Australia So Much to See
New South Wales - Gulargambone
The town's name, first used by George Tailby around 1840 when he named his property "Galargambone", is almost certainly derived from
the Ngiyambaa term "gilagambuwan" which meant "with young galahs" or "Gillahgambone" which was translated as "place of Galah parrots".
Gulargambone
townsite was surveyed in 1866 and gazetted in village in 1883. In 1903 the railway was constructed to bypass the town due to
the number of river crossings that would be required, so a small siding, Gular Rail, was established nearby.
Both the Commercial
Bank (CBC) and the Bank of NSW opened agencies in the town in 1909. In 1994 the Westpac Bank, the last bank in town, closed
its doors.
The Majestic Hall, later to become the Majestic Picture Theatre, opened its doors in 1918, but the building was burnt down. A replacement hall suffered storm damage so that too was replaced, opening in time to welcome troops home at the end of WWI. The theatre and hall closed in 1969.
During 2003, the community instigated a program with the help of Sam Newstead. Sam designed and created the template for the
corrugated iron ‘galahs', and a large band of Gulargambone volunteers helped to construct them. Forty large galahs now line all the
roads leading into town and have become a recognised tourist attraction in their own right, with many people stopping to take photos.
Since our visit, in 2018 artist Jenny McCracken painted a Kingsfisher diving on the Gulargambone water tower, and
this is a spectacular work of art. Other public art has been added by a number of artists, including by Lightning Ridge artist
John Murray. A bullock team complete with dray made from metal and wire mesh stands in the park at the town entrance with
the Galahs.
In 2002, the Gulargambone community purchased this dilapidated hall to set up a tourist information centre. The building was repaired, renovated and painted during several working bees involving a wide cross-section of the community, including many children. The Tuscan-influenced colours have brought a new lease of life to our main street and the adjoining block has been transformed into an attractive courtyard.
Named after Gulargambone’s postcode, 'two eight two eight' has grown to be more than just a tourist information centre and now boasts a multi-faceted facility including a cafe where the volunteer cooks prepare fresh scones, cakes and meals daily using locally grown produce wherever possible, including home-made relish, lemon butter, salad dressings, eggs, fruit, vegetables and herbs, and they serve it with Vittoria coffee.
An art gallery, gift shop (selling locally handmade craft & produce), a quality catering
service, monthly movie nights, second hand bookshop, library and an annual Dinner under the Stars all enhance the visitor experience.
Winners
of the Specialised Tourism Services category at the 2012 Inland NSW Tourism Awards in Mudgee, two eight two eight recently celebrated
its tenth anniversary. Over 200 volunteers have been involved with the project since the beginning and all profits are invested back
into the community.
The community committee have established two Indigenous Student Traineeships in Hospitality and Tourism with boys from the local central school.
Other students can do their work experience at two eight two eight.In 2002 Sydney artist Sam Newstead was employed to design murals for the main street. The main street murals were officially
opened in December 2002. The project involved local artists, community members, local organisations and school children, and was done
to enhance to windows of vacant shops.
The post office closed and came onto the market in 2000, the community rallied and Gulargambone established the first community owned
post office in Australia.
Through the federally funded Rural Transaction Centre program, the Gulargambone RTC became a
multi-faceted facility including Australia Post agency, Reliance Credit Union agency, with access to government services including
Centrelink, Australian Taxation Office, Medicare, and RTC functions such as internet access, marquee hire, and a gift shop.
Once a thriving rural town with a population of 1,000, Gulargambone now has a population of 300, 50% of which are indigenous. The school has 60 students and goes to year 12. The small hospital now caters mainly for aged care residents.
When we
drive past the town in 2004, is looked very sad, with little commercial activity remaining, but on a rushed journey, we did not go
into the town, only thinking we would return another time. We returned in 2017 to find the town alive again, in part as a tourist
destination. The grocery store has re-opened thanks to the influx of travellers, empty shops are enhanced with murals, and the
community run two eight two eight information centre includes a café, gallery, library and second hand book store, and runs monthly
movie nights. There is a small hardware store which also carries some grocery lines plus is a small pharmacy, and a CRT rural
agency. Fuel outlet is self service card only.
Gulargambone Rural Transaction Centre and Post Office
In 1863 graziers and other residents along Merri Merri Creek petitioned
the Postmaster General to establish a post office at Gulargambone. A Post Office was established in 1971. There were at
the time six houses, a public house and a store, and a school which was attended by twenty to thirty children from the town and surrounding
rural area.
A new brick Post Office was built in 1912 and was much as we see the building today.
During the
1980s and 1990s Gulargambone lost many of its essential services to larger centres, with the greatest impact being the loss of banking
facilities.
The similarity between name of the town and the bird is not coincidental, as both come from the Aboriginal name for Galahs and the area as the place of Galahs.