COOMA

town, southeastern New South Wales, Australia, on the rolling Monaro grassland plateau. Established in 1849, it derives its name from the Aboriginal word coombah, variously meaning lake, sandbank, one, and big swamp. The town grew during the nearby Kiandra gold rush in 1860 and was proclaimed a municipality in 1879. In 1981 it became part of CoomaMonaro Shire. Set in the Southern Tablelands and the closest railhead to Mt. Kosciusko, it was selected (1949) as the headquarters of the massive Snowy Mountains hydroelectricirrigation scheme in the Australian Alps. During the peak years of construction, Cooma acquired a population of more than 10,000. With the completion of the Snowy Mountains project in 1972, the town experienced some reduction in growth. Its economy is, however, being sustained by lumbering, joinery work, steel fabrication, sheep and cattle farming, and tourism based on the Alpine region, including Kosciusko National Park, and the dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts of the Snowy Mountains project. Cooma is connected to Sydney (200 mi northeast) and Melbourne via the Snowy Mountains and Monaro highways and by rail and air. Pop. (1981) 7,978.