually extended toTumut. The station was closed in the 1970s.[7]
The 11-kilometre section of theHume Highway at Coolac was the last two-lane section ofHume Highway betweenSydney and theSturt Highway interchange. In the mid-1980s, plans were drawn-up for the Coolac bypass, and a review of environmental factors was completed in 1997. Howver, construction did not commence until May 2007 with the project completed in August 2009.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
The satiricalBald Archy art competition (a parody of the name of the more prestigiousArchibald Prize), was inaugurated byPeter Batey in 1994 at the Coolac Festival of Fun. The home of the competition is now theMuseum of the Riverina inWagga Wagga, and it also travels toSydney andMelbourne for exhibition once Maude the Cockatoo, the official judge, selects the winning entries each year.
The Coolac Geological Site, 48 kilometres (30 mi) north-east of Coolac, is the best-known example in Australia of a substantialophiolite assemblage. The distinctive rock assemblage, covering 130 hectares (320 acres), provides insights into events in the continental evolution of eastern Australia.[15][16] The rocks were part of theoceanic crust andmantle, not normally exposed on the Earth's surface. The rock from the mantle is called CoolacSerpentinite.
Media related toCoolac, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
