| Bunyan New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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 Closed Bombala railway line, looking towards Bunyan station | |||||||||||||||
  Bunyan Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°09′57″S 149°09′02″E / 36.16583°S 149.15056°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 192 (SAL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2630 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 744 m (2,441 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Snowy Monaro Regional Council | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Monaro | ||||||||||||||
| County | Beresford | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Bunyan | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Monaro | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Eden-Monaro | ||||||||||||||
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Bunyan is a locality in the Snowy Monaro Region, New South Wales, Australia.[2][3] It lies on the eastern side of the Murrumbidgee River and on both sides of the Monaro Highway about 110 km south of Canberra and about 10 km north of Cooma. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 152.[4]
The area now known as Bunyan lies on the traditional lands of Ngarigo people. The name is said to be from an Aboriginal language word, Boonyan, meaning "Place where pigeons stay".[5][6][7]
Lying on the direct route from Queanbeyan to the Monaro hinterland and with flats suited to grazing, it was a suitable site for colonial settlement. The first settler there was Dr Reid, in the early 1830s, and the area was known as Reid's Flats until 1858. There was an inn there from around 1832. The area was also known locally as 'Jews' Flats'. From the 1830s until at least the mid-1850s, there were businesses there run by Jewish families named Solomon, Moses and Shannon. The last hotel there, 'the Squatters' Arms' was last run by John Cullen, after which it became a private residence. The settlement became known as Bunyan in 1858.[6]
Lying close to Cooma, Bunyan was eclipsed by the growing town, and it is now a very small settlement consisting of a few old buildings and some ruins. The area is predominantly rural.
Bunyan had a school from 1895 to 1901 and from 1910 to 1936.[8]
Bunyan railway station opened with the extension of the Bombala railway line on 31 May 1889 and was closed on 8 February 1976.[9] The Cooma Monaro Railway operated rail motors on the line from Chakola to Cooma from 1998 to 2014, but this operation is currently suspended due to the condition of the track.[10]
