The Post Office in the main street of Junee

Junee (including Illabo and Bethungra)
Old railway town in southern New South Wales.
Junee is a rural town of about 4000 people located on the Olympic Way 41 km north-east of Wagga Wagga, 53 km south-west of Cootamundra, 444 km south-west of Sydney and 320 metres above sea-level.

Junee retains a rather old-fashioned air due to its awnings, verandah posts, hitching rings, old-style buildings and wide streets (notably Broadway). Historically, Junee was a major railway centre and the railway line still runs adjacent and occasionally across the main road, straight through the CBD. However, the decline of rail services in country NSW has meant the virtual extinction of the railways as a force in the local economy.

Junee is situated within a district given over to agricultural and pastoral industries. The shire is the state's largest producer of canola while wheat, oats, barley, triticale, pasture seeds, lamb, wool, fat lambs, olives and deer also make contributions to the local economy. Junee has also profited financially from the construction of the state's first high-tech and privately operated correctional centre which houses some 750 inmates. Employment is also provided by an abattoir, rural produce and supply stores, seed and fertiliser merchants, local builders, engineering works and a hospital.

Prior to white settlement the area was occupied by the Wiradjuri Aborigines. It is widely accepted that 'junee' is a Wiradjuri word meaning 'speak to me'. The 'Jewnee' pastoral run was established in the 1840s. A post office opened in 1862 and a village called 'Jewnee' was gazetted in 1863 on the wool road to Sydney. That same year, Ben Hall's bushranging gang, who were very active in the area, raided the village. Hall, Johnny Gilbert and John Vane held up Hammond's store while Michael Burke and John O'Meally bailed up Williams' Pub. Members of 'Blue Cap's' gang also raided an hotel at Jewnee in 1867.

In 1866 the population of the village was recorded as twelve but the discovery of reef and alluvial gold in the 1860s increased interest in the area. The main sites - Old Junee (to the west), Junee Reefs (to the north) and Illabo (to the north-east) - were mined until c.1880.

Selectors began to take an interest in the area when the route of the railway line from Cootamundra to Wagga Wagga became known.

In 1876, grazier Christopher Crawley acquired 520 acres upon which the railway would pass. He built the original Hotel Junee (on the site of the present Hotel Junee) and a general store to serve the railway navvies. Some sources claim he also built and sold houses to the railway workers.

A train passes through Junee

In 1878 the railway arrived, though it passed 6 km east of the established village to take advantage of the flatter ground. A new settlement began to gather around the track and, presumably, around Crawley's store and hotel. This stimulated local selection and development as it meant greatly enhanced regional access to the major market centres. In 1880 the railway sheds and workshops of Wagga Wagga were removed to the new site and a railway station was built in 1881. Initially known as Junee Junction, it was renamed 'Loftus' in 1883 after the current governor of NSW but was gazetted in 1885 as Junee in accordance with local usage. The town soon became one of the state's most important railway centres and it benefited from the consequent need for accommodation and railway repair facilities. Local government was established in 1886 and a courthouse was built in 1890.

In 1952 the largest wheat terminal in the Southern Hemisphere was built at Junee. Of more interest to the general public is the fact that Junee was the birthplace of Rugby League player Laurie Daly.

The Junee Professional Rodeo is held in February, the Monte Cristo Charity Ball in September and the Agricultural Show in October. The Illabo Country Music Stampede is held at Illabo in April.

Things to see:  

The Roundhouse Rail and Transport Museum
Junee is a railway town and the The Roundhouse Rail and Transport Museum, at the southern end of town, records the town's relationship with the railway. The museum has been constructed around the huge 32-metre train turntable. When the roundhouse was built in 1947 it was the largest circular railway roundhouse in the Southern Hemisphere. The museum is ideal for train enthusiasts with extensive exhibits including a wooden mail van, a number of locomotives, a steam crane which is still in working order, a breakdown van and the original workshop which was so large it had 42 repair bay. The Museum is open Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Guided tours are available, tel: (02) 6924 2909.

The Junee and District Historical Museum
The Junee and District Historical Museum is located on the Broadway. It is open by appointment, tel: (02) 6924 1813.

The Railway Station in Junee

Railway Station
The railway station is an impressive building which is located at the southern end of Main St. It was built in 1881 in the French Renaissance style under the supervision of John Whitton, Chief Engineer of the NSW government railways, and features a cast-iron entrance verandah.

The railway workshop building was erected in 1885 as an hotel. The facade features stuccoed ornamental elements.

Tourist Information
Just down the track from the station is the Heritage Railway Cafe which is based in the ornate and substantial turn-of-the-century railway refreshments building which features 3-metre mirrors, 6-metre ceilings, cast-iron columns, oak counters and an old wood-fire oven. It is also the local tourist information centre, tel: (02) 6924 2522.

Loftus Hotel
Across the road from the station, at the corner of Main St and Humphrys St, is the enormous Loftus Hotel (1896), Junee's oldest and grandest establishment which occupies an entire block. A Late Victorian Classical Revival structure it features a heavily ornamented stuccoed facade which contrasts nicely with the finely wrought iron and timber verandah.

Commercial Hotel
Nearby, at the corner of Lorne and Waratah Sts, is the Commercial Hotel, another substantial building with an attractive verandah. A Federation structure, it was built of bricks around 1915 and features a stuccoed panelled decorated roof parapet.

Post Office
The post office, at 119 Lorne St, is considered an unusual design for a postal building. A painted brick, two-storey building, it dates from the 1880s and features a verandah perched upon eight pairs of iron pillars and moulded chimney tops.

Courthouse
Belmore St heads off Lorne St almost opposite the post office. At the corner of Belmore and Stewart Sts is the courthouse - a red-brick building with a gabled roof, arched windows and quoins, dating from 1890.

Seignior St (Hotel Junee)
Seignior St lies on the western side of the railway line, opposite Lorne St. It contains some interesting Victorian commercial buildings - notably the Hotel Junee which was built on the site of the town's first hotel (1876). The current structure dates from c. 1900. Like the Commercial and the Loftus, it is a very large brick building with stuccoed aspects. The two-storey verandah features Art Nouveau elements and there are two false parapet gables.

Adjacent is a classic little old-style country shop with an elaborate stuccoed facade and simple timber verandah. It is, in fact, a rare survivor of a once-common building type. Originally a country emporium, it is now a furniture shop.

Next door to that is the E.A. Commins building - a two-storey stuccoed brick structure dating from the 1880s. There are rounded windows and doors to the ground floor while French windows lead to a cantilevered cast-iron and timber balcony upstairs.

Red Cow Hotel
The Red Cow Hotel (1890s?), at the corner of Crawley St and Junction St, was named after a red cow which was often tethered outside the hotel. It is said that the patrons demanded fresh milk with their rum and tha t the milk came from the red cow.

Endeavour Park
A 'living maze' (made of hedges) is growing in Endeavour Park, on Olympic Way. It is not yet ready for usage as a maze but is nonetheless attractive.

Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo Historical Homestead is an outstanding two-storey Georgian-style mansion which was built of red brick in 1884 by grazier, Christopher Crawley, who, in 1876, purchased land upon which the railway would pass. The hotel and general store he built became the nucleus of the present townsite. Some time after this it gained a reputation as a haunted house.

The home has been faithfully restored in High Victorian style. It features wide balconies balanced on slender iron columns decorated with cast-iron lacework. There are excellent views from the upper verandah.

Privately owned, the mansion, stables and outbuildings now double as a museum with an attractive interior replete with antique furniture, glassware and collectables. The stables and outbuildings contain a collection of horse-drawn carriages and there is a resident wheelwright and carriage builder. The original 1876 homestead later became the servants' quarters.

The complex is located just off Kemp St (part of the Olympic Way) at the end of Monte Cristo Rd and it is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., tel: (02) 6924 1637.

Illabo Clock Museum
The Illabo Clock Museum is located in the village of Illabo, 15 km north-east of Junee along the Olympic Way. It is situated within a graffiti-covered train which houses 800 clocks, along with old bottles, typewriters, lights, radios and domestic items. It is open every day but Wednesday, tel: (02) 6924 5450. The Illabo Country Music Stampede is held in April.

Junee Wetlands
The wetlands support a large bird population, as well as turtles and frogs. There is a boardwalk and viewing platform and an Aboriginal Resource Area is being developed with trees used by the Aborigines for food and medicine.

Illabo Clock and General Museum
Illabo is located north-east of Junee, via the Olympic Highway. The museum features a range of items, such as 1200 clocks in railway carriages. There are picnic facilities, toilets and paintings for sale. It is open every day.

Bethungra, Bethungra Dam and The Spirals
Bethungra, 30 km north-east along the Olympic Way, possesses the historic Hotel Shirley built of sandstock bricks in 1886 as a Cobb & Co. station. It features attractive cast-iron lacework along the balconies. Recently sold it is expected to become a private residence.

You can turn off at Bethungra (along Bethungra Waterworks Road) for Bethungra Dam an important wetlands area where you can canoe, sail, picnic, swim or fish. There are camping facilities, toilets, barbecues and bins.

A few kilometres north-east of Bethungra, adjacent the Olympic Way, is Bethungra Hill (720 m) where you can view 'The Spirals', a unique engineering feat wherein the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line crosses over itself and the southern line. Built in the 1940s, it is the only example of a 360-degree spiral in the country.

Gundagai Road
The road which heads south-east from Junee (off Belmore St) to Gundagai (57 km) makes for a pleasant drive offering views of rolling hills, the tree-lined banks of the Murrumbidgee River and land devoted to agricultural and pastoral purposes.

Wantabadgery
11 km from Junee along the Gundagai Rd is a turnoff on the right which leads to Wantabadgery (15 km). Just outside the village is Sandy Beach on the Murrumbidgee River which is a fine fishing and swimming spot.

Mitta Church
37 km from Junee, along the Gundagai Rd, is a turnoff, on the left, to Bethungra. Signposted off this Bethungra road is Mitta Church (built in 1890 and still in use) and its historic graveyard.

Crestwood Lavender Farm
Situated on the Wantiool Road (off the Gundagai Road), the farm offers fine views, a wide range of lavender gifts, produce and information, as well as tea, coffee and refreshments. It is open weekends and public holidays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and other times by appointment, tel: (02) 6924 3540.

Kaybundah Lavender Farm
Located north-west of Junee, at Old Junee, this lavender farm offers tours and features a gift shop selling lavender and rose products, as well as crafts.

	Motels
	Junee Motor Inn 61 Broadway St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1266 Rating: ***
	The Crossing Motel 39 Seignor St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 3255 Rating: ****
	Hotels
	Commercial Hotel Lorne St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1023
	Junee Hotel Seignor St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1124
	Locomotive Hotel 5 Hill St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1327
	Loftus Hotel/Motel 6 Humphreys St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1511
	Red Cow Hotel Junction St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1985
	Caravan Parks
	Junee Caravan Park Broadway St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1316 Facsimile: (02) 6924 2530 Rating: ****
	Restaurants
	Loftus Hotel Chinese Restaurant 6 Humphreys St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 2081
	Talbingo Homestead Restaurant Talbingo St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 1933
	The Crossing Motel Restaurant 39 Seignor St Junee NSW 2663 Telephone: (02) 6924 3255