Tocumwal | |
|---|---|
 The levee and foreshore park at Tocumwal | |
  Tocumwal | |
| Coordinates:35°48′54″S145°34′05″E / 35.81500°S 145.56806°E /-35.81500; 145.56806 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 126 m (413 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,862 (2021 census)[2] |
| • Density | 5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi) |
| Postcode | 2714 |
| County | Denison |
| Mean max temp | 22.9 °C (73.2 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 9.6 °C (49.3 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 448.6 mm (17.66 in) |
Tocumwal (/ˈtoʊkəmwɔːl/TOH-kəm-wawl)[3] is a town in the southernRiverina region ofNew South Wales,Australia, in theBerrigan Shirelocal government area. The town, 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of the city ofMelbourne, lies on the northern bank of theMurray River, which forms the border withVictoria.
TheNewell Highway andMurray Valley Highway join at the Murray River, and form part of the main road routeNational Highway betweenBrisbane and Melbourne. At the2021 census, Tocumwal had a population of 2,862.[2]
The name of the town is probably a corruption of the localPangerangindigenous word, "Tucumiva" (or "Tucumival"), meaning "deep hole". Near Tocumwal is a 25-metre-deep hole in granite rock, now known as "The Blowhole", which is linked underground to the nearby Murray River.[4][5]
Prior to European settlement, the Tocumwal area was inhabited by theUlupna andBangerang people. The first pastoral runs were established in the 1840s. The town was established in the early 1860s and gazetted in 1862 as:
"a Village to be called TOCUMWAL ... Situated on the Murray River, on the road from Albury to Deniliquin, about 50 miles west of Corowa, and 40 south-east of Deniliquin."[6]
Tocumwal Post Office opened on 1 August 1868.[7]
Prior toFederation, Tocumwal was an importantcustoms point for goods moving between the then Britishcolonies of Victoria and New South Wales.[8]
Astandard gauge branch line, from theNew South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR)Main Southern railway line atJunee, reachedNarrandera in 1881 and a branch from Narrandera was completed to Tocumwal in 1898.[9] Thebroad gaugeVictorian RailwaysMelbourne-Shepparton railway line was extended to Tocumwal in 1908, creating abreak-of-gauge location at Tocumwal, but the NSWGR line fromFinley to Tocumwal was closed in 1987.[10]
DuringWorld War II the town was the site ofRoyal Australian Air ForceStation Tocumwal, which was a majorRoyal Australian Air Force training airfield and aircraft depot. Units included (at various times) the 5 Operational Training Unit, 7 Operational Training Unit, 7 Aircraft Depot and the Paratroop Training Unit.[11] Today, the airfield is a renownedgliding site.
Also during the War, Tocumwal was the location ofRAAF No.14 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. Usually consisting of four tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for theRAAF and theUS Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).[11]
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After the War ended, families were housed at the American Air Force Hospital and the men travelled daily over the river toYarroweyah, in Victoria, to work on farms, which they could then apply for under thesoldier settlement scheme. The hospital was on or next to Barooga Station. Living quarters were in longNissen huts, with three or four families in each and a shared bathroom. Single quarters were at the front and a cook was employed.
Also after the War, about 200 Air Force houses in Tocumwal were disassembled and trucked toCanberra to be reused in as government housing for workers fromMelbourne andSydney who were constructing the new capital city. CalledTocumwal houses, they remain a distinctive architectural feature in Canberra's suburbs, such asO'Connor andAinslie.[12]
Tocumwal has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Tocumwal has asemi-arid climate (KöppenBSk). marginally too dry to be classified as ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa), with hot summers and pleasant winters. Rainfall is moderate but somewhat erratic, with calendar year totals having ranged from 191.1 millimetres or 7.52 inches in 1982 to 873.8 millimetres or 34.40 inches in 1973.
| Climate data for Tocumwal | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 46.5 (115.7) | 45.7 (114.3) | 41.8 (107.2) | 37.8 (100.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 23.7 (74.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 30.5 (86.9) | 35.2 (95.4) | 37.0 (98.6) | 43.5 (110.3) | 44.9 (112.8) | 46.5 (115.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.5 (88.7) | 28.1 (82.6) | 23.1 (73.6) | 18.3 (64.9) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 15.7 (60.3) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 26.9 (80.4) | 29.7 (85.5) | 23.0 (73.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.2 (61.2) | 16.1 (61.0) | 13.6 (56.5) | 9.7 (49.5) | 6.7 (44.1) | 4.3 (39.7) | 3.4 (38.1) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.9 (53.4) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.6 (49.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | 0.0 (32.0) | −2.1 (28.2) | −4.8 (23.4) | −4.3 (24.3) | −4 (25) | −1.5 (29.3) | −1.5 (29.3) | 0.2 (32.4) | 5.1 (41.2) | −4.8 (23.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 33.4 (1.31) | 28.9 (1.14) | 35.2 (1.39) | 32.2 (1.27) | 40.5 (1.59) | 44.0 (1.73) | 41.9 (1.65) | 42.7 (1.68) | 39.0 (1.54) | 42.4 (1.67) | 34.9 (1.37) | 34.1 (1.34) | 449.0 (17.68) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 51.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 33 | 35 | 38 | 46 | 57 | 65 | 65 | 57 | 52 | 45 | 38 | 33 | 47 |
| Source:[15] | |||||||||||||
Tocumwal has one state and oneCatholic primary school. The nearest high school is inFinley, 21 kilometres (13 mi) to the north.
Australian rules football,cricket andnetball are all very popular in the town. Notable sporting teams include theTocumwal Football Club (The Bloods) who compete in thePicola & District Football League
Tocumwal is in thefederalDivision of Farrer and the stateElectoral district of Murray.
Tocumwal was also where the largestMurray cod in the world was caught.[16]
Tocumwal has a 36-hole championship golf course at the Tocumwal Golf Club,[17] a bowls club[17] and is well known internationally for gliding at SportAviation.[18]
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence.
Tocumwal travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related toTocumwal at Wikimedia Commons