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Cooma, New South Wales, Australia
Cooma, New South Wales, Australia.
Cooma
New South Wales, Australia
Cooma, town, southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the rolling Monaro grassland plateau in the Southern Tablelands. Cooma, established in 1849, derives its name from the Aboriginal word coombah, variously meaning “lake,” “sandbank,” “one,” or “big swamp.” The town grew during the nearby Kiandra gold rush in 1860 and was proclaimed a municipality in 1879. In 1981 it became part of Cooma-Monaro Shire. The closest railhead to Mount Kosciuszko, Cooma was selected (1949) as the headquarters of the massive Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, an irrigation project in the Australian Alps. During the peak years of construction, Cooma ...(100 of 199 words)