Brindabella Valley

Brindabella Valley
Aerial view of Brindabella Valley from east
Brindabella Valley Location of the Brindabella Valley in New South Wales
Location	New South Wales, Australia
Long-axis direction	North-South
Depth	600–800 m (2,000–2,600 ft)
Geology
Age	Palaeozoic
Geography
Bounded by	Brindabella Range (east); and Fiery Mountain Range
Coordinates	35°22′08″S 148°39′06″E / 35.36889°S 148.65167°E / -35.36889; 148.65167Coordinates: 35°22′08″S 148°39′06″E / 35.36889°S 148.65167°E / -35.36889; 148.65167
Population centers	Brindabella
Watercourses	Goodradigbee River, Brindabella Creek

The Brindabella Valley is a valley situated below the western ridge-line of the Brindabella Range, located midway along the Goodradigbee River, in the south of New South Wales, Australia.

The valley is framed by the Brindabella Range and the Fiery Mountain Range, most notably by Mount Bramina and Bulls Head in the north and Black Bottle Mountain and Mount Franklin in the south. The valley is largely gentle, undulating farmland rising from 620 metres (2,030 ft) above sea level in the north to 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level in the south. Most of the native vegetation in the valley has been removed in favour of pasture, fruit trees and other exotic species, however the surrounding mountains are largely national parks, populated entirely with native flora.

The traditional custodians of the area now known as the Brindabella Valley are the Ngunawal, Walgalu and Djimantan indigenous peoples. The valley was first settled by Europeans as a stock outstation for the Yarralumla station in the 1830s, with the first land grant made in 1849. Gold was found in 1860 and mined from the 1880s. In 1887 the Brindabella Gold Mining Company was formed and mining continued until 1910. The valley is now an agricultural area and consists of a number of small cattle farms including the heritage-listed Brindabella Station, the childhood home of Miles Franklin, an early 20th-century Australian author.

Access to the Brindabella Valley is via dirt roads from Canberra or Tumut. A private road runs through Long Plain toward Rules Point and Kiandra, and access is rarely permitted. All roads are subject to frequent closures during heavy snow in winter.