Gundaroo

Gundaroo is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and in Yass Valley Council. It is situated to the east of the Yass River, about 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Sutton, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) west of the Lake George range. At the 2016 census, Gundaroo "state suburb" (including surrounding areas) had a population of 1,146.[1] At the 2006 census, its "urban centre/locality" had a population of 331.[2]

Gundaroo
New South Wales
Main street of Gundaroo
Gundaroo is located in New South Wales
Gundaroo
Gundaroo
Coordinates35°02′0″S 149°17′0″E
Population1,146 (2016 census)[1]
Established1830s
Postcode(s)2620
Location
LGA(s)Yass Valley Council
CountyMurray
ParishGundaroo
State electorate(s)Goulburn
Federal division(s)Eden-Monaro
Localities around Gundaroo:
Yass River Bellmount Forest Collector
Nanima Gundaroo Lake George
Springrange Sutton Bywong

History

The area now known as Gundaroo lies close to the boundaries of the traditional lands of the Gandangara and Ngunawal peoples.[3] The Gandangara and Ngunawal peoples spoke closely related, if not identical, languages.

The explorers Charles Throsby and Joseph Wild traveled through the Yass River valley in 1820. The Aboriginal people called the valley Candariro, meaning "blue crane". This name may have been the origin of Gundaroo,[4] or it may mean "big waterhole".[5] Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted the first white settler, Peter Cooney, 30 acres (12 ha) in 1825. Settlement proceeded fairly quickly and there were about 400 residents in the 1840s. The first non-residential building in Gundaroo was the Harrow Inn, built in 1834. The plan of the town made by James Larmer was gazetted in 1847.[6] A post office was built in 1848 and an Anglican church, St Luke's in Upper Gundaroo (now part of a pottery business), in 1849. The first school opened in 1850 and a police station in 1852.[7] A major impetus for the growth in the middle of the nineteenth century was the discovery of gold in the district in 1852.[8][9][10][11] There was another short-lived phase of reef gold mining in the district in the 1890s.[12]

Gundaroo was one of the sites considered for a capital city, within the 'Yass-Canberra' district. However, following a survey of the various sites, by Charles Scrivener, in 1909, Canberra was selected as the site for the new national capital city.[13]

World War II air crash

On 7 December 1943, a RAAF Lockheed Ventura crashed three miles south-east of Gundaroo, killing all five crew members.[14] A memorial to the victims was erected in the town.[15]

  • St Mark's Anglican Church in Cork St, formerly Gundaroo Court House, built in 1875
    St Mark's Anglican Church in Cork St, formerly Gundaroo Court House, built in 1875
  • The Royal Hotel Gundaroo
    The Royal Hotel Gundaroo
  • Gundaroo Community Church was originally the Presbyterian Church (1864). It is now under a Uniting Church.
    Gundaroo Community Church was originally the Presbyterian Church (1864). It is now under a Uniting Church.
  • Gundaroo War Memorial
    Gundaroo War Memorial
  • Gundaroo Catholic Pioneer Cemetery established in 1857
    Gundaroo Catholic Pioneer Cemetery established in 1857

Notable people

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Gundaroo (state suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Gundaroo (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  3. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (12 July 2020). "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  4. Exploring the ACT and Southeast New South Wales, J. Kay McDonald, Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1985 ISBN 0-86417-049-1
  5. "Gundaroo (village)". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  6. King, Herbert William Henry. [openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/9591/1/02Whole_King.pdf "The Urban Geography of the Southern Tablelands of' New South Wales"] (PDF). Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. pp. 237, 238, Fig. 85. Retrieved 23 August 2020. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. "Gundaroo". The Southern Tablelands of NSW. Archived from the original on 3 August 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  8. Canberra's Engineering Heritage, William Charles Andrews, Institution of Engineers, Canberra, 1990, p. 5
  9. "INTERIOR". Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875). 3 November 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. "Domestic Intelligence". Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser (NSW : 1848 - 1859). 4 December 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  11. "GOLD AT GUNDAROO! - The Golden Age (Queanbeyan, NSW : 1860 - 1864) - 30 May 1861". Trove. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. "GUNDAROO". Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881 - 1940). 1 November 1894. p. 4. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. SchofieldS (29 June 2017). "History of the National Capital". www.nca.gov.au. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. Dunn, Peter. "CRASH OF A VENTURA 3 MILES SOUTH EAST OF GUNDAROO, ACT ON 7 DECEMBER 1943". www.ozatwar.com. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  15. Southwell-Keely, Michael. "Gundaroo Air Disaster Memorial". War Memorials in Australia. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

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