Girilambone

History

The area of land now known as Girilambone lies within the traditional lands of the Wangaaypuwan dialect speakers (also known as Wangaibon) of the Ngiyampaa people. The name Girilambone is an anglicised word, derived from the local language, for 'place of many stars' or 'place of falling stars'. The name is associated with a dreamtime story of the local people. In 1907, there were no Aboriginal people recorded as living at Girilambone. At the 2021 census, some people living in Girilambone were recorded as having Aboriginal ancestry. In early 1880, mining had commenced on a small scale at the Girilambone Copper Mine—3 km west of Girilambone Giriambone was initially founded as a privately owned mining town. In late 1880, a 100-acre block, east of the copper mine and adjacent to the planned railway line, was surveyed and the plan of a private subdivision of it was made. This land is on the western side of the railway line, and two of its streets are the modern-day Sydney Road—then 'Great Northern Road'—and Railway Road. Girilambone originally developed on this land, which was also the site of the first school, which opened in 1882. Other streets of the private town were, Girilambone, Louisa, Oxide, Carbonate, Malachite and Suphate Streets, Australia Parade, and the incongruously-named Rue d'Enfer (named after a former street of Paris). Thomas Hartman became a hotel keeper, at Girilambone. He lived there for many years, but subsequently moved to Sydney, where he died seven months later, in June 1904. For some decades, there were two Girilambone settlements; the original privately owned mining town—thereafter called Girilambone Mine—and the newer government village of Girilambone vied with each other for dominance. The focus of the settlement gradually…

Most-observed species

• Psilocybe subaeruginosa Cleland

  Psilocybe subaeruginosa Cleland · Agaricomycetes
  43
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  24
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  24
• Bribie Island-pine

  Callitris columellaris F.Muell. · Pinopsida
  23
• White-browed Woodswallow

  Artamus superciliosus (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  23
• Rufous Whistler

  Pachycephala rufiventris (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  23
• Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

  Acanthagenys rufogularis Gould, 1838 · Aves
  22
• rough speargrass

  Austrostipa scabra (Lindl.) S.W.L.Jacobs & J.Everett · Liliopsida
  22

Most recent

• M 4.8 — 2025-05-23
  86 km NNE of Nyngan, Australia