The Cobar railway line is a railway line in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It branches west towards Cobar

Cobar, New South Wales

-Notable people:*Nik Kosef, former rugby league player for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, 1996 premiership player, NSW & Australia representative*Ernie Toshack, cricketer, member of Bradman's Invincibles* Jemma Heather, state representative 4 times....

 from the Main West Line

Main Western railway line, New South Wales

The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions.- Description of route :...

 at Nyngan

Nyngan, New South Wales

Nyngan [pr: ning-g'n] is a town in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the Bogan Shire Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,975 people. Nyngan is situated on the Bogan River between Narromine and Bourke, on the junction of the...

. The Main West once continued northwest to Bourke

Bourke, New South Wales

-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...

 but is now closed beyond Nyngan. However, copper concentrates from mines near Hermidale and Cobar are still railed on this line to ports on the New South Wales coast.

The Cobar line opened on 1 July 1892, and continues to carry wheat and ore. Passenger services ceased on 22 September 1975. Cobar railway station has been redeveloped into a community facility.

History

The early development of Cobar was directly associated with the discovery of copper in the area. Aborigine guides showed a low hill, with outcrops of reddish oxide of ochre, to a party of tank-sinkers in 1870. These three men noticed that the rocks had been streaked green and blue. Samples collected were found to contain carbonate of copper. An area of 16.2ha was secured under a Mineral Conditional Purchase.

In the middle of 1871, two further blocks were secured and were known as the Great Cobar South and Great Cobar North mines. In January, 1876, the two southern mines were amalgamated under the name Great Cobar and the township of Cobar grew alongside the mine.

Probably the earliest move for a railway from Nyngan to Cobar was when a petition was presented to the N.S.W. Parliament on 27 August 1884, for the construction of a railway from Nyngan to Wilcannia

Wilcannia, New South Wales

Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. This was the third largest inland port in the country during the great river boat era of the mid-19th century. At the 2006 census, Wilcannia had a population of 596.- Geography...

via Cobar. Numerous deputations followed and on 8 October 1886, the construction of the line was approved by Parliament and formally assented to by the Governor on 11 November 1886.