Barellan /bɑːˈrɛlən/ is a small town in Narrandera Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On Census night 2021, Barellan had a population of 276.[1] It is a quiet Riverina wheat town on the Burley Griffin Way, with characteristic silos, and functions primarily as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural area.
Barellan New South Wales | |
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Barellan, looking along Burley Griffin Way towards Griffith. | |
![]() ![]() Barellan | |
Coordinates | 34°17′0″S 146°34′0″E |
Population | 276 (2021 census)[1] |
Postcode(s) | 2665 |
Location |
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LGA(s) | Narrandera Shire |
County | Cooper |
State electorate(s) | Cootamundra |
Federal division(s) | Riverina |
The name of Barellan is an Aboriginal expression which literally means the meeting of the waters.[3]
The railway reached Barellan in 1908 and a post office was opened on 1 April 1909.[4]
The Commercial Hotel, "a typically large and rather gracious hotel with an impressive upper verandah", was built in 1924.[5]
Barellan was also the first town to have a Country Women's Association (CWA) rest house, built in 1924, the same year as the hotel.[citation needed]
In 2009, Barellan celebrated its centenary.
Until recently, the population numbers have remained relatively constant, evidenced as follows:
Selected historical census data for Barellan | ||||||
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Census year | 2001[6] | 2006[7] | 2011[8] | 2016[9] | ||
Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 359 | 366 | 328 | 334 | |
Barellan has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Barellan is notable as the childhood home of the tennis-player Evonne Goolagong (now Evonne Goolagong Cawley). There is a small plaque honouring her in the main street. Evonne Goolagong was born in nearby Griffith on 31 July 1951 and attended Barellan Primary School. Although Aboriginal people faced widespread discrimination in rural Australia at this time, Evonne was able to play tennis in Barellan from childhood thanks to Bill Kurtzman, a kindly resident, who saw her peering through the fence at the local courts and encouraged her to come in to play. Goolagong left Barellan to attend Willoughby Girls High School in Sydney where she developed her tennis-playing skills.
A 13.8 metres (45 ft) long replica of a tennis racquet used by Evonne Goolagong has been built in Evonne Goolagong Park. Goolagong unveiled the exact scale model of the wooden Dunlop racquet during Barellan's centenary celebrations on 3 October 2009.[11]
Barellan has a central school that goes from kindergarten to year 12 and has 100[12] enrolled students. Barellan is part of the RAP (Riverina Access Partnership) which allows the year 11 and 12 students to complete their HSC. It comprises students from Hillston Central, Ardlethan Central and Ariah Park Central in video conferencing. In 2010, Oaklands Central and Urana Central Schools entered the Partnership and has a local light bulb collector that gets old fluorescent tubes .[13]
The Barellan Rams compete in the Group 17 Rugby League competition. They were Clayton Cup winners as the best local team in the state in 1999 and 2002. The Barellan Two Blues compete in the Farrer Football League having previously competed in the Northern Riverina Football League until 2015.
Media related to Barellan at Wikimedia Commons
Preceding station | Former Services | Following station | ||
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Garoolgan towards Roto |
Temora- Roto Line | Moombooldool towards Temora |
Towns in the Narrandera Shire local government area | |
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Main Article: Local government areas of New South Wales |