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Located two hours south of Canberra and 747 m above sea level, Bombala is a small and attractive rural service centre located in the far south-east corner of New South Wales. It currently has a population of around 1500. The main road from Cooma to the coast does not pass through Bombala and therefore the town has remained relatively untouched. The district around the town, which can get very cold in winter, supports a variety of agricultural activity including sheep and beef cattle, vegetable growing and timber milling.
The area is also known as one of the state's best trout fishing districts.
As far as can be determined the area was inhabited by the Ngarigu Aborigines prior to European settlement, and it is from their language that the word 'bombala' is said to have come, its probable meaning being 'meeting of the waters'. Europeans settled the Bombala district as early as the 1830s and by about 1833 Captain Ronald Campbell had established a large run. By 1848 he owned nearly 6500 hectares which he called 'Bombalo'.
The settlement of the area continued throughout the 1840s. By 1849 the small township of Bombala had its own post office and by 1850 a regular mail service was being run between the town and Eden on the coast. It was around this time that a street plan was drawn up and Bombala quickly gained the reputation as one of the prettiest towns in the Monaro. By 1856 its population was nearly twice that of Cooma (now the major town in the district) and a number of substantial public and commercial buildings had been constructed.
The town continued to grow and by the early 1890s two bridges had been constructed over the Bombala River. It was around the turn of the century that Bombala was briefly considered as a possible site for the new Federal Capital.
Today the town is a typical small rural centre providing services for the surrounding farmland. The drive from Cooma to Victoria's Gippsland coast via Bombala is particularly attractive.
Bombala Clay Target Club was reformed in 1967 after a number of years in recess. During the past 35 years we have gone from a 'cuppa' out of a thermos, in small tin shed with one layout operated by a hand operated trap, to two layouts with automatic traps connected to phono pulls all viewed from a much larger clubhouse. Bombala Gun Club is well-supported by neighbouring clubs from Cooma, Bega and Canberra thus providing strong competition in all grades. Bombala Clay Target Club has in the past and still carries the top reputation for its own internal 'Gourmet Club' for the fulfilling afternoon teas.
