Mingoola, New South Wales

Town in New South Wales, Australia

29°00′24″S 151°32′32″E / 29.00667°S 151.54222°E / -29.00667; 151.54222Population18 (2016 census)^[1]Postcode(s)4380Location

714 km (444 mi) NNW of Sydney
312 km (194 mi) SW of Brisbane
244 km (152 mi) N of Armidale
57 km (35 mi) W of Tenterfield

LGA(s)Tenterfield ShireState electorate(s)Lismore Federal division(s)New England

Mingoola is a locality in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The locality is in the Tenterfield Shire local government area, on the Bruxner Highway and Mole River 714 kilometres (444 mi) north west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2016 census, Mingoola had a population of 18.^[1]

In 2016, Mingoola was the site for a pioneering refugee resettlement program. The program involved the resettlement of refugees from Africa to live and work in Mingoola. The program has been seen as an opportunity for refugees and small rural communities alike.^[2] However, by 2019, all of the refugees had left Mingoola due to drought making farming and farm jobs unviable, medical conditions that required being closer to specialists, and lack of water again due to the drought.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mingoola". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
^ Hassall, Greg (7 November 2016). "African refugees reinvigorating rural Mingoola in social experiment to boost ageing community". Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
^ Connell, Cecilia; Bedford, Matt; Hind, Rick (11 August 2019). "Refugees welcomed into dying NSW town now forced to leave". ABC News. Retrieved 11 January 2020.