Carrathool, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Carrathool
state = nsw


caption = The Family Hotel at Carrathool
lga = Carrathool
postcode = 2711
est =
pop = 99 (est.)
elevation= 104
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
county = Sturt
stategov = Murrumbidgee
fedgov = Riverina
dist1 = 674
location1= Sydney
dist2 = 102
location2= Griffith
dist3 = 68
location3= Goolgowi
dist4 = 64
location4= Hay [ [http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp Travelmate] ]

Carrathool is a village in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Carrathool Shire. It is about five kilometres north of the Sturt Highway between Darlington Point and Hay (on the opposite side of the Murrumbidgee River to the highway). The village, as it exists today, is situated on the plain a few kilometres north of the river, clustered around the now-disused railway station.

The place name "Carrathool" is derived from the local Aboriginal word meaning "Native Companion". [ [http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=JPKqwpUlTR NSW Geographical Names Board] ]

History

Carrathool Reserve

In October 1852 a reserve of four and a half square miles was proclaimed (No. 13 in the Lachlan Pastoral District); it was situated at the location known as Currathool on the north bank of the Murrumbidgee River “on a cattle run occupied by Mr. Rudd”. [New South Wales Government Gazette, No. 104, Monday, 25 October 1852, pp. 1549-1556.]

Carrathool

The location of the original village of Carrathool – or ‘Currathool’ as it was often written – was at a river-crossing on the Murrumbidgee River at a place called Boree Point.

Carrathool Bridge

supported on cylindrical iron piers, designed to allow river-craft to pass. Only three bascule lift span bridges remain in NSW, and the Carrathool bridge is the only one of these in a timber truss road bridge. Percy Allan, the designer of Allan truss and other bridges, was a senior engineer in the NSW Public Works Department.

The Carrathool bridge was constructed in response to public pressure for a bridge to replace the river punt. Funding for work was drawn partly from the local community, and partly from the Department of Public Works. The requirement that local residents pay for half the cost of the bridge “was deplored by the then Mayor of Hay, who was a vocal advocate for the rights and the development of the Riverina region”. [ [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=heritage.show&id=4300165 ‘Carrathool Bridge over Murrumbidgee River’] , NSW Roads and Traffic Authority web-site.]

The Carrathool bridge is considered to be of high heritage value; it is listed on the register of the National Trust of Australia and the NSW State Heritage Register.

External links

* [http://users.tpg.com.au/hayhist/ Hay Historical Society homepage]

References