Coonamble

Coonamble lies on the Castlereagh Highway, 160 kilometres north of Dubbo the Castlereagh River in rich pastoral areas and began as a campsite for drovers and stockman scouting for grazing areas. Coonamble is central to the Warrumbungle National Park, Pilliga State Forest and the Macquarie Marshes. Coonamble is known as a horse town and has a proud agricultural heritage. Home to the largest combined Rodeo and Campdraft in the Southern Hemisphere Coonamble is also the birthplace of Sir Edward Hallstrom, pioneer of refrigeration. See the statue outside the police station which commemorates the tragic shooting of Constable John Mitchell, shot while trying to prevent a prison escape in 1885. Pick up a historic tour brochure from the Visitors Centre in Castlereagh Street and then stroll down the street, almost completely destroyed by fire in 1929 and restored in an art-deco style. Coonamble Shire is a great place to sample the delights of a country pub and the town has four. It is central to a range of tourist destinations including day trip to the Lightning Ridge opal fields in the north, the cotton fields to the west and Western Plains Zoo to the south.