Gunnedah

Gunnedah is a town and local government area (see Gunnedah Shire) in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2011 Australia Census the town recorded a population of 7,888. The larger local government area had a population of 12,066.

Gunnedah is located on the Oxley and Kamilaroi Highways providing road links to the state capital Sydney at a distance of and the nearest regional centre Tamworth is. It is also linked to Sydney by rail. The town is served by the daily NSW TrainLink Xplorer service between Sydney and Moree.

The major industry is agriculture, with 80% of the shire area devoted to farming. Gunnedah's primary exports are cotton, coal, beef, lamb and pork, and cereal and oilseed grains. Gunnedah is also home to AgQuip, Australia's largest annual exhibition of agricultural equipment.

It claims the title "Koala Capital of World". That title is also claimed by the Port Stephens area north of Newcastle and Port Macquarie, whose local koala population has led to the development of a specialised koala hospital.

History

Gunnedah and the surrounding areas were originally inhabited by Aborigines who spoke the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) language. The area now occupied by the town was settled by European sheep farmers in 1833 or 1834. With settlement in the area focused on wool production, Gunnedah was initially known as 'The Woolshed' until taking its name from the local Indigenous people who called themselves the Gunn-e-darr, the most famous of whom was Cumbo Gunnerah.