Junee - NSW

Junee is an old railway town in southern New South Wales and a rural town of about 4000 people located on the Olympic Way 41 km north-east of Wagga Wagga, 53 km south-west of Cootamundra, 444 km south-west of Sydney .Junee retains a rather old-fashioned air due to its awnings, verandah posts, hitching rings, old-style buildings and wide streets . Historically, Junee was a major railway centre and the railway line still runs adjacent and, occasionally, across the main road, straight through the CBD. However, the decline of rail services in country NSW has meant the virtual extinction of the railways as a force in the local economy.
At Junee is The Roundhouse Rail and Transport Museum, at the southern end of town,The museum has been constructed around the huge 32-metre train turntable. When the roundhouse was built in 1947 it was the largest circular railway roundhouse in the Southern Hemisphere. The museum is ideal for train enthusiasts with extensive exhibits including a wooden mail van, a number of locomotives, a steam crane which is still in working order, a breakdown van and the original workshop which was so large it had 42 repair bay. Junee Station was also a popular stop over for the soldiers on Troop Trains during WWII
Other attractions in Junee include Monte Cristo Homestead and the Junee Chocolate and Licorice Factory.

Monte Cristo is reputedly one of the most haunted buildings in Australia. Built in 1884/85 by one of the region's founders, Christopher William Crawley, Monte Cristo is a fine Victorian period home of "pleasing line and proportion".

In 1948 the Crawely family sold Monte Cristo following the death of the family matriarch in 1933. For over a decade the house was left to the elements and the hands of vandals until, in 1963 the Olive family purchased the Homestead and restored it to its former glory.

The Homestead is open to the public as a museum and tours are conducted through the house on a regular basis.

The Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory started out simply milling organic flour from wheat sourced on the family's farm "Green Grove". It soon looked to expand the use for this organic flour and turned to the production of organic licorice and variations of it.

The Factory now produces a wide range of certified organic chocolate and licorice products. The Factory now has a cafe and gift shop. Tours are conducted several times a day and include samples of the produce!

The Junee Caravan Park is known among the caravan community as one of the best caravan parks in NSW, if not the country. With wonderful amenity and warm, welcoming hospitality it is a great place to stop and spend a couple of nights on your trip.