While history abounds in Cootamundra’s many fine old buildings, and its vaunted position as birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman, it is not so well known that this big
Riverina stock-selling centre, about 427 kilometres south-west of Sydney, provides a focal point for natural displays of some of the most beautiful wattle trees in the country. The Cootamundra wattle is at its brilliant best in July and August.
Providing a delightful contrast to the golden wattle flowers are the 100 year-old elm trees that line Cooper Street in front of some wonderfully-preserved colonial buildings.
Cootamundra is also noted for its many historic buildings. The railway station in Hovell Street, built in 1888, boasts an amazing octagonal central tower. Other buildings of note include the gaol, which was built in 1885, town hall (1890) and district hospital (1892).
Three years after it opened in 1875, the town's first school welcomed a 13-year-old pupil-teacher who was to emerge as one of Australia's great poets and the first woman admitted to the Australian Workers' Union, Dame Mary Gilmour.
The intriguingly named Hardy's Folly Dam was built in the 1890s, while Australia's first country layout at the Cootamundra Golf Club welcomed its first hackers in 1895.
Find out more about the
Riverina region.
