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{{Infobox Australian place | type = city
| name     = Adelong
| state    = nsw
| image    = Adelong December 2005.jpg
| caption  = Main street
| coordinates = {{coord|35|18|S|148|03|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position = right
| lga      = Snowy Valleys Council
| postcode = 2729
| pop      = 885
| pop_year = 2011
| pop_footnotes = <ref name="ABSStats"/>
| est      = 1836
| elevation= 303
| maxtemp  = 21.8 
| mintemp  = 6.7  
| rainfall = 790.5
| county   = [[Wynyard County, New South Wales|Wynyard]]
| fedgov   = [[Division of Riverina|Riverina]]
| stategov =[[Electoral district of Wagga Wagga|Wagga Wagga]] 
| dist1    = 410
| location1= [[Sydney, New South Wales|Sydney]] 
| dist2    = 81
| location2= [[Wagga Wagga, New South Wales|Wagga Wagga]]
| dist3    = 20
| location3= [[Tumut, New South Wales|Tumut]]
| dist4    = 6
| location4= [[Grahamstown (Riverina), New South Wales|Grahamstown]] <ref>[http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp Travelmate]</ref>
}}

'''Adelong''' is a small town in the [[Riverina]] region of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]] and is a part of the [[Snowy Valleys Council]].  In 2011, Adelong had an urban population of 885.<ref name="ABSStats">{{census 2011 AUS|id=UCL121001|name=Adelong (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)|accessdate=5 November 2012|quick=on}}</ref>

The town is situated about {{convert|160|km|mi}} west of [[Canberra]], on the [[Snowy Mountains Highway]]. Adelong's name is said to be derived from the local [[Aboriginal]] language meaning "along the way" or "plain with a river".<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Madden, Rod  |author2=Longworth, Jim | title=The Perseverance Gold-mining Company Tramway| journal=[[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]| date=February 1998 | volume=49| number=724| pages=54–60}}</ref>

==History==
In 1852 during the [[Australian gold rushes|Australian Gold Rush]], gold was discovered at Upper Adelong. Records around the time indicated a yield of 198kg of [[precious metals]]. In 1855 Adelong was declared a gold field. The Adelong township, which was first established in 1836, came alive when in 1857 William Willams discovered a gold bearing reed ore on Charcoal Hill. [[Alluvial]] mining and panning along the [[Adelong Creek]] was followed by mines being staked in the surrounding hills and water and steam powered stamper batteries were located along the creek to crush and process the hard pyritic [[quartz]] ore.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adelong|url=http://www.adelong.org.au/history-and-gold.aspx|website=www.adelong.org.au|language=en}}</ref>
 
The gold ran out in the latter part of the 19th century and the pastoral industry became the principal activity. This was mainly [[Merino]] sheep and beef cattle, and continues now. Over the last 20 years a tourist industry has developed because of the pleasant scenery and gold mining history.
During the gold rush many Chinese people worked in the mines, a lot of whom died and were buried in a special portion of the Adelong cemetery. Unfortunately the Chinese portion of the cemetery was obliterated in the early 1900s. One or two elderly Chinese and Indians still lived in Adelong in the 1950s. A community named Cornishtown existed about a mile to the west of Adelong till the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/ifhaa/towns/adelong.htm| title=Adelong, New South Wales| work=Local History Library| publisher=Internet Family History Association of Australia| accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref> The famous Adelong Falls, with its rich gold-mining past, is an ideal spot to have a leisurely picnic or to explore the unique surrounding area.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Commons category|Adelong, New South Wales}}

{{Localities in Snowy Valleys Council}}
{{Riverina}}

[[:Category:Towns in the Riverina]]