Coolah | |
|---|---|
 Main street | |
  Coolah | |
| Coordinates:31°50′0″S149°43′0″E / 31.83333°S 149.71667°E /-31.83333; 149.71667 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location | |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,290 (2016 census)[2] |
| Postcode | 2843 |
Coolah is a town in the central western part ofNew South Wales,Australia inWarrumbungle Shire. At the2016 census, Coolah had a population of 1,290.[2] The name Coolah is derived from thePort Jackson Pidgin English word meaning "angry".[3]
On the northeastern side of the area is theLiverpool Range with theCoolah Tops National Park. Most of the region is agricultural with sheep and cattle raising and crops grown along theTalbragar River andCoolaburragundy River valleys.
Coolah was initially the lands of the Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi People. It is said the valley was often used as a meeting ground between peoples of the two nations. The area was also the home to King Togee a legendary leader of his people. His gravesite is on the Neilrex Road to the west of Coolah.[4]The Coolah area was first colonised by British pastoralists in the late 1830s. ABorder Police barracks was established at Coolah around 1840 under Graham Douglas Hunter who was theCommissioner for Crown Lands for the Bligh District.[5] Coolah Post Office opened on 1 January 1849.[6] The town was served by theCoolah railway line from March 1920 until May 1975.[7][8]
Cadbury Schweppes introduced a citrus-flavoured energy drink in the US in 2006 namedCoolah Energy. The text on the packaging for this product refers to the Australian Cadbury Schweppes productSolo as its inspiration, along with the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the town of Coolah.
Coolah is the location of the first Australian memorial commemorating TheBattle of Long Tan. A total of 18 trees were planted along Coolah's Vietnam Memorial Avenue, one for each Australian soldier killed during the battle.
Coolah has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
In the 2016 Census, there were 1,290 people in Coolah. 83.0% of people were born in Australia and 87.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 39.6%, Catholic 20.1% and No Religion 17.4%.[2]
The Coolah Kangaroos formerly competed in theCastlereagh Cup until the 2000s. Prior to this they also played in theMid West Cup. The club still fields junior teams in theGroup 14 Rugby League competition, alongside netball teams.
Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseArchived 16 October 2017 at theWayback Machine. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence.