 Cobar is a bustling and prosperous town of around 5000 people, steeped in a history based on a mining and pastoral heritage. The town centre boasts a mixture of old and new buildings, which chronicle Cobar’s course through the last 130 years of history. Mining is still the main industry in Cobar with three major mines in operation.
The Cobar Shire covers an area of 44,065 square kilometres (comparable with the entire area of Tasmania) with a population of around 7,000 people.
The Cobar District abounds with wildlife, which includes kangaroos, emus, echidnas, snakes, lizards and giant goannas. Bird watchers will be fascinated to discover over 200 species of birds including the magnificent Major Mitchell Cockatoo and Wedge-tailed Eagle.
The local Aboriginal history is an important facet of Cobar’s heritage. The Ngiyampaa people, whose ancestral lands are where Cobar exists today, have ensured the preservation of their rock art at Mt Grenfell. This site is located 60 west of Cobar and serves to remind us of the amazing survival skills of indigenous people who lived here for thousands of years prior to white settlement.
A number of small villages exist on the fringes of the Cobar Shire. Canbelego and Nymagee to the east and Mount Hope to the south were once thriving mining communities which supported large populations prior to World War One.
Euabalong to the extreme south and Tilpa and Louth to the north-west are river towns which have retained their unique outback characteristics
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