Small and attractive rural centre in
south-eastern New South Wales.
Located 504 km south west of
Sydney, 81 km south of Cooma and 747 m above sea level, Bombala is a
small and attractive rural service centre located in the far south east
corner of New South Wales. The main road from Cooma to the coast does
not pass through Bombala and therefore the town has remained relatively
untouched. The district around the town, which can get very cold in
winter, supports a variety of agricultural activity including sheep and
beef cattle, vegetable growing and timber milling. The area is also
known as one of the state's best trout fishing districts.
As far as can be determined the area was inhabited by the Ngarigu
Aborigines prior to European settlement and it is from their language
that the word 'bombala' is said to have come. It probably meant 'meeting
of the waters'.
Europeans settled the Bombala district as early as the 1830s and by
about 1833 Captain Ronald Campbell had established a large run. By 1848
he owned nearly 6 500 hectares which he called 'Bombalo'. The settlement
of the area continued throughout the 1840s. By 1849 the small township
of Bombala had its own post office and by 1850 a regular mail service
was being run between the town and Eden on the coast.
It was around this time that a street plan was drawn up and Bombala
quickly gained the reputation as one of the prettiest towns in the
Monaro. By 1856 its population was nearly twice that of Cooma (now the
major town in the district) and a number of substantial public and
commercial buildings had been constructed.
The town continued to grow and by the early 1890s two bridges had
been constructed over the Bombala River. It was around the turn of the
century that Bombala was briefly considered as a possible site for the
new Federal Capital. The local citizens agitated for the construction of
a railway line but it did not arrive until 1921. Today the town is a
typical small rural centre providing services for the surrounding
farmland. The drive from Cooma to Victoria's Gippsland coast via Bombala
is particularly attractive.
One of the towns most interesting
historic remnants is the Olympia Cinema which dates from the 1930s when
most of the town would have been regular attenders. It is an interesting
example of the ornate style of rural cinema which was popular at that
time.
The most notable historic buildings in
town include the National Australia Bank (1871) which was the former CBC
Bank and was designed by J. F. Hilly. The Literary Institute dates from
1865 but is currently in a state of disrepair. In Caveat Street there
are number of old houses many of which date from the 1860s.
