| Main | Births etc |
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| Nyngan | |||||||
 Court house, Nyngan | |||||||
 Nyngan | |||||||
| Population: | 2,073 [1] | ||||||
| Postcode: | 2825 | ||||||
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: | ||||||
| Elevation: | 173 m (568 ft) | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Bogan Shire | ||||||
| State District: | Barwon | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Parkes | ||||||
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Nyngan [pr: ning-g'n] is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2011 census, Nyngan had a population of 2,073 people.[1] Nyngan is situated on the Bogan River between Narromine and Bourke, on the junction of the Mitchell Highway and Barrier Highway, 583 km north-west of Sydney. The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan, and runs west to Cobar and on through Wilcannia and Broken Hill into South Australia.
Nyngan Airport is a small airport just north of the city center. Nyngan also lies on the Main Western railway line of New South Wales but is no longer served by passenger trains. The line remains open to freight traffic.
About 70 kilometres south of the town a cairn has been erected to mark the geographical centre of New South Wales.[2]
History[]
The district was originally inhabited by the Ngiyambaa Aborigines. Thomas Mitchell explored the Bogan River in 1835, camping on the future townsite. He recorded the local Aboriginal word nyingan, said to mean 'long pond of water', though other meanings have been put forward, such as mussel or crayfish.[3] Squatters had settled in Mitchell's wake before he had begun his return journey.[4] And the town flourished after completion of the railway line in 1883. The Municipality of Nyngan was proclaimed on February 17, 1891 with Nyngan having a population of 1355.
The 1990 Nyngan floods[]
In April 1990, unusually heavy rains caused major flooding in the town, despite a massive effort by local people to build levee walls using sandbags. With the town almost completely flooded, all the residents had to be evacuated by helicopter from the railway station, the highest point of the town, which was not flooded. Army helicopters, TV news helicopters and private helicopters all co-operated in the airlift. The total damage amounted to $50 million. The airlift is commemorated by an Army helicopter placed outside of the Nyngan Railway Station. Ironically, the flood damage to railway tracks provided the justification to withdraw passenger railway services to Nyngan and the railway station is now a museum.[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Nyngan (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2011 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/UCL115111?opendocument&navpos=220. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Centre of New South Wales Cairn, Monument Australia retrieved 11 June 2012
- ^ "Nyngan". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/placename_search/extract?id=ujIOwpKman. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
- ^ "Nyngan - Culture and History". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 November 2008. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/nyngan--culture-and-history-20081117-6901.html.
- ^ Bogan Shire Council: About: The Floods of April 1990
External links[]
Media related to Nyngan, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to
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