Town in New South Wales, Australia
Tocumwal
(
TOH
-k?m-wawl
)
[2]
is a town in the southern
Riverina
region of
New South Wales
,
Australia
, in the
Berrigan Shire
local government area
. The town, 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of the city of
Melbourne
, lies on the northern bank of the
Murray River
, which forms the border with
Victoria
.
The
Newell Highway
and
Murray Valley Highway
join at the Murray River, and form part of the main road route
National Highway A39
between
Brisbane
and Melbourne. At the
2016 census
, Tocumwal had a population of 2,682.
[1]
The winner of several "Tidy Town" awards, Tocumwal is affectionately known as "The Jewel in the Crown That Is The Riverina District".
[
citation needed
]
The name of town is probably a corruption of the local
Bangarang
First Nations
word, "Tucumiva" (or "Tucumival"), meaning "deep hole". Near Tocumwal is a 25-metre-deep hole in granite rock, now known as "The Blowhole", which is linked underground to the nearby Murray River.
[3]
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Prior to European settlement, the Tocumwal area was inhabited by the
Ulupna
and
Bangerang
people. The first pastoral runs were established in the 1840s. The town was established in the early 1860s and gazetted in 1862 as:
"a Village to be called TOCUMWAL ... Situated on the Murray River, on the road from Albury to Deniliquin, about 50 miles west of Corowa, and 40 south-east of Deniliquin."
[5]
Tocumwal Post Office opened on 1 August 1868.
[6]
Prior to
Federation
, Tocumwal was an important
customs
point for goods moving between the then British
colonies
of Victoria and New South Wales.
[7]
A
standard gauge
branch line, from the
New South Wales Government Railways
(NSWGR)
Main Southern railway line
at
Junee
, reached
Narrandera
in 1881 and a branch from Narrandera was completed to Tocumwal in 1898.
[8]
The
broad gauge
Victorian Railways
Melbourne-Shepparton railway line
was extended to Tocumwal in 1908, creating a
break-of-gauge
location at Tocumwal, but the NSWGR line from
Finley
to Tocumwal was closed in 1987.
[9]
During
World War II
the town was the site of
Royal Australian Air Force
Station Tocumwal
, which was a major
Royal Australian Air Force
training airfield and aircraft depot. Units included (at various times) the 5 Operational Training Unit, 7 Operational Training Unit, 7 Aircraft Depot and the Paratroop Training Unit.
[10]
Today, the airfield is a renowned
gliding
site.
Also during the War, Tocumwal was the location of
RAAF No.14 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot
(IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. Usually consisting of four 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).
[10]
After the War ended, families were housed at the American Air Force Hospital and the men travelled daily over the river to
Yarroweyah
, in Victoria, to work on farms, which they could then apply for under the
soldier settlement
scheme. The hospital was on or next to Barooga Station. Living quarters were in long
Nissen huts
, with three or four families in each and a shared bathroom. Single quarters were at the front and a cook was employed.
Also after the War, about 200 Air Force houses in Tocumwal were disassembled and trucked to
Canberra
to be reused in as government housing for workers from
Melbourne
and
Sydney
who were constructing the new capital city. Called
Tocumwal houses
, they remain a distinctive architectural feature in Canberra's suburbs, such as
O'Connor
and
Ainslie
.
[11]
Heritage listings
[
edit
]
Tocumwal has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Climate
[
edit
]
Tocumwal has a
semi-arid climate
(
Koppen
BSk
). marginally too dry to be classified as a
humid subtropical climate
(
Cfa
), with hot summers and pleasant winters. Rainfall is moderate but somewhat erratic, with calendar year totals having ranged from 191.1 millimetres or 7.52 inches in 1982 to 873.8 millimetres or 34.40 inches in 1973.
Climate data for Tocumwal
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
46.5
(115.7)
|
45.7
(114.3)
|
41.8
(107.2)
|
37.0
(98.6)
|
29.0
(84.2)
|
23.7
(74.7)
|
25.5
(77.9)
|
30.5
(86.9)
|
34.0
(93.2)
|
37.0
(98.6)
|
43.5
(110.3)
|
44.9
(112.8)
|
46.5
(115.7)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
32.0
(89.6)
|
31.5
(88.7)
|
28.1
(82.6)
|
23.1
(73.6)
|
18.3
(64.9)
|
14.7
(58.5)
|
13.9
(57.0)
|
15.7
(60.3)
|
18.9
(66.0)
|
22.8
(73.0)
|
26.9
(80.4)
|
29.7
(85.5)
|
23.0
(73.4)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
16.2
(61.2)
|
16.1
(61.0)
|
13.6
(56.5)
|
9.7
(49.5)
|
6.7
(44.1)
|
4.3
(39.7)
|
3.4
(38.1)
|
4.2
(39.6)
|
6.2
(43.2)
|
8.8
(47.8)
|
11.9
(53.4)
|
14.1
(57.4)
|
9.6
(49.3)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
7.4
(45.3)
|
6.8
(44.2)
|
5.0
(41.0)
|
0.0
(32.0)
|
?2.1
(28.2)
|
?4.8
(23.4)
|
?4.3
(24.3)
|
?4
(25)
|
?1.5
(29.3)
|
1.3
(34.3)
|
2.9
(37.2)
|
5.1
(41.2)
|
?4.8
(23.4)
|
Average rainfall mm (inches)
|
33.4
(1.31)
|
28.9
(1.14)
|
35.2
(1.39)
|
32.2
(1.27)
|
40.5
(1.59)
|
44.0
(1.73)
|
41.9
(1.65)
|
42.7
(1.68)
|
39.0
(1.54)
|
42.4
(1.67)
|
34.9
(1.37)
|
34.1
(1.34)
|
449.0
(17.68)
|
Average rainy days
(≥ 1 mm)
|
2.8
|
2.4
|
3.1
|
3.4
|
4.7
|
5.6
|
6.3
|
6.2
|
5.4
|
4.8
|
4.0
|
3.1
|
51.8
|
Average
relative humidity
(%)
|
33
|
35
|
38
|
46
|
57
|
65
|
65
|
57
|
52
|
45
|
38
|
33
|
47
|
Source:
[14]
|
Facilities
[
edit
]
Tocumwal has one state and one
Catholic primary school
. The nearest high school is in
Finley
, 21 kilometres (13 mi) to the north.
Australian rules football
,
cricket
and
netball
are all very popular in the town. Notable sporting teams include the
Tocumwal Football Club
(The Bloods) who compete in the
Picola & District Football League
Tocumwal is in the
federal
Division of Farrer
and the state
Electoral district of Murray
.
Tocumwal was also where the largest
Murray cod
in the world was caught.
[15]
Tocumwal has a 36-hole championship golf course at the Tocumwal Golf Club,
[16]
a bowls club
[16]
and is well known internationally for gliding at SportAviation.
[17]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
The Big
Murray Cod
on the Tocumwal foreshore
-
The Tattersalls Hotel, one of four pubs in Tocumwal
-
The Terminus Hotel, another of the four pubs
-
Tocumwal Airport
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Local government areas
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Towns /
Communities
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National parks
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Rivers,
Water and irrigation entities
Other watercourses
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Landmarks
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