When a town has a name like Wombat, you just have to go there!
The town of Wombat (population 120) is 362 km SW of Sydney, and 14 km S of Young. Wombat was established in 1865, after gold was discovered at Young in 1860, with 20,000 miners converging on the area. In 1865 the Wombat Public School was founded in a bark hut.
There are a couple of theories as to how Wombat came by its name.
One is simply that it was named after the furry little marsupial. Another is that after the gold rush, there were so many mounds and holes left by diggers, the area looked as though it had been the home of many wombats. Strangely enough, locals swear there has never been a wombat sighted in the wild.
The Wombat Hotel commenced trading in 1877, and the present building was constructed in 1903. This hotel claims to have the longest continually-operating hotel licence in Australia.
Visitors to Wombat are welcomed by a 50cm statue of a pink wombat, perched on a rock.
British tourist Peter Vardy enjoyed his visit to Wombat so much that he donated funds for the creation of the wombat sculpture. Perhaps it was his idea that it should be pink.
The Pink Wombat was unveiled in 2002 by Aunt Mary, the oldest person in the village and Bronte Sprenger, a local school student who won a colouring in competition.
My friend Ken has written a poem about Wombat:
A town called Wombat has one that is pink,
And a wat'ring hole where locals can drink.
What else does it have? I'm blowed if I know,
And just to find out is too far to go.
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