Crookwell, New South Wales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids CrookwellNew South Wales |
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Crookwell
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 Crookwell
Location in New South Wales
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| Postcode(s) | 2583 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 887 m (2,910 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Upper Lachlan Shire | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Southern Tablelands | ||||||||||||||
| County | King | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Crookwell | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Goulburn | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Hume | ||||||||||||||
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Crookwell is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Upper Lachlan Shire. In 2021, about 2,686 people lived there.
Crookwell is quite high up, at 887 metres above sea level. This means it often gets snowfalls during the colder months. The closest big city is Goulburn, which is about a 30-minute drive away. Crookwell is also easy to reach from Sydney, the state capital, and Canberra, Australia's capital city.
Most jobs in Crookwell are in farming. The area is famous for growing potatoes. Crookwell is also home to one of NSW's first wind farms. This farm has 8 large wind turbines. It helps create clean energy for the area.
A railway line used to connect Goulburn and Crookwell. It opened in 1902. However, passenger trains stopped running to Crookwell station in 1974. The last goods train ran in 1985. The railway line is not officially closed, but it is no longer used.
Contents
History of Crookwell
The land where Crookwell is today traditionally belongs to the Gundangurra people. Their language was similar to the Ngunnawal people who lived nearby.
The first Europeans to explore this area were led by James Meehan in the 1820s. John Oxley also passed through later that year. The town was first called "Kiama" but was later renamed after the Crookwell River. By the 1860s, it had its current name.
By 1840, a few inns (like small hotels) had opened in the area. More people started to settle there, choosing blocks of land to live on. By the mid-1870s, over 1,000 people lived in Crookwell.
A famous Australian poet, Mary Gilmore, was born near Crookwell in 1865.
From 1941 to 1945, during World War II, iron ore was mined near Crookwell. This ore was sent by train to Port Kembla to make steel for the war effort.
Crookwell was home to one of Australia's very first wind farms. It was also the first wind farm to send power into the national electricity grid.
Heritage Sites in Crookwell
Crookwell has some places that are important for their history. These are called heritage-listed sites. One of them is the Crookwell railway station.
People of Crookwell
In the 2021 Census, 2,686 people lived in Crookwell. Most people (85.8%) were born in Australia. Also, 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The main religions were Catholic (34.9%) and Anglican (30.1%). About 14.3% of people said they had no religion.
How Crookwell is Governed
Crookwell is the main town for the Upper Lachlan Shire Council. This council manages the local area. It was formed in 2004.
Getting Around Crookwell
Crookwell is about a 2.5-hour drive from Sydney if you go through Goulburn. It is about 1.5 hours from Canberra. Besides the main road to Goulburn, smaller roads connect Crookwell to other towns like Bathurst, Boorowa, and Taralga.
The Crookwell railway station is at the end of the old railway line that is no longer used.
Crookwell also has a small unpaved airstrip. It is about 5 kilometres south of the town.
Crookwell's Climate
Crookwell is on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. This means it gets a lot of wind and weather from the west. Because of this, snow often falls in winter, sometimes quite heavily.
Summers in Crookwell are warm and dry. The nights are cool or cold. Winters are cold and wet. When the clouds from the west stay around, the daytime temperature can sometimes stay below 3°C.
| Climate data for Crookwell Post Office (1916–1975, rainfall 1883–2022); 887 m AMSL; 34.46° S, 149.47° E | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38.0 (100.4) |
37.9 (100.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
28.3 (82.9) |
27.2 (81.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
18.5 (65.3) |
20.6 (69.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
29.4 (84.9) |
36.6 (97.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
38.0 (100.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.5 (79.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
18.4 (65.1) |
13.9 (57.0) |
10.3 (50.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.7 (58.5) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.4 (70.5) |
25.0 (77.0) |
18.2 (64.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
2.3 (36.1) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
0.3 (32.5) |
2.1 (35.8) |
4.6 (40.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.0 (48.2) |
5.0 (41.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) |
3.9 (39.0) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 69.7 (2.74) |
54.7 (2.15) |
59.3 (2.33) |
57.5 (2.26) |
65.9 (2.59) |
88.5 (3.48) |
84.3 (3.32) |
89.9 (3.54) |
74.9 (2.95) |
76.7 (3.02) |
68.0 (2.68) |
67.4 (2.65) |
863.8 (34.01) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 7.0 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 9.2 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 11.7 | 10.2 | 9.3 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 106.6 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Crookwell Post Office | |||||||||||||
Media in Crookwell
Radio Stations
You can listen to several radio stations in Crookwell:
- Crookwell FM 88.0 FM
- Triple J 91.7 FM (2JJJ)
- 93.5 Eagle FM 103.9 FM (commercial radio)
- GNFM 106.1 FM (commercial radio)
- ABC Local Radio 106.9 FM
- ABC Radio National 107.7 FM
Some radio stations from Goulburn, Illawarra, or Canberra can also be heard. Eagle FM and GNFM are based in Goulburn. They have special transmitters in Crookwell to make sure their shows reach the town.
Television
Crookwell has a small transmitter that broadcasts ABC Television.
If you want more TV channels, you can try to get signals from Canberra or Orange. However, Crookwell is a bit far from these transmitters. Another way to watch TV is by using the VAST service. This is a free satellite TV service that offers many channels.
Newspaper
The local newspaper for Crookwell is called the Crookwell Gazette. It has been published since 1885.
Famous People from Crookwell
Some notable people from Crookwell include Kellie White and Emily Smith. Both of them played for the Hockeyroos, Australia's national women's hockey team, in international games.
Images for kids
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Town entry sign
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Scout Hall
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Bluestone building
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Disused railway station
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Sunburst façade
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Trompe l'oeil on shop wall
