Cotton in the fields between Wee Waa and Gunnedah

 

Wee Waa (plus Cubbaroo, Burren Junction, Cuttabri and Pilliga)
A town which proclaims itself The Cotton Capital of Australia
Wee Waa (pronounced 'Wee War') is known as The Cotton Capital of Australia. It is the base of The Namoi Cotton Co-Operative (the largest grower-owned organisation in the country) and of Cotton Seed Distributors who sell seeds to growers from around the world. Cotton was first introduced into the area in the early 1960s and intensive research and improved irrigation have created the largest cotton yields in Australia, bringing considerable prosperity to the district.

Wee Waa is 41 km north-west of Narrabri, 572 km north-west of Sydney by road and 190 m above sea-level. It has a population of 2 300.

Prior to white settlement the area was occupied by the Kamilaroi tribe. It is from their language that the town's name derives, though the given translation of 'fire for roasting' is certainly enigmatic as a place name.

John Oxley became the first European to set foot in the district. In 1818 he noted the 'majestic' Nandewar Ranges from a position about 70 km south. Allan Cunningham explored the Boggabri Plains in 1825 and escaped convict George Clarke roamed what is now Narrabri Shire from 1826-1831. Cunningham's account of the Namoi River and his tales of a vast inland river called the Kindur prompted the acting governor to send Thomas Mitchell on an expedition into the district, thereby opening the area up to settlement.

The 'Wee Waa' squatting run was established in 1837. Although Narrabri is now the principal town of the shire, Wee Waa became the first concentrated settlement in the Namoi Valley. In 1847 the government chose to establish a police station and court of petty sessions with a constable and resident clerk, but no permanent magistrate. It soon became the headquarters of the Wee Waa police district.

A townsite was reserved in 1848 and surveyed in 1849, the year a post office was set up. At the time there were six slab buildings, including a grog shop. It was a sign of the early health of the community that the first race meeting was held in 1850 with a cricket club formed in 1851.

The town was gazetted in 1858 with land sales commencing the following year. However, as Narrabri grew in the 1860s and 1870s, services were gradually transferred to the newer town. Court hearings, for example, were transferred in the mid-1860s and it is a sign of the change in the status of the two towns that the railway was not extended to Wee Waa until 1903, twenty years after arriving at Narrabri West. Hence after a promising start the town's development virtually ceased. More permanent buildings did not appear until the 1890s.

The construction of Keepit Dam greatly improved local irrigation and enabled the development of the now hugely successful cotton industry, although there has been considerable criticism concerning levels of contamination in local rivers, crops and livestock caused by run-off and aerial spraying related to the industry.

The town's Agricultural Show is held in April.

 

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
There is no information centre in Wee Waa but the Narrabri Shire Visitors' Centre can answer your questions. Located on the Newell Highway in Narrabri, it is open from 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on weekends and public holidays, tel: (02) 6799 6760 or email tourism@narrabri.nsw.gov.au. A summary of the shire's attractions is broadcast on Tourist Radio, FM88.

 

 

Cotton harvesting

 

Cotton Tours
Information on tours to local cotton farms and cotton gins can be obtained from the Narrabri Shire Visitors' Centre on (02) 6799 6760. They are available during the picking season (April to June).

 

Heritage Buildings
The Imperial Hotel in Rose St was the first three-storied building in north-west NSW (1912). It has some fine cast-iron lacework on the balconies and a small square tower.

The small brick courthouse at the corner of Rose and Nelson Sts was built around 1880. By stark contrast is the very modern police station adjacent, supposedly built by mistake when the plans for a Snowy Mountains structure were incorrectly sent to Wee Waa.

 

Australia Telescope
A radio helioscope was established at Culgoora by the CSIRO in 1967. In the 1980s the Australia Telescope was built. Linked to the telescopes at Coonabarabran, Parkes and Tidbinbilla, it is the most powerful in the Southern Hemisphere, receiving radio waves from deep space by means of six gigantic dishes placed upon a rail track to allow for spatial readjustment. It is about 20 km south-east of town. Access is via the Old Pilliga Rd and the route is mostly sealed.

There is a visitors' centre at the complex with push-button displays and videos. It is open from 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily. Staff are available to answer questions from Monday to Friday, although they are also in attendance on weekends during public holidays. It is advisable to ring before visiting to ensure that the telescope is in full operation, tel: (02) 6790 4070.

 

Yarrie Lake
About 8 km south-west of the telescope complex (half of it gravel) is Yarrie Lake, a large pool of water (1.6 km in diameter) on the boundary of the Pilliga Scrub. It is believed by some to be a meteor crater. A waterbird haven, the lake is ideal for camping, swimming, sailing, waterskiing and other water sports. Ring (02) 6799 6760 to book for camping.

 

Winery
To access Cubbaroo Cellars head west along the main road towards Burren Junction for 31 km. Turn left onto the Cubbaroo turnoff, a gravel road, following the signs to the winery, tel: (02) 6796 1741. The cellar is built around a station store that is more than a century old.

 

Burren Junction
Burren Junction is a small town 51 km west of Wee Waa, on the road to Walgett and Lightning Ridge. Its most distinctive feature is the hot artesian bore bath, a large cement pool surrounded by tamarind trees and filled with warm water which has been flowing under natural pressure for over a century. There is a hotel in town and cabin accommodation.

 

Cuttabri
Cuttabri is a small village located 31 km west of Wee Waa along a dry-weather gravel road. The town's main attraction is an old slab-construction wine shanty built in 1882. A Cobb & Co coaching stop on the route between Wee Waa and Pilliga, it was issued with only the second wine shop licence in Australia and is the only one still operating in the country. It is open weekends and most week days but be sure to check before making the drive, tel: (02) 6799 6760.

 

Pilliga
Another 25 km along the same road (56 km west of Wee Waa), is the small township of Pilliga. It is, in fact, approachable from five directions, all of them dirt roads. Pilliga was once an important stop on the Cobb & Co route. Those days are recalled by the hitching rails outside the stores which are still used by local stockmen. Like Cuttabri it has a hot artesian bore bath in a tiled pool. Of some curiosity are the headstones of the Allum family, Indian hawkers who worked the western area in the 1880s. There is plenty of wildlife about the town, particularly kangaroos and emus.

 

Pilliga Scrub
To the south-east is the Pilliga Scrub, a vast woodland area which was lightly timbered country before the arrival of Europeans. Heavy grazing on poor soils encouraged the growth of thick Australian timber, including the largest cypress pine forest in the Southern Hemisphere. This development gave birth to an active timber industry.

The scrub is at its most delightful in spring and it is home to a plenitude of wildlife, including significant koala colonies. However, the roads are strictly dry-weather-only so visit the Narrabri Shire Visitors' Centre first to inquire about conditions and to purchase a Pilliga Forest map, as there are 2700 km of confusing tracks crisscrossing the scrub. There are a number of camping spots and bushwalking trails.

 

 

 

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Wee Waa