Tibooburra, New South Wales

Tibooburra is a village (signposted population: 150) located in the far north-west of New South Wales. It is most frequently visited by tourists on their way to national parks in the area.Although facilities in Tibooburra are quite limited, fuel, meals and a range of accommodation options are available.

New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service have a Tourist Information Centre in the township. There is also a Police Station.

History

Established at the height of the gold rush due to the nearby "Albert Goldfields".

Tourist Attractions

The main tourist attraction is Sturt National Park, which incorporates Cameron's Corner, where the border lines of the states of Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales meet. (Although there is a "settlement" at Cameron's Corner services there are even more limited).

Climate

climate chart|Tibooburra
22|36|28
21|35|30
18|32|25
14|27|15
9|22|18
6|18|16
5|18|17
7|20|12
10|24|13
14|28|19
17|32|17
20|35|22

Tibooburra has an arid, desert climate with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (105 F) in summer, often reaching as high as 47 C (117 F). Temperatures are milder in winter, averaging around 20 C (68 F) in the daytime. These extreme temperatures make Tibooburra the hottest town in New South Wales, as reported on nightly news bulletins. Rainfall is scant throughout the year, apart from the occasional thunderstorm, though in March 1949 and January 1974 the town received around convert|390|mm|in or twice its average annual rainfall. In its driest year of 1940, only convert|50|mm|in fell for the whole year.

Tibooburra Outback School of the Air

Tibooburra Outback School of the Air is the village's educational provider, servicing both the local residents and the children of property owners in the area. It was established as a Distance Education Centre in 1991 by Tony Bush after being approved for the project in 1990. Prior to that students attended in town, and students on properties were educated through central schools further afield in towns such as Broken Hill.The school its self was established in 1886. No high school facilities exist in the town, children travel 365km to the nearest high school, do home school, or attend boarding schools.

Once a term students from the external properties attend a 'mini-school' at the school. Mini-schools typically have themes (such as pirates or the circus) and consist of a range of fun and educational activities. Out of town families also receive two home visits a year, in which a teacher (or teachers) and students visit and spend the day on the property.

In 2004 the school switched from radio based education to the Satellite Education Program

External links

* [http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/Home "New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service"]
* [http://www.tibooburra.org "Tibooburra Capital of the Corner Country"]