COONABARABRAN NSW

  Coonabarrabran ( Aboriginal for "Inquisitive Person") commonly called "Coona" around here, was a bit of a disappointment as I imagined it to be a lot bigger than a Town of only 3175. I expected a Main Street full of charming and impressive architecture. It turned out that there wasn't much to write about.
  First stop as usual was a big Information Centre at the end of Town. A lot of money seems to have been spent on these facilities and each is different to any other. It can be interesting to go in and just have a look at the displays. some Towns go to a lot of trouble while others , maybe due to lack of funding are not so flash. anyway this one had a separate area dedicated to the display of Dinosaur Bones, for which the district is noted for. Originally found at Tambar Springs in 1979 (had passed through there on the way), they are fossils of the Diprotodon Optatum that looked like a huge Wombat to me and of Giant Kangaroos that roamed the area I was surprised to read only 25,000 years ago. I thought they would be much older.
  My second disappointment of the day was realised when the attendant told me that the Warrumbungle National Park was closed until further notice due to Bush Fire damage and that all the Campsites where off limits. They reason I had come here was to camp in the Park. Never mind, it won't be the last plan that needed changing although I s
should have realised that it may have been a necessity. Some advice from the same Attendant and I ended up at the Oxley Caravan Park for the night. Anyway, its Sunday so I will just bring my usual Monday night shower forward by one day, ring my Sister and catch up with my Blog posting.

 

The Warrumbungle Ranges

 



   As an aside, it has occurred to me that some of these flashy Info Centres have little actual information about the Town and the Attendants, usually Volunteers, know nothing either. Others however, are manned by very knowledgeable Historian types who just love to describe the Town and it's Heritage to any listener.
  The Historical Information that I could collect was sketchy so there is not a lot that I can tell you. Some snippets of Aboriginal History and a bit about the Siding Springs Observatory, for which Coona is also famous, were all that I could glean from written Information that had been provided to me.
  Aboriginal History: There are few Historical accounts of traditional Aboriginal life in the Warrumbungle Ranges or in the Coonabarabran district for that matter. John Oxley reported in 1818 that "Bark Huts were seen in every direction along the Castlereagh River. It seems that the Aboriginals spoke a dialect of the "Gamilaroi" (or Kamilaroi).  That Great Nation occupied the Namoi (A Species of Acacia) Gwydir (Red Riverbanks) and Barwon (A Great Awful River) Rivers. The remains of Aboriginal Sites are abundant throughout the Ranges in particular, Campsites and Carved Trees. The oldest site discovered so far dates to about 21,000 years ago. Other sites at Tambar Springs 80 km to the East  date back 25,000 years. At the time Diprotodons and Giant Kangaroos were also around so it is feasible to expect that Aboriginals hunted them. would have been a decent lunch, the bones are huge. Today, Research has shown that most sites exposed at ground level are less than 5000 years old.
  Siding Springs Observatory: Inaccessible due to Fire damage, the name covers a collection of 13 Research Instruments, located at Mt Woorut, 26 km West of Coonabarabran. The most significant is Australia's largest Optical Telescope (2.9 mtrs in diameter), the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Others of note: the UK Smidt, the UNSW Patrol Telescope, the original 40" Telescope from the ANU, the Advanced Technology telescope, the Fauwkes telescope, Skymapper and a CSIRO Radio Telescope. The Site was selected in 1962 by the ANU because of the dark and cloud free skies and absence of turbulence in the atmosphere.
  Well that's Coona, Tomorrow, March 11, I'm going to Baradine NSW and hopefully the Pilliga State Forest to Free Camp.

The Clock Tower

 

                   Coonabarabran Post Office

 

                                                                         A Nice Old Shop in Town

 



                            Imperial Hotel

                                                                                                                 Hotel Royal