YASS

town, southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It lies along the Yass River, which is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee. The Yass Plains, on the Western Slopes of the Eastern Highlands, were explored in 1824 by Hamilton Hume and William Hovell. The town, established in 1837, serves a district producing merino wool, wheat, oats, orchard fruits, silver, lead, and bismuth. Yass lies on the Hume Highway near its junction with the Barton and has rail connections to Sydney (144 miles northeast) and Melbourne. Burrinjuk River is 20 miles (32 km) to the northeast. Pop. (1981) 4,283.