Discover Coonamble

Discover Coonamble through its local history, public art and walks. The Coonamble Town Heritage Walk is an informative tour through the town centre, taking in 32 places of historical interest. There are also murals, cultural attractions and the town’s location on the Castlereagh River. This gives you several starting points for planning your trip—from a historical walk to art and events.

History and art in Coonamble

The Heritage Walk takes in 32 places of historical interest in the town centre. As an informative tour, it provides a setting for the town’s history and highlights several points in the town centre. The historical picture also includes the Museum Under the Bridge, housed in a former colonial police station. Alongside the walking tour, this brings the former use of a single building into focus.

The first water tower mural is on the Coonamble Sports Ground on Castlereagh Street, opposite the Coonamble Visitor Information and Exhibition Centre. It was painted in 2017 by John Murray, an artist from Lightning Ridge. The 25-metre-high Coonamble Water Tower features Australian pink and grey galahs, fence posts symbolising Coonamble’s rural character, and the sun, moon and Southern Cross.

In Coonamble’s CBD (central business district), the Nickname Hall of Fame features caricatures of the town’s best-known characters on billboards. It also tells their humorous stories and the stories behind their nicknames. Rather than large-scale murals, the focus here is on local characters and their nicknames. The town’s entrance signs also draw on cultural history: their design is a contemporary representation of traditional Wailwan designs.

Coonamble’s art offerings also include the Outback Arts Gallery. It gives local artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work. The gallery displays works by local and regional artists, including local Indigenous artists. This means the art offering ranges from the mural in the townscape to works by various artists in a gallery.

Wailwan culture and regional information

The Coonamble Information and Exhibition Centre provides information about the region and surrounding areas, and suggests attractions and activities for visitors. History and locally made products are also part of what it offers. At the Coonamble Visitor Information and Exhibition Centre, you can listen to the stories and songs in the educational kit “Sharing a Wailwan Story”; check visiting arrangements before you travel.

Walks, events and getting there

Coonamble is on the Castlereagh River, and visitors can walk along the Riverwalk. As well as the Heritage Walk, an informative tour through the town centre, the Riverwalk is another named walking route. When planning, you can distinguish between a walk with an explicitly historical focus and the Riverwalk.

The Coonamble Rodeo & Campdraft has been held since 1955 and is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest combined rodeo and campdraft event. If you’d like to plan your trip around this event, check the specific event dates in advance.

CountryLink operates a daily return bus service from Lightning Ridge to Dubbo via Gulargambone and Coonamble. Check the current timetable before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Menah, Forbes, Lithgow, Ebenezer, Bywong, Vincentia, Yass, Horningsea Park.

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.