Cooma

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title: "Cooma" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["snowy-mountains-highway", "snowy-mountains-scheme", "towns-in-new-south-wales", "snowy-monaro-regional-council", "cooma"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooma" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Australian place"]

FieldValue
typetown
nameCooma
stateNSW
imageCooma, NSW, Courthouse, jjron, 24.09.2008.jpg
captionCooma Court House
coordinates
lgaSnowy Monaro Regional Council
countyBeresford
postcode2630
pop
pop_year
pop_footnotes
est1849
elevation800
maxtemp19.4
mintemp4.1
rainfall541.6
stategovMonaro
fedgovEden-Monaro
dist1397
dir1SW
location1Sydney
dist2116
dir2S
location2Canberra
dist361
dir3ENE
location3Jindabyne
dist4112
dir4NW
location4Bega
near-sThe Brothers
near-nwBinjura
near-nBunyan
near-swPine Valley
near-seRock Flat
near-eMiddle Flat
near-wDairymans Plains
near-neMiddle Flat
::

Please scroll down to edit the main content of the article. -- | type = town | name = Cooma | state = NSW | image = Cooma, NSW, Courthouse, jjron, 24.09.2008.jpg | caption = Cooma Court House | coordinates = | lga = Snowy Monaro Regional Council | county = Beresford | postcode = 2630 | pop = | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | est = 1849 | elevation = 800 | maxtemp = 19.4 | mintemp = 4.1 | rainfall = 541.6 | stategov = Monaro | fedgov = Eden-Monaro | dist1 = 397 | dir1 = SW | location1 = Sydney | dist2 = 116 | dir2 = S | location2 = Canberra | dist3 = 61 | dir3 = ENE | location3 = Jindabyne | dist4 = 112 | dir4 = NW | location4 = Bega | near-s = The Brothers | near-nw = Binjura | near-n = Bunyan | near-sw = Pine Valley | near-se = Rock Flat | near-e = Middle Flat | near-w = Dairymans Plains | near-ne = Middle Flat

Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 114 km south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina.

At the , Cooma had a population of . Cooma is the main town of the Monaro region. It is 800 m above sea level. The name could have derived from an Aboriginal word Coombah, meaning 'big lake' or 'open country'.

Cooma is 5 km south of the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, a main tributary of the Murray–Darling basin. Cooma sources its water from the river.

History

The area now known as Cooma lies on the traditional lands of the Ngarigo people.

Cooma was explored by Captain J. M. Currie in 1823. It was first surveyed in 1840, and was gazetted in 1849. Cooma was proclaimed a municipality in 1879.

The railway from Sydney was extended from Royalla to Cooma in 1889 under the supervision of John Whitton. The line was closed to rail passenger traffic in 1989. The estimated population of Cooma was 47 in 1851 and it grew to 2330 (1911), 1969 (1933), 2249 (1947), 9103 (1966), 7353 (1976) and 7978 (1981).

In 1949, the town became the headquarters of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and grew rapidly. Between 1949 and 1974 the population expanded due to an influx of 65,000 workers from more than 30 countries. Those working on the Snowy Scheme depended on the railway and during construction of the scheme, the railways were one of the largest employers in the region. In 1959, the tenth anniversary of the scheme was celebrated with the erection of an avenue of flags representing the 27 nationalities of people working on the scheme.

Cooma has developed a growing tourism industry as it became the main rest stop for many travellers heading to the NSW snow fields during the winter months. As a result, the town nicknamed itself the 'Gateway to the Snowy Mountains'.

The Aviation Pioneers' Memorial at Cooma contains artifacts recovered from the Avro 618 Ten aircraft Southern Cloud, which crashed on 21 March 1931 in the Toolong range of the Australian Alps. The wreck was not found until 26 October 1958.

Heritage listings

Cooma has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Population

|type= Australia |1921|1834 |1933|1969 |1947|2249 |1954|6506 |1961|8716 |1966|9106 |1971|7788 |1976|7353 |1981|7978 |1986|7406 |1991|7385 |1996|7150 |2001|6914 |2006|6587 |2011|6664 |2016|6681 |2021|6715 |source=Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

According to the , there were people in Cooma.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.5% of the population.
  • 77.8% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included England at 2.2%, New Zealand at 1.6%, Germany at 1.3%, India at 1.1%, and Italy at 0.9%.
  • 82.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages spoken at home included Italian at 0.8%, German at 0.7%, Nepali at 0.5%, Spanish at 0.5%, and Urdu at 0.4%.
  • The most common responses for religion included No Religion 36.3%, Catholic 23.6%, Anglican 18.7%, and Uniting Church 2.0%; a further 9.5% of respondents for this area elected not to disclose their religious status.

Education

Government schools include Monaro High School, a high school that serves the town and seven of the neighbouring rural towns and villages including Peak View, , , , Bredbo and . The other two government schools support primary education and are Cooma Public School and Cooma North Public School, both providing education for students in Kindergarten to Year 6.

The Roman Catholic school is called St Patrick's Parish School and provides education from Kindergarten to Year 10. The Snowy Mountains Christian School, an independent Christian school provides education from Kindergarten to Year 10.

Tertiary education is provided by TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute Cooma campus. Another Tertiary Education centre is the Cooma Universities Centre, which opened in 2014.

Climate

Cooma has a dry oceanic climate (Cfb). Summer averages are warm, though tend to swing wildly between hot and cool; and winters are chilly with particularly cold night time temperatures due to its valley location, high elevation, and frequent clear skies, sometimes recording the lowest temperatures in the country. However, daytime maximum temperatures in winter are often unremarkable, on account of the foehn effect.

The area is exceptionally dry by southeast coastal Australian standards as it lies in a major rain shadow; the region is flanked by mountain ranges on all sides, most notably on the west. Despite its dryness, it has only 90.1 clear days annually, lower than the adjacent coastal areas of Wollongong and Sydney (106 and 107 clear days respectively). Strong cold fronts often push through the region in winter and snow is not uncommon in Cooma from June to September, though is generally light and rarely settles for more than 24 hours. Frost occurs in all months of the year and is frequent between April and October. Severe thunderstorms are semi-frequent in summer, and owing to the elevation of the town can carry large quantities of hail.{{cite web | url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_070278_All.shtml | title = Climate statistics for Cooma Visitors Centre| access-date = 10 July 2018 | publisher = Bureau of Meteorology}}

|location = Cooma Visitors Centre (1991–2020, extremes 1973–2025); 778 m AMSL; 36.23° S, 149.12° E |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |precipitation colour = green |Jan record high C = 40.0 |Feb record high C = 38.9 |Mar record high C = 35.2 |Apr record high C = 30.4 |May record high C = 24.2 |Jun record high C = 19.6 |Jul record high C = 20.9 |Aug record high C = 24.5 |Sep record high C = 29.4 |Oct record high C = 33.1 |Nov record high C = 36.5 |Dec record high C = 37.8 |year record high C = | Jan avg record high C = 36.2 | Feb avg record high C = 33.7 | Mar avg record high C = 30.2 | Apr avg record high C = 25.6 | May avg record high C = 21.2 | Jun avg record high C = 16.7 | Jul avg record high C = 15.9 | Aug avg record high C = 19.3 | Sep avg record high C = 23.5 | Oct avg record high C = 27.4 | Nov avg record high C = 30.9 | Dec avg record high C = 32.9 | year avg record high C = 36.7 | Jan high C = 28.0 | Feb high C = 26.1 | Mar high C = 23.6 | Apr high C = 19.6 | May high C = 15.5 | Jun high C = 11.9 | Jul high C = 11.5 | Aug high C = 13.2 | Sep high C = 16.5 | Oct high C = 19.8 | Nov high C = 22.8 | Dec high C = 25.4 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 19.7 | Feb mean C = 18.5 | Mar mean C = 15.9 | Apr mean C = 11.7 | May mean C = 7.9 | Jun mean C = 5.4 | Jul mean C = 4.5 | Aug mean C = 5.7 | Sep mean C = 8.9 | Oct mean C = 11.8 | Nov mean C = 15.0 | Dec mean C = 17.5 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 11.4 | Feb low C = 10.9 | Mar low C = 8.2 | Apr low C = 3.7 | May low C = 0.2 | Jun low C = -1.3 | Jul low C = -2.5 | Aug low C = -1.9 | Sep low C = 1.2 | Oct low C = 3.8 | Nov low C = 7.2 | Dec low C = 9.4 | year low C = | Jan avg record low C = 4.2 | Feb avg record low C = 3.9 | Mar avg record low C = 0.9 | Apr avg record low C = -2.8 | May avg record low C = -6.0 | Jun avg record low C = -7.7 | Jul avg record low C = -8.2 | Aug avg record low C = -7.9 | Sep avg record low C = -5.6 | Oct avg record low C = -2.9 | Nov avg record low C = 0.4 | Dec avg record low C = 1.7 | year avg record low C = -9.2 |Jan record low C = -0.2 |Feb record low C = -1.0 |Mar record low C = -1.9 |Apr record low C = -6.5 |May record low C = -8.6 |Jun record low C = -11.5 |Jul record low C = -11.4 |Aug record low C = -10.5 |Sep record low C = -8.6 |Oct record low C = -6.8 |Nov record low C = -3.9 |Dec record low C = -3.0 |year record low C = |Jan precipitation mm = 61.6 |Feb precipitation mm = 69.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 49.4 |Apr precipitation mm = 29.4 |May precipitation mm = 23.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 44.3 |Jul precipitation mm = 29.2 |Aug precipitation mm = 28.6 |Sep precipitation mm = 31.5 |Oct precipitation mm = 39.4 |Nov precipitation mm = 60.7 |Dec precipitation mm = 62.6 |year precipitation mm = 529.7 |Jan precipitation days = 6.3 |Feb precipitation days = 6.6 |Mar precipitation days = 5.4 |Apr precipitation days = 4.5 |May precipitation days = 3.8 |Jun precipitation days = 4.9 |Jul precipitation days = 5.0 |Aug precipitation days = 5.2 |Sep precipitation days = 5.9 |Oct precipitation days = 6.3 |Nov precipitation days = 7.8 |Dec precipitation days = 6.8 |year precipitation days = |humidity colour= green |Jan afthumidity = 41 |Feb afthumidity = 44 |Mar afthumidity = 44 |Apr afthumidity = 47 |May afthumidity = 52 |Jun afthumidity = 59 |Jul afthumidity = 55 |Aug afthumidity = 47 |Sep afthumidity = 44 |Oct afthumidity = 43 |Nov afthumidity = 44 |Dec afthumidity = 43 |year humidity = |source =Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ |title = Climate data online (Site number: 070278) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = 27 Jun 2025}}}}

The airport is located at a higher elevation than the town, causing maximum temperatures to be notably cooler but winter minima somewhat milder. |location = Cooma Airport AWS (1991–2020, extremes 1991–2025); 930 m AMSL; 36.29° S, 148.97° E |metric first = yes |single line = yes |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |precipitation colour = green |Jan record high C = 39.1 |Feb record high C = 38.0 |Mar record high C = 36.0 |Apr record high C = 30.0 |May record high C = 23.8 |Jun record high C = 21.9 |Jul record high C = 19.7 |Aug record high C = 25.4 |Sep record high C = 27.7 |Oct record high C = 29.3 |Nov record high C = 35.9 |Dec record high C = 37.7 |year record high C = | Jan avg record high C = 35.2 | Feb avg record high C = 33.0 | Mar avg record high C = 29.1 | Apr avg record high C = 24.5 | May avg record high C = 20.0 | Jun avg record high C = 16.0 | Jul avg record high C = 15.1 | Aug avg record high C = 18.2 | Sep avg record high C = 22.2 | Oct avg record high C = 26.1 | Nov avg record high C = 29.7 | Dec avg record high C = 32.3 | year avg record high C = 35.8 | Jan high C = 26.8 | Feb high C = 25.0 | Mar high C = 22.4 | Apr high C = 18.2 | May high C = 14.2 | Jun high C = 10.7 | Jul high C = 10.3 | Aug high C = 11.9 | Sep high C = 15.1 | Oct high C = 18.4 | Nov high C = 21.4 | Dec high C = 24.2 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 18.9 | Feb mean C = 17.7 | Mar mean C = 15.1 | Apr mean C = 11.1 | May mean C = 7.4 | Jun mean C = 4.8 | Jul mean C = 4.2 | Aug mean C = 5.2 | Sep mean C = 8.1 | Oct mean C = 11.0 | Nov mean C = 14.0 | Dec mean C = 16.5 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 10.9 | Feb low C = 10.3 | Mar low C = 7.7 | Apr low C = 3.9 | May low C = 0.6 | Jun low C = -1.1 | Jul low C = -2.0 | Aug low C = -1.5 | Sep low C = 1.1 | Oct low C = 3.6 | Nov low C = 6.6 | Dec low C = 8.7 | year low C = | Jan avg record low C = 2.8 | Feb avg record low C = 2.8 | Mar avg record low C = -0.1 | Apr avg record low C = -3.5 | May avg record low C = -6.5 | Jun avg record low C = -7.9 | Jul avg record low C = -8.5 | Aug avg record low C = -8.4 | Sep avg record low C = -6.3 | Oct avg record low C = -4.3 | Nov avg record low C = -1.3 | Dec avg record low C = 0.1 | year avg record low C = -9.6 |Jan record low C = -2.2 |Feb record low C = -1.2 |Mar record low C = -2.7 |Apr record low C = -8.4 |May record low C = -9.7 |Jun record low C = -11.0 |Jul record low C = -10.8 |Aug record low C = -11.0 |Sep record low C = -9.4 |Oct record low C = -9.2 |Nov record low C = -5.6 |Dec record low C = -3.5 |year record low C = |Jan precipitation mm = 55.8 |Feb precipitation mm = 54.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 45.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 31.0 |May precipitation mm = 23.6 |Jun precipitation mm = 42.2 |Jul precipitation mm = 26.8 |Aug precipitation mm = 31.9 |Sep precipitation mm = 33.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 43.6 |Nov precipitation mm = 61.5 |Dec precipitation mm = 51.1 |year precipitation mm = 501.7 |Jan precipitation days = 6.0 |Feb precipitation days = 6.3 |Mar precipitation days = 5.1 |Apr precipitation days = 4.7 |May precipitation days = 4.2 |Jun precipitation days = 5.1 |Jul precipitation days = 5.0 |Aug precipitation days = 4.7 |Sep precipitation days = 5.8 |Oct precipitation days = 6.4 |Nov precipitation days = 7.2 |Dec precipitation days = 6.2 |year precipitation days = |humidity colour= green |Jan afthumidity = 39 |Feb afthumidity = 43 |Mar afthumidity = 43 |Apr afthumidity = 46 |May afthumidity = 54 |Jun afthumidity = 60 |Jul afthumidity = 57 |Aug afthumidity = 48 |Sep afthumidity = 46 |Oct afthumidity = 43 |Nov afthumidity = 43 |Dec afthumidity = 39 |Jan dew point C = 7.0 |Feb dew point C = 8.1 |Mar dew point C = 6.3 |Apr dew point C = 4.0 |May dew point C = 3.1 |Jun dew point C = 1.6 |Jul dew point C = 0.2 |Aug dew point C = -0.8 |Sep dew point C = 0.7 |Oct dew point C = 2.1 |Nov dew point C = 4.2 |Dec dew point C = 5.2 |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ |title = Climate data online (Site number: 070217) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = 27 Jun 2025}}}}

Mosaic Time Walk

The Cooma–Monaro Time Walk in Centennial Park was a community project to mark the Bicentennial Year of 1988, from designs by Cooma College of TAFE and the Cooma–Monaro Historical Society.{{Citation | title=The Cooma-Monaro Time Walk : a mosaic record of the history of the Monaro from 1788-1988 | author1=Cooma-Monaro Historical Society | publisher=Cooma-Monaro Historical Society | language=English Image:AS Cooma Mosaic Timewalk.jpg Image:Cooma Wall Art-2 (8539380290).jpg Image:Cooma wall Art-3 (8539384454).jpg Image:Cooma Wall Art-1 (8539388692).jpg Image:Cooma mosaic section.jpg

Media

Newspapers

One newspaper operates in Cooma, The Monaro Post, which began in 2006 and is independently owned by Gail Eastaway, Tracy Frazer and Louise Platts.

Radio stations

Note: transmitters for XLFM and Snow FM, as well as some ABC services, are in place throughout the Snowy Mountains.

Television

Cooma receives five free-to-air television networks including all the digital free-to-air channels relayed from Canberra, broadcast from the Telstra site Radio Hill translator in Cooma Common, off Polo Flat Road.

The stations are:

  • ABC
  • SBS
  • Seven
  • Nine (WIN)
  • Network 10 Another transmitter for the Cooma and surrounding Monaro region is located at Mount Roberts approximately 30 km NNE of the town, broadcasting The Three Commercial TV Networks and the ABC Television services, but not SBS Television Services.

Sports

Cooma has several sports teams, the most popular sports played in town being Rugby League, Rugby Union, Cricket, Soccer and Australian rules football.

The Cooma Colts is the town's junior rugby league team, the Stallions (founded 1973) is the senior rugby league team and the Rugby League Tag team known as the Fillies also plays during the rugby league season.

The Cooma Tigers (founded 1952) soccer team plays in local competitions.

The Southern Cats (formerly Cooma Cats founded in 1975) Australian rules football club is based at the Snowy Oval and participates in the AFL Canberra Community Division 3.

Transport

Cooma is served by Cooma–Snowy Mountains Airport, which is 15 kilometres from the CBD. Cooma has a bus service connecting various areas of town three times a day run by Cooma Coaches. Snowliner Coaches also operate services. Cooma has a taxi service run by Cooma Radio Taxis.

NSW TrainLink operate road coach services from Canberra to Bombala and Eden. Cooma was served by the Cooma Mail until May 1986 and the Canberra Monaro Express until September 1988.

The Cooma Monaro Railway is a heritage railway using CPH railmotors built in the 1920s. Until operations were suspended in January 2014 the railway provided a weekend and public-holiday service on an 18-kilometre section of the Bombala railway line north to Bunyan and Chakola.

Notable people

References

References

  1. "Cooma".
  2. Studies, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. (2021-01-10). "Map of Indigenous Australia".
  3. (2014). "Centenary of Federation Monument". Cooma-Monaro Shire Council.
  4. (11 November 2009). "Cooma Railway Precinct". Office of Environment and Heritage: Government of New South Wales.
  5. "Bombala Line". nswrail.net.
  6. "Cooma Railway Station". nswrail.net.
  7. (1911). "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 1911 – Part XIV Summary". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  8. "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 30th June 1933 – PART VIII. POPULATION AND OCCUPIED DWELLINGS IN LOCALITIES". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  9. "CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 30th June, 1947 – PART VIII. – POPULATION AND OCCUPIED DWELLINGS IN LOCALITIES". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  10. (December 1970). "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 30 JUNE 1966 – Vol.5, Part 1 – New South Wales". COMMONWEALTH BUREAU OF CENSUS AND STATISTICS.
  11. (1983). "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 30 JUNE 1981 PERSONS AND DWELLINGS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS AND URBAN CENTRES – NEW SOUTH WALES". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  12. (12 October 2024). "Snowy 2.0 brings new wave of cultures to Cooma, centre helps migrant women thrive". ABC News.
  13. (July 2019). "Into the Abyss & Back". FLIGHT SAFETY AUSTRALIA.
  14. {{cite NSW SHR. 5011974. Cooma Railway Station and yard group
  15. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045289. Royal Hotel & Outbuildings
  16. {{cite NSW SHR. 5060277. Rock Bolting Development Site
  17. "21. Historical Censuses (Pre 1996)". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  18. {{Census 2021 AUS
  19. {{Census 2016 AUS
  20. {{Census 2011 AUS
  21. {{Census 2006 AUS
  22. {{Census 2001 AUS
  23. "Monaro High School". NSW Government: Education and Communities.
  24. "Cooma Public School". NSW Government: Education and Communities.
  25. "Cooma North Public School". NSW Government: Education and Communities.
  26. "St Patrick's Parish School, Cooma". Catholic Education Office Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.
  27. "Snowy Mountains Christian School". Snowy Mountains Christian School.
  28. "Cooma Campus". TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute.
  29. "Bureau of Meteorology – Summary statistics WOLLONGONG UNIVERSITY". [[Australian Bureau of Meteorology]].
  30. "Climate statistics for Australian locations". Bureau of Meteorology.
  31. "Mosaic Time Walk". Destination NSW.
  32. (15 June 2010). "Television". [[The Canberra Times]].
  33. "Cooma Stallions".
  34. "Cooma Tigers | Cooma Football Club | Cooma".
  35. [https://www.southerncats.com.au/history Southern Cats history]
  36. {{Cite New South Wales transport timetables. Southern Region
  37. The Railway Refreshment Rooms of New South Wales 1855–1995 ''[[Australian Railway History. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]'' issue 790 August 2003
  38. "Cooma Monaro Railway". [[Cooma Monaro Railway]].

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snowy-mountains-highwaysnowy-mountains-schemetowns-in-new-south-walessnowy-monaro-regional-councilcooma