79-527: Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales , Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is 712 km (442 mi) by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney . It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highway . The town and the local government area , the Cobar Shire , are on the eastern edge of the outback . At the 2016 census ,
158-483: A Legislative Council was introduced, with two-thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the governor. Former convicts were granted the vote, but a property qualification meant that only one in five adult males were enfranchised. By 1850 the settler population of New South Wales had grown to 180,000, not including the 70,000 living in the area which became the separate colony of Victoria in 1851. In 1856 New South Wales achieved responsible government with
237-594: A Pine ridge, and throughout the whole length of the ridge (about half-a-mile) indications of ore are apparent”. The ore was varied, “consisting of blue and red carbonate, red and black oxide, and is of very high quality”. The writer was of the opinion the Cobar mine “promises to be one of the richest copper mines Australia has yet produced”. The South Cobar Mining Company built a furnace at Cobar and in May 1875 commenced smelting operations. Soon afterwards two additional furnaces and
316-686: A deal with Edmund Barton , leader of the NSW Protectionist Party, whereby they would work together for federation and leave the question of a protective tariff for a future Australian government to decide. In early 1893 the first citizens' Federation League was established in the Riverina region of New South Wales and many other leagues were soon formed in the colony. The leagues organised a conference in Corowa in July 1893 which developed
395-530: A debt crisis after the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. New South Wales was hit harder by the depression than other states, and by 1932 one third of union members in the state were unemployed, compared with 20 per cent nationally. Labor won the November 1930 NSW elections and Jack Lang became premier for the second time. In 1931 Lang proposed a plan to deal with the depression which included
474-456: A diverse set of understory shrubs and fungi. One of the widespread fungi is Witch's Butter ( Tremella mesenterica ). The western slopes and plains fill a significant portion of the state's area and have a much sparser population than areas nearer the coast. Agriculture is central to the economy of the western slopes, particularly the Riverina region and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in
553-574: A gift of a bottle of wine. The Liberal Party then elected Treasurer Mike Baird as party leader and Premier. Baird resigned as Premier on 23 January 2017, and was replaced by Gladys Berejiklian . On 23 March 2019, Berejiklian led the Coalition to a third term in office. She maintained high personal approval ratings for her management of a bushfire crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic . However, Berejiklian resigned as premier on 5 October 2021, following
632-506: A high school, an activities youth centre and a 31-bed hospital for acute care. The local council supports a local currency called Cobar Quid . Established in 2003 by the Cobar Business Association Inc. (CBA), Cobar Quid is a currency that encourages its residents to shop locally. This local currency is a minted medallion that can be exchanged for goods and services with accepting local businesses. The CBA sells
711-665: A huge victory for Holman's pro-conscription Nationalists in the elections of March 1917, a second referendum on conscription held in December that year was defeated in New South Wales and nationally. Following the war, NSW governments embarked on large public works programs including road building, the extension and electrification of the rail network and the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The works were largely funded by loans from London, leading to
790-583: A majority of one seat. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 saw more NSW volunteers for service than the federal authorities could handle, leading to unrest in camps as recruits waited for transfer overseas. In 1916 NSW premier William Holman and a number of his supporters were expelled from the Labor party over their support for military conscription. Holman subsequently formed a Nationalist government which remained in power until 1920. Despite
869-569: A mineral conditional purchase of 40 acres at the locality. Shortly afterwards the Cobar Copper Mining Company was formed, and the lease of the mine was transferred to the company. In May 1871 it was reported that there had been “a call for tenders for drawing in copper ore from Cobar”. In July 1871 a meeting was held in Bourke “of gentlemen interested in the Cobar copper mine” and shares were “eagerly bought at £15 per share”. By
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#1732780475195948-655: A number of “weather-board and iron buildings and some adobe or clay houses” scattered throughout the town. The courthouse was described as “a handsome brick structure in Barton-street” with a gaol next to it. The township had nine hotels, “the principal ones being the Cobar and the Commercial”, and two banks, “the Commercial and the Joint Stock”. The writer was of the opinion that “Cobar owes its existence as
1027-507: A plan for federation. The new NSW premier, George Reid , endorsed the "Corowa plan" and in 1895 convinced the majority of other premiers to adopt it. A constitutional convention held sessions in 1897 and 1898 which resulted in a proposed constitution for a Commonwealth of federated states. However, a referendum on the constitution failed to gain the required majority in New South Wales after that colony's Labor party campaigned against it and premier Reid gave it such qualified support that he earned
1106-738: A refinery were built. In December 1875 the Cobar Copper Mining Company amalgamated with the South Cobar Mining Company to form the Great Cobar Copper Mining Company Ltd . It and subsequent companies operated a number of light railways carrying ore and similar material, as well as timber for mine supports. Cobar and many mining outskirts accommodated the miners who travelled to the area in the late 1880s. The overwhelming majority of these were of Cornish Australian stock at
1185-462: A suspension of interest payments to British creditors, diverting the money to unemployment relief. The Commonwealth and state premiers rejected the plan and later that year Lang's supporters in the Commonwealth parliament brought down James Scullin's federal Labor government. The NSW Lang government subsequently defaulted on overseas interest payments and was dismissed from office in May 1932 by
1264-597: A thousand settlers, including 736 convicts. A few days after arrival at Botany Bay , the fleet moved to the more suitable Port Jackson , where Phillip established a settlement at the place he named Sydney Cove (in honour of the Secretary of State, Lord Sydney ) on 26 January 1788. This date later became Australia's national day, Australia Day . Governor Phillip formally proclaimed the colony on 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Phillip, as Governor of New South Wales , exercised nominal authority over all of Australia east of
1343-699: A town largely to the Great Cobar Copper Mine, although the pastoral properties have also contributed in a great measure to make it a fairly prosperous inland settlement”. Several fine heritage buildings from the late 1880s/early 1900s settlement are still in existence, including the Great Western Hotel (1898), claimed to have the longest verandah (at 91 metres) in New South Wales , the Cobar Post Office (1885),
1422-463: A water-hole and quarry where pigments of ochre, kaolin and blue and green copper minerals were mined for ceremonial use. Other sources claim the Aboriginal word means ‘red earth’ or ‘burnt earth’ (the ochre used for ceremonial body paint). The Mount Grenfell Historic Site located north-west of Cobar is an important traditional meeting place with ceremonial significance. Extensive rock art at
1501-421: Is considerable in both maximum and minimum temperatures. It is very sunny, with 156.1 clear days and 3,297.6 hours of sunshine annually. The highest temperature recorded at Cobar was 47.8 °C (118.0 °F) on 26 February 1889 and again on 11 January 1939, while the lowest recorded was −6.7 °C (19.9 °F) on 28 July 1881. NSW TrainLink operates a coach service from Dubbo. The train line through Cobar
1580-406: Is today used primarily for industrial train services. See Cobar railway line . Cobar Airport is a small, local airport located 5.6 km southwest of town. New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW ) is a state on the east coast of Australia . It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders
1659-490: The 135th meridian east between the latitudes of 10°37'S and 43°39'S, and "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean". The area included modern New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania. He remained as governor until 1792. The settlement was initially planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and shipbuilding were banned to keep the convicts isolated. However, after
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#17327804751951738-710: The Canbelego belt and the Girilambone belt. Visits to mine sites may be arranged through the Cobar Heritage and Visitor Information Centre overlooking the open cut mine . The Festival of the Miners' Ghost , held during the last weekend in October, is a festival celebrating the spirits of the old miners. The area of Cobar also includes the now empty sites of the former villages of Wrightville and Dapville , and
1817-474: The Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney , which is also Australia's most populous city. In December 2023 , the population of New South Wales was over 8.3 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Almost two-thirds of the state's population, 5.3 million, live in
1896-780: The Great Dividing Range . In 1825 Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) became a separate colony and the western border of New South Wales was extended to the 129th meridian east (now the West Australian border). New South Wales established a military outpost on King George Sound in Western Australia in 1826 which was later transferred to the Swan River colony. In 1839, the UK decided to formally annex at least part of New Zealand to New South Wales. It
1975-543: The Illawarra . The Bundjalung people are the original custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas . There are other Aboriginal peoples whose traditional lands are within what is now New South Wales, including the Wiradjuri , Gamilaray , Yuin , Ngarigo , Gweagal , and Ngiyampaa peoples. In 1770, James Cook charted the unmapped eastern coast of the continent of New Holland , now Australia, and claimed
2054-732: The Jervis Bay Territory . The original inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi wodi people, who spoke a variant of the Dharawal language, are the original custodians of an area south of Sydney which was approximately bounded by modern Campbelltown , Shoalhaven River and Moss Vale and included
2133-539: The Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions reaching northwards to the Queensland border. Tourism is important to the economies of coastal towns such as Coffs Harbour , Lismore , Nowra and Port Macquarie , but the region also produces seafood, beef, dairy, fruit, sugar cane and timber. The Great Dividing Range extends from Victoria in the south through New South Wales to Queensland, parallel to
2212-701: The Mount Boppy Gold Mine , further away at Canbelego, and the remaining surface operations closed during 1922. In less than four years, all the major mines in the Cobar region had closed. The town was saved by the reopening of the old Occidental gold mine, in 1933, thereafter known as the New Occidental mine , and the Chesney Mine in 1937. These mines both closed in 1952. By the 1930s the town's population had dropped to little over 1,000, only to rise again and stabilise at around 3,500 through
2291-508: The 1880s New South Wales produced almost half of Australia's wool. Coal had been discovered in the early years of settlement and gold in 1851, and by the 1890s wool, gold and coal were the main exports of the colony. The NSW economy also became more diversified. From the 1860s, New South Wales had more people employed in manufacturing than any other Australian colony. The NSW government also invested strongly in infrastructure such as railways, telegraph, roads, ports, water and sewerage. By 1889 it
2370-399: The 1970s and early 1980s. Copper mining was intermittent until 1965 when full-time operations resumed. In the 1980s, gold , silver , lead and zinc were discovered in the area, which led to a further population increase. The town's current positive economic development is due to the affluence of the mining boom. Three important mining belts are operational in the Cobar area: the Cobar belt,
2449-421: The 40-hour working week was implemented by 1947. The post-war economic boom brought near-full employment and rising living standards, and the government engaged in large spending programs on housing, dams, electricity generation and other infrastructure. In 1954 the government announced a plan for the construction of an opera house on Bennelong Point . The design competition was won by Jørn Utzon . Controversy over
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2528-572: The Cobar Court House (1887) and Court House Hotel (1895) in Barton Street, as well as the Cobar Heritage and Visitor Information Centre, located in the former Mines Office (1910). On Hillston Road southeast out of town is Fort Bourke Hill, which affords a view of the town, as well as the historic Towser's Huts, a series of stone miners' cottages dating back as early as the 1890s, possibly even the 1870s, and built by an Italian miner by
2607-654: The Great Cobar's smelters, and it too closed in March 1919. Then came the unexpected closure, due to an underground fire, of the C.S.A. Mine, located to the north of the Cobar township, at Elouera , in March 1920. The Gladstone Mine, at Wrightville closed, around May 1920, because it was reliant upon the copper smelters at the C.S.A. Mine, which closed at that time. The Occidental gold mine, at Wrightville, closed in July 1921. Last, in September 1921, hard rock mining ceased at
2686-535: The Greater Sydney area. The Colony of New South Wales was founded as a British penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825. The colony then also included the island territories of Van Diemen's Land , Lord Howe Island , and Norfolk Island . During the 19th century, most of the colony's area
2765-635: The centre of a narrow coastal strip extending from cool temperate areas on the far south coast to subtropical areas near the Queensland border. Gulaga National Park in the South Coast features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in the state. The Illawarra region is centred on the city of Wollongong, with the Shoalhaven , Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast to the south. The Central Coast lies between Sydney and Newcastle, with
2844-560: The coins to the local business in values of $ 5, $ 10, $ 20 and $ 50 values, and the medallions are minted by the Royal Australian Mint . Business can redeem the medallions for cash which is controlled by the Cobar Shire Council. Cobar has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSh ) with long, very hot summers and short, cool winters, with low rainfall that is spread rather evenly across the year. Seasonal range
2923-484: The colony as a whole, were eligible to vote. Full adult male suffrage was introduced in 1858. In 1859 Queensland became a separate colony. In 1861 the NSW parliament legislated land reforms intended to encourage family farms and mixed farming and grazing ventures. The amount of land under cultivation subsequently increased from 246,000 acres in 1861 to 800,000 acres in the 1880s. Wool production also continued to grow, and by
3002-516: The comfort of the inhabitants of Cobar” and on a number of occasions “the people have been upon the verge of a water famine”. Government-constructed tanks relying on rainfall was the principal means of household supply and the watering of stock, supplemented by “small tanks sunk in the ground” beside many of the houses. A description of Cobar published in April 1888 noted that “the houses generally are substantially built; many of them being of brick”, with
3081-550: The corporatisation of government agencies and the privatisation of some government services. An Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was created. Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which the Liberals were expected to win. However the ALP polled extremely well and the Liberals lost their majority and needed the support of independents to retain power. In 1992, Greiner was investigated by ICAC for possible corruption over
3160-558: The cost of the Sydney Opera House and construction delays became a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by the conservative Liberal Party and Country Party coalition led by Robert Askin . The Askin government promoted private development, law and order issues and greater state support for non-government schools. However, Askin, a former bookmaker, became increasingly associated with illegal bookmaking, gambling and police corruption. In
3239-419: The departure of Governor Phillip, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also farmed land granted to them and engaged in trade. Farms spread to the more fertile lands surrounding Paramatta , Windsor and Camden , and by 1803 the colony was self-sufficient in grain. Boat building was developed to make travel easier and exploit
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3318-462: The dry country between the rivers. Along the way they camped beside the Kubbur waterhole. The men noted the green and blue staining at the waterhole and collected some rock samples. On their journey further south the well-sinkers stopped at a shanty operated by Henry Kruge (near to the future site of Gilgunnia ). Kruge’s wife, Sidwell, was from Cornwall and her family had emigrated to South Australia in
3397-524: The entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory. Contrary to his instructions, Cook did not gain the consent of the Aboriginal inhabitants. Cook originally named the land New Wales , however, on his return voyage to Britain he settled on the name New South Wales . In January 1788 Arthur Phillip arrived in Botany Bay with the First Fleet of 11 vessels, which carried over
3476-529: The following November it was reported that “the affairs of the Cobar Copper Mine Company are in a flourishing condition, shares having rushed up from £15 to £70 and £80 per share”. In December 1871 a correspondent visited “the new Cobar copper mine” in company with Captain Lean, the newly-appointed mining manager. The mine had been in operation for the previous four months. It was situated “on
3555-577: The governor, Sir Phillip Game . The following elections were won comfortably by the United Australia Party in coalition with the Country Party. Bertram Stevens became premier, remaining in office until 1939, when he was replaced by Alexander Mair . A contemporary study by sociologist A. P. Elkin found that the population of New South Wales responded to the outbreak of war in 1939 with pessimism and apathy. This changed with
3634-399: The informal settlement of Cornish Town. Further away, but at locations now within the area of Cobar, are the empty sites of two other former mining settlements, Illewong and Elouera . There was also a village site at The Peak, proclaimed in 1897. Cobar has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: The New Occidental Hotel was a pub located on the edge of town and was built in 1879; it
3713-476: The introduction of a bicameral parliament comprising a directly elected Legislative Assembly and a nominated Legislative Council . William Charles Wentworth was prominent in this process, but his proposal for a hereditary upper house was widely ridiculed and subsequently dropped. The property qualification for voters had been reduced in 1851, and by 1856 95 per cent of adult males in Sydney, and 55 per cent in
3792-498: The land taken up by or belonging to the company working the mine), and Cornish Town”, with “the mine and its appurtenances in the centre”. Most of the houses, places of business and public buildings were located in the Private Township. In the surveyed Government Township there were “very few houses indeed”. Cornish Town was described as “pretty thickly populated”. The “want of water” was described as “the great drawback to
3871-716: The largest and most important in Australia. The new Cobar Sound Chapel was opened in April 2022. The Cobar area is part of the traditional territory of the Wongaibon people (within the Ngiyampaa language group associated with the arid plains and rocky hill country of the Central West area of NSW bordered by the Lachlan, Darling-Barwon and Bogan rivers). The name ‘Cobar’ is derived from a Ngiyampaa word – variously transcribed as kubbur , kuparr , gubarr or cuburra – for
3950-488: The late 1960s, a secessionist movement in the New England region of the state led to a 1967 referendum on the issue which was narrowly defeated. The new state would have consisted of much of northern NSW including Newcastle . Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed by a number of short-lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in 1976, the ALP under Neville Wran came to power. Wran
4029-409: The late-1840s and mined copper ore at Burra. She was able to identify the rock as containing copper. Sidwell Kruge's assessment was confirmed when her husband smelted some of the ore samples in his blacksmith's forge. The three men then returned to Bourke, intending to secure the ground around the Kubbur waterhole. In partnership with Bourke businessman Joseph Becker, Campbell, Hartman and Gibb took up
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#17327804751954108-442: The local mines and their employees, and consequently on world metal prices and hence is subject to great fluctuations. During 2008, after a fall of 75% in world zinc prices, one local mine cut 540 of its 655 jobs, with flow-on effects felt by many other businesses. Over the course of that year Cobar's workforce reduced by 10%. The town has increasing benefit from being the seat of the local government area. Cobar has two primary schools,
4187-512: The marine resources of the coastal settlements. Sealing and whaling became important industries. In March 1804, Irish convicts led around 300 rebels in the Castle Hill Rebellion , an attempt to march on Sydney, commandeer a ship, and sail to freedom. Poorly armed, and with their leader Philip Cunningham captured, about 100 troops and volunteers routed the main body of insurgents at Rouse Hill . At least 39 convicts were killed in
4266-550: The mid-1860s back stations such as ‘Booroomugga’ and ‘Buckwaroon’ had been established in the Cobar locality (within the Warrego Pastoral District). In September 1870 three contract well-sinkers, Charles Campbell, Thomas Hartman and George Gibb, were traveling south from Bourke to the Lachlan River. They had engaged two Aboriginal men, Frank and Boney, to guide them via the permanent watering places in
4345-480: The name of Antonio Tozzi. At its peak, Cobar had a population of 10,000. It also became the regional centre for nearby mining villages, such as Elouera , Illewong , Wrightville , Dapville , and The Peak, and some further away such as Canbelego , Mount Drysdale , Nymagee and Shuttleton . However, mining operations in the area had virtually ceased by the early 1920s. In March 1919, the vast Great Cobar mine , Cobar's main employer, closed. The Chesney Mine had used
4424-706: The narrow coastal plain. This area includes the Snowy Mountains , the Northern , Central and Southern Tablelands , the Southern Highlands and the South West Slopes . Whilst not particularly steep, many peaks of the range rise above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2,228 m (7,310 ft). Skiing in Australia began in this region at Kiandra around 1861. The relatively short ski season underwrites
4503-608: The necessary enabling legislation in 1900 and Western Australia subsequently voted to join the new federation. The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1 January 1901, and Barton was sworn in as Australia's first prime minister. The first post-federation NSW governments were Progressive or Liberal Reform and implemented a range of social reforms with Labor support. Women won the right to vote in NSW elections in 1902, but were ineligible to stand for parliament until 1918. Labor increased its parliamentary representation in every election from 1904 before coming to power in 1910 with
4582-460: The nickname "yes-no Reid". The premiers of the other colonies agreed to a number of concessions to New South Wales (particularly that the future Commonwealth capital would be located in NSW), and in 1899 further referendums were held in all the colonies except Western Australia. All resulted in yes votes, with the yes vote in New South Wales meeting the required majority. The Imperial Parliament passed
4661-504: The offer of a public service position to a former Liberal MP. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. His replacement as Liberal leader and Premier was John Fahey , whose government narrowly lost the 1995 election to the ALP under Bob Carr , who was to become the longest serving premier of the state. The Carr government (1995–2005) largely continued its predecessors' focus on the efficient delivery of government services such as health, education, transport and electricity. There
4740-579: The opening of an ICAC investigation into her actions between 2012 and 2018. She was replaced by Dominic Perrottet . New South Wales is bordered on the north by Queensland, on the west by South Australia, on the south by Victoria and on the east by the Coral and Tasman Seas . The Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory form a separately administered entity that is bordered entirely by New South Wales. The state can be divided geographically into four areas. New South Wales's three largest cities, Sydney , Newcastle and Wollongong , lie near
4819-459: The pastoral industry led to violent episodes of conflict between settlers and traditional Aboriginal landowners, such as the Myall Creek massacre of 1838. By 1844 wool accounted for half of the colony's exports and by 1850 most of the eastern third of New South Wales was controlled by fewer than 2,000 pastoralists. The transportation of convicts to New South Wales ended in 1840, and in 1842
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#17327804751954898-500: The settlement at Cobar was described as “large and scattered, as mining towns generally are, composed chiefly of huts and cottages, which lie about in all directions and cover an extensive area of ground”. The population was estimated to number 2,500 consisting “principally of miners and their families”. The township was “divided into three portions”, described as “the Government Township, the Private Township (or that upon
4977-482: The site contains ochre and kaolin paintings of human and animal figures as well as hand stencils . To the pastoralists who had taken up runs along the Darling River during the 1850s the Cobar area was a waterless region between rivers. As pastoral stations became more established, tanks and wells were constructed to allow stock to be grazed in areas away from permanent watercourses (known as ‘back stations). By
5056-439: The state's south-west. Regional cities such as Albury , Dubbo , Griffith and Wagga Wagga and towns such as Deniliquin , Leeton and Parkes exist primarily to service these agricultural regions. The western slopes descend slowly to the western plains that comprise almost two-thirds of the state and are largely arid or semi-arid. The mining town of Broken Hill is the largest centre in this area. One possible definition of
5135-498: The threat of invasion by Japan, which entered the war in December 1941. In May 1942 three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney harbour and sank a naval ship, killing 29 men aboard. The following month Sydney and Newcastle were shelled by Japanese warships. American troops began arriving in the state in large numbers. Manufacturing, steelmaking, shipbuilding and rail transport all grew with the war effort and unemployment virtually disappeared. A Labor government led by William McKell
5214-455: The time. Although Cobar is best known as a copper mining area, it has also been a significant goldfield. The first significant gold producing mine at Cobar was the Chesney Mine. The New Occidental Mine is regarded as having been the most productive gold mine in New South Wales. Gold was also produced by refining the copper smelted from copper ores, this was first done in the Great Cobar electrolytic copper refinery at Lithgow . In March 1881
5293-426: The tourist industry in the Snowy Mountains . Agriculture, particularly the wool industry, is important throughout the highlands. Major centres include Armidale , Bathurst , Bowral , Goulburn , Inverell , Orange , Queanbeyan and Tamworth . There are numerous forests in New South Wales, with such tree species as Red Gum Eucalyptus and Crow Ash ( Flindersia australis ), being represented. Forest floors have
5372-510: The town of Cobar had a population of 3,990. The Shire has a population of approximately 4,700 and an area of 44,065 square kilometres (17,014 sq mi). Many sights of cultural interest can be found in and around Cobar. The town retains much of its colonial 19th-century architecture. The Towsers Huts, 3 km south of town but currently inaccessible to the public, are ruins of very simple colonial dwellings from around 1870. The ancient Aboriginal rock paintings at Mount Grenfell are some of
5451-408: The uprising and subsequent executions. Lachlan Macquarie (governor 1810–1821) commissioned the construction of roads, wharves, churches and public buildings, sent explorers out from Sydney, and employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney. A road across the Blue Mountains was completed in 1815, opening the way for large scale farming and grazing in the lightly wooded pastures west of
5530-470: Was able to transform this narrow one seat victory into landslide wins (known as Wranslides) in 1978 and 1981. After winning a comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. His replacement Barrie Unsworth struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led by Nick Greiner . The Greiner government embarked on an efficiency program involving public sector cost-cutting,
5609-449: Was administered as a dependency until becoming the separate Colony of New Zealand on 3 May 1841. From the 1820s, squatters increasingly established unauthorised cattle and sheep runs beyond the official limits of the settled colony. In 1836, an annual licence was introduced in an attempt to control the pastoral industry, but booming wool prices and the high cost of land in the settled areas encouraged further squatting. The expansion of
5688-529: Was an increasing emphasis on public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructure such as freeways, tunnels and rail links. The Carr government gained popularity for its successful organisation of international events, especially the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Carr himself was critical of the federal government over its high immigration intake, arguing that a disproportionate number of new migrants were settling in Sydney, putting undue pressure on state infrastructure. Carr unexpectedly resigned from office in 2005 and
5767-553: Was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became the various states and territories of Australia . The Swan River Colony (later called the Colony of Western Australia ) was never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island became a federal territory , as have the areas now known as the Australian Capital Territory and
5846-424: Was elected in May 1941. The McKell government benefited from full employment, budget surpluses, and a co-operative relationship with John Curtin's federal Labor government. McKell became the first Labor leader to serve a full term and to be re-elected for a second. The Labor party was to govern New South Wales until 1965. The Labor government introduced two weeks of annual paid leave for most NSW workers in 1944, and
5925-485: Was formed in 1885 but New South Wales declined to join. A major obstacle to the federation of the Australian colonies was the protectionist policies of Victoria which conflicted with the free trade policies dominant in New South Wales. Nevertheless, the NSW premier Henry Parkes was a strong advocate of federation and his Tenterfield Oration in 1889 was pivotal in gathering support for the cause. Parkes also struck
6004-481: Was known as the Star Hotel at that time. It became a significant local spot for miners as well as a common meeting place for groups and clubs in the area. In August 2014 a fire engulfed the building and resulted in the death of a firefighter who died of his injuries at Dubbo Base Hospital. According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 3,990 people in Cobar. The Cobar economy relies heavily on trade with
6083-619: Was one of the factors leading the Trades and Labor Council to form a political party. The Labor Electoral League won a quarter of seats in the NSW elections of 1891 and held the balance of power between the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party . The suffragette movement was developing at this time. The Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales was founded in 1891. A Federal Council of Australasia
6162-402: Was possible to travel by train from Brisbane to Adelaide via Sydney and Melbourne. The extension of the rail network inland also encouraged regional industries and the development of the wheat belt . In the 1880s trade unions grew and were extended to lower skilled workers. In 1890 a strike in the shipping industry spread to wharves, railways, mines, and shearing sheds. The defeat of the strike
6241-563: Was replaced by Morris Iemma , who remained premier after being re-elected in the March 2007 state election , until he was replaced by Nathan Rees in September 2008. Rees was subsequently replaced by Kristina Keneally in December 2009, who became the first female premier of New South Wales. Keneally's government was defeated at the 2011 state election and Barry O'Farrell became Premier on 28 March. On 17 April 2014 O'Farrell stood down as Premier after misleading an ICAC investigation concerning
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