Cooma Destination-Information Listings

Cooma

Cooma is the major town of the Snowy Mountains region and one of the state's many "gold rush" towns. A hundred years after the Cooma Township was settled by Europeans in 1849, it became the headquarters for the huge Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. Its historic avenue of flags represents the people of those 27 nations who came to the Snowies to help build one of Australia's greatest feats in engineering. Cooma also became the centre of a winter tourist industry in 1889, with the opening of the railway. Things to do and see around Cooma include the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre, the Aviation Pioneers Memorial, Mt Gladstone Lookout with views of the Monaro Plains and the Snowy Mountain Main Range. Visit the vast Deua and Wadbilliga National Parks to see native animals in abundance. The Lambie Town Walk is an easy ramble (or drive) through local history.

Cooma Area

Before European settlement, Aboriginal people lived on the Monaro for more than 20,000 years. They roamed widely and had complex interrelationships between tribes. The main group was the Ngarigo who moved in and out of the region according to the seasons. In 1823, explorers Currie and Ovens met with members of the Ngarigo group who described extensive treeless downs in the south, called the area 'Monaroo'. In 1827 cattle were brought from Sydney and the area quickly became popular with settlers. The Aboriginal name 'Kuma' was changed to Cooma by William Bradley and used for his 19,000 acre run. The village of Cooma was surveyed in 1849. Discovery of gold in the 1860s at Kiandra brought a permanent increase in Cooma's population, and the railway opened in 1889. Cooma was booming and prosperous and by 1900 the town boasted its 'Regional Capital' status with many grand official buildings.

Snowy Mountains

Australia's high country is home to spectacular peaks, clear mountain streams and cool, crisp air, which make an interesting setting for any holiday. Natural occurring features in the Snowy Region abound and are for the most part easily accessible by car. More than half of the alpine habitat in Australia falls inside the Snowy Mountains boundaries. Coupled with the abundance of unpolluted freshwater streams, the famous Murray and Snowy Rivers, magnificent valleys and undulating meadow, the region is proudly unique and abundant in its natural attractions. National Parks cover a fairly large area of the Snowies, including Kosciuszko National Park, the largest National Park in New South Wales and home to Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain at 2228 metres. Other parks in the area include, Wadbilliga, Deua, Namadgi and South East Forests National Parks.