Ardlethan (/ɑːrdˈliːθən/) is a small service town in the Coolamon Shire in New South Wales, Australia. Ardlethan is at the intersection of the Burley Griffin Way and Newell Highway.[3]
Ardlethan New South Wales | |||||||||
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Ariah Street, the main street of Ardlethan | |||||||||
![]() ![]() Ardlethan | |||||||||
Coordinates | 34°21′0″S 146°54′0″E | ||||||||
Population | 387 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2665 | ||||||||
Elevation | 204 m (669 ft) | ||||||||
Location | |||||||||
LGA(s) | Coolamon Shire Council | ||||||||
County | Bourke | ||||||||
State electorate(s) | Cootamundra | ||||||||
Federal division(s) | Riverina | ||||||||
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Ardlethan lays claim to be the birthplace of the Australian kelpie.[4]
Ardlethan was established in the 19th century after gold was discovered but gold mining was short-lived. The railway line opened in 1908. Passenger services ceased in 1983 however the line remains open for goods trains.[5]
Warri Post Office opened on 1 October 1907 and was renamed Ardlethan in 1908.[6]
Tin mining began in 1912, and became an economic backbone of the town. A major labour strike in the 1930s gained national coverage. The open cut pit was at one time the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and is located approximately 5 kilometres North West of the township. Mining eventually went underground and continued through to the late 1980s. The tin mine was reopened in late 2001, particularly for alluvial mining, but closed in mid-2004 after Marlborough Resources was placed under voluntary administration due to disappointing results at its new processing plant, poor tin price hedging results, and lower-than-expected tin reserves.[7] Australian Tin Resources Pty Ltd (ATR) now owns the mine. As at 24 January 2019 ATR had received Development Application consent from Coolamon Shire Council for a Rehabilitation and Tailings Reprocessing Project on the site. They intend to first carry out small scale pilot plant processing operations on site for about 2–3 months to prove up the processing technology, before increasing the scale of the operations.
In the 2016 Census, there were 387 people in the Ardlethan urban centre. 77.1% of people were born in Australia and 81.5% of people only spoke English at home.[1]
Climate data for Ardlethan Post Office | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 44.4 (111.9) |
44.4 (111.9) |
39.4 (102.9) |
32.2 (90.0) |
27.0 (80.6) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.6 (78.1) |
33.9 (93.0) |
35.0 (95.0) |
39.0 (102.2) |
42.7 (108.9) |
44.4 (111.9) |
Average high °C (°F) | 32.3 (90.1) |
31.1 (88.0) |
28.7 (83.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
14.7 (58.5) |
14.1 (57.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
25.9 (78.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
Average low °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
16.4 (61.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
9.4 (48.9) |
6.1 (43.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
2.7 (36.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
5.8 (42.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
13.9 (57.0) |
9.2 (48.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
2.2 (36.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 42.4 (1.67) |
38.7 (1.52) |
36.8 (1.45) |
35.9 (1.41) |
40.4 (1.59) |
42.1 (1.66) |
42.8 (1.69) |
42.6 (1.68) |
38.8 (1.53) |
44.7 (1.76) |
39.3 (1.55) |
37.3 (1.47) |
481.8 (18.97) |
Average rainy days | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 71.2 |
Source: [8] |
The most popular sport in Ardlethan is Australian rules football, as it lies in the narrow 'canola belt', a geographical triangle stretching from the Grong Grong and Marrar at either end of the Canola Way, to Lake Cargelligo in which Australian football retains a strong following, despite being in the rugby league supporting state of New South Wales. The town's team, the Northern Jets (shared with neighbouring Ariah Park and Mirrool), competes in the Farrer Football League.
The town used to have a rugby league team.
Preceding station | Former Services | Following station | ||
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Kamarah towards Roto |
Temora- Roto Line | Beckom towards Temora |
Towns and localities in the Coolamon Shire local government area | |
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Main Article: Local government areas of New South Wales |