Ariah Park

Ariah Park (/ˈɛəriə/) is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Temora and 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of West Wyalong. The town is within the Temora Shire near Burley Griffin Way. On Census night 2011, Ariah Park had a population of 268 people.^[3] The town is listed by the National Trust as a Conservation Area.

Ariah Park New South Wales
Coolamon Street, the main street of Ariah Park
Ariah Park
Coordinates	34°19′0″S 147°13′0″E
Population	493 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	2665
Elevation	316 m (1,037 ft)
Location	459 km (285 mi) from Sydney 98 km (61 mi) from Wagga Wagga 35 km (22 mi) from Temora 18 km (11 mi) from Mirrool[2]
LGA(s)	Temora Shire
County	Bourke
State electorate(s)	Cootamundra
Federal division(s)	Riverina

The town's name came from resident Sam Harrison who purchased a portion of the Wellman Estate and then named that portion Ariah Park (pronounced 'area').^[4] The name is derived from the anglicisation of the Wiradjuri (local Aboriginal language) word "narriyar", meaning "hot".

Tourist information makes reference to the town being known for its 'wowsers, bowsers and peppercorn trees'. A wowser is an Australian word describing a "mealy-mouthed hypocrite, a pious prude, one who condemns or seeks to curtail the pleasures of others or who works to have their own rigid morality enforced on all who prefers not to consume alcohol". A bowser refers to the everyday machine used to pump petrol or diesel into a vehicle, of which many antique examples can be seen on the main street. The peppercorn tree is a common variety of which many specimens populate the main street.

The settlement was first established in 1850.^[5] Ariah Park was connected to the Main Southern railway line via Temora in 1906.^[6] The village was gazetted the year after this connection and flourished at the expense of the nearby settlement of Broken Dam. Ariah Park Post Office had opened earlier on 26 August 1903.^[7] The peppercorn trees were planted in 1916 and railway silos built in 1919.^[5]

The district produces sheep and wheat. New South Wales Government Railways launched its first bulk-wheat loading operation in the town in 1916.^[8]

• 
  Entering Ariah Park
• 
  One side of the main street of Ariah Park - note the peppercorn trees
• 
  The other side of the main street - note the bowsers
• 
  First bulk wheat handling truck from 1916
• 
  Ariah Park looking South
• 
  War memorial
• 
  Ariah Park Hotel, built in 1916

Notable residents

• Merv Brooks, Australian rules footballer^[9]
• Jack Lucas, Australian rules footballer^[10]
• William Maitland Woods, Anglican minister at Ariah Park from 1913 to 1915 and Australian Army chaplain in World War I
• Samuel Harrison, Publican and Hotelier (Ariah Park Hotel latterly Railway Hotel, opened Saturday 31 October 1903) 1857 - 1920

See also

• Temora–Roto railway line