Nyngan is a rural service centre situated on the Mitchell Highway astride the Bogan River on the eastern edge of the Great Outback. The Barrier Highway starts at Nyngan and heads west to Cobar and Broken Hill and the Mitchell Highway heads north to Bourke. Wool, wheat and cattle are central to the local economy in what is a very productive pastoral and agricultural shire. In 1990 the town was devastated when the Bogan River burst its banks and spread across the low, flat plains and in the summer of 2012-2013 the temperature broke local records when it reached 47°F. Much of the appeal of Nyngan lies in its location. It is an ideal starting point for people wanting to explore the Macquarie Marshes, to learn about the fascinating history of shearing in the area and to explore the old Cobb & Co routes which contributed so much to the economic health of the region.
Location
Nyngan is located 572 km from Sydney via Dubbo, 204 km south of Bourke and is 173 metres above sea-level.
Origin of Name
Thomas Mitchell explored the area along the Bogong River in 1835 and recorded that the local Ngiyambaa Aborigines had a word 'nyingan' which he understood to mean 'long pond of water'. Other meanings including 'place of many streams', 'mussel' and 'crayfish' have been suggested.
Things to See and Do
Mid State Shearers Shed Museum
Mid State Shearers Shed Museum, a disused railway goods shed, is located on the Mitchell Highway across the railway line from the town. It is open from 9.00 am - noon Monday to Saturday and contains an excellent collection of shearing memorabilia in a building which replicates an old shearing shed. Established by Dennis Nash and Frank Walsh, and manned by volunteers all of whom are retired shearers, it has an extensive collection of photographs, newspaper articles, letters and lots of old shearing equipment - shearing presses and stands as well as combs and even an old shearer's stove from Buckaroo Station.
The stories told by the shearers include amusing anecdotes, tales of shearing quarters, bad shearer’s cooks, problems with the owners, nostalgic tales of camaraderie, and the endless challenges of trying to shear sheep in impossibly hot and oppressive conditions.
Nyngan Museum
The town's historic railway station in Pangee Street, near Davidson Park, has been restored and converted into an historical museum. Its most impressive exhibits include the local mining industry (copper has been mined in the area since 1875) with samples of the ores and a model of the Girilambone mine, and a fascinating video of the 1990 Bogan River flood which, given the flatness of the terrain, saw the Bogan break its banks and inundate the town. It is a rare example of an entire town being literally drowned by a flood. The Army was called in and the townsfolk were evacuated. An Army Iroquois helicopter still stands outside the Museum in Railway Square. It was a gift from the Australian Government to the people of Nyngan to commemorate the occasion in April 1990 when 2000 people, nearly the entire population, were evacuated due to the breaching of the levee by record floodwaters, The Museum is open from 9.00 am - 4.00 pm Monday to Friday and 10.00 am - noon on Saturday, tel: (02) 6832 1436 for information.
Source - www.aussietowns.com.au/town/nyngan-nsw
16 янв 2024
