| Jerrawa New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Community hall and Anglican church at Jerrawa. | |||||||||||||||
  Jerrawa Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°46′46″S149°04′27″E / 34.77944°S 149.07417°E /-34.77944; 149.07417 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 106 (SAL2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2582 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 594 m (1,949 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Upper Lachlan Shire | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Southern Tablelands | ||||||||||||||
| County | King | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Jerrawa | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Goulburn | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Hume | ||||||||||||||
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Jerrawa (/dʒɛrəwə/) is a locality in theUpper Lachlan Shire,New South Wales, Australia.[2][3] It lies on the north side of theHume Highway about 30 km to the east ofYass and was served byJerrawa railway station on theMain Southern line betweenSydney andMelbourne between 1876 and 1975.[4] At the2016 census, it had a population of 73.[5]
The area now known as Jerrawa lies on the traditional lands of theGandangara or theNgunnawal peoples.[6][7] These two groups spoke a closely related, if not identical, language. The name Jerrawa is said to be a settler rendering of an aboriginal language word for 'iguana',[8][9] probably referring to thegoanna.
The railway station and siding were situated at a location where the railway line gradient was flat, after rising from the bridge overJerrawa Creek and then rising again to the west.[10] A small settlement, including an Anglican church (Christ Church), a hall, and a school, developed on the southern side of the railway line, near the railway station.[11][12][13][14] Some of the houses in the settlement were for railway employees. It seems that the settlement was never proclaimed as a village.
The school operated from 1877 to 1963.[15][16] Jerrawa had a store that also served as its post office.[17] There was no Methodist church at Jerrawa but its inhabitants used the isolated Greendale church and cemetery, which was already in existence from 1862 and predated the settlement at Jerrawa.[18]
In August 1938, Jerrawa was in the path of a violentwhirlwind that left a trail of damage a mile and a half long and 500 yards wide, damaging some of the settlement's buildings, in less than a minute.[19]
The presence of an iron ore deposit at Jerrawa had been known since around 1879.[20] During the Second World War, with a shortage of coastal shipping, local sources or iron ore were mined to feed the steelworks atPort Kembla.[21] One of these wartime ore mines was at Jerrawa.[22][23][24]
Jerrawa's hall is falling into disrepair.[14] Jerrawa has a showground and holds an annualagricultural show, around Easter time, referred to as 'the LittleEaster Show.'[25][26] The old store still exists but is now a private residence.[17] All that remains of the old railway station is its sign, which has been re-erected beside the railway line.[4]
