Coonamble, New South Wales

Coonamble New South Wales
The main street of Coonamble
Coonamble
Coordinates	30°57′0″S 148°24′0″E / 30.95000°S 148.40000°E / -30.95000; 148.40000Coordinates: 30°57′0″S 148°24′0″E / 30.95000°S 148.40000°E / -30.95000; 148.40000
Population	2,998 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	2829
Elevation	180 m (591 ft)
Location	575 km (357 mi) NW of Sydney 164 km (102 mi) N of Dubbo 99 km (62 mi) N of Gilgandra 117 km (73 mi) NW of Coonabarabran 186 km (116 mi) SW of Narrabri
LGA(s)	Coonamble
County	Leichhardt
State electorate(s)	Barwon
Federal Division(s)	Parkes
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 26.6 °C 80 °F 11.6 °C 53 °F 500.4 mm 19.7 in

Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2011 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,998. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and sheep and wool. The name for the town is taken from the Gamilaraay word guna (faeces) and -bil (having a lot of).

The architecturally distinguished convent of the Brigidine nuns in Coonamble was dismantled and transported 600 km (373 mi) to Pokolbin, where it now houses Peppers Convent resort.

Although Coonamble had been a major sheep industry region in the 1980s to 2000, there has recently been an increasing interest in cattle rearing. The summers can have temperatures reaching up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter, there are nights as cold as 0 °C (32 °F). Most recently Coonamble has gained media coverage due to their mass floods over Christmas 2009.

Johnny Dunn the bushranger and last of the Ben Hall gang was captured near Coonamble after a gunbattle with police at Christmas 1865.

Coonamble has three schools: Coonamble Public School, St Brigids Catholic School and Coonamble High School.

Coonamble hosts an annual rodeo that is the largest campdraft/rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere around 1,000 people annually come to compete in the rodeo with an average of about 4,000 spectators.

Coonamble has its own local radio station, 2MTM 91.9FM, which has a wide variety of music from country to modern.

The Coonamble Bears play in the Castlereagh Cup rugby league competition. The Coonamble Rams play in the Western Plains Competition.