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Coolah Area, NSW

Welcome to Coolah Shire Council – Home of the Black Stump – Gateway to the Outback.
We extend a hearty welcome to the Coolah Shire. Come and share our country experience and make new friends.

Coolah

Our Shire covers an area of 4,832 square kilometres including the Coolah, Dunedoo, Mendooran, Merrygoen and Weetaliba districts. From the upper reaches of our crystal clear waterways in the mountainous Coolah Tops area, to the more gentle hills in the west, the majority of the soils are fertile and highly productive.
Mixed farming is predominate, covering all winter cereal crops and any suitable for summer growth, due to a varied average rainfall of 450 to 650mm.

Prime cattle, fat lambs and fine wool production, second to none in NSW, are grown in the district.
Our timbered areas yield Cypress Pine, Stringybark and Ironbark, keenly sought for building construction and railway sleepers.

A warm welcome is extended to visitors at our sporting clubs and accommodation houses. Why not sample our hospitality and country living? Several wayside inns existed in the Coolah Shire in the early days of the Colony. These inns were certainly needed for those travelling long distances between towns. The most well known was the Black Stump Wine Saloon situated on the Gunnedah Road, about 10kms north of Coolah. It was the staging post for north western NSW, important in its position at the junction of the coach roads Gunnedah – Coolah, Coolah – Coonabarabran and all points west.

The position of the inn is clearly marked on old NSW Lands Department maps. Like many a pub before and since, it became the hub from which men dated their journeys and gauged their distances.
The saloon was named after the nearby Black Stump run and Black Stump Creek. It was from these names that the saying ‘Beyond the Black Stump’ was derived. Thus our ‘Gateway to the Outback’ opened.

About Coolah Area

Explore The Outback

Australia has a vast remote interior, much of it largely untouched. By night, the outback is deathly quiet, with the only light provided by the stars and the moon - a perfect oportunity for stargazing. Explore the isolated heart of the country, meet and connect with Aboriginal people and experience one of the oldest living cultures in the world. Go ‘walk-about’ and immerse yourself with Australia’s endless outback horizons.

Outback Experiences

Luxe Accommodation

Enjoy a distinctly Australian luxury experience, such as the unforgettable reefs, islands, beaches and coast; rugged mountain ranges, rainforests and vast national parks; and the many vibrant food and wine regions. Take a once in a lifetime adventure and discover the sheer indulgence of experiencing the wonders of Australia in style and stay in total luxury.

Australia has wide variety of accommodation options to suit most budgets and travelling preferences. Choose from luxury lodges, boutique hotels, serviced apartments, motels, bed and breakfasts, caravan parks as well as youth and backpacker hostels.

Accommodation

Glasshouse Mountains

The Glasshouse Mountains in the hinterland of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast are actually the cores of 20 million year old volcanoes. The sides of the volcanoes have eroded away leaving only the hardened rock spiremountain cores we see today. Learn more about this awe-inspiring landscape.

Glasshouse Mountains