The Rock is a town with a population of 1,347, in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in Lockhart Shire. It is 32 km south-west of Wagga Wagga, on the Olympic Highway. The town is named after the large rocky hill overlooking it, now called The Rock Hill but called Yerong in the local indigenous language. The reserve that includes The Rock Hill is an attraction for bush-walking, rock-climbing and the observation of wildlife. It is also an Aboriginal sacred site, called Kengal.

History

The Rock Post Office opened on 1 September 1890. Prior to 1919, the town had been known as Kingston, probably named after the King family, which had operated the local farming property known as "The Rock". The name Kingston is shown on a 1916 map of the Riverina district. The King name survives with the hotel on the Olympic Highway at the town still named The King's Own.

Heritage listings

The Rock has a number of heritage-listed sites, including The Rock railway station on the Main Southern railway

Sport and Recreation

The Rock Football Club was an Australian Rules Football club that was established in 1900 after a meeting at the King's Own Hotel. The club has played in the following football competitions - The Rock Cricket Club won the 1938/39 Henty & District Cricket Association premiership, defeating Henty. The Rock scored 7/441 in their second innings, with the three Taylor brothers all scoring centuries! The Rock also had a rugby league team, which competed in the Group 13 Rugby League competition. The club wore maroon jerseys with a sky-blue V.

Transport

There is a railway junction at The Rock, being the place where the Boree Creek line branches from the Main South line. The Rock railway station is served by the twice-daily NSW TrainLink XPT service between Melbourne and Sydney.