Gunnedah

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title: "Gunnedah" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-in-new-south-wales", "north-west-slopes", "populated-places-established-in-1833", "1833-establishments-in-australia", "gunnedah-shire"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnedah" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

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

FieldValue
typetown
nameGunnedah
statensw
imageGunnedah-NSW-Australia 2005-12-01 IMG 0814.JPG
captionGunnedah viewed from Mount Porcupine
alternative_location_mapAustralia New South Wales LGAs
coordinates
pop8,338
pop_year
pop_footnotes
established1856
postcode2380
elevation264
dist166
dir1W
location1Tamworth
dist2432
dir2NW
location2Sydney
dist398
dir3SE
location3Narrabri
dist4113
dir4E
location4Coonabarabran
lgaGunnedah Shire
regionNorth West Slopes
countyPottinger
stategovTamworth
fedgovParkes
maxtemp24.6
mintemp12.2
rainfall636.9
near-nBoggabri
near-neManilla
near-eCarroll
near-sCurlewis
near-wMullaley
::

| type = town | name = Gunnedah | state = nsw | image = Gunnedah-NSW-Australia 2005-12-01 IMG 0814.JPG | caption = Gunnedah viewed from Mount Porcupine | alternative_location_map = Australia New South Wales LGAs | image_alt = | relief = | coordinates = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_label_position = | map_alt = | pop = 8,338 | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | poprank = | density = | density_footnotes = | established = 1856 | established_footnotes = | abolished = | gazetted = | postcode = 2380 | elevation = 264 | elevation_footnotes = | area = | area_footnotes = | timezone = | utc = | timezone-dst = | utc-dst = | dist1 = 66 | dir1 = W | location1 = Tamworth | dist2 = 432 | dir2 = NW | location2 = Sydney | dist3 = 98 | dir3 = SE | location3 = Narrabri | dist4 = 113 | dir4 = E | location4 = Coonabarabran | lga = Gunnedah Shire | seat = | region = North West Slopes | county = Pottinger | division = | stategov = Tamworth | fedgov = Parkes | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_footnotes = | managing_authorities = | url = | maxtemp = 24.6 | maxtemp_footnotes = | mintemp = 12.2 | mintemp_footnotes = | rainfall = 636.9 | rainfall_footnotes = | near-n = Boggabri | near-ne = Manilla | near-e = Carroll | near-se = | near-s = Curlewis | near-sw = | near-w = Mullaley | near-nw = | footnotes =

Gunnedah () is a town in north-central New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 8,338. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultural region, with 80% of the surrounding shire area devoted to farming. The Namoi River flows west then north-west through the town providing water beneficial to agricultural operations in the area.

The Gunnedah area is a significant producer of cotton, coal, beef, lamb and pork, and cereal and oilseed grains. Gunnedah is also home to AgQuip, Australia's largest annual agricultural field day.

Gunnedah is located on the Oxley and Kamilaroi Highways providing convenient road links to much of the northern sector of the state including to the regional centre Tamworth, 75 km distant. The town has a station on the Mungindi railway line and is served by the daily NSW TrainLink Xplorer passenger service to and from Sydney and Moree.

It claims the title of being the "Koala Capital of World", although recently there have been concerns over the health of the local koala population and the impacts of climate change on koala habitat.

History

Gunnedah and the surrounding areas were originally inhabited by Aboriginal Australians speaking the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) language. The name of the town in Kamilaroi means "Place of White Stones". In 1818, English surveyor general John Oxley traversed the district, for which a monument pays tribute to him at the base of Mullaley Mountain. The area now occupied by the town was settled by European sheep farmers in 1833 or 1834. With settlement in the area focused on wool production, Gunnedah was initially known as 'The Woolshed' until taking its name from the local Indigenous people who called themselves the Gunn-e-darr, the most famous of whom was Cumbo Gunnerah.

Coal was discovered on Black Jack Hill in 1877. By 1891, 6,000 tons of coal had been raised from shafts. The Gunnedah Colliery Company was registered in May 1899 and by 22 June a private railway some 5.7 km in length had been completed from the railway station to their mine. In September 1957, the Government Railway took over the working of the line.

Dorothea Mackellar wrote her famous poem My Country (popularly known as I Love a Sunburnt Country) about her family's farm near Gunnedah. This is remembered by the annual Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards for school students held in Gunnedah.

In early 2012, Gunnedah experienced a mining boom resulting in rental properties being leased by mining companies for up to $1,350 per week.

Heritage listings

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

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there are 9,726 people in Gunnedah.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 13.7% of the population.
  • 86.2% of people were born in Australia and 90.2% of people only spoke English at home.
  • The most common responses for religion were Anglican 28.8%, Catholic 27.3% and No Religion 20.3%.

Sports

The most popular sport in Gunnedah by a wide margin is Rugby league. The local team, the Gunnedah Bulldogs, play out of Kitchener Park. They compete in the Group 4 Rugby League competition, in which they have won seven premierships.

Other sports teams include the Gunnedah AFL Bulldogs competing in AFL North West NSW, Gunnedah Red Devils RUFC competing in the Central Northern Rugby Union and Gunnedah FC competing in the Northern Inland Football.

Geography

Gunnedah Shire is situated 264 m above sea level on the Liverpool Plains in the Namoi River valley. It is very flat; the tallest hills are 400 to above sea level. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter and dry, although rainstorms in catchment areas occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Major floods cut transport links to the town, briefly isolating it from the outside world. The town is located on a rich coal seam and within the northern New South Wales wheat belt.

The Gunnedah area is noted for its abundance of native wildlife, including kangaroos, echidnas and koalas. Koalas can often be found in trees within the town, as well as in the surrounding countryside with the help of signs placed by the local tourist centre. The koala population is considered to be the largest koala colony in the state, west of the Great Dividing Range.

Climate

Gunnedah has a textbook subtropical climate with characteristics of a hot semi-arid climate (BSh), with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 °C in summer and dropping below 0 °C in winter. This is due to the town's far inland location on the North West Slopes. Its average annual rainfall is 632.9 mm, which is spread throughout the year, however severe thunderstorms in the summer months often cause heavy downpours which boost rainfall totals.

The highest daily maximum temperature recorded was 48.7 C on 24 January 1882, while the lowest daily maximum temperature recorded was 4.4 C on 4 August 1921. Snow is very rare, with the most recent occurrence in 1984.

|location = Gunnedah Pool (1876–2011); 285 m AMSL; 30.98° S, 150.25° E |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 48.7 |Feb record high C = 44.4 |Mar record high C = 45.0 |Apr record high C = 37.2 |May record high C = 34.4 |Jun record high C = 30.4 |Jul record high C = 26.7 |Aug record high C = 31.7 |Sep record high C = 35.4 |Oct record high C = 40.0 |Nov record high C = 43.3 |Dec record high C = 46.1 |year record high C = |Jan high C = 34.0 |Feb high C = 32.9 |Mar high C = 30.7 |Apr high C = 26.4 |May high C = 21.3 |Jun high C = 17.6 |Jul high C = 16.9 |Aug high C = 18.9 |Sep high C = 22.8 |Oct high C = 26.7 |Nov high C = 30.3 |Dec high C = 32.9 |year high C = |Jan low C = 18.4 |Feb low C = 18.1 |Mar low C = 15.8 |Apr low C = 11.4 |May low C = 7.1 |Jun low C = 4.3 |Jul low C = 3.0 |Aug low C = 4.2 |Sep low C = 7.0 |Oct low C = 10.8 |Nov low C = 14.2 |Dec low C = 16.8 |year low C = |Jan record low C = 2.2 |Feb record low C = 3.3 |Mar record low C = -1.0 |Apr record low C = -3.9 |May record low C = -5.3 |Jun record low C = -8.6 |Jul record low C = -8.3 |Aug record low C = -7.5 |Sep record low C = -6.7 |Oct record low C = -2.2 |Nov record low C = 0.6 |Dec record low C = 1.1 |year record low C = |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 70.7 |Feb rain mm = 65.4 |Mar rain mm = 48.9 |Apr rain mm = 36.6 |May rain mm = 42.0 |Jun rain mm = 44.0 |Jul rain mm = 41.5 |Aug rain mm = 40.9 |Sep rain mm = 40.2 |Oct rain mm = 54.2 |Nov rain mm = 61.4 |Dec rain mm = 69.6 |year rain mm = 615.7 |Jan rain days = 5.5 |Feb rain days = 5.0 |Mar rain days = 4.0 |Apr rain days = 3.4 |May rain days = 4.0 |Jun rain days = 4.8 |Jul rain days = 4.7 |Aug rain days = 4.7 |Sep rain days = 4.5 |Oct rain days = 5.3 |Nov rain days = 5.6 |Dec rain days = 6.0 |year rain days = |unit rain days = 1.0 mm |humidity colour = green |Jan afthumidity = 43 |Feb afthumidity = 45 |Mar afthumidity = 44 |Apr afthumidity = 46 |May afthumidity = 51 |Jun afthumidity = 55 |Jul afthumidity = 53 |Aug afthumidity = 48 |Sep afthumidity = 44 |Oct afthumidity = 43 |Nov afthumidity = 40 |Dec afthumidity = 40 |year humidity = 46 |source = Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Gunnedah Pool

|location = Gunnedah Resource Centre (1948–2025); 307 m AMSL; 31.03° S, 150.27° E |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 45.9 |Feb record high C = 45.6 |Mar record high C = 41.5 |Apr record high C = 35.8 |May record high C = 28.8 |Jun record high C = 24.7 |Jul record high C = 24.6 |Aug record high C = 31.2 |Sep record high C = 35.0 |Oct record high C = 39.1 |Nov record high C = 43.1 |Dec record high C = 42.4 |year record high C = |Jan high C = 32.2 |Feb high C = 31.3 |Mar high C = 29.2 |Apr high C = 25.3 |May high C = 20.4 |Jun high C = 16.9 |Jul high C = 16.2 |Aug high C = 18.0 |Sep high C = 21.6 |Oct high C = 25.3 |Nov high C = 28.6 |Dec high C = 31.2 |year high C = |Jan low C = 19.0 |Feb low C = 18.7 |Mar low C = 16.7 |Apr low C = 12.9 |May low C = 8.7 |Jun low C = 6.1 |Jul low C = 4.8 |Aug low C = 5.8 |Sep low C = 8.6 |Oct low C = 12.2 |Nov low C = 15.2 |Dec low C = 17.6 |year low C = |Jan record low C = 8.5 |Feb record low C = 8.9 |Mar record low C = 4.1 |Apr record low C = 2.4 |May record low C = -1.2 |Jun record low C = -2.9 |Jul record low C = -3.6 |Aug record low C = -2.6 |Sep record low C = -0.3 |Oct record low C = 1.5 |Nov record low C = 3.3 |Dec record low C = 5.3 |year record low C = |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 82.2 |Feb rain mm = 69.9 |Mar rain mm = 44.3 |Apr rain mm = 37.8 |May rain mm = 43.3 |Jun rain mm = 40.3 |Jul rain mm = 41.2 |Aug rain mm = 35.3 |Sep rain mm = 41.2 |Oct rain mm = 57.1 |Nov rain mm = 67.8 |Dec rain mm = 70.7 |year rain mm = 632.9 |Jan rain days = 6.0 |Feb rain days = 5.2 |Mar rain days = 4.2 |Apr rain days = 3.4 |May rain days = 4.2 |Jun rain days = 4.6 |Jul rain days = 4.8 |Aug rain days = 4.5 |Sep rain days = 4.6 |Oct rain days = 5.9 |Nov rain days = 6.1 |Dec rain days = 6.5 |unit rain days = 1.0 mm |humidity colour = green |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology |date=December 2019}} ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Gunnedah_miners.JPG" caption="Monument to miners who have lost their lives, Gunnedah, NSW"] ::

Education

Gunnedah has three secondary schools: Gunnedah High School, Carinya Christian school and St Mary's College. There are three government (Gunnedah Public School, Gunnedah South Public School, and G.S. Kidd Memorial School) and two non-government (St Xavier's Catholic School and Carinya Christian School) primary schools. A campus of the New England Institute of TAFE is also located within the town.

Media

Local media include the Gunnedah Times and Namoi Valley Independent newspapers and the radio stations 2MO and 2GGG. The Namoi Valley Independent, published by Australian Community Media, switched to a digital-only newspaper model in 2020. The Gunnedah Times started as a print newspaper in November 2020 and is published by the Dunnet family, of Narrabri, who also publishes the bi-weekly The Courier newspaper in Narrabri.

Radio stations that broadcast to Gunnedah are ABC New England North West, 2YOU FM and the 2MO began broadcasting in 1930 and was only the fourth Radio Licence issued in Australia, being the first station established in Australia outside a capital city.

Network television that is broadcast in Gunnedah are:

Subscription Television services are provided by Foxtel.

Transport

The Oxley Highway and the Kamilaroi Highway both pass through Gunnedah, for a short distance, concurrently. The Oxley Highway leads to Tamworth in the east and Coonabarabran to the west. The Kamilaroi Highway leads to Quirindi to the south-east and Boggabri to the north-west.

Railway station

Gunnedah railway station is situated on the Mungindi railway line, 475 km from Sydney. The station, opened in 1879, consists of a substantial station building on a single side platform, a passing loop and small goods yard. There are also sidings serving an adjacent flour mill. To the west of the station there are extensive sidings serving grain silos and loop sidings serving coal loading facilities. For a brief three-year period after the railway arrived in Gunnedah it was the railhead until construction was completed to Boggabri and then to Narrabri South Junction in 1882. Currently a single daily Xplorer diesel railmotor operating between Sydney and Moree serves the station.

Notable Gunnedahians

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/GunnedahMainStreet.JPG" caption="Main street, 2008"] ::

References

References

  1. {{Census 2021 AUS
  2. ''[[Macquarie Dictionary. Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition]]'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. {{ISBN. 1-876429-14-3
  3. {{Census 2021 AUS
  4. "Commonwealth Bank AgQuip Field Days".
  5. "Visit Gunnedah - visitgunnedah.com.au - Lookouts around Gunnedah".
  6. "John Oxley Monument".
  7. [http://about.nsw.gov.au/view/suburb/Gunnedah/ Gunnedah] {{webarchive. link. (23 August 2011 . About New South Wales. Retrieved 19 March 2013.)
  8. "Gunnedah Railway Station". New South Wales Government.
  9. '''''A Short History of the Gunnedah Colliery Co. Ltd. Railway''''' Eardley, Gifford [[Australian Railway History. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]], March 1977 pp58-67
  10. Peter Lorimer. (14 March 2012). "Mining boom is strangling heart of Gunnedah". News Limited.
  11. {{cite NSW SHR. 5012046. Gunnedah Railway Station group
  12. {{Census 2016 AUS
  13. (8 February 2004). "Gunnedah". Fairfax Media.
  14. {{BoM Aust stats. (19 December 2019)
  15. "Education & Schools". Gunnedah Shire Council.
  16. (2005). "2MO Commercial Radio Market Profile". Commercial Radio Australia Ltd.
  17. link. (31 July 2008 . NSWrail.net. Accessed 1 April 2008.)
  18. {{Cite New South Wales transport timetables. North West Region
  19. "James Packer divorces Erica Baxter".

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towns-in-new-south-walesnorth-west-slopespopulated-places-established-in-18331833-establishments-in-australiagunnedah-shire