Tumbarumba, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Tumbarumba is a small town in New South Wales
, Australia
, about 500 km southwest of Sydney
. Tumbarumba is located within the Riverina
region and more specifically on the South West Slopes at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains
. At the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, people lived in the town. Tumbarumba Shire is administered from offices located in Tumbarumba.
To the south and east, the Snowy Mountain's and mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko
, can be seen.
The Post Office opened on 1 August 1860 but was spelt Tumberumba until 1915.
A railway branch line was opened to Tumbarumba in 1921. The Tumbarumba railway line ran from Wagga Wagga through Tarcutta. The service has been suspended since 1987.
Gold mining petered out in the 1930s, and the region's economy now depends on agriculture and tourism. The timber industry dominates the Shire’s economy.
The name Tumbarumba may be derived from Wiradjuri
dhamba dhamba, meaning "very soft" or alternatively from the Aboriginal words for "hollow sounding ground", "thunder", "sound" or "place of big trees".
, and blueberry
growing. Tourism is a source of income due to its proximity to the snow fields.
fall by no means unknown in the winter: the lowest recorded maximum temperature was 1.1 °C (34 °F) on 15 July 1966 and the coldest morning recorded −10.4 C on 22 June 1989. The hottest recorded maximum was 40 °C (104 °F) on 7 February 2009.
team in the Group 9
competition and
the town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Upper Murray Football League
.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, about 500 km southwest of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Tumbarumba is located within the Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
region and more specifically on the South West Slopes at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
. At the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, people lived in the town. Tumbarumba Shire is administered from offices located in Tumbarumba.
To the south and east, the Snowy Mountain's and mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia...
, can be seen.
History
The community was established in the late 1850s after gold was discovered in the district.The Post Office opened on 1 August 1860 but was spelt Tumberumba until 1915.
A railway branch line was opened to Tumbarumba in 1921. The Tumbarumba railway line ran from Wagga Wagga through Tarcutta. The service has been suspended since 1987.
Gold mining petered out in the 1930s, and the region's economy now depends on agriculture and tourism. The timber industry dominates the Shire’s economy.
The name Tumbarumba may be derived from Wiradjuri
Wiradjuri language
Wiradjuri is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It was the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people of Australia, but is no longer in general use. The process of reclaiming the language was greatly assisted by the publication in 2005 of A First Wiradjuri Dictionary by elder...
dhamba dhamba, meaning "very soft" or alternatively from the Aboriginal words for "hollow sounding ground", "thunder", "sound" or "place of big trees".
Industry
The major industry in the town is softwood timber processing, with the Hyne and Sons Timber Mill to the east of the town being the biggest employer. Other industries include tourism, viticultureViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
, and blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
growing. Tourism is a source of income due to its proximity to the snow fields.
Cultural references
- In November 1963, New Zealander Johnny DevlinJohnny DevlinJohnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....
(with Bee GeesBee GeesThe Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
on backing vocals) released the single "Stomp The Tumbarumba", a song covered later by, among others, the Australian rock band Hoodoo GurusHoodoo GurusHoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...
(see "Come AnytimeCome Anytime"Come Anytime" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus which reached #27 on the ARIA Singles Charts and #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. It was released on RCA Records in June, 1989; and was written by Dave Faulkner. B side "Cajun Country" was also written by Faulkner."...
" and "1000 Miles Away1000 Miles Away"1000 Miles Away" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus which reached #37 on the ARIA Singles Charts. It was released on RCA Records in June, 1991 reaching #33 on the Australian singles chart; and was written by Dave Faulkner...
"). Tumbarumba in the song's title may or may not have something to do with the name of the town. - Tumbarumba is one of the very few Australian placenames mentioned in James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's prose-poem Finnegans WakeFinnegans WakeFinnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
. 'Tumbarumba mountain' is listed as one of the places of origin of HCE (Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker), one of the central characters of the Wake (FW 596.11). - Shirley AbicairShirley AbicairShirley Abicair is an Australian-born singer, musician, TV personality, actress and author.-Early life:Shirley Abicair was born in Melbourne, Australia. Some sources show her year of birth as 1935, but a contemporary account shows she was 23 or 24 on arrival in England and, as she had completed...
, the UK based Australian singer, made the town of Tumbarumba's name familiar to many British children with the publication of her book "Tales of Tumbarumba" in 1962. - Tumbarumba is another word for a tmesisTmesisTmesis is a linguistic phenomenon in which a word or set phrase is separated into two parts, with other words occurring between them.-Verbs:...
, a linguistic term which refers to the placing of a word within another word, such as "ri-goddamn-diculous". The origin of this meaning may come from the poem "Tumba-bloody-rumba" by John O'GradyJohn O'GradyJohn Patrick O'Grady was an Australian writer. His works include the comic novel They're a Weird Mob and the poem The Integrated Adjective, sometimes known as Tumba-bloody-rumba.- Pseudonym :...
, which includes several tmeses including "Tumba-bloody-rumba", "e-bloody-nough", and "kanga-bloody-roos".
Climate
Frosts are frequent and snowSnow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
fall by no means unknown in the winter: the lowest recorded maximum temperature was 1.1 °C (34 °F) on 15 July 1966 and the coldest morning recorded −10.4 C on 22 June 1989. The hottest recorded maximum was 40 °C (104 °F) on 7 February 2009.
Sport
Tumbarumba Greens fields a rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team in the Group 9
Group 9 Rugby League
Group 9 is a rugby league competition based around the surrounding areas of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The competition is played in five grades, these being the under 16s , the under 18s , women's league-tag, Reserve Grade and the XXXX Gold Group 9 First Grade.-History:Group 9 Rugby League was...
competition and
the town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Upper Murray Football League
Upper Murray Football League
The Upper Murray Football League is an Australian Rules football competition based in North-east, Victoria and South-Eastern Riverina, New South Wales. The players in the league are largely from Corryong and its surrounding areas. The competition is played over fifteen home and away rounds and four...
.