Local Coonamble Attractions

Coonamble is home to Australia’s biggest rodeo and campdraft and near three natural wonders, the Warrumbungle National Park, the Macquarie Marshes and Pilliga Forest. The small country town of art deco buildings, classic country pubs and rural hospitality is Australia’s nickname capital, too.

The Museum Under the Bridge is the former police station built in 1886 and has been converted to the Coonamble Historical Museum.

The museum displays artefacts, photographs, implements and household utensils used in Coonamble's early history. The 'trooper' brick horse stables have been retained in original form with stalls, feed boxes and saddlery and is one of only two of its kind left in NSW.

The Nickname is a mystifying tradition and a national phenomenon. Nowhere are nicknames thicker on the ground than across Australia's remote rural regions and Coonamble is the capital. You have entered a realm where the 'real' names of most of the men and many of the women and children have been forgotten, even by their mothers. Nothing and no-one is safe.

The Macquarie Marshes are one of the largest remaining inland semi-permanent wetlands in south-eastern Australia and are of international importance. The nature reserve samples all the habitat types present in the Marshes and is a major waterbird breeding area, an important refuge for a large number of other wildlife species and has significant cultural values.

Pronounced pilly-gah, Pilliga Forest is an iconic Australian landscape offering rugged beauty on a grand scale. Explore the trail network by car or on foot, take a guided tour and camp out.

One of the iconic landscapes of inland Australia, Pilliga Forest (or sometimes called the Pilliga Scrub) is made up of Pilliga Nature Reserve, Timmallallie National Park, Pilliga West, and East State Conservation Areas.

By the beautiful Castlereagh River, Coonamble is halfway between Dubbo and Lightning Ridge. The scenic drive north from Dubbo, on the Newell and Castlereagh highways via the charming towns of Gilgandra and Gulargambone, is less than two hours. The drive from Sydney is a little over six hours