4.1 Gulargambone - An Australian Community Facing Change

1. Rural Decline is when the population of a rural area declines due to the migration to urban areas.

2. Gulargambone is a small rural town located on the Castlereagh River, halfway between Gilgandra and Coonamble in the central-west region of New South Wales. It is located 115km north of Dubbo and approximately 500km north-west of Sydney at a latitude and longitude of 31°20´S and 148°29´E. It lies in the Coonamble Shire Council Area.

3. Atmosphere: Gulargambone has a temperate climate with periods of extreme heat in summer, up to 45°C, and cold winters as low as -5°C.

Hydrosphere: The average annual rainfall is 580-595 millimetres and it can be highly variable. The town lies on the Castlereagh River that is usually dry, it flows underground.

Lithosphere: The terrain is flat to undulating and the soils are fertile black and red types.

4. The soldier settler blocks was the agricultural land surrounding the township split up by the Australian Governments for the returned soldiers of WWII. The blocks contributed greatly to Gulargambone’s growth as the soldiers brought wives and families creating a mini-boom in population through the 1950’ and 1960’s

5. Two main economic activities taking place around Gulargambone are Agriculture and Forestry. The main agricultural activities are grazing of sheep for wool and meat, beef cattle, and the production of cereal crops like wheat, oats, barley and oilseeds like canola. Timber is sourced mostly from the Pilliga forest near Coonamble as exports.

6. 447 people live in Gulargambone and 1072 people live in the district as of the 2001 census.

7. The CDEP is the Community Development Employment Program and assists to employ and train local Aboriginal people.

8. b.) i. Gular Silos: NNW of Gulargambone

ii. Warrawee: N of Gulargambone

iii. Tailby State Forest: NWW of Gulargambone

9. a.) i. Bourbah: 31°18´S and 148°16´E

ii. The Maze: 31°22´S and 148°16´E

iii. Inglewood: 31°15’ S and 148°22’ E

b.) i. Tailby State Forest: AR6253

ii. Gulargambone: AR6353

iii. Dragon Cowal: AR6151

c.) i. Tailby State Forest: 4.5 squared kilometres

ii. Bourbah State Forest: 3.5 squared kilometres

d.) i. Approximately 10 buildings

ii. Approximately 20 buildings

10. 4.30 has the largest scale as it is the biggest area