Tumut

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

title: "Tumut" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tumut", "towns-in-new-south-wales", "snowy-mountains-highway", "snowy-valleys-council", "proposed-sites-for-national-capital-of-australia"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumut" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

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

FieldValue
typeTown
nameTumut
statensw
imageTumutAnglicanChurch.JPG
captionAll Saints Anglican Church, Tumut
coordinates
pop6,631
pop_year
pop_footnotes
postcode2720
elevation305.0
dist1411
dir1SW
location1Sydney
dist2525
dir2NE
location2Melbourne
dist3196
dir3W
location3Canberra
lgaSnowy Valleys Council
countyWynyard
stategovWagga Wagga
fedgovRiverina
maxtemp21.8
mintemp6.7
rainfall790.4
near-nGocup
near-neBombowlee
near-eLacmalac
near-seTumut Plains
near-sJones Bridge
near-swWereboldera
near-wWereboldera
near-nwGilmore
::

| type = Town | name = Tumut | state = nsw | image = TumutAnglicanChurch.JPG | caption = All Saints Anglican Church, Tumut | image_alt = | relief = | coordinates = | pushpin_label_position = | map_alt = | pop = 6,631 | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | poprank = | density = | density_footnotes = | established = | established_footnotes = | abolished = | gazetted = | postcode = 2720 | elevation = 305.0 | elevation_footnotes = | area = | area_footnotes = | timezone = | utc = | timezone-dst = | utc-dst = | dist1 = 411 | dir1 = SW | location1 = Sydney | dist2 = 525 | dir2 = NE | location2 = Melbourne | dist3 = 196 | dir3 = W | location3 = Canberra | lga = Snowy Valleys Council | region = | county = Wynyard | stategov = Wagga Wagga | fedgov = Riverina | url = | maxtemp = 21.8 | maxtemp_footnotes = | mintemp = 6.7 | mintemp_footnotes = | rainfall = 790.4 | rainfall_footnotes = | near-n = Gocup | near-ne = Bombowlee | near-e = Lacmalac | near-se = Tumut Plains | near-s = Jones Bridge | near-sw = Wereboldera | near-w = Wereboldera | near-nw = Gilmore | near = | footnotes = Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River.

Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu and Ngunnawal Aboriginal peoples.

Tumut is often referred to as the 'gateway to the snowy' Snowy Mountains Scheme. The former Tumut Shire was administered from offices located in the town. Tumut is approximately 410 km south-west of Sydney and 525 km north-east of Melbourne.

Tumut is home to a number of historic buildings, including an Anglican church designed by Edmund Blacket and a Courthouse designed by James Barnet. Many of the pubs in the town have been in use from the mid to late 1800s.

Early settlers established many European deciduous trees throughout the area. The stand of Poplars, Elm and Willow, amongst others, create a well renowned display of colour over autumn. Tumut celebrates this with the yearly Festival of the Falling Leaf.

Etymology

The word Tumut is derived from a possibly Wiradjuri indigenous word for the area, possibly doo-maaht or doormat, meaning "a quiet resting place by the river".

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/TumutWynyardStreet.JPG" caption="Wynyard Street"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/TumutFromRotaryLookout.JPG" caption="The town from the Rotary Lookout"] ::

The area's rivers may have been the boundaries or connection-points of the three traditional owners linked to this 'country'. During summertime, the high country was a meeting place for tribes, with bogong moths being an abundant food source in the warmer months.

British pastoralists began acquiring land in the area during the 1830s. In 1845, a Court of Petty Sessions was established at Tumut with Frederick Walker appointed as the inaugural magistrate. Walker later became famous as the first commandant of the Native Police force based mostly in Queensland.

Tumut Post Office opened 1 January 1849. A public hospital opened in the town in 1900. After many years of lobbying by the local community, construction of the railway line from Gundagai began in 1901, reaching Tumut by 1903 with the first train arriving on 2 December that year. A further extension was built to Batlow and Kunama from a junction at Gilmore, a few kilometres southwest of Tumut. Train services were progressively reduced in the early 1980s before the final trains to Cootamundra ran in January 1984 before being suspended when flood damage to the line was deemed not economical to repair.

Tumut was one of the ten areas short-listed in 1908 as a site for the Australian Capital Territory. Other locations that were short-listed include Albury, Armidale, Bombala, Dalgety, Lake George, Lyndhurst, Orange, Tooma and Yass-Canberra.

The site of the new capital city would not have been the existing town of Tumut. It seems two sites near Tumut for a new city were proposed; one to the east of Tumut, at a site in the valley of Goobarragandra River, which is now part of the localities of Little River and Lacmalac, and another site between Tumut and Adelong, near Gadara, under which Tumut itself would have become a part of the new Federal Territory. Planning work occurred for both sites.

An earlier vote following inspections of potential sites in 1902 saw the new Federal House of Representatives vote in favour of Tumut as the location for the capital, however the Senate favoured Bombala so no consensus was reached. When federal parliamentarians put the final decision to a series of nine elimination ballots, in October 1908, Tumut was eliminated in the fifth ballot.

The town's rugby league team competed in the Riverina Maher Cup competition, beginning as a fixture between teams from Gundagai and Tumut under rugby union rules in 1920, before switching to league rules in 1921.

Climate

Tumut is considerably wetter than other low-lying towns on the South West Slopes, owing to its location at the immediate foot of the Brindabella Range. Warm to hot, dry summers (though with chilly nights) and cool, wet winters characterise its climate. Occasionally, snow can occur during the winter months, with the most recent significant snowfall having occurred in August 2019, where snow covered the ground across the township. Cold rain below 5 C occurs with some regularity in the winter months. On average there are 113.2 clear days annually; with the grand majority in summer and early autumn, while the winter tends to be cloudy. Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, the town is located in transitional areas between the humid subtropical (Cfa) and oceanic climates (Cfb).

Rainfall records began in 1883 at Adelong (Tumut St), but temperature records not until 1907, and temperature extremes not until 1965. Temperature records ceased in 1994, but those of rainfall continued to 2020 before ceasing.

|metric first = yes |single line = yes |location = Adelong (Tumut St, 1907–1994, rainfall 1883–2020); 333 m AMSL; 35.31° S, 148.06° E |precipitation colour = green |unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm |Jan record high C= 42.6 |Feb record high C= 42.8 |Mar record high C= 41.1 |Apr record high C= 31.1 |May record high C= 26.1 |Jun record high C= 23.3 |Jul record high C= 23.0 |Aug record high C= 25.7 |Sep record high C= 31.7 |Oct record high C= 33.3 |Nov record high C= 39.0 |Dec record high C= 40.3 |year record high C= |Jan high C= 30.7 |Feb high C= 30.4 |Mar high C= 27.3 |Apr high C= 22.0 |May high C= 17.2 |Jun high C= 13.5 |Jul high C= 12.5 |Aug high C= 14.3 |Sep high C= 17.8 |Oct high C= 21.4 |Nov high C= 25.2 |Dec high C= 28.8 |year high C= |Jan low C= 12.9 |Feb low C= 13.4 |Mar low C= 10.5 |Apr low C= 6.3 |May low C= 3.7 |Jun low C= 1.6 |Jul low C= 0.9 |Aug low C= 2.0 |Sep low C= 3.7 |Oct low C= 5.9 |Nov low C= 8.5 |Dec low C= 11.0 |year low C= |Jan record low C= 2.5 |Feb record low C= 3.0 |Mar record low C= -1.1 |Apr record low C= -2.5 |May record low C= -5.0 |Jun record low C= -6.1 |Jul record low C= -7.3 |Aug record low C= -6.6 |Sep record low C= -4.2 |Oct record low C= -2.2 |Nov record low C= -1.1 |Dec record low C= 1.5 |year record low C= |Jan precipitation mm= 54.2 |Feb precipitation mm= 44.5 |Mar precipitation mm= 56.4 |Apr precipitation mm= 55.2 |May precipitation mm= 67.6 |Jun precipitation mm= 82.8 |Jul precipitation mm= 81.0 |Aug precipitation mm= 82.5 |Sep precipitation mm= 71.0 |Oct precipitation mm= 75.3 |Nov precipitation mm= 60.8 |Dec precipitation mm= 55.8 |year precipitation mm= 790.4 |Jan precipitation days= 5.4 |Feb precipitation days= 4.7 |Mar precipitation days= 5.5 |Apr precipitation days= 6.6 |May precipitation days= 8.6 |Jun precipitation days= 11.1 |Jul precipitation days= 12.1 |Aug precipitation days= 12.1 |Sep precipitation days= 10.2 |Oct precipitation days= 9.0 |Nov precipitation days= 7.0 |Dec precipitation days= 6.3 |year precipitation days= |source 1= Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Adelong (Tumut St)

Heritage listings

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

Economy

Tumut is the centre of a softwood industry based on plantation Pinus radiata. CarterHoltHarvey Woodproducts (Central and Northern Regions) Pty Ltd operate a major sawmill on Adelong Road (the Snowy Mountains Highway) and a chipboard panel factory next door. 8 km further west on the Snowy Mountains Highway at Gilmore the company also operates a sawlog processing plant.

The Visy pulp and paper mill is located north of the Snowy Mountains Highway at Gadara (between Tumut and Adelong). The Visy mill is the only paper mill owned by Visy that makes paper from wood (their other mills all use recycled paper as the raw material), and is one of the biggest wood mills in Australia.

Transport

Tumut is situated on the Snowy Mountains Highway, but is connected by secondary roads to Gundagai as well as alternative routes to Canberra across the Brindabella Range via Brindabella Road and Wee Jasper Road. Despite being more direct, the terrain and road conditions limit traffic via these routes. This has led to calls by the council and local businesses for funding to upgrade the Brindabella Road, as the increased traffic would provide the town greater economic opportunities.

The town was served by a railway branch line and railway station from Cootamundra, which operated from 1903 until 1984, when services were suspended due to flooding. Although the line is not formally closed, it is unlikely to see service again with sections of track lifted during upgrades to the Hume Highway near Gundagai.

NSW TrainLink coach services operate three times each week to Tumbarumba in the south, connecting with rail services to Melbourne and Sydney at Cootamundra three times each week.

Tumut Shire operates Tumut Airport, a small facility located a few kilometres out of town catering to general aviation. Currently there are no scheduled services to the airport.

Sport

The Tumut Blues compete in the Group 9 Rugby League competition, winning premierships in 1949, 1973, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2019.

|type= Australia |1921|1638 |1933| |1947| |1954|3012 |1961|3489 |1966|4278 |1971|5531 |1976|5569 |1981|5816 |1986|6099 |1991|5955 |1996|5915 |2001|6197 |2006|5925 |2011|6086 |2016|6154 |2021|6518 |source=Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Notable people

References

References

  1. {{Census 2021 AUS
  2. (2005). "Tumut". The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd.
  3. "Indigenous tribes map".
  4. Reed, A. W.. (1973). "Place Names of Australia". [[Reed Publishing.
  5. Horton, D. "Welcome to Ngunnawal Country". [[National Capital Authority]].
  6. (21 December 1909). "HISTORICAL TUMUT.". The Tumut Advocate And Farmers And Settlers' Adviser.
  7. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List".
  8. "Medical".
  9. "TUMUT BRANCH LINE OPERATIONS HISTORY". Gundagai Heritage Railway.
  10. "BBC Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia UPDATE".
  11. (1903-10-10). "TUMUT AS THE CAPITAL". [[Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  12. "General plan of country surrounding suggested Federal Capital site in the locality of Tumut, N.S.W. No. 15 [cartographic material] : shewing approximately city site, proposed water supply, railways, &c".
  13. "Sketch map showing proposed Federal Territory and capital site at Tumut [cartographic material] : Parishes of Adelong, Calafat, Gadara, Gilmore, Minjary, Tumut, Werebolder & Wondalga, County of Wynyard N.S.W., 1900".
  14. "Skeleton plan, shewing approximately catchment area in connection with sources of water supply for proposed Federal Capital site at Gadara.".
  15. Pegrum, R. "The Siting and Naming of Canberra". [[National Capital Authority]].
  16. (1908-10-09). "CAPITAL SITE.". Argus.
  17. (10 August 2019). "Snow covering Tumut".
  18. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045640. Adelong Falls Gold Workings/Reserve
  19. {{cite NSW SHR. 5012249. Tumut Railway Station group
  20. {{cite NSW SHR. 5001342. Montreal Community Theatre and Moveable Heritage Collection
  21. {{cite NSW SHR. 5051373. Junction Bridge
  22. {{cite AHD. 106198. Tumut Post Office
  23. (21 August 2012). "Tourism operator pushes for Brindabella upgrade". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
  24. Bozier, Rolfe. "Tumut Branch". NSWrail.net.
  25. The Rise & Fall of the Cootamundra - Tumut Branch Line ''[[Australian Railway History. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]'' issue 648 October 1991 pages 238-247
  26. (2019-09-07). "New South Wales Trainlink Southern Timetable". [[Transport for NSW]].
  27. "First Grade Premiership Winners & Runner Ups". [[Fox Sports]] Pulse.
  28. "Statistics by Catalogue Number". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  29. "Search Census data". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  30. (1 July 2013). "Second Rudd Ministry". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
  31. [[Second Rudd Ministry]]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

tumuttowns-in-new-south-walessnowy-mountains-highwaysnowy-valleys-councilproposed-sites-for-national-capital-of-australia