The
traditional owners of the area where present day Cootamundra exists are considered to be the
Wiradjuri people, with the name "Cootamundra" probably deriving from the
Wiradjuri language word
guudhamang for "turtle". :Ken Loiterton argues that the name, for many years spelled "Cootamundry", derives from "Coramandra", the name of a property owned by John Hurley and James Fitzpatrick in tribute to a ship
Coromandel, which brought settlers to the area in the 1840s, and written "Cotamandra" by Fitzpatrick (c. 1797 – 27 July 1882) in 1844. Cootamundra was incorporated as a township on 9 August 1861, and the first settlers bought their lots in early 1862. Like many other towns in the Riverina, it was originally populated by those attracted by the
gold rush of the 1860s but became a quiet yet prosperous agricultural community after the local deposits were exhausted. However, the potential sale of a recently disused mine near Adelong may have piqued the curiosity of would-be prospectors. It is one of the
oldest towns in Australia. The town's
rugby league team, the
Cootamundra Bulldogs, competed in the
Maher Cup.
Timeline • 1837 – John Hurley and Patrick Fennell licensed to stock
Coramundra Run • 1847 –
Cootamundry Run, a large stock run, is the first colonist settlement in the area. • 1860 – Plan of proposed village drawn up by surveyor
Philip Francis Adams • 1879 – St Columba's (Catholic) church opens • 1881 – Post Office (the current building) opened • 1908 –
Donald Bradman (later Sir Donald) is born in Cootamundra. • 1911–1968 –
Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls opens in former hospital. • 1919 – Flood 6 December • 1920 – 23 February arrival of Ross and Keith Smith after the first flight from England to Australia • 1926 – 10 December "Black Friday" bushfires • 1933 – Water from Burrinjuck replaces supply from bores and Hardy's Folly Dam. • 1942 – On 3 December, the corvette , named for the town, is launched. • 1951 – Cootamundra Jazz Band is formed by John Ansell. • 1952 – Name of Cootamundry officially changed to Cootamundra. • 1955 – The first
Cootamundra Annual Classic cycling handicap race, one of the oldest open races in NSW. • 1956 – Cootamundra's
rugby league football club's
Bill Marsh is first selected to play for the
Australian national team. • 1960 – Cootamundra Blues
Australian rules football club is established. • 1982 – In November 1982, aviation company Masling Industries is formed. This was restructured in June 1993 after the death of its owner. • 1986 – Popular Australian singer/songwriter/bush poet
John R Williamson releases his song 'Cootamundra Wattle'. • 1998 – Phase 1 of
Cricket Captains' Walk declared open; all busts the work of
Harden–Murrumburrah sculptor Carl Valerius • 2000 – The first annual beach volleyball competition. Truckloads of sand are deposited in a main street for "Coota Beach" (punning reference to
Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia). • 2015 – Australian youth radio station
Triple J featured the 'Cootamundra bonus weather rap'.
Churches The first churches in Cootamundra were: ;Primitive Methodist Rev. Smith was minister from around 1874, succeeded by J. Spalding, who was minister in 1877, and services were held on alternate Sunday afternoons. ;Wesleyan Methodist The church, seating 100 persons, was opened on 17 December 1876. Rev. G. Thompson was minister in 1878 and services were held regularly. In 1880 Rev. R. East was the only minister resident in the town. ;Anglican Christ Church opened on 12 July 1878; the vicar W. Cocks shared with Murrumburrah. In January 1880 Rev. S. B. Holt left Gundagai to take up the position. ;Roman Catholic Eighty confirmations were performed in 1875 in conjunction with a jubilee attended by Bishop Lanigan of Goulburn and Fathers Bermingham (Burrowa), Dunne and O'Dwyer (Gundagai), and Hanley (Goulburn). Mass was held fortnightly in the schoolroom by visiting priests from Gundagai. St Columba's church was consecrated on 30 November 1879. The first resident pastor was Rev. Richard Butler in 1881.
Military history During
World War II, Cootamundra was the location of
RAAF No.3 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. It was located in an area of land near the intersection of Olympic Highway and Thompson Street. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the
RAAF and the
US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000). It was also home to the No 1 Air Observers School, commemorated by a plaque at Cootamundra Airfield. A plane from the No. 31 Beaufighter Squadron, RAAF, from Wagga Wagga, crashed nearby on 21 September 1942 during training exercises, resulting in the death of Flt/Sgt J. E. Jenkins and Sgt V. Sutherst. A memorial alongside the main road to
Young, dedicated on 28 April 1990, is regularly tended. See Gallery below.
Heritage listings Cootamundra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: • Cootamundra-Griffith railway:
Cootamundra West railway station • Main Southern railway:
Cootamundra railway station • 39 Rinkin Street:
Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls • 219 Sutton Street:
Cootamundra World War II Fuel Depot ==Description and attractions==