Junee Reefs

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Wikipedia

Junee Reefs
Town
Junee Reefs – Ivor Hall
Junee Reefs – Ivor Hall
Junee Reefs is located in New South Wales
Junee Reefs
Junee Reefs
Coordinates: 34°43′41″S 147°37′49″E / 34.72806°S 147.63028°E / -34.72806; 147.63028
CountryAustralia
StateNew South Wales
LGA
Location
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Elevation
303 m (994 ft)
Population
 • Total86 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode
2666
CountyClarendon

Junee Reefs is a locality in the south east part of the Riverina, Australia.[2] It is situated by road, about 19 kilometres north of Old Junee and 19 kilometres south of Sebastopol. At the 2021 census, Junee Reefs had a population of 86 people.[1]

It the most southerly of a line of gold mining locations that ran north-north-west, from Junee Reefs, through Sebastopol, Temora, Reefton, and Barmedman, to West Wyalong.

A difficulty for early gold miners was a lack of water. Mining of Wallett's quartz reef was well underway in April 1869, shafts had been sunk on Eaglehawk reef, about a quarter of a mile away, and quartz had been taken from Hope reef. A settlement had sprung up around the mines, which included a hotel and a store, butcher, and baker.[3]

The Reefs Post Office opened on 1 January 1878, was renamed Junee Reefs in 1917. The original post office stood on the banks of Houlaghans Creek,[4] which was also the site of the hotel and a crushing battery,[5] and so seems to have been the site of the early mining settlement. In 1930, the post office was relocated by around a mile, to be on the main road, between Junee and Temora,[4] now Goldfields Way. It closed in 1971.[6]

There was a school at Junee Reefs from November 1884 until December 1944.[7] The war memorial dates from 1921 and commemorates former pupils of the school who fought in the First World War.[8] After the school closed, various options were considered for the memorial, but the memorial remained at its original location, the last service being held there in 1974. It was not until 2007 that it was restored and relocated to its present site outside the Ivor Hall, the old mining village's public hall, which was built in 1926. It was rededicated in March 2008.[9][10][11][12] A separate memorial was erected nearby, which also commemorates those who fought in other wars.[13]

Junee Reefs Memorial

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Junee Reefs". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 September 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Junee Reefs". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 January 2010. Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ↑ "The Gold-Fields". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 April 1869. p. 5.
  4. 1 2 "Post Office Removaal". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga). 21 January 1930. p. 2.
  5. ↑ "The Junee Reefs". The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express. 29 March 1895. p. 28.
  6. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Junee Reefs". NSW Schools History Database. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL. CEREMONY AT JUNEE REEFS". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga). 16 March 1921. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Junee Reefs First World War Memorial | NSW War Memorials Register". www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  10. ↑ Brabin, Janice. "JUNEE REEFS MEMORIAL HISTORY" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "Junee Reefs Hall". Illabo. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Satellite view - Junee Reefs Hall · Junee Reefs NSW 2666, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "All Wars Monument - Junee Reefs | Monument Australia". www.monumentaustralia.org. Retrieved 14 December 2025.